Must Watch Christmas Movies

Can you name all of the movies in the collage above? If not, it's high time that you take a look at the list below!

As soon as the 'cold' winds start to blow in the Autumn, my head turns to the upcoming Christmas season. I can't help it - it's just always been in me. I love the beginning of winter and everything about Christmas.

I love the first snowflakes that fall from the sky. (That happened 2 days ago, here in Hamilton!)

I love the Christmas lights inside & outside of the houses.

I love the music - well, most of it. There are some amazing songs - with truly deep and strong and incredibly genuine lyrics.

I love the reminder of the journey of Ultimate Sacrifice that the First Parent and Child undertook for unimportant, imperfect people like me.

I love spending time figuring out how I can meaningfully give to the people who mean the most to me.

I love hosting our annual Most Wonderful Time of the Year Christmas Party.

I.  Love. Christmas.

I watch Any and All Christmas Specials that come on TV.  Hallmark movies are cheesy, but they sure do the seasonal sentimetality well.  The claymation children's stories are amazing & fun.

However, there are several movies that I do my best to fit in every year. I love these movies - some of them are FANTASTIC movies. Some of them are just on the list because I'm sentimentally attached to them - but they're all worth a watch - I promise you!

• Elf - a serious feel-good movie with a few solid songs in it - did you know that Zooey Deschanel has an AMAZING voice?
• White Christmas - I've been in love with black & white movies since "Saturday Night at the Movies" with Elwy Yost on TvO. You'll recognize a lot of the songs in this movie, written by Irving Berlin
• Holiday Inn - Takes place throughout the year, but hits it's stride in the Christmas Season. The song "White Christmas" was actually written for this move.
• Love, Actually - a kaleidoscope of relationships, tackles the surprisingly difficult question "What is Love?" Also, it stars Hugh Grant AND Colin Firth. Bonus! Warning: two of the characters featured in this movie are porn actors. This actually does contribute positively to the thesis of the movie, but there are some graphic nude scenes. 
• Sleepless in Seattle - again, not technically Christmas, but it begins in the Christmas season, which counts.
• A Charlie Brown Christmas - One of the very best Christmas Specials that I've ever seen on TV. It's surprising to me that stations still air this one in Canada, because it puts the true & real meaning of Christmas right out there - no tip toeing around it, Linus makes it very clear that Christmas is about the birth of Jesus Christ.
• The Santa Clause - Cheesy. Can anything with Tim Allen be classified as anything but? However, it's endearing, and I enjoy the world of the North Pole that they created.
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas (I prefer the original animate version) - The Jim Carrey Grinch is good, but I think that the original story gets a little lost - so I stick to the animated version. 
• The Shop Around the Corner - Have you watched You've Got Mail? The shop around the corner is actually the inspiration for the Tom Hanks / Meg Ryan romcom. 
• Miracle on 34th St (1947) - A story about the Macy's Santa Clause Parade & Santa and a little girl who's had to grow up before her time. Is there maybe just a tiny possibility that Santa could be real? My favourite part of this movie is where Kris Kringle chats in with a little Dutch girl in Dutch and then sings the Sinterklaas song.
• Home Alone - Christmas Slapstick Comedy at it's best - features the best version of "White Christmas" that I've ever heard. 
• The Muppet Christmas Carol - a musical, child-friendly take on the Dickens Classic. 
• It's a Wonderful Life (Absolute Favourite!) - What a great story. George Bailey, a man who's always put others before his own ambitious dreams, finds himself at the brink of financial ruin due to a book keeper's error - and Clarence, Angel, 3rd Class, gives him a look at what the world would be like if George had never been born. It is long, though, so take a break halfway to refresh your bowl of popcorn! 

Bonus: Go watch The Snowman (1982) on YouTube with your kids. I think that my son watched this about 50 times last year.

I know that there are other movies that you think should be on this list - so Tell Us! Please! What's on your MUST-WATCH Christmas list??