Must-see Christmas movies to watch during the holidays

Christmas is celebrated with many different activities, including re-watching the Christmas favorites.

elf

“Elf”

“Elf” should be at the top of everyone’s must see Christmas movies list.

This movie will get you in the Christmas spirit and is a comedy that the whole family will enjoy.

Will Ferrell stars as Buddy, the elf, in this 2003 Christmas comedy.

Buddy was raised by Santa’s elves in the North Pole.

When Buddy questions his life after he notices he is not like the other elves, he discovers that he was adopted.

He travels to New York in search of his biological father and discovers many new things.

Senior Sidney Wager said her favorite Christmas movie is Elf.

“I watch Elf every year, usually a couple times every year,” Wager said. “It is funny every time I watch it.”

“The Polar Express”

polar_express

This 2004 Christmas movie is a classic for all ages.

“The Polar Express” will bring out your love for Christmas and make you believe in Santa all over again.

Starring Tom Hanks and directed by Robert Zemeckis, this animated movie tells the story of a young boy who is reaching an age where he is starting to question the mystery of Santa Claus.

He is awoken on the night of Christmas Eve to take a ride on The Polar Express straight to the North Pole, where seeing is believing.

The train is filled with other children, focusing on many different story lines between the children.

When a young girl goes missing from the train, the main character goes on an adventure through the train to find her.

On his adventure, he finds a hobo who claims he is the owner of train and the King of the North Pole.

The train takes them to the North Pole, where the child discovers Santa’s magic bag of presents.

As Santa prepares to leave, one of reindeer’s bells falls off and the boy holds onto it.

But the boy becomes upset later on the train ride home when he discovers lost the bell.

On Christmas morning, he opens a gift from Santa to find the bell and a note. The sound of the bell can only be heard by those who truly believe. As time goes on, everyone stops believing and can’t hear the bell anymore, besides the boy.

It focuses on the spirit of Christmas and the imagination of a young child.

“How the Grinch Stole Christmas”

how_the_grinch_stole_christmasJim Carrey captures the personality switch of the Grinch throughout the 2000 family Christmas movie.

The movie is based off the children’s book by Dr. Seuss.

The Grinch lives in the snowy mountains above all the Whos down in Whoville, where the cheery townspeople are getting ready to celebrate Christmas.

The Grinch hates Christmas and the Whos with a great passion. While the people in Whoville do not speak of the Grinch.

After Cindy Lou discovers the Grinch in town, she becomes curious about this unspoken mystery.

Cindy Lou starts interviewing people about the Grinch and learns of his past to better understand why he hates Christmas.

The Grinch’s plan to ruin the Whos’ Christmas is halted when he encounters Cindy Lou, the only Who that still believes the Grinch should be a part of Christmas.

Senior Abigail Watts watches The Grinch every year.

“It is my favorite Christmas movie,” Watts said. “My favorite part is when he is trying to decide what to wear.”

“The Santa Clause”

the-santa-clause

From 1994 to 2006, Tim Allen starred as Santa Claus in “The Santa Clause 1,” “The Santa Clause 2,” and “The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause.”

After Scott Calvin accidentally kills the man on the roof, he finds himself in a Santa suit with flying reindeer taking him and his son Charlie to the North Pole to Santa’s workshop.

Scott wakes up back home thinking it was all just a dream but over the next few months discovers he is gaining unexplained weight and growing a white beard.

On Thanksgiving night, Scott is taken by the head elf to go to the North Pole to fulfill his duties as Santa Claus.

In “Santa Clause 2,” eight years have passed and Scott is in full Santa Claus mode when he finds out his son Charlie is now on the naughty list.

Along with the pressure of needing to find a Mrs. Claus to keep his title as Santa Claus, Scott must return home to fix his relationship with Charlie.

With Santa Claus’ absence from the North Pole, things go chaotic.

In the final Santa Clause movie, “The Escape Clause,” the movie focuses on Jack Frost and Santa Claus.

Frost is upset there is no day or special occasion in his honor.

Frost is able to get Santa to admit he wished he had never become Santa Claus and, with that, his powers are given to Jack Frost.

Santa returns to his normal life as Scott Calvin and has to find his way back to being Santa.

a-christmas-story

“A Christmas Story”

Truly a Christmas classic, “A Christmas Story” was produced in 1983 and is based off of a best seller at the time, Jean Shepherd’s book “In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash.”

Peter Billingsley plays 9-year-old Ralphie Parker.

Ralphie is a normal boy, spending his time trying to dodge school bullies and thinking of Christmas.

All Ralphie wants for Christmas is a Red Ryder BB gun. But his Christmas idea is shut down quickly by everyone, even the mall Santa Claus, because everyone says he will shoot his eye out.

After he opens all his Christmas presents, he is disappointed to not find the one thing he wished for, until he finds his hidden present.

He takes his new Red Ryder BB gun outside and shoots at his target in the backyard. A ricochet immediately knocks Ralphie’s glasses off, shooting himself in the eye.

While searching for his glasses, Ralphie steps on them and breaks them.

Ralphie just received the gun he wanted, and out of fear of getting it taken away, he lies to his mom about how his glasses got broken, saying an icicle fell and broke them.

“Home Alone”

home-alone

The Home Alone series has six movies made between 1990 and 2012.

The original cast of “Home Alone” starred Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McCallister, an 8-year-old boy who gets left at home when his family rushes off to a Christmas vacation to Paris.

Once the family is already on the airplane and it is too late, they realize they have forgotten something important.

While the family tries to make it back home to reunite with Kevin, he has his own adventurous Christmas break.

“Home Alone 2: Lost in New York” follows the McCallister family on a Christmas vacation again.

Within the confusion and rush of the airport, the family boards their flight to Florida while Kevin boards a flight to New York City.

Kevin survives off his mother’s credit card while the family has to track Kevin down.