This time of year, dinner conversation might include a debate about the best Christmas movies of all time. Every generation has our favorite holiday film. As a kid, I was partial to Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol (Video), a long forgotten gem that’s getting the blu-ray treatment and a prime time replay this year. When the kids came along, White Christmas became number one. These days, Love Actually leads our list.
What’s your favorite Christmas film? Be honest, are you like me and tear up at the end of It’s a Wonderful Life every time they show it? Do you keep an eye on the TV Guide for the annual broadcast of A Charlie Brown Christmas? Did you ever buy a Norelco razor because you saw Santa riding it down a snowy slope in between scenes of Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer?
Here’s what Entertainment Weekly said are the most popular holiday films of all time as of December, 2018. It’s definitely not my list. And there are some newer chestnuts that might make your own top ten list of The Best Christmas Movies of All Time. But let it be a conversation starter at those holiday parties we are all attending!
And here’s some trivia. Did you know that there’s actually a Love Actually sequel?
- It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
- A Christmas Story (1983)
- A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
- Elf (2003)
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)
- Love Actually (2003)
- Bad Santa (2003)
- The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
- The Year Without Santa Claus (1974)
- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
- Home Alone (1990)
- Trading Places (1983)
- The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
- White Christmas (1954)
- Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
- Die Hard (1988)
- Scrooged (1988)
- National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
- Gremlins (1984)
- The Santa Clause (1994)
We leave you with some old-school heart tugging. The last nine minutes of “It’s a Wonderful Life”.
Thanks for listening!
Scott Westerman
Host and Producer – Rock and Roll Revisited
Author: Motor City Music – Keener 13 and the Soundtrack of Detroit
