KEEPING UP ANNUAL traditions with loved ones part of what makes Christmas magical, whether its getting new PJs for Christmas Eve or watching the same film every Stephen’s Day.
In our Ask The Elves series, we’ll be finding out about the rituals our readers love, and asking them to share their stories on a different festive topic each week.
This week, we’re asking: What Christmas film do you watch every year without fail?
Nothing says Christmas like snuggling up in front of your favourite festive film – but just what movie says ‘Merry Christmas’ (ya filthy animal) to you?
From an angelic Macaulay Culkin surviving the season on his lonesome to Julie Andrews twirling on the Alps, there’s a lot of choice out there. So which ones stand out?
Here’s what our readers had to say…
You can’t go wrong with a heartwarming moral message
It has to be The Grinch. Every year, once Halloween was over, my younger sister and I would declare it officially Christmas and watch either this or Elf. I love this line: ‘Maybe Christmas perhaps, doesn’t come from a store.” This really hits home as you get a little older!
- Alana Hughes
And the classics are hard to beat
It’s a Wonderful Life is be the film that screams Christmas to me. It’s just tradition! It’s about family, community and coming together. The perfect Christmas message.
- Amy Stinton
But that doesn’t mean it has to be all schmaltz
For me, it’s not Christmas until Hans Gruber falls off Nakatomi Tower with a yippie-ki-yay… so it has to be Die Hard.
- Victoria Nicol
Nobody does Christmas like The Muppets
Christmas doesn’t start until Gonzo starts singing “There’s a cold wind that chills you, chills you to the bone.” I love how The Muppet Christmas Carol keeps the spirit of the novel. There are direct quotations – which I recognise from dragging my class through it at school – but it is also really funny and uplifting. Michael Caine has never been better and he actually brings some emotion to the role of Scrooge. Plus… the singing vegetables at the beginning!
- Rose Fletcher
Who said you had to pick just one?
On December 25, I watch Scrooged in the morning while waking up (because Bill Murray). Then Liza Minnelli in Cabaret and Marilyn Monroe in Some Like it Hot for the afternoon. They aren’t Christmassy movies but they’re great and work for me. I discovered them all as a young adult so there’s a feeling of nostalgia. I’m not big into Christmas per se but it’s a nice time to eat, drink and watch movies all day without any of that awkward guilt nonsense.
- Scarlet Merrill
Forget Santa, Julie Andrews is the real hero of Christmas
I love The Sound of Music! Even though it’s not even remotely Christmassy, it’s on every year and I started watching it years ago with my granny. It’s mandatory viewing with some Christmas treats on hand.
- Kerry McKittrick
If you can get the kids interested, all the better
Every year when I was young, my family watched The Snowman when it was on TV at Christmas. This year I’m going to watch it with my three-year-old son Jasper. I’m hoping this becomes our family tradition too. He’s read the book at nursery and he loves music – I can’t wait to see his face when he sees the film.
- Sarah Vibert
…Even if they’re not as wowed as you were back then
I love Home Alone because it’s so very quotable. The one liners are what I remember the most, and the savage levels of violence. But my daughter watched it last year and was completely petrified as kids shows are so sterile these days.
- Angela Fox
But the best festive films are the ones that remind you of home
Every year, as I packed to fly home – first from from university in Edinburgh and in later years from London – I always watched Santa Claus The Movie. In my opinion it’s the best Christmas film. It’s funny, it’s festive, good triumphs over bad and it features the most authentic big screen Sanra. It got me in the festive mood, evoked memories of childhood Christmases and was the perfect antidote to my dread about inevitable flight delays!
- Eimear O’Hagan
What film says Christmas to you? Let us know below in the comments!
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