There’s no better way to get into the Christmas spirit than with a festive favourite film. From longtime classics, to more recent entries into the seasonal canon, Christmas movies bring an instant boost of comfort and joy – whether fuelling the imagination with yuletide fairytales, or getting to the heart of what Christmas Day with loved ones is really like (for better or worse).
If you’re looking for a nostalgic hit of festive joy, look no further than these classic favourites, sure to conjure some Christmas magic.
Gremlins
Both sweet and subversive, Joe Dante and Chris Columbus’ classic ‘80s creature-feature is among the darkest films Steven Spielberg’s Amblin production company ever made. It all begins cosily enough, as Zach Galligan’s Billy Peltzer is gifted an adorable oddball pet for Christmas: a cuddly Mogwai. But when he breaks the three cardinal rules of caring for the creature (no bright lights, don’t get it wet, and definitely don’t feed it after midnight), little Gizmo spawns a batch of marauding Gremlins, who tear up the town of Kingston Falls with cackling glee. Murder, mayhem, and mass singalongs to Snow White ensue in a gloriously unruly Christmas horror-comedy.
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National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
Christmas with the Griswold family was never going to be straightforward. But in his pursuit of the ultimate festive break, Chevy Chase’s Clark wreaks total havoc – sometimes his own fault, but often just a victim of very bad luck. From the angry squirrel in the Christmas tree, to the arrival of deeply unwelcome family guests, to the ambitious house lights that short-circuit the entire grid, Christmas Vacation is slapstick perfection – and don’t even mention the fate of Aunt Bethany’s cat. Not only is Chase at the peak of his comedic powers, but the script from the legendary John Hughes brings a barrage of laughs.
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A Christmas Story
Bob Clark’s 1983 film is widely underseen in the UK – but it’s a major favourite in the US, a beloved classic that comes back around every year when it’s televised on a loop for 24 hours straight. Based on the stories of author Jean Shepherd, it’s set in the 1930s, and follows kid Ralphie (Peter Billingsley) through a series of comedic Christmas scenes, while yearning to receive a BB gun air rifle as his gift. If – like many Brits – you’ve never seen it before, it’s the ideal new addition to your festive film rotation.
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Elf
It’s the perfect fish-out-of-water set-up: baby grows up at the North Pole, raised by Santa’s elves, until he finds out he’s actually human, and ventures to New York to find his (gasp!) naughty-listed dad. Cue Will Ferrell in a fuzzy-felt elf outfit eating discarded gum like it’s free candy, congratulating scuzzy cafe owners on brewing the ‘World’s Best Cup Of Coffee’ (“You did it!”), and single-handedly overhauling the Christmas displays in department store Gimbels. Director Jon Favreau leans into the festive fun with stop-motion sequences, storybook illustrations, and a big beating heart – while Ferrell has rarely been funnier. Warning: Santa imitators may smell like beef and cheese.
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The Polar Express
Taking inspiration from the beloved ‘80s picture book of the same name, legendary filmmaker Robert Zemeckis brought real imagination to his take on The Polar Express – using then-nascent digital production and performance capture technologies to spin a none-more-Christmassy fable. Tom Hanks appears in multiple roles – from the conductor of the Polar Express, to Santa Claus himself – in the tale of a young kid whose belief in Father Christmas is nearly shattered, and so finds himself called aboard the titular train as it chugs all the way to the North Pole. Over the past two decades, it’s become a firm family favourite overflowing with festive razzle-dazzle.
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The Wizard Of Oz
Fine, so The Wizard Of Oz isn’t specifically a Christmas film (though it does feature some very bad weather). Still, it’s exactly the sort of classic that’s best viewed during the festive period, sat under a cosy blanket with the Christmas tree lights on. You know the story: Dorothy (Judy Garland) is transported from dull Kansas to the Technicolor land of Oz, where she teams up with a tin man, a scarecrow, and a cowardly lion as she hits the Yellow Brick Road to meet the Wizard Of Oz himself. Not far off 100 years old, it’s still dazzling to look at and utterly enchanting – and it’s impossible not to sing along to those musical numbers.
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