Now that it's officially December, the Christmas season has begun! Radio stations have started playing Christmas music and the spirit of kindness and giving is alive again! As part of the heralding in of the Christmas spirit and season, here are ten Christmas movies that you should watch to get you into the spirit.

1. "Elf"

Besides the fact that I absolutely love Will Ferrell I also love this movie and it's premise. It's such a cute, heartfelt story of a man who gives up his son for adoption who is then adopted by an elf, and he raises the boy to be an elf, Buddy. When Buddy is all grown up, he decides he wants to try to find his father and is sent out into the real world.

2. "Home Alone"

Another Christmas staple, this movie is about an eight-year-old kid who accidentally is left home alone when his family goes on Christmas vacation. He then has to fight using all sorts of crazy shenanigans these two bad guys who are trying to rob the house.

3. "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"

The original, not the really creepy live action version with Jim Carrey (though I also really enjoy his movies). I loved Dr. Seuss when I was young (I still do) and this is a very nice story about a Grinch who tries to ruin Christmas but then learns what Christmas is truly about.

4. "The Polar Express"

This is another one of my favorite movies of all time. Tom Hanks is also one of my favorite actors and the animation is beautifully done. A boy hops aboard the "Polar Express," a train bound to the North Pole, but he does not believe in Santa Claus or in Christmas. Aboard the train he learns what it means to believe and the lesson he learns allows him to grow.

5. "The Santa Clause franchise"

Another holiday classic, while the first movie, in my opinion, is the best out of the three, it is worth watching all three. The first movie follows a father who accidentally kills Santa Claus and then puts on his robes, which in turn makes him the new Santa Claus. He now has to accept this new reality on top of managing his divorce and his son. In the second movie, we discover that a Santa Claus must be married if he is to remain being Santa Claus. In the third movie Santa Claus becomes very frazzled from his job and unknowingly signs his job over to Jack Frost and then must win it back.

6. "It's A Wonderful Life"

Yes this movie is pretty old and yes it's in black and white, but it's a Christmas classic nonetheless. On Christmas Eve a man, George, feels like his life is falling apart after his absent-minded uncle losses the deposit for their business and then a warrant is issued for George's arrest. He tries to commit suicide, but before he can his guardian angel comes to his rescue. George wishes he was never born and his guardian angle shows him what life would be like without him.

7. "The Nightmare Before Christmas"

No Christmas movie marathon is complete without Tim Burton. I absolutely love all his movies, but this one is one of my favorites. Jack the Pumpkin King of Halloween is bored of Halloween. While in the woods, he stumbles upon the doors leading to each of the different holiday towns: Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving, St. Patrick's Day, Independence Day, and Valentine's Day. He chooses the Christmas door and ends up in the north pole and his interest is once again intrigued. He falls in love with Christmas and wants to be like Santa Claus. Also, there's singing and if you haven't watched it, you need to.

8. "A Christmas Carol"

Another classic, this is based of the book by Charles Dickens. For those not familiar with the story, Ebenezer Scrooge is a cruel old man who is a money collector and has no compassion for anyone but himself. He is then visited by the chained ghost of his former partner warning him that if he remains cruel to others he will be punished even more than himself. Throughout the night, Scrooge is visited by three ghost: the Ghost of Christmas Past, Present, and Future in order to try to convince him to change his ways.

9. "Miracle on 34th Street"

i am going to admit that I have never seen this movie before. Consider it on my list of Christmas movies. This movie is about a guy who complains that the Santa in the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade is drunk, so the event director, Doris, convinces him to take his place. He does such a good job that he becomes the permanent Santa and starts to believe that he is Santa Claus. When he won't admit to his bosses's daughter that Santa isn't real, she challenges his mental state and that eventually escalates to him being institutionalized. A hearing is held to determine his mental state and he has to convince the judge that he really is Santa.

10. "Prancer"

This is another movie that I haven't seen but it sounds like a good Christmas movie. It's about a girl who is being raised by her father and brother but who then has to stay with her aunt because of money issues. She encounters a real reindeer in the woods, but it runs away before she can get a closer look. She decides the reindeer is Prancer. She then stumbles upon reindeer tracks in the woods and finds the wounded reindeer. Her dad almost shoots the reindeer but the girl stops her dad from doing it. She then proceeds to help the reindeer behind her father's back and tries to return him back to Santa Claus.