Get in the spirit with The Gillnetter’s Christmas movie picks

Christmas is right around the corner, and what better way to ring in the festive season than by watching Christmas movies?

Here are our top movies to get you feeling the holiday spirit!

Family Favorites: 

‘The Santa Clause” (film series) – Watch as Tim Allen becomes Santa Clause and his journey learning how to be the man in the red suit in this magical family-friendly movie for the Holidays. 

“Home Alone” – Macaulay Culkin as 8-year-old Kevin McCallister defends his home from being robbed after his family left him home alone for Christmas.

“How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (Live Action) – Jim Carey takes on the classic role of Christmas’s favorite bad guy in the remastered Dr. Seuss classic. 

“The Christmas Chronicles” – Little Kate and Teddy Pierce help Santa Clause save Christmas last minute. 

“The Polar Express” – Tom Hanks takes a group of special kids on a magical train ride to the North Pole.

“Elf” – You will have lots of laughs when you watch Will Ferrell play Buddy the elf searching for a relationship with his long-lost father.

“Christmas Carol” – Watch Ebenezer Scrooge as he visits his past, present, and future in this Christmas classic story.

“A Christmas Story” – Young Ralphy struggles to get to Christmas day as he tries to avoid his bully and asks his parents to get him a gun for Christmas. 

“Christmas Vacation” – An “ordinary family” struggles to enjoy the Christmas vacation as things start to go awry. 

“Christmas with the Kranks” – Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis try to skip out on holiday festivities but their neighbors won’t give up trying to get them into the Christmas spirit. 

“A Nightmare Before Christmas” – Be spooked by Jack Skeleton taking over Christmas in his own way.

“48 Christmas Wishes” – A pair of junior elves lose little kids’ Christmas wishes and have to leave the north pole and go into the human world to get them back. 

“Daddy’s Home 2” – The sequel to Daddy’s Home continues the story of Kurt and Dusty navigating being co-dads during the holiday season. 

“Muppet Christmas Carol” -The Muppets take on the classic novel by Charles Dickens in their version of a Christmas Carol. 

Old Classics:

“It’s a Wonderful Life” – This classic movie follows George Bailey in their search of happiness and the meaning of life during the Christmas season.

“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” – Join Rudolph on his journey to fit in at the North Pole. 

“Frosty the Snowman “- Follow along with everyone’s favorite talking snowman as he comes to life and races to escape the evil magician with the goal to destroy him. 

“A Year Without a Santa Clause” – Even Santa gets the holiday blues; watch as Mrs. Claus and Santa’s elves save the day. 

“Charlie Brown Christmas” – Everyone’s favorite Peanut, Charlie Brown, gets help from Linus to learn the true meaning of Christmas. 

“Miracle on 34th Street” – From Thanksgiving to Christmas Day in New York City, a department store Santa Claus claims to be the real Santa.

Christmas Romance: 

“Love Actually” – Join nine intertwined stories to examine the complexities of the one emotion that connects us all: love.

“4 Christmases” – Kate and Brad always spend Christmas on a luxury getaway but when their flight gets canceled, they have to spend Christmas with both sets of their divorced parents.  

“The Holiday” – Amanda lives in LA and Iris lives in London, but when life gets too much, the two women switch homes for the holiday, where they find love and new self-happiness.

New Christmas Movies: 

“Spirited” – A modern-day musical Christmas Carol is remodeled and revamped with a whole lot of energy starring Will Farrell and Ryan Reynolds. 

“Falling for Christmas” – A young girl diagnosed with amnesia after a skiing accident falls for the handsome cabin owner starring Linsey Lohan.

“Castle for Christmas” – A lost writer follows her father’s stories to Scotland and buys a castle and falls in love with the Duke.

“Single All the Way” – Peter asks his best friend to act like his boyfriend to avoid shame by his family during the holidays. 

“The Princess Switch” – A Duchess switches places with an ordinary person that looks identical to her and both fall in love with each other’s boyfriends. 

These are some of the classic, holiday favorite movies, specials, and sequels! If any of these movies sound interesting to you, you can find them on Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, Paramount+, Amazon Prime, Peacock, and Disney+!