We’re Calling It: These Are The 7 Best Christmas Movies Ever
I’m one of those insufferable people who really, really loves Christmas. I’m not sure where my excitement for the holiday stems from, but gift-giving, candy cane hot chocolates and time with the fam ticks all my boxes.
I never got Santa as a child – my parents straight up told us he didn’t exist (sorry if you’ve somehow gone your entire adult life without realising he’s not real and now you are having an existential crisis.) I was given one Christmas stocking when I was about 12, and my mum made it very clear that she was the one who filled it.
So perhaps for me, movies are a way to tap into that Christmas ~magic~. There’s a few that I watch every single year – Jingle All The Way, Home Alone and Serendipity – but I’ve since found out that none of my coworkers share my affection for these picks. So in an attempt to find out the consensus for the best Christmas movie of all time, I went around the Punkee and Junkee office to see what was top of everyone’s list.
Elf.
ELF. It’s not just my favourite Christmas movie, it’s my favourite movie. It has the perfect mix of silliness and heart-warming moments. I have to resist the urge every single day not to answer phone calls with, “Buddy the Elf, what’s your favourite colour?”
– Katie Stow, Punkee Editor
Love Actually.
Love Actually kicked off the obsession with holiday movies packed with a star-studded cast where all the characters are somehow intertwined, so the impact cannot be denied. Truly a crime against humanity: relationships with uncomfortable age gaps and terrible power imbalances, Keira Knightley aged 18 playing a married woman, Emma Thompson getting cucked, Martin Freeman and repetitive fat-shaming of a normal sized actress. But all is forgiven in the dying minutes of the film when Olivia Olson (of Phineas & Ferb fame) pulls off one of the best covers of THE best Christmas song, despite only being 11, and we get the montage of families reuniting at the airport to ‘God Only Knows’. 10/10 film.
– Charlotte Salem, Junkee Media Research Coordinator
Bernard and the Genie.
Before he created Love Actually, Richard Curtis wrote one of the best Christmas movies of all time. It’s hard to find due to it being a British-made-for-TV movie, but goddamn, Bernard and the Genie is worth the trouble. It has a killer cast: Lenny Henry, Alan Cumming, Rowan Atkinson, Dennis Lill and Angie Clarke. It’s impossible to get sick of this one, because it’s equal parts ridiculous – as a Christmas movie should be – heartfelt, and just really fucking funny.
The plot may sound stupid, but bear with me: Bernard Bottle, played by Alan Cumming, gets fired right before Christmas. Luckily for him, he cleans an antique lamp that reveals genie Josephus, played by Lenny Henry, who was originally trapped in the lamp 2000 years ago. Chaos ensues as the genie has no idea how to deal with the modern world, there’s an iconic milkshake scene and a major art heist… trust me when I say you have to watch it.
– Rachel Choy, Punkee Senior Entertainment Writer
How The Grinch Stole Christmas.
Y2K’s How The Grinch Stole Christmas is one of my faves growing up. Ron Howard gave us such an adorably absurd live-action Whoville, populated with a perfect cast like Taylor Momsen as Cindy Lou, Jeffrey Tambor’s Mayor (all in cute prosthetic noses) but major props to Jim Carrey who committed hardcore to that role. He famously remarked that the makeup process of becoming The Grinch was akin to being “buried alive” every day for 10 hours in a makeup chair and in order to survive production he was trained by a CIA operative specialising in ‘torture endurance’. All for the Christmas cheer!
– Ali Nooriafshar, Junkee Senior Videographer & Editor
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.
Whether it’s the consistently tortured appearance every Christmas Eve night on Channel 7 or just through plain old osmosis, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation has become a staple of my Christmas period celebrations. This film perfectly captures the stress of Christmas while also shining a light on the importance of coming together as a family. And it’s really, really funny.
– Alice Griffin, Junkee Editor In Chief
Die Hard.
Die Hard – and yes I will fight anyone on this – is a Christmas movie. Bruce Willis is literally coming home for Christmas, it takes place on Christmas Eve, they mention Christmas a PLETHORA of times (inc. the bad guy ruining a work Christmas party) and even play some Christmas tunes. It’s definitely not a wholesome movie but also that’s not a prerequisite for Christmas movies. It comes on TV every year and without a doubt, I pop it on straight away.
– Abbey Sheather, Junkee Junior Videographer and Editor
Klaus.
Klaus! Gorgeous animation, unique origin story, great voice cast; what’s not to love? Christmas was never a huge celebration in my family, so I actually love that this movie feels more like fictional folklore rather than celebrating the holiday itself. And it makes me inspired to create my own Christmas traditions too.
– Lia Kim, Junkee Writer & Producer
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Image credits: Netflix, Klaus, Warner Bros, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Universal, How The Grinch Stole Christmas