My List of 30 Christmas Movies

Unless you have been in a cave the past month, chances are that if you are a classic movie fan you have heard about the new book from Turner Classic Movies, Christmas in the Movies by Jeremy Arnold. I am really looking forward to reading this book, as I am a big fan of both Jeremy Arnold and Christmas movies. That having been said, I have seen the list of movies included in the book and, while it is a very good list, my personal list would be somewhat different. I thought then I would go ahead and make my own list of 30 Christmas movies.

Now I am going to admit that my list has a lot in common with Mr. Arnold's list. I am also going to admit that I based what I included in my list on my own criteria for what is and isn't a Christmas movie. I did a blog post on this many years ago, but in case you don't want to read that post, here are my criteria. 1. Most of the movie must be set during the holiday season. 2. Christmas must have a significant impact on the plot of the film. 3. The film must have strong themes related to the holidays. Now a movie does not have meet all of these criteria to be a Christmas movie for me. If a movie meets one of these criteria, that is fine by me. That having been said, they must meet at least one of them. I adore Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) and it is one of my all time favourite movies, but I do not consider it to be a Christmas movie any more than I think of it as a Halloween movie.

I also have to say that a degree of subjectivity played a role in compiling this list. I did not include any films that I do not like. While many people love National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989) and Elf (2003), I don't like either movie. I will admit I do not love all of these movies (I enjoy Home Alone, but it is not one of my absolute favourites), but I at least had to like them to include them! For those who are wondering what are my favourite holiday films, here are the top five: 1. The Apartment (1960); 2. It's a Wonderful Life (1947); 3. Christmas in Connecticut (1944); 4. The Thin Man (1934); and 5. Miracle on 34th Street (1947). I probably like The Thin Man better than Christmas in Connecticut, but I think Christmas in Connecticut is much more of a Christmas movie!

Anyway, here is my list of 30 Christmas movies:

The Thin Man (1934)
A Christmas Carol (1938)
Remember the Night (1940)
The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
Beyond Tomorrow (1940)
Meet John Doe (1941)
The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942)
Holiday Inn (1942)
I'll Be Seeing You (1944)
Christmas in Connecticut (1944)
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
It Happened on Fifth Avenue (1947)
3 Godfathers (1948)
Holiday Affair (1949)
The Lemon Drop Kid (1951)
A Christmas Carol (also known as Scrooge 1951)
The Holly and the Ivy (1952)
Susan Slept Here (1954)
We're No Angels (1955)
Bell, Book and Candle (1958)
The Apartment (1960)
The Lion in Winter (1968)
Scrooge (1970)
A Christmas Story (1983)
Gremlins (1984)
Die Hard (1988)
Home Alone (1990)
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Love Actually (2003)