10 Best Christmas Movies to Watch This Holiday Season

Chris Killian

12/25/2020 06:21 pm EST

'Tis the season to throw on your ugly Christmas sweater, grab some milk and cookies (or just cookies), and rewatch all your favorite holiday classics! While there's no doubt if you're a big fan of this festive time of year, you've probably watched all of these yourself many times over. But just in case one or two slipped through the cracks — or some are just new to your movie-watching palette, we here at PopCulture.com are ready to help you out by giving you the 10 best Christmas movies!

From How the Grinch Stole Christmas to Elf and classics like Miracle on 34th Street, we've curated our list of just 10 of the greatest holiday films — and checked it twice. But, to all you nice boys and girls out there, what are some of your favorite Christmas movies? Scroll through to let us know your thoughts and what you would have added to the list!

10. 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas'

(Photo: Getty Images / Stringer)

Starting off the list at No. 10 is How the Grinch Stole Christmas, which starred a nearly unrecognizable Jim Carrey as the title character in a full-length take on the beloved children's book by Dr. Seuss. While the animated TV special is a beloved classic that's much closer to the book, it also only clocks in around 21 minutes, and some liberties had to be taken to make a movie and Ron Howard and company did a great job.

9. 'Bad Santa'

(Photo: Columbia Pictures)

No. 9 is Bad Santa, the best Christmas movie of all time that you should NEVER, under any circumstances, watch with your kids. Hilariously profane, this is the kind of holiday movie you watch when you're just a wee bit sick of the holidays. If you didn't know, there was a sequel, but you can skip that one.

8. 'A MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL'

(Photo: Walt Disney Pictures)

You can't have a "Best Christmas Movies" list and not include at least one of the many adaptations of A Christmas Carol. So coming in at No. 8 is The Muppet Christmas Carol, the adaptation of the Charles Dickens' tale that features all the muppets yukking it up with Michael Caine as Scrooge. We very nearly went with Scrooged, and one could even argue that the motion-captured version by Robert Zemeckis should have been a contender. But in the end, we felt this version was just the most fun for the whole family.

7. 'Miracle on 34th Street'

(Photo: Getty Images / Silver Screen Collection, Getty)

No. 7 is Miracle on 34th St — the original classic which starred Maureen O'Hara and won three Academy Awards in 1947. Not that there's anything inherently wrong with the 1994 version with Mara Wilson, but there were really just zero reasons to remake this in the first place as it's just an outstanding, heart-warming film to this day.

6. 'National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation'

(Photo: Warner Bros.)

At No. 6 is National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, the third installment in the Vacation movies, which many people feel is the best of the series. Watching the Griswold family attempt to survive the holidays while keeping a smile on their face was completely relatable and served as the comedic peak for their vacation antics. Unless you're the kind of person who prefers Vegas Vacation? And to be frank, not sure that person actually exists.

5. 'Love Actually'

(Photo: Universal Pictures)

At No. 5 is Love Actually, a movie that cycles ten different stories all centered around Christmas time. It featured an amazing ensemble cast that included the late great Alan Rickman and even a pre-Walking Dead Andrew Lincoln using cue cards to great effect. At times, the stories are uplifting, funny, tragic, and everything in between, reminding audiences that, good or bad, the holidays are a special time of year.

4. 'Home Alone'

(Photo: Hughes Entertainment)

Coming in at No. 4 is Home Alone. Okay, so the premise of Kevin McAllister booby-trapping his house to terrorize a pair of burglars is pretty ridiculous. There's no way his traps wouldn't have murdered the idiots. Nowadays, it's hard to even imagine a modern version of this movie flying and, truth be told, young Kevin exhibits all of the classic traits of a sociopath. Even still, we all love Home Alone, ya filthy animals.

3. 'A Christmas Story'

(Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)

No. 3 is A Christmas Story. Sure, it gets played on a 24-hour loop every Christmas, and it probably makes you wanna shoot your own eye out by now, but there's no denying the entire film has the charm of a Norman Rockwell painting. Plus, Darren McGavin's role as the "Old Man" is timelessly hilarious.

2. 'Elf'

(Photo: New Line Cinema)

In the No. 2 spot is Elf. Everyone should love Buddy the Elf. Literally everyone. And if you're one of the few who don't, well, you sit on a throne of lies. It is easily one of, if not the most, quotable Christmas movies of all time, and it's hard to believe that as of this writing, the movie is 17 years old.

1. 'It's a Wonderful Life'

(Photo: Liberty Films (II))

And the best Christmas movie of all time will always belong to It's a Wonderful Life. Both funny and sad, James Stewart as suicidal George Bailey learns the importance of his existence thanks to Clarence, a sweet-natured angel trying to earn his wings. Some people scoff at this because the movie is in black and white, but those opinions don't count. Thank Kris Kringle himself that this movie was never remade — at least not theatrically — because Frank Cappa's classic is a perfect film just the way it is.

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