Holiday Movies

Everyone is posting what they’re watching this holiday season, so I thought I would join in. I don’t watch a lot of tv. When I was younger, and chronic insomnia kicked in, it was a means to an end when I couldn’t sleep. But back then, cable was limited, and stations shut off between 12 and 1 am. I was trying to explain that to my daughter. She was like, so you just stayed awake all night with no tv? That’s exactly what I did. Nowadays, thanks to a combo of sleep meds, I sleep many nights. But I still don’t tend to watch much tv, and what I do watch is mostly older.

As such, many of our yearly movies are older or not really holiday-themed. I thought it would be fun to share with you the ones that we are sure to watch every year.

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Emmet Otter’s Jugband Christmas
1977

I have such a soft spot for this one. It reminds me of my childhood.

About: A poor otter family risks everything for the chance to win the cash prize of a talent contest for Christmas.

March of the Wooden Soldiers
1934

Gah, I just love Laurel and Hardy.

About: Opposing the evil Barnaby, Ollie Dee and Stanley Dum try and fail to pay-off Mother Peep’s mortgage and mislead his attempts to marry Little Bo. Enraged, Barnaby’s Bogeymen are set on Toyland.

Love Actually
2003

This one is my daughter’s favorite.

About: Follows the lives of eight very different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London, England.

The Wizard of Oz
1939

I adore Judy Garland; she’ll be on this list twice. I know this isn’t traditionally a holiday movie for most people, but this movie makes the holidays, which are hard, a bit better.

About: Young Dorothy Gale and her dog Toto are swept away by a tornado from their Kansas farm to the magical Land of Oz, and embark on a quest with three new friends to see the Wizard, who can return her to her home and fulfill the others’ wishes.

The Family Stone
2005

Tears, so many tears. The only thing I adore more than Diane Keaton is Diane Keaton and Rachel McAdams together in a movie backed up by an amazing cast.

About: An uptight, conservative businesswoman accompanies her boyfriend to his eccentric and outgoing family’s annual Christmas celebration and finds that she’s a fish out of water in their free-spirited way of life.

The Ghost and Mr. Chicken
1966

Don Knotts is wonderful in this movie, and this one really makes this time of year feel special.

About: A timid typesetter hasn’t a ghost of a chance of becoming a reporter – until he decides to solve a murder mystery and ends up spending a fright-filled night in a haunted house.

Meet Me in St. Louis
1944

I did warn you Judy would be on here twice. This one always makes me cry.

About: Young love and childish fears highlight a year in the life of a turn-of-the-century family.

The Princess Bride
1987

Even though this doesn’t scream holidays, it does to us. Anything that makes you feel good should be included during the holidays.

About: While home sick in bed, a young boy’s grandfather reads him the story of a farmboy-turned-pirate who encounters numerous obstacles, enemies and allies in his quest to be reunited with his true love.

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There you have it! These are the ones we absolutely watch every December. There are others that we rotate in, popular ones like The Snowman, Rudolph, Charlie Brown Christmas, and the like, but we don’t watch those every year.

Do you have certain movies you watch every year at this time?
Are any of them considered non-holiday movies?