top of page

25 Days of Christmas 2019 Watch List

Writer's picture: TheFinalGirlTheFinalGirl

FADE IN:


 

"It's the most wonderful time of the year!"


It most certainly is and you know what that means?! CHRISTMAS MOVIES!


And like the Halloween season, I've included my calendar (see below) of 25 movies that bring not only joy to the world, but joy to my heart (super corny, I know!). Please feel free to follow along! If you decide to watch one of the films, make sure to use the hashtag: #NOWPLAYING (inspired by director, Joe Lynch) or you can tag my Instagram handle: @TheMorningBuns.



Every year I begin the Christmas season with the film, The Nightmare Before Christmas. I think it is a perfect transition from Fall to Winter. I also may be the only person to call it a Christmas movie... *gulp*. Don't come @ me! You can now stream this movie on Disney+!




And since I love genre films, I thought why not keep them going through the beginning of the holiday season to wind down from Halloween :)



If you haven't seen Anna and the Apocalypse, you're in for a MAJOR treat!

Now streaming on Hulu & Amazon Prime.


And if you haven't seen Gremlins, where have you been?! I also consider Gremlins a Christmas movie and it angers me that they play it during Halloweentime! lol


You can stream both Gremlins and Krampus On Demand.


What would Christmastime be without a little appearance by Jimmy Stewart?

We all know how amazing It's A Wonderful Life is, but have you ever seen The Shop Around the Corner? It is charming, lovely, and everything I want in a love story.


To end the week

we'll watch The Night Before which is a fairly new addition to my Christmas movie watch list! It includes a lot of elements from the great Christmas films, including a reference to Die Hard which we'll watch after! You can stream The Night Before On Demand.


And to start this week off

I thought we'd watch two of Tim Allen's greatest: The Santa Clause and Christmas With the Kranks (the 3rd act brings me to tears)! If you can, try to fit in all three of The Santa Clause films because they are super fun! And since Home Improvement is my favorite show of all time, I included I'll Be Home for Christmas which stars the amazing, Jonathan Taylor Thomas.


Stream The Santa Clause here or Disney+

Stream Christmas With the Kranks on Netflix

Stream I'll Be Home For Christmas on Disney+


Since watching films with Jonathan Taylor Thomas makes me both happy and sad (We'll never know what he's up to), I need something to cheer me up so that's why I added the classic, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, which is written by John Hughes, so it's sure to never disappoint! You can stream this film On Demand or catch a showing on the AMC Channel.


I included the Disney+ original movie Noelle because I'm always up for a new Christmas film as well as anything with Bill Hader!


December 14th is my Mom's birthday

so I had to include her favorite Christmas movie, The Bishop's Wife. I always refuse to watch it but I think I'm old enough to appreciate a classic this year :)


And after watching these movies

we've probably gotten all of our tears out and need a reality check so that's why we start out this week with the original Black Christmas (so we can appreciate what didn't need to be remade a third time), Better Watch Out (another recent addition to my yearly list) and Ron Howard's, How The Grinch Stole Christmas (oh let's face it, I cry during this one too)!


Click on the title of the film to stream:


You can find How The Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) on Netflix and Better Watch Out is worth the rent!



The rest of the week includes ALL of my favorite Christmas movies!

You know how we all have our favorite ABC Family (now Freeform) original movies? No, just me? Well, my all time favorite is The Christmas List, but I couldn't find it anywhere to stream or even how to rent it! So my second favorite is just as good and will have you believing that there are good people in this world! It's called Borrowed Hearts and you can stream it here.


Jack Frost is my favorite Michael Keaton film. It is near and dear to my heart and I hope you love it just as much as I do, it is worth the rent!


Don't even get me started with Jingle All The Way! It is not only my favorite Christmas film, it's also my favorite Arnold Schwarzenegger film. And if you know me, you already know that Arnold Schwarzenegger is my all time favorite celebrity! TO THIS DAY a turbo man has been on my Christmas list for Santa, even though I do have the real turbo man at home :) You can stream Jingle All The Way on Disney+ or On Demand. By the way, it makes me super angry that the past few years they've been showing the director's cut on TV. The non-director's cut is SO MUCH BETTER! HMU if you want to know what's different, I gotchu.




Next up

is a double feature of Home Alone & Home Alone 2: Lost in New York! These are just the best and really put you in the mood for Christmas! There will be multiple showings on Freeform, including the 22nd, but you can also stream them on Disney+.



And the last three films are usually shown on repeat during this holiday season!

And I'm so happy they are!


These films are the epitome of Christmas movies! First off, you cannot go wrong with Elf! This film was directed by Jon Favreau at his finest! It goes to show that you do not need any form of over-the-top CGI to tell a good story. Available to stream On Demand.


I had the privilege of meeting the writer of Scrooged, Mitch Glazer. If his autograph weren't in storage I'd place a picture of it here! Anyway, this movie has been a tradition for the last 10 years on Christmas Eve. It made me fall in love with David Johansen and his scenes are to this day my favorite! I asked the writer if he had specifically wrote that part for him and he said yes! I really couldn't see anyone else play the Ghost of Christmas past (in any version of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol after seeing him)!


And you guessed it! A Christmas Story will be played on Christmas Day. It will be playing 24 hours on TBS as it does every year! You can also stream it On Demand. Ever since I was little, my Dad and I would have a cup of noodle soup and watch this film on Christmas Day. This movie will always be the last on my Christmas list because it's tradition and reminds me on those special memories. I hope to continue the tradition with my future children :)



To "Wrap" It Up!

Although these Christmas movies are incredible and help us escape from the real world, there is no better Christmas than the one you will spend with your family, friends and loved ones. We celebrate Jesus' birthday during this month because when Winter comes, it becomes a dark and cold season, but with Jesus, he brings the light and warmth. The holidays can be super hard, believe me, I haven't had one yet that has gone smoothly, but that doesn't mean we don't have to spread the holiday cheer and Christmas spirit. We must focus on the purpose of Christmas.



Music Listened To While Writing:

Jessie James Decker - Baby! It's Christmas



 

FADE OUT

47 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


© 2019 by Casey J. Hempel

bottom of page