Top 3 Christmas Movies (Elizabeth)

Well, it's Christmas Eve, and tomorrow's the big day! The next few hours will be busy with last-minute present shopping, church services, hanging out with family and friends, and maybe a Christmas movie or two! For your convenience on Christmas Eve, I'm posting my top 3 Christmas movie recommendations, from oldest to the latest.

1. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

This movie is a classic. If you haven't seen it before, I highly recommend checking it out. In It's a Wonderful Life, we see George grow up as a selfless young man. He loses his hearing in one ear from an illness after saving his little brother from drowning in a freezing lake. Then he's beaten while trying to stop a grieving pharmacist from accidentally giving someone poison. Then he sacrifices his honeymoon to help the townspeople of Bedford Falls. George has always dreamed of traveling outside of his little town, but his duties and sacrifices keep him stuck in the town he can't stand. Fast forward a few years, and George is contemplating suicide. He says he wishes he'd never been born, and his guardian angel grants him his wish, showing him an alternate reality where he doesn't exist.
I remember when I was younger, my siblings and I would often behave worse on Christmas. Little squabbles would become more frequent. It's so easy to focus on what you can get rather than what you already have, which is why this movie is a wonderful reminder to be grateful for what you've been given.

2. Jingle All the Way (1996)

While It's a Wonderful Life is a deeper movie about gratitude, Jingle All the Way is a light-hearted comedy about a man trying to get his son a Turbo Man action figure in time for Christmas. But there's one problem: it's Christmas Eve. Yeah, remember that last-minute shopping I mentioned earlier? Howard is a busy guy, and he's continually absent during his son's best moments. The only thing his son wants for Christmas is a Turbo Man. If he fails to get the toy, his son will be crushed, so he goes head-to-head with a crazy mailman and a gang of Santa Clauses who make counterfeit toys to find his son's Turbo Man.

3. Elf (2003)

Elf is a comedy about Buddy, a man who was raised as an elf. Now, he plunges into the heart of New York city to find his biological father. But there's a problem: humans are weird. They haven't even heard of the four main food groups: syrup, candy corn, candy canes, and candy. While Buddy's family tries to integrate him into their life, he tries to inject their holiday with some Christmas spirit.

Have you seen any of these movies? Of the ones I listed, which are your favorite? What are your favorite Christmas movies or stories?

Have yourself a merry little Christmas!
-Elizabeth Newsom