By Isabel Santanilla
Photo by Isabel Santanilla
As the weather gets colder and winter break draws closer, the season of holiday movie watching arrives. Whether funny animations or feel-good movies are more your speed, this list has a movie for you. Find all your holiday movie recommendations here, and where to watch them, so you can get into the holiday spirit.
1. Home Alone. It’s only right to start out this list with a true masterpiece of a holiday movie. It checks all of the boxes: it’s funny, sweet, cozy, and entertaining. Home Alone is about a spoiled but sweet little boy named Kevin who accidentally gets left home alone while his family goes on vacation for the holidays. This movie can be found on Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and Apple TV.
2. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. The 1992 follow-up to Home Alone brings that same cozy feeling as the first, but with a twist and a new location. New York makes every holiday move 10 times more cozy. NYC is the perfect backdrop to this funny, mischievous movie following Kevin McCallister. Home Alone 2 can be watched on Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and Apple TV.
3. The Grinch. This 2018 reimagined classic sets the perfect scene for the holidays. The animation is beautiful, and the story is a sweet rendition of the classic. Whoville dressed up in lights with the huge Christmas tree gives a cozy feeling to anyone who watches. This heartwarming and hilarious movie is about a grumpy, green man who tries to steal Christmas. This heartwarming movie is available on Amazon Prime Video, Peacock, and Apple TV.
4. A Christmas Story. Everyone has wanted a Christmas present really bad before, and Ralphie Parker, the main character, is no different. This movie follows Ralphie trying to convince his parents to buy him his dream gift. A Christmas Story is a family favorite, and everyone should watch it once in their lifetime. It’s available to stream on Disney+, Amazon Prime, Apple TV.
5. The Santa Clause. This film paints an imaginative picture of how Santa Claus gets passed down from one Santa to the next through a clause. The plot is creative, and it gives a unique twist to the Christmas figurehead Santa Claus. Tim Allen brings to life the funny, sarcastic Scott Calvin. You can stream The Santa Clause on Disney+, YouTube, Apple TV, and Amazon Prime Video.
6. Elf. This movie is a hilarious future classic, and it will be watched for generations. Elf shines a light through the seasonal winter depression, and it can make the coldest heart warm. It’s a combination of the funny and heartwarming with the perfect New York City backdrop. It’s available for streaming on Max, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube TV, and Apple TV.
7. Die Hard. This action-packed movie provides a nice change of pace from the usual holiday movies. Despite the wide debate over whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie, it deserves to be on this list. The movie is about an off-duty police officer saves an office Christmas party that is being held hostage. Die Hard is available on Hulu, Amazon Prime, Peacock, Disney +, and Apple TV.
8. Aurther Christmas. Most people don’t know this movie, but it is heartwarming, and has a really sweet story line. Arthur Christmas follows Aurther Claus, Grand-Santa, and Bryony the elf as they rush to deliver a Christmas present to a girl who got missed. The story is super sweet, the movie is funny, and it is slept-on in my opinion. If you want to watch Aurther Christmas, you can find it on Hulu, Apple TV, and Amazon Prime Video.
9. The Polar Express. Every year my family watches this movie on Christmas Eve, and it is a great addition to anyone’s Christmas movie list. The story is about children getting picked up on Christmas Eve night by the Polar Express, so they can go see Santa Claus. This movie is sweet, topsy-turvy, and suspenseful at times. You can watch The Polar Express on Max, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video.
10 & 11. A Charlie Brown Christmas and Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer. This list would not be complete without these two true classics. Both of these films are shorter than your average movie, which makes it easy to squeeze them in during the busy holiday season. A Charlie Brown Christmas is beloved around the holiday season and should definitely be on your movie radar if it’s not already. Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer is a cute claymation made-for-TV movie from the 1960s that portrays the backstory of Rudolph.You can stream A Charlie Brown Christmas on Apple TV, and Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer on Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video.
12. The Red One. Every movie on this list has been around for a little while, so I thought it would only be right to end this list with a new movie. The Red One starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Chris Evans is about the North Pole’s head of security and a hacker working together to save Santa Claus from his kidnappers. You can watch this movie in theaters this holiday season.
I hope you add some of these movies to your holiday movie list this year, and make some new traditions. If you aren’t a fan of movies, holiday TV-show specials are always a great alternative. I hope everyone has a great holiday season and watch some great movies!
