1. The Nightmare Before Christmas dir. Henry Selick (1993)
Part of the fun of this claymation classic is the annual debate of whether or not it is a Christmas or Halloween movie. After all, the main premise of the film is the pumpkin king of Halloween Town, Jack Skellington, discovering the Christmas holiday. My opinion has always been: why not both? After all it is one of the best claymation films out there with an amazing soundtrack with the talents of Danny Elfman as the singing voice for the title character Jack. This film is the perfect blend of Halloween and Christmas making it the perfect movie to watch in between the holidays.
2. Die
Hard dir. John McTiernan (1988)
2. Die
Hard dir. John McTiernan (1988)Your eyes don’t deceive you, yes I am counting Die Hard as a holiday movie. After all this action packed film starring Bruce Willis and the late Alan Rickman does take place during an office Christmas party on Christmas Eve. The film follows John McClane (Bruce Willis) as he tries to save his wife and her coworkers from a group of terrorists, lead by Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) who are holding them hostage. This is a great movie to get you into the holiday spirit because it isn’t strictly a holiday movie, it was even released in July. The only ‘holiday’ component to this film is the Christmas party, everything else is classic 80s action movie complete with classic cheesy 80s action movie dialogue.
3. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone dir. Chris Columbus (2001)
Although every Harry Potter outing follows our favorite wizarding students throughout a school year, (excluding Deathly Hallows Parts 1 and 2 which take place over one school year overall) it’s the Christmas scene in the first movie that makes it a memorable one. Here we see Harry and Ron waking up Christmas morning at Hogwarts, Harry’s first Christmas away from the Dursleys I might add. This scene is one of the earliest moments in the series that the viewer can see that Ron and Harry are going to be lifelong friends. As part of Harry’s first proper Christmas, he receives a mysterious Christmas gift containing his father’s invisibility cloak. This beloved scene between the duo is one of the series fan favorites, not only because it contains a piece of the Deathly Hallows, but because it is one of the earliest examples of what makes Ron and Harry’s friendship work so well, their sense of adventure and curiosity with the world around them.
4. Love Actually dir. Richard Curtis (2003)
This holiday classic follows eight couples during the month of December as they navigate the hectic holiday season around London. With an all-star cast including Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Emma Thompson, Keira Knightley, Liam Neeson, Bill Nighy, and for the third time on this list Alan Rickman, this film is sure to put anyone debating whether or not to hang Christmas lights before they drive to their in-laws for Thanksgiving an answer. This romantic comedy is the perfect way to kick off the holiday season and Bill Nighy’s amazing performance as rock star Billy Mack will leave you laughing until the end of the film.
5. Gremlins dir. Joe Dante (1984)
Like A Nightmare Before Christmas, Gremlins is a unique blend of holiday and horror themes in this classic 80s fantasy comedy. The film takes place in the small town of Kingston Falls where slowly the residents are being terrorized by the once cute and cuddly Gremlins. This film perfectly highlights the 1980s cheese we all know and love as we follow the characters trying to take their town back after breaking two of the three rules when taking care of their new pet. After all, you really shouldn’t feed your pet after midnight no matter how cute he seems. This horror/holiday tale is a great reminder to double check that what you are buying your loved ones this holiday season won’t become a monster the next morning.
