Top 10 Favourite: Christmas Films
It's that time of year again to get out the films that we only watch once a year (for most of us anyway!) but it's actually a good thing as it means we never really tire of watching them! So here we go with my top 10 Christmas film list:
Elf (2003)
Starting off with a Christmas film that is hugely popular. I like to watch Elf every year as part of a Christmas tradition, along with a few more films on this list. Although, I was absolutely gutted last year when it didn't air at all on TV throughout the festive period as the studio that made the film apparently didn't allow any networks the rights to show it. Well, bah humbug to them, I say! Why they made that decision, I don't know but I'm hoping this year they will have more Christmas spirit about them and allow people to enjoy the film that they made! Anyway I digress, if you haven't yet seen this film, where have you been?! (Says the person who's never seen The Grinch!) The plot of the film sees Will Ferrell's character, Buddy the elf, go on an adventure to New York from the North Pole to find his biological father. Will Ferrell being incredibly funny, sweet and charming, as he is in most of his roles, makes this a really great Christmas film.
Love Actually (2003)
On to another incredibly popular Christmas film, especially in the UK, this is one film that never fails to make an appearance during Christmas. To be fair, this film being classed as a rom-com means its actually on all year round and not just subject to the Christmas period. This film has a cast that's packed to the rafters with every well-known British actor you can think of making an appearance from Hugh Grant to Emma Thompson. Showing a number of different love stories all rolled in to one, unrequited love, young love and falling in love even though there's a language barrier. Proving love can happen any time, anywhere, anyhow. (Sorry got a bit too mushy there!) All that being said, it will definitely leave you feeling all warm and fuzzy after watching it.
Arthur Christmas (2011)
Now this is a really cute British animated Christmas film. We see lovely Arthur, the son of Santa Claus, working hard replying to all of the children's letters that get sent to the North Pole. Unfortunately with Arthur, seen to be a bit hapless, Arthur's older brother is next in line to be Santa once their father, the current Santa, retires. However when a present gets left behind, they run the risk of the gift failing to be delivered. Arthur however, goes above and beyond to make sure it gets delivered on time, showing just how much he cares and therefore that he is possibly the better option to become the new Santa. This film also has an array of British names lending their voices to the characters, including James McAvoy and Hugh Laurie.
Home Alone (1990)
Next on the list is pretty much a classic. I'm not sure if there is anyone that hasn't seen this film but is another one that is shown every Christmas without fail. More a film set at Christmas rather than being about Christmas, young Kevin gets left, you guessed it, home alone, when his very large family decide to go away for Christmas. However I don't think they quite bank on leaving a child behind after they clearly fail to do a thorough headcount. Poor Kevin has a rough time of it alone when burglars try to break in to his home, which Kevin is determined to protect, so sets up a load of traps that the idiotic burglars fall for. With Kevin ending up getting the better of the bad guys, and his family all making it back just in time for Christmas Day, it makes for a great at feel good, and at times, hilarious film.
Nativity! (2009)
I love this film and it's another one of my Christmas film traditions. This film really feels like you are just watching a show about a British primary school trying to put on a better than ever school nativity! You have the wonderful teaching assistant, Mr Poppy who is a little bit whacky but all the kids love and teacher Mr Maddens who isn't very happy after breaking up with his long-term girlfriend, and is constantly annoyed by Mr Poppy's irresponsible behaviour. With some great original songs, great cast and some really heart-warming and funny moments you can't really go wrong, so this is definitely one you'll want to watch with all the family.
Miracle On 34th Street (1994)
A remake of the original 1947 film, this time it's the wonderful Richard Attenborough playing Santa/Kris Kringle. After being hired by Dorey to be the new Santa at Cole's department store, he soon meets Dorey's 6 year old daughter Susan (Mara Wilson) who is sceptical about Santa's existence thanks to her Mother who is a non-believer. Next door neighbour and Dorey's boyfriend, Bryan, takes it upon himself to try and convince Susan that Santa does in fact exist. When a rival store try to get Kris sectioned in order to stop him being Cole's Santa, based on the fact that he believes himself to be the real Santa, it's up to lawyer Bryan and Kris to convince the world that he isn't crazy and is actually telling the truth. Richard Attenborough does a brilliant job of bringing Santa to life so if you haven't already seen this film it's definitely one to watch this Christmas!
The Holiday (2006)
This big budget Hollywood film has big names like Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz at the helm for another great Christmas rom-com. With Jude law and Jack Black playing the leading men you already have the promise of a great movie. When Kate Winslet's character, Iris, decides to get away for a few weeks to get away from an ex-boyfriend, she looks to LA. Unbeknown to her, on the other side of the Atlantic is Amanda (Cameron Diaz) wanting to do the exact same thing and escape LA and also an ex. Both women end up house swapping but both end up falling for new people. The question is, can living in different counties mean they were nothing but holiday flings or are they something more serious? The holiday definitely has a different feel to Love Actually as it's far more intimate with just the two stories and only four main characters, but it still offers everything you could want in a rom-com so if that's what you're after then this is definitely one to cosy up to this Christmas.
The Santa Clause (1994)
Ah, my absolute favourite Christmas film! I have such fond memories of watching this film as a child that it's also nostalgia that plays a big part in me loving it so much. Despite my nostalgia this is still a great film so much so that it spurned two sequels, one of which I have added to this list. Tim Allen play Scott Calvin a divorcee who is looking after his son on Christmas Eve when he finds Santa on his roof but when Santa falls off it turns to Scott to take over the role of being Santa. We see Scott's reluctance to becoming the new Santa but can son Charlie convince him of how great it could be? This is a very heartfelt film about Christmas but also a father and son relationship and how this extraordinary situation brings them closer together.
The Santa Clause 2 (2002)
In this sequel, Santa is on a quest to find a Mrs Claus after being told that he has to marry by Christmas Eve or he will have to give up being Santa forever. Not only does Santa/Scott have all of that to deal with he later discovers that son Charlie is on the naughty list after misbehaving at school. This leads to Scott trying to win round no-nonsense head teacher, Carol who Scott ends up falling for. Could Carol be the new Mrs Claus? Admittedly, this isn't as good as the original film but considering a lot of sequels can be terrible this film still manages to be fun and entertaining. Plus, it's always nice to revisit old characters and see what they're up to years later.
Get Santa (2014)
This one is a bit of an out there choice as I only watched this film for the first time last year, however I really enjoyed it. Once again another British film (who knew there was so many good British Christmas films out there?!) which I expect a lot of people haven't seen before so you should definitely give it a try this year. When 9 year old Tom finds Santa (Jim Broadbent) in his garden shed after his sleigh breaks and his reindeers have ran off, it's up to Tom and Dad Steve (Rafe Spall) to help round all the reindeer up and get them and Santa back to the North Pole in time for Christmas Eve. But with lots of obstacles in their way, will they make it in time? I'm not going to lie, at one point this film did unexpectedly make me well up, so bear that in mind!
Let me know in the comments below which your favourite Christmas films are!
Elf (2003)
Love Actually (2003)
On to another incredibly popular Christmas film, especially in the UK, this is one film that never fails to make an appearance during Christmas. To be fair, this film being classed as a rom-com means its actually on all year round and not just subject to the Christmas period. This film has a cast that's packed to the rafters with every well-known British actor you can think of making an appearance from Hugh Grant to Emma Thompson. Showing a number of different love stories all rolled in to one, unrequited love, young love and falling in love even though there's a language barrier. Proving love can happen any time, anywhere, anyhow. (Sorry got a bit too mushy there!) All that being said, it will definitely leave you feeling all warm and fuzzy after watching it.
Arthur Christmas (2011)
Now this is a really cute British animated Christmas film. We see lovely Arthur, the son of Santa Claus, working hard replying to all of the children's letters that get sent to the North Pole. Unfortunately with Arthur, seen to be a bit hapless, Arthur's older brother is next in line to be Santa once their father, the current Santa, retires. However when a present gets left behind, they run the risk of the gift failing to be delivered. Arthur however, goes above and beyond to make sure it gets delivered on time, showing just how much he cares and therefore that he is possibly the better option to become the new Santa. This film also has an array of British names lending their voices to the characters, including James McAvoy and Hugh Laurie.
Home Alone (1990)
Next on the list is pretty much a classic. I'm not sure if there is anyone that hasn't seen this film but is another one that is shown every Christmas without fail. More a film set at Christmas rather than being about Christmas, young Kevin gets left, you guessed it, home alone, when his very large family decide to go away for Christmas. However I don't think they quite bank on leaving a child behind after they clearly fail to do a thorough headcount. Poor Kevin has a rough time of it alone when burglars try to break in to his home, which Kevin is determined to protect, so sets up a load of traps that the idiotic burglars fall for. With Kevin ending up getting the better of the bad guys, and his family all making it back just in time for Christmas Day, it makes for a great at feel good, and at times, hilarious film.
Nativity! (2009)
I love this film and it's another one of my Christmas film traditions. This film really feels like you are just watching a show about a British primary school trying to put on a better than ever school nativity! You have the wonderful teaching assistant, Mr Poppy who is a little bit whacky but all the kids love and teacher Mr Maddens who isn't very happy after breaking up with his long-term girlfriend, and is constantly annoyed by Mr Poppy's irresponsible behaviour. With some great original songs, great cast and some really heart-warming and funny moments you can't really go wrong, so this is definitely one you'll want to watch with all the family.
Miracle On 34th Street (1994)
A remake of the original 1947 film, this time it's the wonderful Richard Attenborough playing Santa/Kris Kringle. After being hired by Dorey to be the new Santa at Cole's department store, he soon meets Dorey's 6 year old daughter Susan (Mara Wilson) who is sceptical about Santa's existence thanks to her Mother who is a non-believer. Next door neighbour and Dorey's boyfriend, Bryan, takes it upon himself to try and convince Susan that Santa does in fact exist. When a rival store try to get Kris sectioned in order to stop him being Cole's Santa, based on the fact that he believes himself to be the real Santa, it's up to lawyer Bryan and Kris to convince the world that he isn't crazy and is actually telling the truth. Richard Attenborough does a brilliant job of bringing Santa to life so if you haven't already seen this film it's definitely one to watch this Christmas!
The Holiday (2006)
This big budget Hollywood film has big names like Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz at the helm for another great Christmas rom-com. With Jude law and Jack Black playing the leading men you already have the promise of a great movie. When Kate Winslet's character, Iris, decides to get away for a few weeks to get away from an ex-boyfriend, she looks to LA. Unbeknown to her, on the other side of the Atlantic is Amanda (Cameron Diaz) wanting to do the exact same thing and escape LA and also an ex. Both women end up house swapping but both end up falling for new people. The question is, can living in different counties mean they were nothing but holiday flings or are they something more serious? The holiday definitely has a different feel to Love Actually as it's far more intimate with just the two stories and only four main characters, but it still offers everything you could want in a rom-com so if that's what you're after then this is definitely one to cosy up to this Christmas.
The Santa Clause (1994)
Ah, my absolute favourite Christmas film! I have such fond memories of watching this film as a child that it's also nostalgia that plays a big part in me loving it so much. Despite my nostalgia this is still a great film so much so that it spurned two sequels, one of which I have added to this list. Tim Allen play Scott Calvin a divorcee who is looking after his son on Christmas Eve when he finds Santa on his roof but when Santa falls off it turns to Scott to take over the role of being Santa. We see Scott's reluctance to becoming the new Santa but can son Charlie convince him of how great it could be? This is a very heartfelt film about Christmas but also a father and son relationship and how this extraordinary situation brings them closer together.
The Santa Clause 2 (2002)
In this sequel, Santa is on a quest to find a Mrs Claus after being told that he has to marry by Christmas Eve or he will have to give up being Santa forever. Not only does Santa/Scott have all of that to deal with he later discovers that son Charlie is on the naughty list after misbehaving at school. This leads to Scott trying to win round no-nonsense head teacher, Carol who Scott ends up falling for. Could Carol be the new Mrs Claus? Admittedly, this isn't as good as the original film but considering a lot of sequels can be terrible this film still manages to be fun and entertaining. Plus, it's always nice to revisit old characters and see what they're up to years later.
Get Santa (2014)
This one is a bit of an out there choice as I only watched this film for the first time last year, however I really enjoyed it. Once again another British film (who knew there was so many good British Christmas films out there?!) which I expect a lot of people haven't seen before so you should definitely give it a try this year. When 9 year old Tom finds Santa (Jim Broadbent) in his garden shed after his sleigh breaks and his reindeers have ran off, it's up to Tom and Dad Steve (Rafe Spall) to help round all the reindeer up and get them and Santa back to the North Pole in time for Christmas Eve. But with lots of obstacles in their way, will they make it in time? I'm not going to lie, at one point this film did unexpectedly make me well up, so bear that in mind!
Let me know in the comments below which your favourite Christmas films are!
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