The Top Ten Christmas Movies of all Time

One of my favorite traditions is watching classic Christmas movies all through November and December.  We have a long standing tradition in our family that our holiday movie watching starts with our #1, all-time favorite Christmas movie.  This one kicks off the season for us! But you’ll have to wait to see what it is!

#10

Miracle On 34th Street

When this movie came out, I was a single mom with a toddler.  I would envision that my daughter and I were living in New York and wore those amazing clothes.  I even bought her a mini coat and dress just like the one Mara Wilson wore.

#9

Christmas with the Kranks

Based on John Grisham’s book, “Skipping Christmas”.  I think we’ve all thought about ditching the traditions for one year and relaxing on the beach somewhere.

#8

Jingle All The Way

Oh the good old days when Phil Hartman was still with us! This movie is campy and silly and always a good time!

#7

Elf

“Buddy the Elf, what’s your favorite color?” “Is there sugar in it? Then yes!” “He’s an angry elf.” “Did you hear that?” “The quickest way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all the hear.” “You sit on a throne of lies.” “Santa? I KNOW him!” How many one liners have become part of our Christmas tradition because of this gem?

#6

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (Special Edition)

The ultimate in Christmas one liners!  “Why’s the floor wet Todd? I don’t know Margo!” “Clark, Audrey’s numb from the waist down.” “Will you say Grace? Grace? She’s been dead for years.” “The sh**er was full.” “If you need me, give me a holler. I’ll be upstairs, asleep.” “You serious Clark?”

#5

Lethal Weapon

Now hear me out.  This is one of the greatest action movies of all time and one of the first scenes is set in a Christmas Tree Lot.  That totally makes it a Christmas Movie.

#4

The Santa Clause

When this movie came out it was so fresh.  Tim Allen was the current “it guy”.  The premise was a refreshing change from the traditional Christmas movies of the time.  A contract to take over as Santa with Tim fighting it the whole way.  Genius! It may seem old hat now, but this became an instant classic all those years ago.

#3

Love, Actually

You don’t have to wait until Christmas time to watch this one.  The intermingled storylines through various beloved characters hits home on so many levels.  We cheer for them, we’re sad for them, we want them to find love. A couple of things to note.  This is where we first met Andrew Lincoln (our hero Rick from The Walking Dead). We pretend that this was his life before the zombie apocalypse.  The second thing is, if you aren’t watching an edited version, you may be surprised by some of the clinical yet choreographed nudity…and I’ll leave it at that.

#2

The Holiday

You must watch this at least a million times every Christmas and throughout the year.  Even though this is #2 on my list it’s the first one I will watch repeatedly during the season.  The story, the characters and the actors that bring it all to life are just superb.  It’s a perfect storm of humor, tenderness, struggle and love.

#1

Die Hard

Again, hear me out.  Not technically a Christmas movie but it’s set on Christmas Eve and it’s the best action movie of all time.  Bruce Willis and Alan Rickman? They were so seamless together.  Neither one stronger than the other in this perfectly balanced work of good guys vs. bad guys. It’s got the classic one liners that you expect from a good movie, “Come out to the coast, we’ll get together, have a few laughs.” “Welcome to the party, pal!” “It’s a Rolex.” “Now I have a machine gun, ho ho ho.” “Nine million terrorists in the world and I gotta kill one with feet smaller than my sister.” “I am going to count to three. There will not be a four.” “That’s a nice suit.” And the classic…”Yippie-ki-yay, m…….!” And in the end, friendships are formed, bonds are strengthened and there is hope again for humanity.  If that isn’t a Christmas movie, I don’t know what is!

If you need further evidence of my “Die Hard is a Christmas Movie” theory, check this out!

A Die Hard Christmas: The Illustrated Holiday Classic

Do you agree with my list? What are your favorite Christmas movies?

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If you like any of recommendations and would like to purchase a copy, you can click on the movie and it will take you straight to the Amazon page.

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