This week, the topic around TheCelebrityCafe.com inbox was our favorite Christmas movies. The holiday is just eight days away at the moment, so there’s no better time to start planning a movie marathon this weekend than now. If you agree with any of our picks or have your own favorites that you’d like to share, let us know in the comments below!
Carissa Shuman: My favorite holiday movie, bar none, has to be A Christmas Story. I watch the 24 hour marathon every year. I love it so much that my husband bought it for me on DVD for our first Christmas together, but gave it to me on Thanksgiving so I could watch it throughout the month! My favorite scenes include Chinese for Christmas dinner (I did that for Thanksgiving once), kids freaking out and screaming in Santa's lap (my mom has a picture of me in such a state with Spider-Man), all the school scenes (I'm a teacher now, so I see them from a whole new perspective), the triple dog dare, and "You'll shoot your eye out!"
Wait, I'm not done yet. I can't count the times I've received well intended but unappealing clothing. At least I haven't gotten anything as bad as "the pink nightmare," and I can always return mine. I once stuck a piece of soap in my mouth just to see how bad it tasted. I know how the dad felt when he got a prize, and it's hilarious to see him sound out Fra-gee-lay. I also know how hard it is to get my kids to eat sometimes. Finally, for real this time, I like the scene where Ralphie says "fudge," but it wasn't really fudge. I remember the first time I let that word slip out of my mouth in front of my dad. I was 12, standing in the dining room. As I was peeling a banana it broke in half, and the top half (which was most of the banana) fell on the floor. It was the last one. I think I spent the rest of the week in my room to say the least.
Gina DiFalco: A Christmas Story has been a staple in the DiFalco household since I can remember. The 24-hour marathon is on all day in the background on Christmas Day.
However, Elf has become my favorite Christmas movie tradition in recent years. I love watching Christmas movies for the entire month of December, and Will Ferrell really brings the laughs in this one – making the holiday season that much better.
More staple Christmas films I love are How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Miracle on 34th Street and of course, Home Alone.
Elizabeth Learned: My favorite holiday movies range from anything that plays on ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas to classic Christmas stories such as Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Frosty The Snowman, and a personal family favorite, The Year Without A Santa Claus. I am also very partial to any movies that play on the Ebenezer Scrooge stories, such as the Mickey Mouse version of the story and the Vanessa Williams film A Diva's Christmas Carol. I also love How The Grinch Stole Christmas. As you can tell, Christmas movies are my kryptonite and if I can find a movie that interests me on ABC Family, such as the Tom Cavanagh film Snow or a Hallmark Christmas film, then I will watch it.
Will Ashton: While I could highlight on some of the most beloved Christmas movies of all time It's a Wonderful Life and, now, Elf, I wanted to take this opportunity to elaborate on one that hasn't gotten its proper due: the 2011 animated comedy Arthur Christmas. Exploring Santa's goodhearted but clumsy son, Arthur, who must go back to the old fashion sled with his grandpa when a little girl is left without her present on Christmas Eve, its filled to the brim with imagination, wit and heart, but was mostly overlooked during its holiday release. And that's a shame, because it genuinely is one of the best Christmas movies to come out in the past decade.
From its affable character designs to its quick British one-liners and well-performed voice acting, Arthur Christmas is a new holiday classic deserving to be viewed around the holiday season more than other bland Christmas "classics" of late like The Polar Express and 2009's A Christmas Carol. Its jokes are consistent and always on-point, but its heart is what truly makes it shine. Arthur's motivations feel genuine and earnest, therefore his journey is easy to enjoy and hard not to fall for. Plus, when it comes time to wrap things up, you might find a tear or two coming close to your eye. Although it was unjustly ignored during its initial release, that doesn't mean Arthur Christmas can't find its second life in your living room this holiday.
Daniel S Levine: I would also pick It’s A Wonderful Life, but I’d love to highlight another James stewart holiday classic, The Shop Around The Corner. It’s a wonderful romantic comedy from the king of classic Hollywood romantic comedies, Ernst Lubitsch and has been remade twice, most famously as You’ve Got Mail. The idea that two people could fall in love thanks to letters, but hate each other in real life is wonderfully portrayed in the film. With Christmas at the center, it highlights how important it is to spend the holidays with someone you love.
Angela Corry: I'm going to stick with my bad movies theme from last week, and tell you my must watch Christmas movies are the Santa Clause series. From the start with the bah humbug of Scott Calvin with his ruined dinner and no chocolate milk, to hooking up with his kid's teacher in a week while getting fat, to the in-laws and Martin Short as Jack Frost, I have stayed up way past bedtime many times to watch Santa Clause marathons. The movies are corny and illogical, but yet I am enthralled.
The best part of my tradition is that I have passed my addiction on to my daughter Charlotte, for whom I have purchased the movies since ABC Family does not show The Mrs. Claus. (But you can find it on AMC!)
Chelsea Lewis: When it comes to the classic telling of the Charles Dickens a Christmas Carol, it has been told many times but it wasn't until The Muppets took over and told the Christmas tale that it truly come to life in humor, magic and life lessons in The Muppet Christmas Carol. Michael Caine brings the character of Scrooge to life in a way that is memorable and honest. His acting talent was only amplified by the lovable Muppets that tell this famous Christmas story. It is now a family tradition to watch the Muppets remind us all what Christmas is about every holiday season.
Tina Henry: It seems quite impossible to name one favorite holiday movie, given the timeless classics like It's a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Story, Miracle on 34th Street, and so many others. I make an extra effort each year to catch these and other classics like The Bishop's Wife and even Burl Ives' telling of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. One thing these movies have in common for me, besides filling me with the Christmas spirit, is that at one point or another, I become a blubbering mess. From Clarence getting his wings to Santa asking Rudolph to guide his sleigh through the snowstorm, I must have my box of tissues nearby. In Bill Murray's modern take on Dickens' A Christmas Carol, Scrooged, I lose it when Grace's (Alfre Woodard) little boy finally speaks, saying "...and God bless us everyone." I try my best to recompose myself in time to sing along with the closing song, "Put a Little Love in Your Heart," but I'm blubbering all the way through it.
I guess there actually is one movie I look for more than any others each year, to make sure I get the chance to see it one more time, and that's Irving Berlin's White Christmas. And I don't even like musicals! This was not the movie where Bing Crosby introduced the song, but a grand tribute to it all the same.The performances of Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen are abundant and priceless, as well as Vera-Ellen's exquisite dance numbers. But, other than the performance of the title song, my favorite song that brings the tears to my eyes every time is when the general's WWII division comes out singing "The Old Man." A message from this movie that still resonates today is the difficulty soldiers have re-adapting to civilian life after serving our country in times of war.
Samantha Ravenscroft: You can always tell what your favorite holiday movie is when ABC Family releases their schedule for the 25 Days of Christmas countdown and it’s the first movie you look for. For me, it’s always been The Year Without a Santa Claus. The holiday doesn’t begin for me until I get to watch this movie, and this year I even went so far as to watch it the day after Halloween, not feeling like waiting until the Thanksgiving season had ended to bring some Christmas holiday cheer to my home.
My favorite thing about this movie is how everyone goes from being very “bah humbug” about Christmas to appreciating Christmas and the jolly spirit it brings along with it. And of course, who doesn’t love Heat Miser and Snow Miser?