Welcome, my fellow movie friends!
If you’d prefer to listen to this movie list, you can check out the full episode on The Bookmarks ‘n Blankets Podcast on your favorite podcast platform or listen below.
I’d love to know your favorite holiday, Christmas, or winter movies that you enjoy watching during this time of year. Leave me a comment on Instagram or X (aka Twitter).
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Happy Holidays, everyone! It is my most favorite time of the year, and as the song says, it’s the most wonderful time of the year… especially for movies! If you’ve been listening for a while now, then you how much I love movies. I’ve watched over 3,000 in my lifetime, at least according to Letterboxd, and I’m excited to get some more under my movie-watching belt, especially new holiday or Christmas movies.
I absolutely adore holiday movies. I have favorites that I watch every single year. I have certain movies that I watch on certain nights. I also love the cute, cheesy Hallmark Christmas movies, which is a new thing, as of two or three years ago, so I try to watch a few of those every year. So I thought I would share my favorites as we gear up for the Christmas movie season.
My Favorite 25 Holiday Movies
The holiday season is upon us, and what better way to celebrate than by cozying up with a cup of hot cocoa and enjoying some classic Christmas and holiday movies? Whether you’re in the mood for heartwarming stories of love and family or hilarious escapades with goofy, festive characters, there’s a film for everyone.
In this episode, I count down my favorite 25 holiday movies that are sure to fill your heart with joy and your home with the spirit of the season. I’ve included movies around these holidays: Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s.
Thanksgiving Movies:
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving – 1973
Peppermint Patty invites herself and her friends over to Charlie Brown’s for Thanksgiving, and with Linus, Snoopy, and Woodstock, he attempts to throw together a Thanksgiving dinner.
Buy on Amazon here.
Free Birds – 2013
Two turkeys, hailing from contrasting backgrounds, must set aside their disparities and collaborate to journey back in time. Their mission: to alter the course of history and ensure turkeys are permanently removed from the Thanksgiving menu.
Buy on Amazon here.
Trains, Planes, Automobiles – 1987
A marketing professional from Chicago faces challenges as he endeavors to journey home from New York for Thanksgiving, accompanied solely by an endearing yet clumsy salesman specializing in shower curtain rings.
Buy on Amazon here.
Dutch – 1991
In an effort to connect with his girlfriend’s son, a down-to-earth guy from the working class volunteers to pick him up from his prep school, only to discover that the young man may not be the most pleasant individual.
Buy on Amazon here.
Christmas/Holiday/Winter Movies:
Honorable Mention: Muppet Christmas Carol – 1992
The Muppets deliver their heartfelt interpretation of the timeless Charles Dickens classic story.
Buy on Amazon here.
Honorable Mention: The Man Who Invented Christmas – 2017
The exploration of the path that led Charles Dickens to craft “A Christmas Carol,” a timeless narrative that would reshape the meaning of Christmas.
Buy on Amazon here.
Honorable Mention: Last Christmas – 2019
Kate, a young woman prone to making poor choices, finds herself working as an elf in a Christmas store year-round, an unsuitable environment for her aspirations as a singer. However, her life takes an unexpected and seemingly too-good-to-be-true turn when she crosses paths with Tom.
Buy on Amazon here.
25. A Charlie Brown Christmas – 1965
Feeling disheartened by the pervasive commercialism surrounding him, Charlie Brown endeavors to uncover a more profound significance to the Christmas season.
Buy on Amazon here.
24. Shrek the Halls – 2007
In this animated TV special lasting half an hour, the characters from Shrek put a unique twist on holiday traditions.
Buy on Amazon here.
23. 12 Dates of Christmas – 2011
Following Kate, a young woman who, after a disastrous blind date on Christmas Eve, discovers that she is experiencing the same day and date all over again.
Buy on Amazon here.
22. The Holiday – 2006
Two women facing romantic challenges exchange residences in each other’s countries, where they encounter local men and experience unexpected love stories.
Buy on Amazon here.
21. Miracle on 34th Street – 1947
Upon hiring a kind elderly man to portray Santa Claus at Macy’s, a divorced mother from New York is taken aback when he insists he is the real deal. As doubts about his sanity arise, a lawyer steps in to defend him in court, contending that he is not delusional.
Buy on Amazon here.
20. The Family Man – 2000
A high-speed investment broker, given the chance to experience life from a different perspective, awakens to discover that his sports car and girlfriend have transformed into a minivan and wife.
Buy on Amazon here.
19. Last Holiday – 2006
Upon discovering she has a terminal illness, a reserved woman opts to liquidate all her belongings and indulge in a lavish lifestyle at an upscale hotel in Central Europe.
Buy on Amazon here.
18. 200 Cigarettes – 1999
A group of individuals in their twenties strives to navigate the complexities of relationships, solitude, yearning, and their unique neuroses.
Buy on Amazon here.
17. Four Christmases – 2008
A pair faces the challenge of visiting each of their four divorced parents during the Christmas holiday.
Buy on Amazon here.
16. The Grinch – 2018
An ill-tempered Grinch devises a scheme to spoil Christmas for the residents of Whoville.
Buy on Amazon here.
15. Elf – 2003
Brought up as an unusually large elf, Buddy embarks on a journey from the North Pole to New York City to reunite with his biological father, Walter Hobbs, who is unaware of his existence and is in dire need of some Christmas cheer.
Buy on Amazon here.
14. Fred Claus – 2007
Fred Claus, Santa’s resentful elder brother, is compelled to relocate to the North Pole to assist Santa and the elves in getting ready for Christmas in return for financial compensation.
Buy on Amazon here.
13. Love, Actually – 2003
Tracks the experiences of eight distinct couples as they navigate their love lives in a series of loosely interconnected stories, all unfolding during a bustling month before Christmas in London, England.
Watch the 17-minute short “sequel” here.
Buy on Amazon here.
12. White Christmas – 1954
A prosperous song-and-dance duo enters into a romantic relationship with a sister act, joining forces to rescue the struggling Vermont inn owned by their former military commander.
Buy on Amazon here.
11. Nightmare Before Christmas – 1993
Jack Skellington, the ruler of Halloween Town, stumbles upon Christmas Town, but his efforts to introduce Christmas to his realm lead to bewilderment and chaos.
Buy on Amazon here.
10. Mickey’s Christmas Carol – 1983
The timeless Disney animated characters take on the roles in this animated reimagining of the Charles Dickens masterpiece.
Buy on Amazon here.
9. How the Grinch Stole Christmas – 1966
A cantankerous recluse devises a scheme to pilfer Christmas from the Whos of Whoville.
Buy on Amazon here.
8. Christmas with the Kranks – 2004
When their daughter Blair is away in Peru, Luther and Nora Krank opt to forgo Christmas entirely until she unexpectedly decides to come home, sparking chaos as they scramble to celebrate it at the last minute.
Buy on Amazon here.
7. Santa Claus: The Movie – 1985
The reputation of Santa Claus is jeopardized as a deceitful toy manufacturer tries to seize control of Christmas.
Buy on Amazon here.
6. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation – 1989
The Griswold family’s aspirations for a grand family Christmas inevitably transform into a significant catastrophe.
Buy on Amazon here.
5. Home Alone 1 – 1990
An eight-year-old mischief-maker, inadvertently left behind when his family departs for Christmas, must protect his home from a pair of burglars on Christmas Eve.
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York – 1992
A year after Kevin McCallister was left home alone and had to outsmart a duo of inept burglars, he inadvertently ends up stranded in New York City, with the same criminals not far behind.
Buy on Amazon here.
4. Grumpy Old Men – 1993
A lifelong rivalry between two neighbors, brewing since childhood, intensifies when a new female neighbor relocates across the street.
Buy on Amazon here.
3. It’s a Wonderful Life – 1946
An angel is dispatched from Heaven to aid a profoundly frustrated businessman by revealing to him the alternate reality where he had never existed, depicting the impact on his life.
Buy on Amazon here.
2. Scrooged – 1988
On Christmas Eve, a self-centered and skeptical television executive is visited by three spirits who impart valuable lessons, haunting him with a newfound perspective.
Buy on Amazon here.
1. A Christmas Story – 1983
During the 1940s, a young boy named Ralphie Parker endeavors to persuade his parents, teacher, and Santa Claus that a Red Ryder Range 200 Shot BB gun is truly the ideal Christmas present.
Buy on Amazon here.
A Christmas Story Christmas – 2022
Tracks the grown-up Ralphie as he revisits the house on Cleveland Street to create a magical Christmas for his own kids, rekindling connections with childhood friends, and coming to terms with the loss of his Old Man.
Buy on Amazon here.
*Please note that I am a participant in the Amazon Associates Program and a member of other affiliate programs. I may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made through links in this article.
