I love Christmas, and I LOVE being able to pull out the Christmas Movies and Christmas Specials each year. I thought I would share with you 13 Christmas Specials/Movies Which Are A Must! Maybe you could recommend me your favorite. I’m always on the look out for a new one. So without further ado:
1. NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION: Without a doubt it is not Christmas until Chevy Chase utters the immortal words “We’re going to have a hap, hap, happy Christmas since Bing Crosby tapped dance with Danny Effing Kaye. Where’s the Tylenol?” This movie is absurd and gives new twist of the BIG family Christmas, and though it was filmed during the 80’s when I was the same age as Rusty, it still works today.
2. HOME ALONE 1 & 2: I hate the third. Don’t even bother watching it, but stick the original 2. Nothing like the screaming McCauley Culkin running around like a nut and defending his home from two bumbling idiot criminals. My kids are now old enough that they watch this movie now, and crack up laughing when Harry and Marv get the stuffing kicked out of them.
3. RUDOLPH THE RED NOSED REINDEER: It’s not Christmas without the old claymation classic Rankin & Bass production with the Burl Ives snowman singing Silver and Gold and learning that Bumbles do bounce. I remember anxiously awaiting for this to come on as a child and my parents making it a special night when it did air on TV. We’d cuddle up and watch it together. Now, I get to share it with my children.
4. MUPPET FAMILY CHRISTMAS: They never show this one, maybe it was the Canadian connection, but when Fozzy brings home the entire Muppet Crew home to the farm for Christmas during the worst storm of the year, well it’s enough to freeze your Winnebago. A surprise visit by the Sesame Street Characters and a giant “Smeckle Gobble Gobble” in the form of Big Bird just make this special. I mention Canadian because Fraggle Rock was filmed in Canada and in fact Gobo was given a Canadian Accent when he spoke. Great Christmas Special. I TREASURE my copy because I’ve never seen it for sale anywhere.
5. GARFIELD’S CHRISTMAS: It’s a good old fashioned Christmas down on the farm. I love Garfield and the Christmas special with Binky saves Christmas and Dockboy and the “ooooooooh” is no exception. Plus I always get teary eyed when Grandma talks about Grandpa who recently passed.
6. FROSTY THE SNOWMAN: Again another one of my favorite Rankin & Bass productions. I love Frosty being the greatest belly whopper and I too cry when he melts in the Poinsettia Greenhouse only to have Santa save the day.
7. HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS: The original version. I detested the Jim Carrey version. I much rather have the version with Boris Karloff belting out “You’re as prickly as a cactus you’re a charming as an eel” any day.
8. A CHRISTMAS STORY: “You’ll shoot your eye out kid.” Filmed around my hometown there’s nothing quite like Ralphie and his Red Rider Beebe Gun to complete Christmas. My favorite line is when the old man is about to open his major award and says. “Frageeelay, must be Italian.” “I think it says Fragile honey.”
9. THE SANTA CLAUS 1, 2 & 3: Tim Allen’s portrayal of Santa quickly edged its way in to be one of my favorites. I have all three and all three must be watched. My kids adore Tim Allen (mostly because he is the voice of Woody) but they love watching a movie about Santa.
10. GRUMPY OLD MEN: Max and John aka Walter and John, fight the way my grandfather and his best friend fought. Plus my grampie (who passed away when I was 15) was the spitting image of Walter Matthau. Watching these two old guys duke it out over Ann Margaret and their long standing grudge just makes me feel warm and fuzzy thinking about my grampie and his best friend. Plus, you can’t beat all the innuendo jokes Burgess Meredith seems to have.
11. MICKEY’S CHRISTMAS CAROL: This one is another gem I remember from my childhood, the one where Scrooge McDuck played Ebenezer Scrooge. Jimney Cricket was Christmas Past, the Giant was Christmas Present and Pete was Christmas Future (and scary to me as a child). It’s my favorite Christmas Carol version as well. I found it 2 years ago on a DVD with other fantastic Disney holiday specials and I scooped them up. Now the kids love it.
12. WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING/THE HOLIDAY/FOUR CHRISTMASES: Three Rom Coms that squeaked onto my list of movies. Although my kids detest them, I think they are fabulous Christmas Romances.
13. WHITE CHRISTMAS: I save the best for last and I always save this for Christmas Eve. My favorite holiday movie is without a doubt White Christmas. The Generals face as he walks into the room and sees his old troop there, I tear up and cry all the time. It’s the last thing I watch before Santa comes. 🙂
There are other great specials and movies that are slowly making it into filteration and ones my kids have to watch, but this is my list. What are some of your favorite Christmas specials or movies?
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