The 20 Best Christmas Movies of All Time

Celebrate the holiday spirit with these amazing Christmas movies. For the boomers among you some of these movies,especially the classic Christmas movies, will definitely arouse old memories and stir up feelings of nostalgia to an era where there were no mobile phone, Internet or social media, and where everybody would gather around the single TV set at home to watch Miracle on 34th Street, Home Alone, or A Christmas Carol. Yes, those were old good times.

This post is motivated by a personal communication with a fellow educator in which we talked about our favorite Christmas movies. Out of curiosity, I conducted a quick online search to see what Christmas movies people watch the most during this holiday season and I was struck by the sheer volume of results. And as I did with Teacher Movies list, I decided to dig deeper and compile a list of some of the best Christmas movies of all time.

The criteria I used to categorize these movies are viewers reviews and ratings as documented in Amazon prime video. The movies are ordered according to their degree of popularity among viewers from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation which has the highest ratings to Office Christmas Party with the least number of ratings in this list.

Of course, there are tons of other amazing Christmas movies out there and several other websites covered them in extensive lists but for practical reasons, I only limited my selection to 20 titles.

1- National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)(PG-13)

"The Griswold family's plans for a big family Christmas predictably turn into a big disaster."

Directors: Jeremiah S. Chechik
Starring: Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Juliette Lewis
Genres: Comedy
Subtitles: English [CC]
Audio: languages English, English [Audio Description]
Duration: 1h 37 min

2- Elf (2003) (PG)

"One Christmas Eve a long time ago, a baby crawled into Santa's bag of toys Raised as an elf. Buddy goes looking for his true place in the world--in New York City."


Directors: Jon Favreau
Starring: Leon Redbone, Will Ferrell, James Caan
Genres: Comedy, Kids, Fantasy, Adventure, Romance
Subtitles: English [CC]
Audio: languages: English, English [Audio Description]
Duration: 1h 36 min

3- Illumination Presents: Dr. Seuss' The Grinch (2018) (PG)

"The Grinch tells the story of a cynical grump who goes on a mission to steal Christmas, only to have his heart changed by a young girl's generous holiday spirit."

Directors: Scott Mosier, Yarrow Cheney
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Rashida Jones, Kenan Thompson
Genres: Comedy, Animation, Kids, Fantasy
Subtitles: English [CC]
Audio: languages English, English [Audio Description]
Duration: 1h 25 min

4- Polar Express (2004) (G)

"A doubting young boy takes an extraordinary train ride to the North Pole that shows him that the wonder of life never fades for those who believe."

Directors: Robert Zemeckis
Starring: Tom Hanks, Nona Gaye, Peter Scolari
Genres: Comedy, Animation, Kids, Fantasy, Adventure, Arts, Entertainment, and Culture
Subtitles: English [CC]
Audio: languages English, English [Audio Description]
Duration: 1h 39 min

5- Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas (200) (PG)

"Oscar winners Ron Howard and Brian Grazer go to Whoville to bring the world's best-loved grump to life in this hilarious celebration of the true holiday spirit, which stars Jim Carrey."

Directors: Ron Howard
Starring: Jim Carrey, Jeffrey Tambor, Christine Baranski
Genres: Comedy, Kids, Fantasy
Subtitles: English [CC]
Audio: languages English, English [Audio Description]
Duration: 1h 45 min

6- A Christmas Story (1983) (PG)

"In this holiday classic, Ralphie, a young boy growing up in the '40's, dreams of owning a Red Rider BB gun. He sets out to convince the world this is the perfect gift."

Directors: Bob Clark
Starring: Peter Billingsley, Melinda Dillon, Darren McGavin
Genres: Comedy, Kids, Drama
Subtitles: English [CC]
Audio: languages English, English [Audio Description]
Duration: 1h 33 min

7- Home Alone (1990) (PG)

"When little Kevin McCallister is accidentally left behind when his family dashes off on a Christmas trip, he is left to defend his family's home from two bumbling burglars until the relatives return."

Directors: Chris Columbus
Starring: Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern
Genres: Comedy, Kids
Subtitles: English [CC]
Audio: languages English
Duration: 1h 42 min

8- Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) (PG)

"Bored with the same old scare-and-scream routine, Pumpkin King Jack Skellington longs to spread the joy of Christmas. But his merry mission puts Santa in jeopardy and creates a nightmare for good little boys and girls everywhere!"

Directors: Henry Selick
Starring: Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara, William Hickey
Genres: Animation, Kids, Fantasy, Arts, Entertainment, and Culture
Subtitles: English [CC]
Audio: languages English, English [Audio Description]
Duration: 1h 16 min

9- Christmas with the Kranks (2004)(PG)

"Fed up with the commercial aspects of Christmas, particularly all the money spent, and alone for the holiday for the first time in decades, as their daughter has just joined the Peace Corps, grumpy Luther Krank and his sweet wife, Nora, decide to skip Christmas this year and forgo the gifts, the tree, the decorations, the cards, the parties and to spend the dollars saved on a 10-day Caribbean..."

Directors: Joe Roth
Starring: Tim Allen, Jamie Lee Curtis, Dan Aykroyd
Genres: Drama, Kids
Subtitles: English [CC]
Audio: languages English
Duration: 1h 39 min

10- Scrooged (1988) (PG-13)

"Frank Cross is a mean TV executive with perfect qualities of a modern-day Scrooge. Before the night is over, he’ll be visited by three ghosts from the past, present and future."

Directors: Richard Donner
Starring; Bill Murray, Karen Allen, Carol Kane
Genres: Comedy, Drama
Subtitles: English [CC]
Audio: languages English
Duration: 1h 40 min

11- The Santa Claus (1994)(PG)

"On Christmas Eve, divorced dad Scott Calvin and his son discover Santa Claus has fallen off their roof. When Scott takes the reins of the magical sleigh, he finds he is now the new Santa, and must convince a world of disbelievers, including himself."

Directors: John Pasquin
Starring: Tim Allen, Judge Reinhold, Wendy Crewson
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Kids, Fantasy
Subtitles: English [CC]
Audio: languages English, English [Audio Description]
Duration: 1h 37 min

12- Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)(NR)

"Neal just wants to fly home to Chicago for Thanksgiving with his family. But all he gets is misery. Misery named Del Griffith - a loud mouthed salesman who leads Neal on a wild goose chase."

Directors: John Hughes
Starring: Laila Robbins, Steve Martin, John Candy
Genres: Comedy
Subtitles: English [CC]
Audio: languages English
Duration: 1h 32 min

13- Jingle All The Way (1996)(PG)

"It's a slapstick race against time! A beleaguered dad finds himself moving from store to store on Christmas Eve, frantically searching for the final present on his holiday gift list!"

Directors: Brian Levant
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sinbad, Phil Hartman
Genres: Comedy, Kids, Adventure
Subtitles: English [CC]
Audio: languages English
Duration: 1h 29 min

14- Almost Christmas (2016) (PG)

"A new comedy from David E. Talbert that tells the festive story of a beloved patriarch who asks his family for one gift this holiday season: to get along."

Directors: David E. Talbert
Starring: Kimberly Elise, Danny Glover, John Michael Higgins
Genres: Drama, Romance, Comedy
Subtitles: None available
Duration: 1h 52 min

15- Miracle on 34th Street (1947) (1947)(All)

"After a divorced New York mother hires a nice old man to play Santa Claus at Macy's, she is startled by his claim to be the genuine article. When his sanity is questioned, a lawyer defends him in court by arguing that he's not mistaken."

Directors: George Seaton
Starring: Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Edmund Gwenn
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Kids
Subtitles: English [CC]
Audio: languages English
Duration: 1h 36 min

16- A Christmas Carol (1984) (7+)

"An old bitter miser who rationalizes his uncaring nature learns real compassion when three spirits visit him on Christmas Eve."

Directors: Clive Donner
Starring: George C. Scott, Angela Pleasence, Edward Woodward
Genres: Drama, Kids, Fantasy
Subtitles: English [CC]
Audio: languages English
Duration: 1h 41 min

17- Arthur Christmas (2011)(7+)

"Santa's youngest son Arthur embarks on a magical adventure to deliver the final gift to a child to save Christmas."

Directors: Sarah Smith
Starring: James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie, Bill Nighy
Genres: Comedy, Animation, Kids
Subtitles: English [CC]
Audio: languages English
Duration: 1h 37 min

18- The Christmas Candle (2013)(PG)

"Legend has it every 25 years an angel touches a single candle, and whomever lights this candle receives a miracle on Christmas Eve. But in 1890, at the dawn of the electric age, this centuries old legend may come to an end when a progressive young minister arrives. Now, the fiery candlemaker must fight to preserve the legacy of the Christmas Candle. From bestselling author, Max Lucado."

Directors: John Stephenson
Starring: Hans Matheson, Samantha Barks, Lesley Manville
Genres: Drama, Romance
Subtitles: English [CC], Español [CC]
Audio: languages English
Duration: 1h 40 min

19- It's A Wonderful Life (Black & White Version) (1947)(13+)

"After George Bailey wishes he had never been born, an angel is sent to earth to make George's wish come true. George starts to realize how many lives he has changed and impacted, and how they would be different if he was never there."

Directors: Frank Capra
Starring: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore
Genres: Kids, Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Subtitles: English [CC]
Audio: languages English
Duration: 2h 10 min

20- Office Christmas Party (2016)(R)

"You're invited to the most outrageous holiday party of the season. When the CEO decides to close her hard-partying brother's branch, he and his fired up co-workers decide to throw an epic office party to land a VIP client and save everyone's jobs."

Directors: Josh Gordon, Will Speck
Starring: Jason Bateman, Olivia Munn, T.J. Miller
Genres: Comedy
Subtitles: English [CC]
Audio: languages English, English [Audio Description]
Duration: 1h 45 min

This post originally appeared in Educational Technology and Mobile Learning ( www.educatorstechnology.com ).

The 20 Best Christmas Movies of All Time