Hopefully by now you’ve done most of your Christmas shopping (if you still need some ideas, check out our 12 stocking filler ideas for filmmakers post) and you can put up your feet, grab yourself some mulled wine and put on the telly. Christmas is a wonderful time for catching up on the latest blockbusters, seeing the ones you missed and reliving the classics. Here are some of our favourite Christmas films we’ll be watching this festive season, in no particular order. Have you seen them all?
This is without doubt one of the best Christmas films to have ever existed. Period. What’s not to like about it? Arnie plays a struggling father as he tries to get the latest trendy action figure ‘Turbo man’ for his son after repeatedly disappointing him. But when every single action figure in town has sold out on Christmas eve will he be able to make it up to him? If you don’t like this film, well, ‘GET OUUUT!’
OK so you’re seeing a familiar theme here. Action heroes in Christmas films! Yes this is a Christmas film, whether it was intended or not, and it’s one of the best! Anyone who has ever watched TV at Christmas knows that this is always on, so there’s no chance that you’ll miss it. Bruce Willis plays John McClane, a tough New York cop who has to save, amongst all others, his wife from a bunch of German hostage takers at a Christmas party in LA. Move over Professor Snape, this is one of Alan Rickman’s finest performances as the particularly wicked leader of the group, Hans Gruber.
A Christmas film list wouldn’t be complete without this title. Amazingly I hadn’t actually seen it until a couple of years ago. How on earth did I grow up in the 90s and miss this, I hear you ask? Obviously my childhood was deprived. And I was probably watching Die Hard. Even still, no matter what age you were when you first saw this, it is undoubtedly a classic.
Macaulay Culkin plays the 8 year old Kevin who is accidentally left at home alone (as if the title didn’t give it away) when the rest of his family go on holiday without him. After the initial fun of having the place to himself he discovers two burglars are trying to rob his house and so he sets up a series of booby traps to stop them. A bit of fun for all the family. It’s particularly awesome because it obviously inspired Skyfall.
4. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
We do like our 90s films at Mustardcreative. This one is another absolute gem retelling the popular Charles Dickens Christmas Carol story but with a Muppet twist on things. Starring Michael Caine as the bitter Eberneezer Scrooge and all of our favourite Muppets including Kermit, Gonzo and of course, Beaker! The ghosts of Christmas past, present and future visit Eberneezer (did anyone else find it a bit scary in places as a kid?) and try to stop him from being such a miserable old git. Brilliant stuff.
Talking of scary, here’s one for the horror fans out there. Black Christmas (the original, not to be confused with the 2006 remake) is a terrifying and suspenseful slasher film that supposedly inspired Halloween. A sorority house is terrorized by strange phone calls over the Christmas period and things quickly becomes much more sinister when one of the girls goes missing. With shots from the point of view of the stalker and some of the creepiest maniac rambling I’ve ever heard, this film is certainly not for the faint hearted!
6. Miracle on 34th Street (1994)
If you don’t fancy having nightmares this Christmas then perhaps this classic will probably be more up your street. This version is actually a remake of the 1947 version (we’re a little biased when it comes to 90s films though!) and is a classic in its own right. It’s about a little girl called Susan who thinks she has found the real Santa Claus and it stars Mara Wilson as the girl, Richard Attenborough as Kris Kringle (or is he actually Santa?), Wilma from the Flintstones and that guy who would’ve made a great James Bond. Magical and heart warming, it’s one of our faves.
7. Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-3)
We couldn’t possibly choose one Lord of the Rings film, they’re just all too damn good. So we chose the entire trilogy. Now they may not be very Christmassy but every year the trilogy seems to be on and I make a habit of watching it every time. These films are pure escapism and fantasy with some of the most gorgeous landscapes and epic battle scenes ever to be shown on film. It’s difficult summing up these films in a small paragraph because they are just that grand, so if you haven’t seen them yet (and if you haven’t then I would like to know where you’ve been hiding all this time) then maybe this Christmas is the time! Indulge yourself!
8. Elf (2003)
After growing up at the North Pole, Buddy is distraught to find out that he’s not really an elf and goes to New York City to find his true identity and hilarity ensues. Will Ferrell has us roaring with laughter here as Buddy and stars opposite the brilliant James Caan who plays his quite serious father and has trouble accepting his childish son into the family. If you’re up for a bit of silliness and a giggle then this flick’s for you.
Oh my word, a fairly recent film?! Well yes, everything is most definitely awesome here. This film was a big surprise to me when I first saw it and I can safely say it will become a Christmas tradition. A family friendly adventure about Emmet, a construction worker who becomes destined to save the world from the evil Lord Business who is trying to glue the Lego universe into eternal stasis. Behind this concept is a very clever script, some of the best animation ever seen (supposedly nearly every piece of lego in the film was real), an all star cast (including Morgan Freeman’s first ever role in an animated film) and more references to those special moments from a lego lovers childhood than you can shake a stick at. This film is undeniably a Christmas classic and it’s not even Christmassy.
Because one Die Hard isn’t enough. And it snows again. Delightful!
So, there you go. When the weather outside is frightful, stay in and put on one of these classics. But if we have made a mistake and have forgotten to include your absolute favourite Christmas film in this list then do let us know in the comments!
So from all of the team here at Mustardcreative we would like to wish you a very merry Christmas and we’ll see you next year!