Once Thanksgiving comes and until Christmas, my DVR loads up with Christmas movies. Helloooooooo, Lifetime & Ion channel Christmas movies. I never even knew I had the Ion channel until this month. And ABC’s 25 Days of Christmas….it’s on!
Now, it always happens that I can’t remember which mediocre made-for-TV Christmas movies I’ve already watched. Often times, I start the movie and 5 minutes in, I remember I already saw that movie.
You have to be a bit choosy about which movies you give a chance. Anything from ’98 or earlier, pass on them! These movies do not stand the test of time. Any movies with Connie Selleca or the mom from Family Ties or any cast member from Facts of Life, pass on them!!
My tips for choosing made-for-TV Christmas movies to watch:
–Stick with movies made within the last 8 years
–Any movie with a former 90′s star, it’s a safe bet (examples: Dean Cain or Elisa Donovan from Clueless). Someone from 90210 is in it?? Gold!
–Any movie with a former WB TV star, go for that one too! ( examples: Joanna Garcia or Carly Pope from Popular).
–And finally, is Nicole Eggert (Charles in Charles, Baywatch) in it? Go for it! She seems to be the queen of doing made-for-TV Christmas movies.
So far this season, I’ve watched Dear Santa, Desperately Seeking Santa, 12 Wishes of Christmas and A Very Merry Daughter of the Bride. Dear Santa has been my favorite. I still have A Christmas Kiss and A Nanny for Christmas waiting on my DVR.
If you choose a few duds with TV Christmas movies, have no fear! Sometimes you have to break out the big guns!
Julie’s Top 5 Favorite Christmas Movies:
5.Love Actually: Who does love a great ensemble cast? And the scene with Hugh Grant dancing around the house as the Prime Minister? And when Colin Firth proclaims his love to his Portuguese maid? I cry ever time I watch this movie.
4. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation: Clark!!!!!!!
3. Elf: We elves try to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corns and syrup.
First we’ll make snow angels for two hours, then we’ll go ice skating, then we’ll eat a whole roll of Tollhouse cookie dough as fast as we can, and then we’ll snuggle.
The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.
2. Home Alone: This movie makes me laugh so hard! When Daniel Stern falls down the icy stairs, hilarious!
1. The Holiday: I think I’ve seen this movie at least 12 times. I just love it so much. I even love it during the middle of summer. Can I please do a house exchange and meet a handsome widow??
Love your top 5 flicks!! Couldn’t agree more!!
“buddy the elf, what’s your favorite color?” I always answer my phone like that when my sister calls during the holidays!!!
Ha how fun! That movie has so many good quotes!
Since we have a Dudette in the house, we’ve stuck with Frosty, Rudolph and those movies. But, we have added A Shrek Christmas to the list and it’s pretty darn awesome.
You can’t go wrong with Rudolph! And she HAS to love Elf!!
Julie–We do the movie thing at our house, too! Top of my list is the old stop-animation/puppet version “Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer” with Berl Ives narrating. I have watched that one every year for 45 years–seriously! My husband, believe it or not, records all of the sappy Hallmark Christmas movies and we watch those at night. Our kids (grown) think we are on a one way path to dementia; we don’t care WHAT they think. There are a few other Christmas movies that we all love (new and old classics): White Christmas, Elf, A Christmas Story (you’ll shoot your eye out!), sometimes Mr. Kreuger’s Christmas, and usually I feel like it isn’t Christmas until I have seen It’s a Wonderful Life.
BUT, our biggest movie adventures come during the week between Christmas and New Years. We have a list that we watch every year without fail: The A&E version of Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth (8 hours?), all of Lord of the Rings (extended versions), Anne of Green Gables with Megan Follows (all three installments), various Star Trek movies, and…oh no…I have forgotten the rest of the movies! But there’s a few more. I have a feeling I am gong to be left out a lot this year because I have to work so much the week after Christmas. Boohoo! Thanks for writing this post. It is so fun to know that there are other people who have Christmas movie rituals, too!
That is an awesome tradition!!!!!! I would love living at your house that week between Christmas & New Years! (Well….minus the Star Trek movies.)
I love your list! I would also need to add A Christmas Story. “You’ll shoot your eye out!”
That’s on my list too, but not my top 5.
lol, I went to high school with Carly Pope! I don’t hear much about her these days, but I remember that she was nice