My Top 10 Favorite Christmas Movies

I am obsessed with Christmas movies.  Recently I was telling Michael all my favorites and decided to instead make a formal list of what I think are the best ones.  It was actually kind of hard to narrow it down to just 10, because there are just so many good ones, but here it is:

Oh, and these are NOT in perfect order, though I do believe that the top 5 should be somewhere in the top 5!

10.  The Polar Express 

So this movie almost didn't make my list, but I can't ignore the theme of this movie.  BELIEVE.  Could there be a better message at Christmas?

9.  The Santa Clause

So most people don't consider this movie one of the classics, but I happen to love it.  As a kid, I always got a kick out of watching Tim Allen unwillingly transform into Santa.  It still makes me smile whenever it's on.  As for the sequels?  Not nearly as good, though they do have a couple of good/funny moments in them.

8.  Miracle on 34th Street

I just saw this for the first time last night!  Crazy, huh?  Which is better, the old or the new?  I saw the new one and thought it was adorable, but I'm going to have to watch the old one too.  Anyway, it made my list because the line, "IN GOD WE TRUST" saved the day.  That makes me happy.  And I was so concerned about poor Santa.  I'm a believer.

7.  How The Grinch Stole Christmas

I didn't love the Jim Carey version, (just a bit too weird for me) but I absolutely adore the original, animated version.  I love Cindy Lou Who, and the poor little puppy with the antlers strapped to his head.

6.  A Charlie Brown Christmas

I've watched this every year for as long as I can remember.  I adore it.  And we have our own version of a Charlie Brown tree in our home.  It looks sad when we put it up, but once we give it a little love (decoration!) it looks much better.

5.  Home Alone

What kid didn't love this movie?  Fabulous, cheesy acting.  The hero is the best kind of troublemaker.  And I love the creative things he comes up with to defeat the bad guys.

4.  The Muppet Christmas Carol

I actually also really like the newer, kinda scary Christmas Carol movie because it's a very well-written book and the new movie includes many of the real lines from the book.  However, I think I like the muppet version the best.  It's just so dang cute.  And much more kid-friendly.  :-)  Anyway, I love the transformation of Mr. Scrooge.  Funny, though, how even though he goes through this amazing transformation, if someone is called a Scrooge, it is never, ever a good thing.  Haha.

3.  Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer

I think this was my very favorite Christmas movie as a kid.  Rudolph.  Clarice.  Hermey The Dentist.  The amazing Abominable Snowmonster, who turns out to be a sweet teddy bear once his teeth are removed.  And Yukon Cornelius.  All amazing characters.  (Although I always found Sam the Snowman to be a bit boring.  Just me?)  No other Rudolph movie has even come close to being this cute.  Can't wait until Matthew can enjoy it.  Maybe next year?

2.  It's A Wonderful Life

Maybe my dad will be so happy that this is in my top 5 that he'll forgive me for including "The Santa Clause" in the top 10.  :-)  Okay, I'll be the first to admit that it took YEARS for me to be able to get through this movie start to finish, but this really is one of the best movies of all time.  This man had all kinds of dreams to see the world, become rich, and really live his life.  And what does he learn?  That he is IS living his life, by working hard and having a family and sharing all those small, amazing moments with his wife, kids, and friends.  He was living the dream all along.  What a great message for all of us, especially at this time of year. Oh, and I absolutely adore Clarence.  He is so dang lovable!  So glad he earns his wings!!!

1.  Elf

I have never met someone who doesn't like this movie, and I wouldn't care to.  This movie could make anyone laugh.  Start to finish, it's hilarious, witty, and sweet.  I usually watch it at least twice every December.  There are soooo many good quotes from this movie, but I think my favorite is:

"You like sugar, don't you?"
"Does syrup have sugar in it?"
"Yes...."
"Then YES!"

Well, that's it!  Any movies I forgot?  Honorable mentions?  (such as A Christmas Story, Frosty The Snowman, etc....)  Movies that I included on this list that should NOT be on this list?  :-)

I think it's safe to say that there will be lots more movie-watching in this house this month.  I still need to watch a few of these, plus I'm not ashamed to admit that I kind of love the ABC Family Christmas movies too.  They are cheesy, and wonderful.  

MERRY CHRISTMAS!