Great Holiday Movies

Posted By Becket Morgan in Holiday, Lifehacks, Movies

BreakingModern — If you’re looking to add a little holiday cheer in the form of a fun movie, we’ve got you covered. From family-friendly favorites to underrated classics, here’s a handy list of great holiday movies. Pick one off the list, pop some popcorn and sit back.

Family-Friendly Favorites

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966): The bitter Grinch plots to destroy Christmas for everyone in Whoville.

The Polar Express (2004): A boy beginning to doubt the magic of Christmas boards the Polar Express and heads to the North Pole to see Santa himself.

Santa Clause (1994), Santa Clause 2 (2002), Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006): After the accidental death of Santa, an ordinary man is recruited to take his place. These get increasingly silly, but the first is a true classic.

A Muppet Christmas Carol (1992): The Charles Dickens classic as told by your favorite Muppet characters.

Movies that Tug on the Heartstrings

Love Actually (2003): Follow the lives of eight loosely connected couples as they stumble through the holiday season.

The Family Stone (2005): The Stone family carries you along on their associated antics and heartbreaks in this heartwarming story of family and the holidays.

The Holiday (2006): Two women trade homes for the holidays in search of love and a fresh start.

While You were Sleeping (1995): A woman pretending to be engaged to a man in a coma blunders through meeting his family at the holidays.

Action-Packed Thrillers

Die Hard (1988), Die Hard 2 (1990), Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995): An NYPD officer tries to save his wife and her co-workers from terrorists during a Christmas party. And, if you’ve already watched the first three, the most recent version is excellent as well. Not Christmas-themed … but worth it.

Lethal Weapon (1987): A veteran cop and a rookie with a death wish must find a way to work together to stop a gang of drug smugglers.

The Ref (1994): A would-be burglar takes a difficult and irritating family hostage on Christmas Eve.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005): A thief posing as an actor stumbles into a murder investigation alongside a detective who’s been training him for an upcoming role on the right side of the law.

Comedy Relief

Elf (2003): A man raised at the North Pole as an elf travels to New York in search of his birth father.

Home Alone (1990), Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), Home Alone 3 (1997): A young boy is accidentally left at home when the rest of his family leaves for the holidays, and he needs to defend his house from would-be burglars.

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989): The Griswold family’s plans for a comfortable Christmas are spectacularly thwarted by their obnoxious and overbearing extended family.

A Christmas Story (1983): Set in the 1940s, the film follows nine-year-old Ralphie and his Christmas wish to receive a BB gun in hopes of using it to catch bad guys.

Underrated Wins

Prancer (1989): A young girl cares for a sick reindeer she believes might be one of Santa’s, inspiring holiday spirit in everyone around her.

Serendipity (2001): Two people risk their current relationships to try to find the one they believe might be fated for them.

Arthur Christmas (2011): Santa’s clumsy son, Arthur, is charged with an urgent mission that must be completed before Christmas morning.

Scrooged (1988): One of my all-time favorite Christmas movies, Scrooged follows a self-absorbed TV executive as he is haunted by the three spirits of the classic Dickens story.

Have a great holiday and enjoy the films!

For BMod, I’m Becket Morgan.

Featured image/All screenshots: Becket Morgan