Every holiday season, my family gathers around the television to watch countless Hallmark and Lifetime Christmas movies because even if they are sappy, they are classics. I grew up watching them at my grandmother's side, and we continue to watch them together today. Now that I'm away at college, we don't have as much time to watch them together anymore, so I wanted to make a list of my top five favorites (which includes some of hers) that we will make sure to get to during my break. Here they are:

5. Holiday Switch (Lifetime)

In Holiday Switch, a woman named Paula is struggling to pay off her family's bills before Christmas. But after crawling through a laundry machine (I know, bizarre but weirdly interesting) she ends up in an alternate life in which she is married to her wealthy ex-boyfriend. But sooner rather than later, Paula realizes where she would rather be. I think this movie is pretty comical, I mean crawling through a laundry machine is pretty strange, but also provides a decent holiday story.

4. The Christmas Shoes

The Christmas Shoes is the epitome of a classic Christmas movie. The heartbreaking yet memorable storyline embodies the true meaning of the holiday spirit. The movie follows a workaholic attorney who helps a young boy whose mother is fatally ill, reminding him of what love really is especially during Christmas time. This movie reminds me of everything I have to be thankful for, and to embrace the love of the holiday season to the fullest extent.

*This is the only exception in my list because The Christmas Shoes is neither a Hallmark or Lifetime movie. But it is broadcasted on both channels every year.

3. Eve's Christmas (Hallmark)

In Hallmark's original Eve's Christmas, Eve Simon who is a well-known, wealthy executive working in Manhattan wishes on a Christmas star for her life to resume to what it once was. She gave up her fiance and family for her career years ago, and with age realizes the detrimental mistake that was. To her luck, her wish comes true. Eve wakes up in her childhood bedroom, and is given the chance to undo her mistakes alongside her guardian angel. This is truly one of my favorite Christmas movies because we don't often give people second chances, but maybe we should at this time of year. Of course these chances won't be second chances at life like Eve was fortunate enough to receive, but little changes can go a long way.

2. Comfort and Joy (Lifetime)

In the Lifetime original Comfort and Joy, Jane Berry is knocked unconscious after hitting a telephone pole close to Christmas. She then wakes up married with two children. In her old life she was a single entrepreneur, unmarried with no children. Her only job in her new life is to be a stay-at-home mom along with the volunteer work she does on the side. Even though Jane is hesitant to embark on the path of her new life, she comes to the realization that maybe this is the life she is supposed to live opposed to the one she was living. I love this movie because I think it makes us all think about who and what we have in our lives that makes them so great. It's another reminder of everything we have to be grateful for.

1. Silver Bells (Hallmark)

Silver Bells is without a doubt my all time favorite Hallmark Christmas movie. This storyline follows widower Christy Byrne who sells Christmas trees in New York City with his children every year. His son, Danny, is not passoniate about the family business but photography instead, so runs off into the city leaving his father and sister, Bridget, behind. Christy and Bridget return to the city the following year from their hometown where they run into widow Catherine. She has not celebrated Christmas since her husband passed away. She lives in the same New York neighborhood that Christy's business resides in. Soon after their paths cross, they begin to look for Danny, and hunt for the mysterious location of the charming silver bells that were circulating the city in a photograph.

I can't say enough about this movie. Just watch it!

There are SO many great Hallmark and Lifetime holiday movies, but these are just a few of my favorites that I return to year after year. Enjoy!