Finals season is here. The skies are gray and drizzly. The holidays are close… and yet so far.
While our staff are hard at work bringing you news about how to survive winters in the Midwest and Albion College’s use of generative artificial intelligence, we are also students longing for the release of winter break.
Though we may have to wait a while longer to celebrate the holidays, there’s no rule that says we can’t enjoy our favorite seasonal films.
Editor-in-Chief, Bonnie Lord
When I think about my favorite holiday films, there are two that come to mind immediately. The first is “Home for the Holidays” (1995), an absolute classic for my family. Not only is the acting superb and writing hilarious, but the movie really hits closer to home every year as I age. Holly Hunter and Robert Downey Jr. truly embody what it feels like to return to your childhood home for Thanksgiving.
Your parents are a year older, and life is sweeping you away – but hey, your gay brother is home, and you have a pretty good time messing around with him. Every time I watch this movie, I’m terrified of how much closer I am to being Joanne, and if you’ve seen the movie, you know why that’s upsetting.
As for Christmas movies, I surprise myself every year remembering how much I love “The Nativity Story” (2006). Of course, heartwarming classics like “The Miracle on 34th Street” (1947) and “A Charlie Brown Christmas” (1965) are must-watches every year, but this is one of those movies that pulls on my raised-going-to-church-every-Christmas-growing-up heartstrings.
As for movies I don’t love during the holidays… I fear “A Christmas Carol,” pretty much any version that isn’t the Muppet rendition, is so overdone that I audibly groan when one of them comes on. THERE ARE LITERALLY NEARLY 100 OF THESE FILMS. STOP MAKING THEM.
Managing Editor, Jocelyn Kincaid-Beal
Every Christmas season, my family watches “Scrooge” (1970). I’m not sure when this tradition started, I just know that my grandfather and dad both love the movie, so we watch it every year. I found it boring when I was a little kid, but I’ve grown to enjoy it. There is a campiness to Albert Finney getting drunk with a ghost and singing about loving life that I greatly enjoy.
My personal favorite holiday movie is “The Nightmare Before Christmas” (1993). It’s another one I’ve grown up watching, and it’s just so fun. Plus, you can watch it for Halloween and Christmas! So it’s a double holiday movie. The animation and style is so beautiful and unique, the characters are multi-faceted and the songs are all bangers. I’m a lover of all things spooky, so that’s another big upside for me, and it sets it apart from other holiday movies.
I would like to give honorable mentions to “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” (1966), “Olive, the Other Reindeer” (1999), “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (1964) and “The Year Without a Santa Claus” (1974). These are the animated Christmas movies that I grew up watching on VHS and DVD, and they will always hold a special place in my heart. I’m realizing that every movie I’ve mentioned is a musical – I’m not sure what that says about me.
I was once shown “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” (1989) and I hated it. The kind of humor it employs is the kind I don’t enjoy – things going wrong, miscommunications, property damages – it just makes me anxious and unhappy. I know it’s a classic, but it’s not for me.
Assistant Managing Editor, Killian Altayeb
My favorite holiday movie is, technically, not a holiday movie at all: “A Winter’s Tale” (2014). I know it doesn’t have Santa, sleigh bells or a single ugly sweater, but it has everything I actually associate with the holidays: winter, miracles, second chances and this stubborn insistence that love and kindness can bend the rules of the universe.
It’s set in a snow-drenched New York that feels almost mythic, like the city has been turned into a snow globe and then shaken just hard enough that angels, demons and fate start to tumble out. The plot is undeniably weird: there’s time-jumping, a demon in a bowler hat and a man who might also be a star. But under all that chaos is a very simple, very “holiday” core: one person trying to do one good thing for another person, and that good thing echoing across time.
Also, on a purely aesthetic level, it’s gorgeous. The winter visuals, the warm light inside against the brutal cold outside, the old New York vs. new New York contrast… it all feels like a fairy tale told in frost and candlelight. And, on a related hill I will die on: “Crimson Peak (2015)” should absolutely count as a holiday movie too. It’s winter, everyone looks like they’re going to die of frostbite in those gowns and the whole thing radiates “gothic Christmas in a haunted house.”
For me, the most over-hyped holiday movie is “Love Actually” (2003).
I don’t hate that people enjoy it, but I do think it’s a perfect example of a movie that’s been canonized as the Christmas classic while actually being kind of mean-spirited and shallow underneath all the twinkle lights.
Structurally, it’s a mess. Because it’s trying to juggle so many storylines, almost none of them get the depth they need. Instead, we get a bunch of half-developed plots that lean hard on cliché: The shy guy in love with his best friend’s wife, the boss and his much-younger assistant who barely talk but are somehow “in love,” the fat jokes played for laughs, the cheating framed as tragic and noble instead of just… harmful.
The cue-card scene, for example, is framed as this iconic declaration of love, but if you strip the Christmas music away, it’s literally a man confessing feelings to his friend’s wife on the doorstep in secret.
Features/Opinions Editor, Heidi Faramelli
“National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” (1989) is the most hilarious holiday movie ever. I know that’s controversial when “Elf” (2003) exists, and don’t get me wrong, I love that too. But the delivery of scenes like the neighbor asking, “Why is the carpet all wet, Todd?” for her husband to respond, “I don’t know, Margo,” have me cracking up even just thinking about them. Plus, the plot of the movie is the perfect combination of humorous and heartfelt. Disclaimer: The lead, Chevy Chase, is a terrible person, but I can’t discredit the film’s creators for making this masterpiece.
“A Charlie Brown Christmas” (1965) is another classic that I can’t get enough of. Strangely, I haven’t talked much about my love of Snoopy on the Pleiad. But, I have Snoopy stuffed animals, pajamas, socks, books and even a nightlight – if you name a Snoopy-related item, I probably own it. This movie is delectably cozy and heartwarming, yet deep at the same time. Charlie Brown struggles with the consumerism of Christmas and ultimately learns the true meaning of the holiday spirit.
Finally, a hidden gem in the holiday movie world that I love is “8-Bit Christmas” (2021). This underrated classic follows a father recounting the year in the late ‘80s when all he wanted for Christmas was a Nintendo. Growing up, my brother and I always played Mario Kart together, and it’s so awesome watching how the origins of games like that unfolded with kids being so excited to play them back in the day.
Bonus: I love “Four Christmases” (2008) despite its low Rotten Tomatoes rating – it’s probably one of my most rewatched Christmas movies. Who doesn’t love a holiday rom-com? Well, besides 75% of Tomatometer users, I guess. Can’t the holidays just be full of love and whimsy?
I hate to say it, but I think “A Christmas Story” (1983) is overrated. It’s ironic, because the plot is pretty similar to “8-Bit Christmas,” but for some reason, this movie just never really captivated me like other classics. I don’t despise it; my family rewatches it annually and I enjoy doing so, but it’s just missing the spark that my favorites contain.
Part-Time Multimedia Journalist, Kai Taylor
Let me preface this by saying if you don’t think that “Die Hard” (1988) is a holiday movie, you’re wrong. “Die Hard” manages to hit you right in your holiday feels while being one of the best action movies of all time. It has such a simple premise, yet manages to execute on every level. The directing from John McTiernan from an action standpoint makes the movie feel incredibly tense and gripping. When I first watched it, I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen. Bruce Willis and Alan Rickman are terrific in the film, providing some of the best acting of their careers.
Even given all the wild stuff that happens in the movie, at the end of the day, it’s just about a dad trying to get to his family for Christmas. You can’t get more festive than that.
I think my love for “Die Hard” has grown because of how controversial it is, on the subject of holiday movies. When I first watched it, I fell in love with it and it immediately became my favorite holiday movie. So when people start accusing “Die Hard” of not being a festive flick, I rise up and defend it. Defending “Die Hard” from all the haters over the years has made me appreciate it even more. It will remain a holiday classic in my book until the end of time.
I’m not the biggest fan of “Elf” (2003). I think it’s great and full of some of the most iconic scenes in cinema as a whole, but there are much better options out there. I think my disdain towards the movie is partially due to the fact that I’ve seen it so many times. Sure, it’s got some great parts, but the stuff in between just feels… meh. I think it’s a fun holiday movie, but it doesn’t deserve to get mentioned in the same breath as some of the greats.
Part-Time Multimedia Journalist, Sophia Valchine
My favorite holiday movie of all time, and probably just my favorite movie in general, is “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (1964). I have been watching it since I was little, and at this point I can quote almost the entire thing, which means I’ve had to start watching it by myself because my family gets annoyed at me. It’s not my fault I can’t contain all of the joy and whimsy in my heart; it’s because of this movie.
I’ve felt this way for as long as I can remember, but I’d say a big reason why I’m passionate about it is because it’s a stop-motion film. Stop-motion is my favorite media for movies, and all of my other favorites are mostly Halloween-themed, so Rudolph is something different I can enjoy.
The voices of the characters are another one of my favorite parts about this movie; they all sound so adorable and silly, and that’s why I find so much happiness in reciting it word for word, because I get to do it in a silly voice. The songs are also incredibly catchy, and I’ve been singing them since the beginning of November. I’m not someone who believes in Christmas songs before December, but I will always make an exception for Rudolph.
I love Rudolph because it isn’t perfect. I always laugh when I notice the little production mistakes that give the movie its charm. Everything animation-wise has become so overproduced and clean that I enjoy sitting down to watch a movie without crisp edges. It makes it easier to see all of the love and effort put into each singular frame, because stop-motion is an extremely tedious process. I have a feeling I will be watching Rudolph at least five times this December.
My least favorite holiday movie is “The Grinch” (2018).
Jim Carrey’s version is absolute perfection, why did we need a new animated version? The story of the Grinch is a lot more impressive when it’s pulled off in real life versus animation, so I felt pretty underwhelmed watching the animated version. This is what I was talking about earlier about animation seeming overproduced. This version of the Grinch is too clean. He’s supposed to be gross and gritty, and that doesn’t come across here. I will choose “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (2000) any day.
Volunteer Multimedia Journalist, Kristal Tiburcio
“Klaus” (2019), is one of my top favorite movies and I’d be happy to watch it at any point in the year, not just around the holidays. It’s a lot of different genres in one; it’s funny, comforting and realistic all at once. There are heavier topics touched on in the movie, which aren’t made fun of or diminished, but dealt with in a way that shows people can persevere through difficult situations. Not only that, but it also manages to be an origin story for Christmas – from a standpoint that isn’t religious, which I can very much appreciate.
I’m very passionate about this movie because it’s animated. I sometimes feel subtle hints and drops are just easier to convey through art rather than reality, and that’s especially true in “Klaus.” There’s one major reason I love it though, and it’s because one of the biggest lessons in the movie is about traditions and the change kindness can make. A lot of what goes on in the movie is about how kindness isn’t always easy, nor is it about benefiting one person or another, it’s about doing what you can and being the root of the change.
“Krampus” (2015) qualifies as bad to me, because it feels like an attempt to make a horror and holiday movie mix that fell flat. There have been so many movies that try to mix holidays and horror, with very few managing to do it well. Krampus himself felt more like an add-on to the main family plot, as a sort of deadline. Rather than Santa’s other half, Krampus feels like the big evil, when in reality he’s just doing his job. It was also the first movie to bring Krampus up as Santa’s “opposite” for some reason, and the bad press stuck.
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