The Top 5 Christmas Movies

After a month filled with holiday shopping, festive parties, lots of food, family and friends at some point we will all throw on our favorite pair of sweat pants, plop on the couch and throw in a movie.  Since it is December a Christmas movie only seems appropriate.  There are so many great ones to choose from between classics to recent flicks.  Here are my top 5.

For number 5, I had to go with a funny one.  “Bad Santa” is what came to my mind.  I wouldn’t advise watching with anyone under the age of 13, but if you are over it and don’t mind a little vulgarity in a movie, you might want to check this one out.  Billy Bob Thornton is Bad Santa, and “bad” is an understatement.  He is naughty and drunk, everything a Santa Claus shouldn’t be which makes the movie that much funnier.

“Four Christmases” ironically is my number four pick.  This movie came out a few years ago and is not as dirty as “Bad Santa” but just as funny.  Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn are perfect together in this one, and Vince Vaughn does a great job of being absolutely hilarious without trying to be.  After avoiding their families for years on Christmas, they get stuck into visiting all four sides of their family.  Dysfunctional is the definition of each family that probably reminds most of us of our own family if not one we know.

When most people think of funny, they think of Will Ferrell.  When most people think of hilarious, they think of Will Ferrell dressed as an elf.  “Elf” is about a human who is raised by elves and actually believes he is an elf.  He has spent his entire life in the North Pole, and when he goes to New York City to find his biological father, he is in for a real surprise.  He suddenly realizes that maple syrup is not a food group and just because a sign says “the best cup of coffee” it does not mean it is really the best cup of coffee.  “Elf” makes you laugh, makes you cry and gets you in a merry mood.

Oh, “Home Alone”.  Growing up watching Macaulay Culkin, I had to put this on my list.  I am not talking about “Home Alone 2″, “4″, or however many they ended up making.  I am talking about the original, the first “Home Alone”.  Kevin, the youngest of all of his siblings, gets left behind while his entire family travels to Paris for the holidays.  At first he thinks it is the greatest thing ever, making his own pizza and jumping on his parents bed until he realizes two burglars are trying to break in his house.  He thinks of sneaky tricks and traps to stop the burglars and bring them justice.  If you haven’t seen “Home Alone”, this is a must. Get up, go now, do it before you even finish Christmas shopping.  It is really that good.

I had to put a classic for the number one Christmas movie.  Most of you can probably guess what I am going to pick, “A Christmas Vacation”.  It came out in 1989, and there has never been anything else like it.  While the Griswald’s are planning for a family celebration, everything under their roof goes wrong.  “A Christmas Vacation” becomes more like a Christmas disaster and will have you laughing until you cry.  If not, you will learn what to avoid on the holidays in your own home.  Rent this classic and no matter how bad your holiday may seem, you will soon realize that it could always be worse.