The busiest time of the year is finally here, bringing frigid weather and fun moments shared with family and friends. The holidays may cause much stress, but they also bring joy and happiness. My favorite part of the holiday season is snuggling by the fireplace with a cup of cocoa and watching a holiday movie. Below is a list of my top 10 favorite holiday movies that everyone should see this holiday season.

10. The Family Man

Jack Campbell is a single Wall Street executive who lives in the heart of New York. His company is going through a billion dollar merger and orders a meeting to be held Christmas Day.  On Christmas Eve, he discovers that his ex-girlfriend Kate left him a message on his phone, 10 years after they separated. Once Jack returns to his home, he goes straight to bed. He awakens in bed in New Jersey with his ex girlfriend Kate, and two kids. Stunned, Jack rushes out of the house and drives back to his office building in New York. He arrives and finds Cash, his guardian angel, who explains that he is now going to be given a “glimpse” of what his life would have been like had he stayed with Kate. This is a more modern version of the classic It’s a Wonderful Life.

9. Christmas with the Kranks

The film starts with Luther and Nora Kranks sending their daughter to board a plane to start the Peace Corps. Saddened by their daughter’s absence, Luther decides that he and Nora should skip Christmas and spend it together on a cruise. However, since they live in town that loves to celebrate Christmas, their decision causes an uproar in town. Throughout this hilarious and charming film, the audience learns that not everyone celebrates Christmas. It reminds people that celebrating differences can be fun too.

8. A Charlie Brown Christmas
Ninth grader Shanah Goddard’s favorite Christmas show is A Charlie Brown Christmas. She says “I watch it every year with my family and it’s really funny! I love the little Christmas tree.” Charlie Brown knows that he should be happy because its Christmastime, but he is not. He struggles to be in the Christmas spirit, so when Lucy suggests that Charlie direct a Christmas play, he hopes to find his Christmas spirit and  the true meaning of Christmas.  After Charlie’s many mistakes and Linus’s big moment where he drops his blanket, the audience is reminded of the true meaning of Christmas.

7. Home Alone

The McCallister family is preparing for a Christmas vacation in Paris, France, but when the youngest family member, Kevin, got into a fight with his older brother, Buzz, Kevin  was sent to the attic. Then, the next morning, the family rushes to leave for the airport, completely forgetting about Kevin, who is now left home alone. Although excited to be alone at first, Kevin runs into trouble with two burglars, Harry and Marv, who plan on robbing his house on Christmas Eve. Kevin’s quick thinking and funny antics make the film both fun and entertaining.

6. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

Clark Griswold plans for months to have a perfect “Griswold Family Christmas,” so he invites both of his parents, his wife’s  parents, and even his uncle Louis and his aunt Bethany. Clark even sets up his house with thousands of lights and a tree that does not really fit in the living room. As Christmas Eve comes closer and closer, Clark becomes frustrated as everything he planned for falls apart. The Griswold’s disastrous holiday reminds viewers that Christmas doesn’t have to be perfect-only fun.

5. Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas

Inside a snowflake is the land of Whoville, where the Whos live.  All the Whos love Christmas, yet on a mountain in Whoville lives the Grinch. The Grinch is a green creature who hates Christmas, and he plans to steal all their Christmas presents away from the Whos, whom he despises. However, a small Who named Cindy Lou Hou turns the Grinch into a loving creature who learns to embrace Christmas.

4. The Polar Express

The Polar Express is a story about a young boy on Christmas Eve who has second thoughts about whether Santa Claus is real or not. He boards a magical train that’s heading to the North Pole. During the train ride, he makes new friends, and learns to believe in Santa Claus. This film is filled with great visual imagery and fun songs that engage viewers of all ages.  

3. The Santa Clause

Divorcee Scott Calvin is angered to learn that his ex-wife and her husband told their 6-year-old son Charlie that Santa isn’t real. On Christmas Eve, Scott reads The Night Before Christmas to Charlie and hears a loud thud on the roof. When Scott goes outside, he finds that Santa fell off his roof and disappeared. Left with a sleigh, reindeer, and a red and white suit with instructions, Scott delivers the rest of the gifts around the world, unknowingly becoming the new Santa Claus. Throughout the film, Charlie and Scott face hilarious and sad challenges trying to convince their family that he is in fact Santa.

2.  Elf

Freshman Patrick Rizzo’s  favorite movie is Elf “because it’s hilarious and makes everyone laugh and be happy.” As a baby in an orphanage, Buddy crawls into Santa’s sack and is accidentally brought to the North Pole, where he is raised as an elf. Once Buddy is an adult, he realizes he isn’t a normal elf and travels to New York City, his birthplace, to find his real family. Unfortunately, once he arrives he discovers that his dad hates Christmas and he is on the Naughty List. Throughout the movie, Buddy tries to make his new family learn to love and embrace Christmas.

1.  A Christmas Story

All Ralphie wants for Christmas is an official Red Ryder BB gun. When Ralphie asks his mother for it for Christmas she says, “No, you’ll shoot your eye out.” Throughout a series of hilarious scenes set in the 40s, including Flick’s troubles with a flag pole, a tragic bunny suit gift from Aunt Clara, and an interesting Christmas dinner, this film will make people of all ages laugh. TNT usually runs it for 24 hours on Christmas Dary.

Gallery • 10 Photos