Best Holiday Movies: Which are your favorites?

Around this time of year, there are so many holiday specials that not having a favorite would probably be rarer than having one. I have several favorites myself, and Wood Sprite and Indy have theirs, too. For some reason, watching them on the ABC Family nightly special makes them even more special than watching them on the DVD copies that we already have. Why is that?

I know lots of people love A Christmas Story, and I’m a fan of Ralphie myself; in fact, I also liked the follow-up, Ollie Hopnoodle’s Haven of Bliss, as a kid. But then again, by then I had a pretty hard crush on Jerry O’Connell and probably would have liked anything he was in. To this day, I get a little teary over Scream 2.

But for me, it’s the animated movies—especially the claymation ones—that make the holidays. I love Santa Clause is Comin’ to Town, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and even Rudolph’s Shiny New Year. I also love the newer classic, The Polar Express, which Wood Sprite loves, too. (If you haven’t seen that one yet, I highly recommend it!) Although they are not animated, we also really enjoy How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Elf, and Miracle on 34^th Street. Indy and I also love It’s a Wonderful Life, and every year I wrap presents with cocoa, a lit tree, and Love, Actually.

Which holiday movies are your favorites? I’m sure I’m forgetting some of the best ones, but these pretty much represent ours.

Image courtesy of Wikipedia