Top 10 Christmas Movies of All Time

Posted Friday, Dec 01, 2023

Christmas has lots of traditions: decorating a tree, making gingerbread houses, drinking eggnog, hanging stockings, singing carols, setting out cookies and milk, entertaining family, and overeating. Another tradition is watching Christmas movies. Everyone has his/her favorite Christmas film, and here I attempt to name the top 10 Christmas Movies of all time. I must say, this is not necessarily my top 10, but it is instead a composite list made from several rankings online. So, according to a majority of Americans, here are the top 10 Christmas movies of all time:

10. White Christmas. Who doesn't like Christmas and patriotism wrapped up together? And, oh yeah, Bing Crosby.

9. Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer. Stop-motion animation classic: talking deer, toothless Yeti, elf dentist, and a skinny Santa.

8. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Like Clark's Jelly of the Month Club, this is the gift that keeps on giving, eh Cousin Eddie?

7. The Nightmare Before Christmas. Halloween tries to take over Christmas. No, I mean the plot of the movie, not the sales habits of retailers.

6. A Charlie Brown Christmas. Of all the Charlie Brown movies in the world, this is the "Charlie Brownest."

5. Elf. Loads of silliness and a great story; what's not to love?

4. Home Alone. As a former mischievous young lad, one of my favorites on the list.

3. The Miracle on 34th Street. Classic movie about a classic theme: regaining belief in Santa.

2. A Christmas Story. I triple dog dare you to not watch this one.

1. It’s a Wonderful Life. An American spin on another Christmas classic: A Christmas Carol

You probably recognize that there are some omissions, but once again, this is based on online lists. Honorable mentions would go to Frosty the Snowman, Christmas Shoes, The Santa Clause, Die Hard, Gremlins (yep, those last two are considered Christmas movies), Arthur Christmas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and The Polar Express. With any of these movies, you can’t lose, so grab your family, some popcorn, and some hot chocolate or eggnog- and watch a Christmas classic.

Photo by Jeremy Yap on Unsplash