What’s Your Favorite Holiday Classic?

By Kate Hudson | Film | November 25, 2018 |

By Kate Hudson | Film | November 25, 2018 |

Ok—it’s officially after Thanksgiving, and only the grinch-iest of souls will complain about Christmas creep now. We are officially in the clear to start spreading cheer, listening to Holiday music, and most importantly, engaging fully into the magic of the season.

By this evening, my tree will be up, and Christmas will be in full swing at my home—and most likely, one of my favorite Holidays movies will be on: National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.

via GIPHY

So let’s use this Sunday before the long holiday weekend ends to share our favorite Holiday movies—and yes, obviously Die Hards 1&2 count. Although the first is clearly superior to the second.

Mine:

A Muppet Family Christmas

I love all things Muppets and Christmas, and while A Christal Carol might own many of your hearts, this one is my favorite. It has everything—Muppets, Sesame Strees, Fraggles, and most importantly, glamorous Miss Piggy in full ’80s regalia. It’s hard to find this one in its entirety due to music and character rights, so here’s a bootleg version on YouTube!

A Claymation Christmas

In the immortal words of Stefon, this one has it all: Claymation dinosaurs, the California Raisins, and so much more! I think I’m definitely showing my age here, as I watched this a lot in the ’80s, too—but 30 years later, it still holds up.

The Bishop’s Wife

Look, if Pajiba ever did a “of all time” Pajiba 10, Cary Grant would be my forever #1. Here he plays an angel who is supposed to help repair the marriage of a bishop and his wife (thus the title) but ends up kind of falling for her himself. Since she’s played by Loretta Young that’s a no duh situation. Anyway, I think this is the superior classic Christmas movie to It’s a Wonderful Life (which is still fantastic, if not a little long.)

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

I always liked this one more, because Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer breaks my heart a little bit—sure, eventually he is accepted, but it’s a long road to get there. Santa Claus is Coming to Town is about getting kids toys, and there’s very little existential angst plus it has a Winter Warlock!

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

A true classic—and one I’ve probably watched at least once a year since it was released almost 30 years ago. Every re-watch comes with a new favorite line of part, but Cousin Eddie will be my favorite, forever. When I was a kid, I really wanted to eat the turkey in this scene—I couldn’t tell you why, but I have since revised that stance.

This is just a small slice of the ubiquitous amount of Christmas TV specials and movies out there—share yours, since I’m sure I forget a load of good ones.