All images were obtained from IMDb.
Classics
In a world where movies are thrown out every week, there’s nothing wrong with stepping back and watching a classic. Listed below are the original Christmas movies, with release dates back to over 80 years ago, these still stand as some of the best holiday movies ever made.
A Christmas Carol (1938)
No one hates Christmas as much as the old and wealthy Ebenezer Scrooge. Not only can he not make any money on the holiday, but the day brings up many bad memories, which have led him to be the mean old man around town. After firing one of his best employees on Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by three ghosts throughout the night. The ghost of Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Yet to Come take turns showing Scrooge how his actions have affected those around him. Come the end of the night, Scrooge is faced with a harsh reality: that actions have consequences.
Based off of Charles Dickens’ novella published in 1843, A Christmas Carol is a timeless tale about appreciating those you have, and cherishing every moment you get.
It’s A Wonderful Life (1946)
Being nominated for five academy awards, It’s a Wonderful Life is considered one of the greatest movies of all time. In the fictional world of Bedford Falls, we meet Mr. George Bailey, a man who has given up on his dreams and life itself. Planning his suicide on Christmas Eve, George meets his own guardian angel: Clarence Odbody. To prove that George does have a purpose here, Clarence shows George the same Christmas Eve with only one difference: George never existed.
The true meaning of Christmas is very rarely displayed so well, and director Frank Capra hit all the marks, which earned it a strong nomination for Best Picture in the 1946 Academy Awards.
White Christmas (1954)
My mom had a DVD and I watched it as a kid. It’s the childhood memories of watching it every December that makes it my favorite.
— senior Sophia Norton
Set in the years following World War II, Bob Wallace and Phil Davis decide to become a double act after almost losing their lives to the war. As they become performers and then producers, they’re reached out to, in hopes of coming to watch a new double act on the scene: Betty and Judy Haynes. After unfortunate circumstances, both acts are found stuck in Vermont at the struggling Columbia Inn. With no snow on the ground, the hotel is vacant, and at risk for bankruptcy. In one last effort, both acts decide to put on a performance to try and save the hotel.
White Christmas is one of the highest-grossing musicals of it’s time, and it’s Christmas spirit makes it the perfect movie to watch this year.