So, pretty much the entire household is ill at the minute and today we’ve filled the childcare gap by cracking open the Christmas films. This has reminded me just how absolutely awful most Christmas films are, so to try and maintain my sanity a little I was wondering which Christmas films people think are actually worth watching with the family (eldest is eight so die hard is out)? Bonus points if it’s something we can get in the usual streaming services.

So far my list is:
Klaus
Elf
Muppets Christmas Carrol
Home Alone
Arthur Christmas
Nightmare before Christmas (though this might be a bit of a stretch)

We quite like The Christmas Chronicles and the sequel is decent too. Not up there with Elf but worth a watch.

First Blood

Die Hard

Die Hard.

Edit: Dammit Drac!

Polar Express has always been our kids go to for Christmas boredom.

oh, and National Lampoons Christmas Vacation….it’s a 12 apparently. May have to be quick on the mute button in places.

Nightmare before Christmas

Violent Night

Scrooged is on 4 at the moment it’s pretty funny though some attitudes are dated. 

Shaun the Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas is a fun short film. 

Gremlins is a great Christmas film too.

Violent Night is coming to Sky soon I think not seen it but reviews are OK. 

A Christmas Carol, 1951 version.

It’s simply the greatest Christmas movie ever made.

You need to change your mindset, no Christmas movies are ‘actually worth watching’, but there’s a curious joy to taking in one of the endless succession of clichéd season schmaltz fests featuring lovelorn heiresses / Cinderella-style heroines / good-hearted plain girls falling utterly predictably for some handsome prince / Mr Darcy / plain but good-hearted bloke. They’re all terrible. They’re all predictable. They’re all the same. But that’s the point. Anything genuinely good is automatically disqualified. Anything starring Hugh Grant is automatically disqualified. Anything featuring guns and violence is cheating 🙂

Or you could go for ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ to fully enjoy the despair of a broken man at Christmas, albeit with a happy ending.

Rise of the Guardians? A bit tenuous but hey it has Santa in it 🤷‍♂️

Don’t really remember it but think it was enjoyable…

Nativity

That’s what my kids told me back in the day

A Christmas Story, from the mid eighties. No sex, language or violence. I guarantee everyone will laugh their Christmas socks off.

Bad Santa uncut version

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.

The full uncut version 🎅🌲🐿

The Grinch.

My kids loved Nativity but can’t say I ever watched it.

Santa Claus The Movie
Elf
Miracle on 34th Street
A Charlie Brown Christmas
Jingle All The Way
The Snowman

Freeview Channel 52 has been showing Hallmark Christmas movies since the beginning of October….

The Grinch

Came here to say this, we’ve got it on right now (the modern Benedict Cummerbund version with the Pharrell soundtrack, easy watching).

We’ve already got the first two Home Alone movies in regular rotation as well 🙄

8 Bit Xmas is a very nice family one 

+1 for Santa Claus The Movie

Someone I know with kids tried love actually last year, they’d forgotten about the porn shoot lighting trials!

Violent night is no kids movie, although some scenes are inspired by other kids Christmas films.

I had to watch/have watched loads. There are some mildly entertaining ones, but mostly they represent a faux Christmas none of us ever have. So just stick the Christmas dinner from the Bear on and let the kids realise what Christmas really means!!

Another vote here for the uncut version of The National Lampoons Christmas Vacation!

Whilst we’re on the topic, what’s with these truly awful Christmas that appear on a daily basis on the likes of Channel 5?? Who watches this nonsense (other than grandmas and grandpas)??

Nativity! and Nativity 2 Danger In The Manger were a good watch

Hogfather I quite like.

The Santa Clause movies (Tim Allen). 1 and 2 are OK for what they are, 3 less so.

The other stuff we watch is pretty much already mentioned above.

Fatman

Has to be Gremlins, surely.

Violent Night is a new contender for “best Christmas movie” next to Die Hard but I wouldn’t say either are particularly suitable for an eight-year old.

+1 It’s a Wonderful Life. Kids have a sweepstake every year how soon I’m going to blub. Didn’t manage to get beyond the opening credits one year.

You need to change your mindset, no Christmas movies are ‘actually worth watching’,

Home Alone is one of the greatest movies of all time. Slapstick comedy is a fine genre and Home Alone smashes it out of the park.  

no Christmas movies are ‘actually worth watching’, They’re all terrible. They’re all predictable. They’re all the same.

Nightmare Before Christmas isn’t. It’s the only actual Christmas movie I’ll bother watching, with anything by Ardmann following after.

I can recommend A Very Yorkshire Christmas, a staple of the Hallmark plot machine and famous for (a) being filmed in Knaresborough in the summer, and (b) for me strolling through fake snow in the background wearing shorts and t-shirt on the hottest day of the year.

Edit: also, how does Polar Express not have more votes?

The Snowman

The Raymond Briggs one.

You need to change your mindset, no Christmas movies are ‘actually worth watching’,

Disagree!

Muppets Christmas carol is great
Nightmare before is great

I think it may be possible to conclude at this point that there aren’t exactly a lot of quality titles out there. Especially having been subjected to some of the suggestions on the list above (Nativity I’m looking at you).

There are a few I’ve not seen though so will try and point the kids towards them if we can’t escape outside again this side of 2024.

If anyone comes back to this later I should have also had Robin Robin on my original list, even though it might be a stretch to call it a film at ~30 minutes.

It’s not out yet but Silent Night shows some promise but is not a kids film.
Muppets
Nightmare
Love Actually
Die Hard
Set Love Actually going at the right time and get Hans falling off the Nakatomi Tower at midnight as revenge for treating Emma Thompson badl!

BoardinBob
Full Member
8 Bit Xmas is a very nice family one

This is a very good shout^^^^ enjoyed it a lot

Also, your children may be too young – but Krampus was one of the better Xmas films I’ve watched over the last couple of years

Robin Robin, an Aardman animation is very good indeed.

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/robin_robin

[Flaperon]

Flaperon

 

How does Polar Express not have more votes?

The cold, dead eyes are nightmare fodder.

[Flaperon]

How does Polar Express not have more votes?

A Christmas Story, from the mid eighties. No sex, language or violence. I guarantee everyone will laugh their Christmas socks off.

There’s a sequel to that. Watched it last year. Quite chucklesome, very wholesome