The 55 Best Christmas Movies of All Time
AKA your perfect excuse to bake cookies and chill at home all day.
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Whether you're looking for a classic black and white film, a romantic comedy, a kids' flick or even an action movie, there's a Christmas go-to for everyone. Here are 55 of our favorites, in no particular order. Now all you need are movie snacks (AKA festive cookies and a great drink).
A Christmas Story
BUY NOW: $13
There's a reason why TBS plays A Christmas Story for 24 hours straight every Christmas. This classic gave us the infamous leg lamp, Red Ryder BB guns and most importantly taught us to never lick a frozen pole. Don't watch it without making our leg lamp cookies.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
BUY NOW : $9
Funny men Steve Martin and John Candy team up for a classic holiday tale gone awry. Released in 1987, this film features these two comedians at their best — two rivals trapped in the car on their way home for the holiday.
Love Actually
BUY NOW: $13
Just like Elf, this 2003 rom-com that follows the love stories of almost a dozen couples throughout the holiday season has quickly become part of the classic canon of Christmas movies.
A Charlie Brown Christmas
BUY NOW: $13
In this timeless cartoon, Charlie Brown seeks out the true meaning of Christmas with the help of his friends, dog and one tiny Christmas tree.
Holiday Affair
BUY NOW: $10
Set in and around a New York department store during the holiday season, this romantic comedy was a box office failure when it came out in 1949 but has since become a Christmas classic after repeated airings on TCM over the years.
The Polar Express
BUY NOW: $13
The Polar Express (2004) features Tom Hanks in an animated adventure, based on the children's book by Chris Van Allsburg. One little boy takes a magical train ride to the North Pole.
Four Christmases
BUY NOW: $13
Christmas has a way of bringing everyone together — even when you least expect it. In this modern Christmas movie, Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn play an unhappily married couple whose tropical holiday plans get derailed.
It's a Wonderful Life
BUY NOW: $14
This 1946 Frank Capra film isn't just one of the best Christmas movies of all time — it's one of the best movies in general, considering it was nominated for six Academy Awards and it ranks #11 on the American Film Institute's original list of the 100 Greatest American Films Of All Time.
Home Alone
BUY NOW: $14
After Kevin McCallister's family leaves him behind by accident while they go on Christmas vacation, the 8-year-old comes up with a brilliant — and hilarious — scheme to prevent burglars from robbing his house.
The Great Rupert
BUY NOW: $5
This classic, released in 1950, brings together two struggling families and a friendly squirrel named Rupert. Let's just say, the holiday gets rather interesting.
Eloise at Christmastime
BUY NOW: $6
The holiday season isn't complete with Julie Andrews. She stars in Eloise at Christmastime as the nanny of a spunky 6-year-old named Eloise, who has a mission to reunite two young lovers — while chasing them around the Big Apple.
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
BUY NOW: $14
When Kris Kringle goes on trial he'll have you (and especially your kids) believing that Santa is real.
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
BUY NOW: $13
Dreading going home to visit your family this year? Watching this Chevy Chase movie will make anything your family does this Christmas seem totally normal in comparison.
Elf
BUY NOW: $13
Even though this movie only came out in 2003, this tale of a human man raised as an elf making his way in New York City has quickly become a holiday classic.
White Christmas
BUY NOW: $13
When a pair of army pals who become big time stars (Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye) team up with two sisters (Rosemary Clooney and Vera Ellen) there's nothing that can stop them from saving their former general's Vermont inn, except for a busybody receptionist and a snowless Christmas.
The Nightmare Before Christmas
BUY NOW: $18
Tim Burton blends Christmas and Halloween together in his 1993 stop-motion film in a way that's both spooky and heartwarming all at the same time.
Home Alone 2: Lost In New York
BUY NOW: $14
Kevin McCallister's family manages to leave him behind yet again and this time around he ends up in New York City where he manages to outwit the wet bandits one more time.
Babes In Toyland (1961)
BUY NOW: $18
Disney reinterpreted the classic Christmas tale about the residents of Toyland in Technicolor in this 1961 musical starring Annette Funicello.
Die Hard
BUY NOW: $8
Does your best friend/dad/significant other refuse to watch Love Actually with you? Then this action movie about an office Christmas party taken over by terrorists might just be the solution. Yippee-ki-yay!
Holiday Inn
BUY NOW: $13
This 1942 Irving Berlin musical starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire features a song for each holiday of the year but begins and ends with Christmas.
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