The Eight Best Classic Christmas Movies To Watch And Why

It’s the holiday season again. That means seeing family members, eating way too much food, and streaming those classic Christmas movies we can’t seem to get enough of.

We took an unscientific look at the holiday movies produced over the last 50-plus years and compiled a list of the top eight Christmas films and why they should be added to your watchlists.

Starting with the best Christmas film of all-time and counting down the rest, this list can be watched in any order because every single one of them are true gems!

“It’s A Wonderful Life”

Released in theaters in 1946, the Frank Capra-directed film stars screen legends James Stewart and Donna Reed. The movie was huge for Stewart’s career after the actor returned home weary from the war and initially turned down the role, as previously reported.

The film centers on “an angel” who is “sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman,” named George Bailey, “by showing him what life would have been like if he had never” been born.

The themes of the film deal with dark subjects like suicide and greed, but also love and faith. It was not a box office success when it came out, and as one writer noted, the fact this movie has grown in success over the years says a lot about how our culture has changed.

It’s hard not to root for George, who seems to always be stopped from accomplishing his huge dreams. Not to be a spoiler, but through a series of events, Bailey becomes hopeless and decides that everyone would be better off if he were dead. Luckily, for Bailey, an angel intervenes and reminds him of all the reasons his life is worth living.

On Tuesday, Fathom Events announced that Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will bring this wonderful movie back to the big screen on December 18 and December 21 in honor of the film’s 75th anniversary. Proving once again why audiences love this movie and generation after generation point to it as the greatest Christmas film of all time.

“White Christmas” 

Released in 1954, the Irving Berlin movie features some of the era’s biggest stars like Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, and Rosemary Clooney. White Christmas celebrates our greatest heroes, those who sacrifice everything and go off to fight in wars, only to find when they come back they’re often forgotten.

A description on IMDb reads, “A successful song-and-dance team become romantically involved with a sister act and team up to save the failing Vermont inn of their former commanding general.”

The movie deals in themes of love of country, family, and faith. One writer noted a great moral viewers learn from this movie is “support loved ones when times are hard.” Unlike “It’s A Wonderful Life,” this film was a huge box office hit upon release, and became the second-highest-grossing film of that year, behind “The Caine Mutiny,” Parade noted, bringing in $12 million at the time.

“Miracle On 34th Street” 

Out in theaters in 1947, “Miracle on 34th Street” was directed by George Seaton and stars Maureen O’Hara, Natalie Wood and Edmund Gwenn. This beloved classic is all about believing in the magic of Christmas and Jolly Old Saint Nick.

The film centers on a divorced New York mother who “hires a nice old man to play Santa Claus at Macy’s,” when “she is startled by his claim to be the genuine article. When his sanity is questioned, a lawyer defends him in court by arguing that he’s not mistaken.”

“Miracle on 34th Street” harkens back to those feelings of being an innocent child and believing in Santa Claus. It’s a fun holiday movie about the power of love and family.

One of the biggest themes of the film is the necessity of faith, especially when all hope is lost. And the sweet romance that builds in the background of this whimsical tale will have you believing too.

“Elf” 

Directed by Jon Favreau and starring Will Ferrell, Bob Newhart, and James Caan, “Elf” released in theaters in 2003.

Ferrell’s character ‘Buddy’ is “raised as an oversized elf” who “travels from the North Pole to New York City to meet his biological father, Walter Hobbs, who doesn’t know he exists and is in desperate need of some Christmas spirit.”

I have to admit, when the trailers for this one originally came out I was convinced it was going to be a huge disappointment and waste of my time. Several years went by before I finally watched it, and I must confess, I was dead wrong. There will still be those who will see this inclusion and not be pleased, but I had to include it because it has all the makings of a true classic.

Elf is filled with themes of love of family, greed, and forgiveness. And just like old George Bailey discovered, one person can truly make a difference in so many people’s