1. Love, Actually
2. Home Alone
3. E.L.F.
4. A Christmas Story
5. Jim Carrey Grinch

Love, Actually (2003)

My favourite Christmas movie of all time is Love, Actually. The movie documents progression of nine different relationships; as the movie goes on, more is revealed about the connections between the relationships (family, friendships, etc). I love how not all of the relationships are romantic and how some don’t work out. This adds a level of realism not usually in Christmas movies, since not everything ends perfectly but there is still a happy and grateful attitude.

The acting is phenomenal, with my personal favourite characters being the Prime Minister and Jamie. Colin Firth and Hugh Grant are my guilty pleasure actors; the period dramas Maurice and Pride and Prejudice are some of my favourite movies. Their acting in this movie is wonderful and the people they are paired with (Natalie and Aurelia, respectively) compliment their characters’ personalities perfectly.

Home Alone (1990)

I’m well aware that Home Alone isn’t the best example of a Christmas Movie, but the movie is centered around a Christmas resolution and is set in the wintertime, which is enough for me. Home Alone tells the story of the few days leading up to Christmas, where a little boy (Kevin McAllister) is left at home by his rambunctious family when they go to France for Christmas. He is left to fend for himself, and during the time between his family’s departure and their return home, he must defend himself from burglars.

The plot of this movie is absolutely amazing. Despite being completely unrealistic, the pure genius of Kevin and how adorable young Macaulay Culkin is destroys any possible complaints. I really relate to him in the beginning of the movie where he is being verbally obliterated by members of his family (#bigfamilyprobs). The way he handles the burglars and how he goes from being absolutely terrified to having a warlike resolution that surpasses his very few years is impressive and honestly intimidating.

E.L.F. (2003)

E.L.F. is the quintessential Christmas movie. It follows the journey of Buddy the “Elf” (he’s a human) as he travels from the North Pole to New York City to find his dad, who’s on the naughty list. It is a truly terrible movie but in the best way possible. The plot is bad, the acting is meh, but those qualities combined with the dumb, happy comedy and hilarious, clumsy romance make it (somehow) great.

Bad/good movies have a special place in my heart, and E.L.F. is definitely one of those. It was my first Christmas movie and since then, even as I begin to understand how dumb the movie is, I find that I can’t help but like it. Also, in the Love Actually: Red Nose Day special, the Prime Minister (Hugh Grant) calls it the best Christmas movie, so…

A Christmas Story (1983)

A Christmas Story is an adorable movie that is literally only about a kid, Ralphie Shepard, who really wants a red ryder BB gun. The movie doesn’t have much of a solid plot, instead, it has a compilation of little mini stories that all lead (chronologically) to Christmas, when he gets his gun. It’s wonderfully endearing; Ralphie’s actor is so cute and his interactions with his family and friends are reminiscent of my own childhood.

The mini stories had every opportunity to be weird and disjointed, however, the way they were all linked to christmas tied them together quite well. The best mini story (I think every other person will agree) is the one with the lamp. The lamp is a piece of decor I would buy if I had space, and the way people interact with it in the movie (if that makes any sense) is hilarious. Since the lamp is involved at such an early point in the movie, it’s presence throughout the rest of the film gives it a jovial attitude that makes the movie much cuter.

Jim Carrey Grinch (2000)

The Grinch is an evil, evil evil little guy. I love this movie with all of my soul because of the characterization of an outcast who ostracised himself to prevent humiliation. I feel like, in more recent movies, people have chosen to give the evil characters a weakness, or a good trait, or something to make them more relatable. In The Grinch, the Grinch maintains his evil nature and has a character arc but nowhere does the audience find him relatable, and that’s another reason why I love this movie.

This movie is also hilarious. The Grinch is a total drama queen and, because the drama is centered around his hatred for Whos, the drama becomes funny instead of annoying. If the Grinch hated Christmas, he would have done everything to ruin Christmas without directing his anger at the Whos. Instead, he ruins Christmas to insult and hurt the Whos. This isn’t damaging, the way he goes about his plot is ridiculous and unexpected, so the horrible actions are actually quite funny.