Every season has its traditions, and for many, curling up with a favorite holiday film, show or book tops the list.
While we know it’s difficult to narrow down the most popular ones, we’ve shortlisted our favorite six.
From an elf to an armadillo to icons like Rudolph and the Peanuts gang, we’re pretty sure our roundup will make you want to start shopping, baking and decorating for another fun, festive holiday.
Home Alone
Rated: PG
There’s a reason why every December there are constant reruns of “Home Alone.” It’s one of the highest-grossing live action comedies in the United States and we’re pretty sure we know why. This movie, filmed in 1990, has it all — comedy, drama and even a little suspense.
Macauley Culkin plays Kevin McCallister, an eight-year-old who believes he made his family disappear, when really they had mistakenly left him behind in their mad rush to the airport to start their Christmas vacation.
Young viewers watch with envy as Kevin does what he wants without grownups around to reprimand him — jump on beds, rummage through his brother’s room and eat ice cream for dinner. He also uses his father’s aftershave for the first time and that scene — where he feels the burn on his cheeks and screams to high heaven — has been called one of the most iconic moments in movie history.
Kevin also learns the downside of being alone, including having to scare off the infamous wet bandits, two robbers who planned to break into Kevin’s home and steal what they could over the holiday break. In the end, the family is reunited, reminding us that the holidays are less about presents and more about the love and comfort a family can bring.
It’s A Wonderful Life
Rated: PG
This Christmas classic, produced and directed by Frank Capra, is about a man who is shown by his guardian angel what life would have been like had he never been born.
Though “It’s a Wonderful Life” was released in 1946, it didn’t gain popularity until the mid-1970s and has since been recognized by the American Film Institute as one of the top 100 films of all time.
Actor Jimmy Stewart, who played the lead role as George Bailey, was hesitant to begin acting so soon after returning from World War II, where he served as a colonel in the U.S. Army Air Corps. Fortunately, he said yes, and years later, he and his co-star, Donna Reed, said it was the greatest film they’d ever made.
The film focuses on the value of friendship and community, as well as the importance of helping others. It shares the idea that being kind and generous is much more rewarding than being wrapped up in our own world, and, even if we don’t always realize it, we can make a big positive difference in the lives of others. Perhaps that’s why every year, around this time, people who have already seen the film a hundred times sit down to watch it yet once again, so they too can be reminded that they have a wonderful life.
Elf
Rated: PG
The top holiday movies all seem to share a theme — the importance of family. The hit movie “Elf,” starring comedic genius Will Ferrell, also shares this sentiment as Buddy the Elf, played by Ferrell, ventures to New York City in search of his biological father.
Buddy’s naivete and often childish personality makes for great comedy as he attempts to navigate the real world, all while wearing an elf costume and tights. Lessons learned from the film include loving others for who they are, not who we want them to be, and that, yes, you can eat spaghetti, candy and maple syrup for breakfast. The scene of Buddy inhaling that strange combination had to be filmed twice because it’s been said that Ferrell vomited after the first take. Buddy’s love of sweets came at a price for Ferrell, who endured headaches from all of the sugar he had to consume for the film.
When “Elf” was released in 2003, the movie made $220 million worldwide, not bad for a film with a $33 million budget. Though it never won any awards, it remains a family favorite mostly because it does what most of us don’t do enough of — laugh.
A Charlie Brown Christmas
Rated: G
Most of us at one time or another have likely felt bogged down by the materialism of Christmas. Turns out Charles Schulz felt the same, even in 1965.
The creator of the comic strip, “Peanuts,” brought to life the television special “A Charlie Brown Christmas” to tell the story of a boy who is trying to find a deeper meaning of the holiday. In the animated television special he discovers a tree with just a few needles covering its branches. At the end of the show, the character Linus makes a speech about the true meaning of the holiday, which encourages the gang to decorate the flimsy tree, turning it into something beautiful.
Even though Schulz wasn’t a fan of jazz, he agreed to have the late award-winning American jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi compose the score for the holiday special, including the timeless song, “Christmas Time is Here.” The music is just as iconic as the show, which is why the album is one of the most beloved holiday albums of all time. For many, the holidays simply wouldn’t feel the same without watching the show and hearing the soundtrack at least once.
And here’s a fun fact for fans of the show — while the voices of Charlie Brown, Linus and the other main character, Lucy, were professional child actors, the other characters were actually voices of children who lived in the producer’s California neighborhood. Some were so young that they couldn’t read the script, so they had to memorize the lines.
Friends Episode — The One With The Holiday Armadillo
Though the iconic comedy series, “Friends,” has many memorable episodes, one of our favorites was Season 7, Episode 10, when Ross, played by David Schwimmer, dressed up as an armadillo to teach his son Ben about his Jewish heritage.
In the episode, his son’s mother recognizes Christmas, but Ross celebrates Hanukkah. Ross wanted Ben to learn about the holiday, but his son wasn’t excited about Hanukkah. He knew Santa Claus wasn’t part of the tradition, and he wondered why Santa wouldn’t want to visit him.
In an attempt to make Ben happy, Ross tried to rent a Santa Claus costume to wear to surprise Ben, but all the suits had been rented, so he was stuck with a funny armadillo costume.
That episode, which aired in 2000, is still a fan favorite and has had so much popularity that even retailers continue to profit. Build-a-Bear Workshop offers a Holiday Armadillo costume for their bears. Wayfair sells armadillo throw pillows and those wanting to purchase a Holiday Armadillo baby onesie can do so at an apparel shop called Modern Tribe
Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
Rated: G
“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” was written in 1939 by Robert May, a copywriter for Montgomery Ward who was assigned to write a holiday story. The department store handed out more than two million copies of the story to customers that season, and readers loved it. (Instead of using Rudolph, May considered using Romeo, Rodney and Reginald. Can you imagine saying any of those other names?)
Nine years later, the story was turned into an animated short film, and it was also the inspiration for the catchy “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” tune by the singing cowboy/actor Gene Autry in 1949.
Rudolph was the only flying reindeer with a shiny red nose, making him feel like an outcast and rejected. Eventually Rudolph was embraced because he was different, reminding viewers that everyone is special in their own way.
The animation has been remade a few times since the original debut, including the 1964 stop-motion animated special that features Burl Ives narrating the story and voicing the character of Sam the Snowman. That version has been on television screens annually for more than 50 years.
Top Holiday Reads
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr.
Seuss — This book is a great example of how powerful the Christmas spirit really is, as it even converts this cranky creature in the end. Its rhymed verse makes it a fun one to read to young children. It’s a reminder that even our grouchy friends can be won over by the spirit of Christmas. Ages: 2+
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott — These sisters — Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy — have been stealing the hearts of readers since this classic first debuted in the late 1800s. Alcott wrote four books in the series. While “Little Women” covers different time frames, it begins and ends with Christmas scenes, making it a popular book for the holiday. Ages: 8-12
The Nightmare Before Christmas by Tim Burton — The pumpkin king of Halloween Town, Jack Skellington, is bored with Halloween and the same traditions every year. To spice things up, he decides to kidnap Santa Claus and take on the role himself, but things don’t go as planned. Ages: 8-12
The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg — This Christmas classic is a beautiful picture book that tells the story of a boy who is beginning to wonder if Santa Claus is real. He takes a magical train to the North Pole on Christmas Eve and sees for himself how magical Christmas really is. Ages: 2-7
All-of-a-Kind Family Hanukkah by Emily Jenkins — Gertie is the youngest of five sisters living in the Lower East Side of New York City in 1912. The family is preparing for Hanukkah, and Gertie is sent to her room because she was mad she couldn’t help make latkes. Her father eventually talks to her, and Gertie is chosen to light the first candle on the menorah. Ages: 3-7.
Meet the Latkes by Alan Silberberg — The Latke family are potato pancakes that are celebrating Hanukkah. They aren’t very smart, which is why Grandpa Latke tells a Hanukkah story about crazy things that never happened, like a giant dreidel that fights evil potatoes. The book is a fun way to explain to children the meaning of Hanukkah, and its silliness makes it a favorite for families. Ages: 3-5.