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Elf (2003)

We feel like Buddy when someone asks if we like Jon Favreau’s insta-classic, about a man-child elf navigating the streets of New York City. Does Will Ferrell wear tights and drop laugh bombs every time he opens his mouth? Then, YES.

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Home Alone (1990)

Fun fact: this Chris Columbus/John Hughes collaboration about a precocious eight-year-old who loves plain-cheese pizzas and terrorizing bumbling burglars is a seasonal staple in Poland. Since the ‘90s, the country continuously airs Kevin’s hijinks. And its Poles continuously tune in. We can't blame them.

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A Christmas Story (1983)

Thanks to a couple of unnamed cable networks that have nothing better to air on the big day, we get to watch the story of a bespectacled kiddo who will stop at nothing to get an “official Red Ryder, carbine-action, two-hundred-shot range model air rifle” from the man in red on a loop.

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It’s a Wonderful Life (1947)

What Citizen Kane is to Sight & Sound, It’s a Wonderful Life is to the Christmas movie pantheon. It’s just not Christmas without Frank Capra’s divine classic about a family man whose acquaintance with the bottom rung of the ladder is becoming all too familiar.

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The Family Stone (2005)

A lot goes down over Christmas in Connecticut with the Stones: drinking, smoking, freak flag flying. But above all? You feel the love. The comedy, though a legit tearjerker at times, is the equivalent to the comfort you feel while clutching a warm mug with mitts and wearing the chunkiest of sweaters.

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Love Actually (2003)

For the love of all that is corny, cliché, and hopelessly British, Love Actually is actually one of the best of its kind. A gift of hyperlinked storylines, it comes equipped with an all-star cast—from Emma Thompson to Colin Firth—foot-tapping soundtrack, and all the feels.

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National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)

If you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be? Yeah, the Griswolds. Us, too. Oh, to knock elbows with Aunt Edna, Cousin Eddie, and the rest of the idiosyncratic lampoons around their feast de résistance, a.k.a. that royally effed turkey. At least, we’ll always have this John Hughes-written classic.

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The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

What’s this? What’s this? Just Tim Burton’s animated magic starring a bony pumpkin king who's mesmerized by an enchanting place called Christmas Town. His name is Jack Skellington, and his vocals come courtesy of an enthusiastically animated Danny Elfman. Watch this; feel instantly amazing.

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Scrooged (1988)

Hat tip to all the Dickens loyalists, but we’ll take a lousy towel from a curmudgeonly Bill Murray any day. Of course, that’s not to take away from the riveting classic tale of regret and redemption this dark comedy pulls from, as well as the many subsequent remakes: ahem, The Muppet Christmas Carol.

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White Christmas (1954)

Quintessential doesn’t begin to describe this Irving Berlin masterpiece. Bing Crosby and Danny effing Kaye warble and woo their way into Christmas lovers’ hearts, leaving the holiday crowd cooing. Definitely the hap-hap-happiest ever.

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Holiday Inn (1942)

Quintessential doesn’t begin to describe this Irving Berlin masterpiece … sound familiar? It should, as White Christmas is a loose remake of this 1942 romantic musical starring—you guessed it—Bing Crosby. More déjà vu? The snowy inn is the same set piece in both films.

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Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

Kris Kringle purists know there’s no replacing George Seaton’s original miracle, which happened on a certain snowy Manhattan street in 1947 and took home three Oscars. That said, we still can’t help but fall for Les Mayfield’s 1994 remake starring Richard Attenborough as the bearded man.

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Gremlins (1984)

Have yourself a scary little Christmas—but know there are three rules when watching Zach Galligan and Phoebe Cates battle their way through an army of mini green monsters: 1) No bright lights, obviously, 2) no spilling on the sofa, and 3) always, always refill the popcorn bowl.

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The Santa Clause (1994)

Tim Allen stars as a clutch Santa who takes over the red-and-white suit when Saint Nick falls off his roof and dies. Though there’s no cinematic trailblazing to note here, it’s impossible to deny the charm of the Tool Man working that big belly.

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The Ref (1994)

Kevin Spacey, Judy Davis, and Denis Leary collide in this tongue-lashing Christmas Eve comedy about a crook who happens upon the wrong family. Gus (Leary) is forced to take a Connecticut family hostage and ends up spending the night trying to free himself of blackmail, bickering, and badgering in-laws.

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Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)

Confession: Judy Garland’s late-night cameo singing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” in The Family Stone is a tiny part of why we love Vincente Minnelli’s Technicolor musical—about a family on the verge of a move to the Big Apple—so much. Also, the transformative costumes from Irene Sharaff are a must-see.

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Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)

You never grow out of claymation. Don’t let anyone tell you any different. There’s nothing more fitting for trimming the tree than queuing up Rudolph’s run-in with the misfit toys. Afterward, settle in for another hoofed holiday adventure starring one of Rudolph’s coworkers: Prancer.

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The Preacher’s Wife (1996)

Inspired by the The Bishop’s Wife, Penny Marshall’s divine intervention tale stars Denzel Washington as an angel named Dudley and Courtney B. Vance as the churchman who’s in need of a Christmas miracle. Whitney Houston and her unparalleled vocals co-star.

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Black Christmas (2006)

A frosty chiller about a group of sorority girls who are being terrorized by a prank caller with a filthy mouth, Bob Clark’s Canadian holiday horror nips at all the right places. Read: it will thoroughly scare the crap out of you and make you thankful for the now-ubiquitous caller ID.

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Christmas in Connecticut (1945)

Because you can never have too many Christmases in Connecticut, here’s another. This one's about a Holly Housewife whose charade as a baker extraordinaire is about to go up in flames. Peter Godfrey directs Barbara Stanwyck and Dennis Morgan in a charming watch that goes best with fresh-baked cookies.

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DeAnna Janes is a freelance writer and editor for a number of sites, including Harper’s BAZAAR, Tasting Table, Fast Company and Brit + Co, and is a passionate supporter of animal causes, copy savant, movie dork and reckless connoisseur of all holidays. A native Texan living in NYC since 2005, Janes has a degree in journalism from Texas A&M and  got her start in media at US Weekly before moving on to O Magazine, and eventually becoming the entertainment editor of the once-loved, now-shuttered DailyCandy. She’s based on the Upper West Side.

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