Here are some all-time favorite Christmas movies to enjoy with your family from the classics to a few surprise selections.

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

This movie is about the Griswold family’s holiday get-together. This time they’re trying to have a picture book, old-fashioned Christmastime–even though all the in-laws are dropping by, including Clark’s (Chevy Chase) redneck cousin, Eddie (Randy Quaid). It looks like it’s going to be a real holly-jolly holiday–if they can make it through.

This is one of the funniest movies of all time. Even though a lot of things go wrong for the Griswalds, the happiness of the family and the joy of Christmas win out.

 The Nightmare Before Christmas

Jack Skellington, the pumpkin king of Halloween Town, is bored with doing the same thing every year for Halloween. One day he stumbles into Christmas Town, and is so taken with the idea of Christmas that he tries to get the resident bats, ghouls, and goblins of Halloween town to help him put on Christmas instead of Halloween, and wants to take over that holiday by kidnapping Santa.

It is a fairytale but it’s a weird and dark story. Everything is beautifully animated and it is entertaining the whole way through.

Elf

How many human beings among us are capable of making a comedy with wit and intelligence that also takes bold pleasure in silliness? This is a rare Christmas movie that has a heart, a brain, and a wicked sense of humor. It begins with a tragic misunderstanding on Christmas long ago.

This movie is about a baby in an orphanage who stowed away in Santa’s sack and ended up at the North Pole. Later, as an adult human who happened to be raised by elves, Santa allows him to go to New York City to find his birth father, Walter Hobbs. Buddy experiences the delights of New York City (and human culture) as only an elf can. He is forced to reevaluate his priorities though, when his and Walter’s relationship interferes with his job.

The Polar Express

This is a story that soars with breakneck pace but slows in all of the tender moments. It is exhilarating in its imagination and point of view through a child’s eyes. There’s a deeper, shivery tone, instead of the mindless jolliness of the usual Christmas movie.

This movie is about a doubting young boy that takes an extraordinary train ride to the North Pole, he embarks on a journey of self-discovery that shows him that the wonder of life never fades for those who believe.

The Santa Clause

Divorced dad Scott (Tim Allen) has custody of his son (Eric Lloyd) on Christmas Eve. After he accidentally kills a man in a Santa suit, they are magically transported to the North Pole, where an elf explains that Scott must take Santa’s place before the next Christmas arrives.

Scott thinks he’s dreaming, but over the next several months he gains weight and grows an inexplicably white beard. Maybe that night at the North Pole wasn’t a dream after all — and maybe Scott has a lot of work to do. The Santa Clause is a clever, amusing movie, and it has a fresh invention to it.

Home Alone

Eight year old Kevin MacAllister (Macaulay Culkin) gets lost in the shuffle as his  family rushes to make a plane for  their Christmas vacation in France; Kevin  he is forgotten and left behind.

At first this is a dream come true, as for the first time in his young life he has no one to answer to but himself, and he takes full advantage of his newfound freedom, eating junk food and watching late-night horror flicks. But when the bumbling Wet Bandits Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern) target his house for a robbery,

Kevin must step up to defend his home; he sets a maze of booby traps Kevin learns the importance of family during the holidays in a touching reunion with his clan. It’s become a classic, and everyone should see it because some of the scenes with the robbers are hilarious.

How The Grinch Stole Christmas

The Grinch is a nasty creature that hates Christmas, and plots to steal it away from the Whos. Cindy Lou Who, decides to try befriend the Grinch and help him find his love of Christmas but, when it goes wrong early on. He takes his sleigh to the top of Mount Crumpit, and prepares to dump all of the presents into the abyss. As dawn breaks, he is confused to hear the singing a joyous Christmas song instead.  The Grinch’s shrunken heart suddenly grows three sizes larger.

The reformed Grinch returns all of the Whos’ presents and trimmings and is warmly invited to the Whos’ feast, where he has the honor of carving the Roast Beast. This is a great family Christmas movie.