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The new Coopers Uptown shop, 2401 60th St., features shopping bags to warm the hearts of bag ladies (and men) everywhere. Pink Paper Shopping Bags
Maggie Marcoe creates a forest of decorated trees inside her Somers home.
Those iconic red Marshall Field's Christmas boxes can still be found at my home, several years after the Chicago department store ceased to exist.
Is there any sight prettier than a shopping bag?
Spreading bird seed on Christmas Day will, some say, ensure good luck in the new year. Also, it feeds the birds. A win-win!
Free gift wrapping includes Coopers Uptown gold ribbon.
Coopers Uptown features gorgeous and sturdy shopping bags.
My name is Elizabeth, and I’m a bag lady.
In fact, I come from a long line of bag ladies, having learned the fine art of coveting shopping bags from my mother and grandmother while toting purchases around a Marshall Field’s department store.
Forget those plastic abominations they try to pass off as “shopping bags” these days. We’re talking about sturdy bags emblazoned with a store’s logo, meant to be lovingly folded and reused for several years.
Those bags, a staple of shopping for decades, still reside in closets around the world.
That’s why I immediately went behind the sales counter when I visited the new Coopers Uptown store shortly before it opened to the public in October.
As I pulled out different shopping bags and placed them on the counter, Vicki Seebeck, general manager of the store, knew exactly what I was doing.
“Oh, you like our shopping bags?” she asked, her eyes twinkling as only a fellow bag lover’s eyes glow when they encounter a well-constructed bag.
Coopers Uptown bags are, indeed, a welcome throwback to the gold-standard shopping bag era. They are fashioned from a heavy paper, with thick handles meant to stand up to the heaviest of purchases.
Seebeck happily joined me in reminiscing about all the shopping bags we have loved and cared for over the years.
Even better than coming home with a sturdy shopping bag was coming home with the bag AND a department store gift box. And not those flimsy gift boxes whose sides fold in and which collapse after a few uses. We’re talking about heavy-duty boxes that will surely outlive me.
In our family, you might still get a gift wrapped in a signature red Marshall Field’s Christmas box, 16 years after the iconic Chicago department store ceased to exist. But you are not going to take that box home. It’s a treasured family heirloom meant to be passed down through the generations.
Thanks, Coopers, for recognizing that a good shopping bag is often more important than what’s inside it — and will likely be with you long after you’ve used up that fancy soap or have eaten all those chocolates.
Coopers Uptown also brought back another great tradition when it opened in the former Jack Andrea gift shop building at 2401 60th St.
Like Andrea’s, Coopers Uptown has free gift wrap. Every day, all year long.
Free gift wrap and a good shopping bag? Excuse me while I wipe away these tears of joy.
We’ve had a lot of fun the past few weeks showcasing the bright — and sometimes outrageous — outdoor decorations shining brightly in our area this season, but we can’t see what’s inside these festive homes.
Unless you share a photo.
Maggie Marcoe did just that, sending an image of her many indoor Christmas trees.
“We normally have four trees, but last year I told my family I was thinking of doing more and one of them would be a pink tree,” she said. “They thought I was crazy for wanting a pink tree.”
She and her son were inspired to go big “after going to Milaeger’s last year,” she said of the Racine store famous for its holiday decor. “My son loved their tree displays and couldn’t get enough of them. After some thought, I said I could do more trees in the sunroom, take the furniture out and make it work.”
She started working on the project at the end of September, starting with that pink-themed tree.
Christmas lights are one of the nicest things about the holiday season. However, the stunning decorations can also be a major fire hazard if they are left on for too long.
The project involved many trips to stores for ornaments and ribbon for the pink tree and her green-and-gold tree, too. (“It’s not a Packers tree,” she said.) She also does a blue tree, “which I’ve had for many years.” In addition to buying decorations, she also crafts items, including tree toppers and tree skirts.
“My husband wanted a red tree, so I started shopping for that tree, too.”
All in all, she had finished her extensive indoor forest — all with different themes/colors — by Thanksgiving.
And why does Marcoe do all this work?
“It’s for my son, and it really is pretty to look at,” she said, adding she is “already planning one more for next year.”
The Salvation Army’s annual Red Kettle campaign has just two days to go.
This season, our local Salvation Army is hoping to raise $350,000, with $100,000 coming from contributions to those Red Kettles.
As of Tuesday, the collected funds totaled $60,000, or 60% of the kettle goal.
“With the storm coming, it’s going to be difficult to meet our goal,” said David Hamilton, the auxiliary captain at Kenosha’s Salvation Army.
As you wrap up that holiday gift list, remember there’s still time to donate at one of the 19 local Red Kettle sites, and you can always send money to the Salvation Army, 3116 75th St., or donate online at sakenosha.org.
Helping our neighbors is one of the best gifts you’ll give this season.
While shopping at the new Wild Birds Unlimited Nature Shop in Pleasant Prairie, I learned about a fun holiday tradition in Scandinavia.
Apparently — though no one mentioned this when we were there in September — people in Scandinavia feed the birds on Christmas Day to ensure good luck throughout the coming year.
As I left the shop, they handed me a packet of bird seed “to spread on your doorstep Christmas morning for New Year’s good luck!”
I like good luck as much as the next guy, so I will definitely get scattering.
That’s a long way of wishing all of you a very merry Christmas and much good luck in 2023. Oh, and if you visit my home on Dec. 25, step carefully around the bird seed.
While the holidays represent the perfect time to reconnect with family and friends from near and far, even the merriest of families need a break from the hullaballoo of entertaining. Enter the Christmas movie, aka the perfect seasonal tune-out. Like the holidays themselves, most Christmas movies keep it wholesome, though a few step boldly outside the box (we’re looking at you, Bad Santa). Ultimately, viewers should expect warm-hearted themes of selflessness and family bonding. Yes, even in Bad Santa.
With The Last Jedi clogging theaters everywhere, 2017 kept it fairly light on the Christmas fare. Thankfully, there’s still over a century’s worth of holiday classics to choose from. And while you’re more than welcome to watch all 24 hours of A Christmas Story on TBS, some may want to mix things up by throwing on another gem or two.
To help get you in the spirit, Stacker has put together a list of the 55 Best Christmas Movies of All Time, built from a proprietary index (the ‘Stacker Score’) incorporating IMDb ratings, Metascores and the Tomatometer. To qualify, the film needed at least 1,000 IMDb votes and scores from at least 2 of the 3 sources. Stacker Scores are on 1-100 scale. So whip up the hot chocolate, pick your personal favorite, and enjoy!
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After taking out scores of people as Walter White in the iconic TV show Breaking Bad, it was time for actor Bryan Cranston to play the victim in 2016’s Why Him? In the movie, Cranston stars as Ned Fleming, a doting father who goes ballistic when he finds out his daughter’s erratic billionaire boyfriend (played by James Franco) wants to tie the knot. It all goes down during the holidays, naturally, lending this somewhat generic comedy a little Christmas flavor. Apparently, there was a lot of improvisation going on when the cameras were rolling . Given the lukewarm reception, maybe they should’ve stuck to the script.
In the vein of movies like Crash and 200 Cigarettes came 2004’s Noel. Directed by actor Chazz Palminteri and featuring a strong cast that included Susan Sarandon, Robin Williams, and Paul Walker, the movie involves the overlapping storylines of five New Yorkers on Christmas Eve, each one searching for a miracle. Perhaps they found that miracle on-screen, but unfortunately not at the box office.
Written and directed by Edward Burns (of The Brothers McMullen fame), 2012’s The Fitzgerald Family Christmas features a group of siblings meeting their estranged father for the first time in 20 years. When does it all go down? On Christmas, of course. The movie deals with themes of forgiveness and family, which is really what the holidays are all about.
Jim Carrey as The Grinch was a surefire recipe for success, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas was accordingly a box office smash. For the live-action Dr. Seuss adaptation, Carrey reportedly spent a whopping total of 92 days in make-up . In a show of solidarity, director Ron Howard donned his own Grinch makeup for a full day on the set, though it caused some drama after Carrey confused Howard for an inadequate stunt double . While the movie wasn’t critically heralded, it wasn’t lampooned either. If anything, its greatest crime was paving the way for an atrocious Cat in the Hat remake that soon followed.
In 1991’s All I Want for Christmas, all a brother and sister want is for their divorced parents to get back together. In order to make that happen, the siblings hatch a scheme that quickly goes by the wayside, and all sorts of hijinks follow. One might safely assume the movie was trying to capture the same holiday zeitgeist snagged by the previous year’s Home Alone. Ultimately, however, the film ended up making less during its entire run than Home Alone made in its first weekend .
How’s this for a Santa clause? In 2014’s Get Santa, the beloved Christmas character is on the run from the police. He’s found hiding in the garage by a father and son, who take it upon themselves to save Christmas. The cinematic results were fairly forgettable, and indeed audiences have all but forgotten this under-seasoned holiday flick.
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What, you haven’t heard of The Star, an animated film about a brave donkey and his heroic friends that’s playing in theaters this very minute? Or perhaps you have heard of it, which would explain the $32M it was able to whip up at the box office. If so, can you tell us if it’s any good?
The story of a dysfunctional family who gets together for Christmas after their mother’s death might not sound like feel-good holiday fare, but Almost Christmas squeezes in more than a few laughs. Fun fact: this film marks the second time Omar Epps and Gabrielle Union’s’ characters were prom dates (albeit retrospectively this time around).
A testament to the power of childhood imagination, 1989’s Prancer sees a young farm girl coming upon a wounded reindeer, whom she’s convinced has come straight out of Santa’s flock. Her effort to nurse the reindeer back to health inspires everyone around her. Everyone, that is, except her father, who sells Prancer to a local shop for display purposes. Call it a hunch, but we’re assuming Daddy eventually comes around. ‘Tis the season, after all.
As it turns out, Santa was a peasant woodcutter and toymaker who died and got transported to the North Pole. At least, that’s the story as 1985’s Santa Claus: The Movie tells it. The film then jumps ahead to the 20th century, where an industrious elf named Patch invents a machine that makes a lot of inferior products. There’s also a villain in there somewhere. Seven years in the making, the big-budget movie was ultimately a box office turkey. Meanwhile, we can’t help but imagine what the John Carpenter version would’ve looked like, whereas the horror legend was originally offered directing duties .
Clashing personalities always make for veritable holiday entertainment, and The Family Stone is no exception. In the film, the favorite son of a wacky family brings his uptight girlfriend home for Christmas. Soon enough, the two factions are pitted against each other in a battle of wills. It was a star-studded affair that performed well at the box office, presumably because so many viewers could relate to having a wacky family.
With Seth Rogen in front of the cameras and writing partner Evan Goldberg helping out with the script, you don’t need to see 2015’s The Night Before to know it goes big on raunchy laughs. However, like so much of Rogen’s output, the film still has a beating heart at its center. That’s all in spite of a relatively shallow premise about three friends in search of the ultimate Christmas party.
An updated version of the 1947 holiday classic (which pops up way higher on the list), 1994’s Miracle on 34th Street is about a department store Santa convinced he’s the genuine article. To find out if he is indeed Santa Claus, you’ll have to see the film. And if you’re disappointed with the results, you’re not alone. Specifically, during the original theatrical run, 20th Century Fox offered full refunds to any viewers who didn’t enjoy the movie, and were allegedly sent 1500 ticket stubs in return .
In 1977, Thomas Kinkade was a struggling painter living with his mother. With the mortgage bills stacking up and the threat of foreclosure looming, Kinkade sought the mentorship of a master, and ended up creating the now-famous “Christmas Cottage” painting. The rest, as they say, was history. Never one to waste an inspiring tale, Hollywood released Thomas Kinkade’s Christmas Cottage in 2008, coating on more sugar than a stocking full of candy canes.
In 1994’s The Santa Clause, a businessman (played by Tim Allen) transforms into jolly old St. Nick after the original Santa dies in an accident. When casting the movie, Disney broke with its policy of refusing to hire ex-convicts , whereas Allen had been busted for dealing drugs in 1978. It was a wise move on Disney’s part, since the movie was a fairly huge hit for its time that has even yielded some sequels.
Based on a novel by Christian author Max Lucado, The Christmas Candle is about a preacher who moves to a small English town and tries to abolish their belief in a magic candle. Suffice to say, the movie delivers plenty of heartfelt drama and holiday theme. It also marks the big-screen debut of Britain’s Got Talent winner Susan Boyle.
Susan Slept Here is a 1954 film about a struggling screenwriter who takes in a 17-year old delinquent during the holidays and gets inspired as a result. Debbie Reynolds plays the delinquent, and she later admitted to having a crush on older co-star Dick Powell . In spite of some presumably heartwarming themes, the movie was condemned by the Catholic Legion of Decency , who mostly took issue with the suggestive title.
Artist and author Chris Van Allsburg’s award-winning children’s book burst onto the big screen in 2004 with The Polar Express. Helmed by Robert Zemeckis, the movie is a CGI spectacle, and the “first all-digital capture” film , according to the Guinness Book of World Records. Plus, the movie features Tom Hanks, and nobody argues with Tom Hanks, especially during the holidays.
Jim Carrey is back! So is Robert Zemeckis. The two talents joined forces for 2009’s A Christmas Carol, the first Disney movie to be released in IMAX 3D . The movie rolled out with a big budget and big expectations, thereby under-performing at the box office. Nevertheless, it still makes for a quality adaptation of Charles Dickens’ famous tale about a disgruntled old man visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future.
In 2007’s This Christmas, the Whitfield family gets together for the first time in four years, and the outcome is as funny as it is heartfelt. The movie is written and directed by Preston A. Whitmore II, who we’re going to assume brought some personal experiences to the table (given the similarities between his last name and the family’s). Originally, the film prints were sent to theaters under the fake name of Another Gathering .
Every so often, a movie comes along to remind us that Christmas is about more than just presents. Okay, so basically every holiday movie reminds us that Christmas is about more than just presents. However, 1985’s One Magic Christmas took that theme to heart, literally being about an angel tasked with convincing a materialistic mother that Christmas is about more than just presents.
In the 2000 film The Family Man, Nicolas Cage plays a smooth talking, perennially single businessman who wakes up one day in an alternate universe where he married his old girlfriend and raised a family. After the shock wears off (and the diapers are changed), Cage’s character learns the value of hard-earned love and loyalty. Going heavy on the saccharine, the film is almost impossible to resist.
Only the second film directed by Nora Ephron (who wrote When Harry Met Sally), Sleepless in Seattle is a holiday charmer that will make your eyes tear up regardless of whether or not you enjoy it. The story deals with a widowed father (played by Tom Hanks) whose son calls a radio station in search of a new mom. Listening in is Annie Reed, who gets so swept away that she almost forgets she’s engaged. What follows is a heart-wrenching--and frequently hilarious--play on the concept of soulmates in the modern world. Watch it during the holidays, and keep a box of tissues by your side just to be safe.
Some movies toy delicately with your emotions, while others simply refuse to pull any punches. Falling squarely into the latter camp is 1994’s The Ref, which stars Denis Leary as a cat burglar who gets stuck with a bunch of spoiled, cloying hostages on Christmas. To this day, the engaging comedy flies under the radar, hence its inclusion on Entertainment Weekly’s list of The 50 Best Movies You’ve Never Seen in one of their 2012 issues.
Offering a rather dark take on A Christmas Carol is 1988’s Scrooged, in which Bill Murray plays a heartless TV executive who must be taught the meaning of Christmas. The film remains somewhat refreshing in its delivery to this day, though according to Murray, director Richard Donner botched a great script . In fact, the script was so good it brought Murray out of near retirement , being the first movie he made after 1984’s Ghostbusters. See if you can spot the Miles Davis cameo.
Dig deep into the archives and you might come across 1938’s Love Finds Andy Hardy. The film is the fourth in a series of sixteen movies centered around Judge Hardy and his family. In this installment, Andy Hardy gets into all sorts of romantic shenanigans during the holidays. The cast was a veritable who’s who of Old Hollywood, including Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, and Lana Turner.
The stars of 1999’s The Best Man returned for 2013’s The Best Man Holiday without missing a beat. Fifteen years have passed between them, but that doesn’t stop old rivalries and romances from rekindling post haste. The film was a big hit with audiences, earning double its production budget in its first week of release .
Film star Jim Carrey makes yet one more appearance on the list of best Christmas movies, albeit this time in a very brief supporting role. Indeed, the true star of Simon Birch is Ian Michael Smith--he plays a young boy with stunted growth who feels destined for greatness. It was Smith’s only film role, though he eventually went on to attend MIT . Meanwhile, the movie itself--which is based on the book A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving--remains a slightly unconventional coming of age tale that straddles the line between earnest and sappy.
Perhaps the most ubiquitous holiday movie this side of A Christmas Story, 2003’s Elf is the quintessence of a modern-day seasonal classic. Directed by Jon Favreau, the movie stars Will Ferrell as an oversized elf who mistakenly ends up in Santa’s workshop and then leaves for New York in search of his real father. There’s no shortage of memorable bits, including the snowball fight to end all snowball fights, and a showdown with a famous author who happens to resemble an elf. Of course, you already knew that because you’ve seen this film a hundred times.
Starring screen legends Robert Mitchum and Janet Leigh, 1949’s A Holiday Affair is about the romance between a young widow and the shop clerk who she accidentally gets fired. The film was a financial disappointment for RKO Studios at the time of its release, but it’s been given a second life on TCM , which airs it during the holidays.
Even though every Nancy Meyers film makes for terrific viewing at family get-togethers, The Holiday resonates with extra special seasonal charm. That’s in no small part thanks to its premise, where two women swap homes during Christmas and find romance as a result. Look for an (allegedly) unscripted cameo from Dustin Hoffman , who ended up in the movie after popping in randomly during the shoot.
Movies like Scrooged and The Ref might playfully break from the norm, but Bad Santa downright decimates any semblance of holiday movie tradition. The film--about an alcoholic con man who poses as Santa Claus before ripping off malls--is a non-stop barrage of foul language and explicit content. But we’ll be darned if it isn’t one of the greatest comedies of all time. Watch it this Christmas, but make sure grandma and grandpa are out of earshot.
Have you ever wondered how Santa is able to deliver all those presents on Christmas Eve? To find out, watch the 2011 animated flick Arthur Christmas, which takes viewers behind the scenes of Santa’s operation. The movie also deals with Santa’s goofy son, Arthur, who makes it his mission to get a misplaced gift back to where it belongs.
Bob Hope plays the title character in 1951’s The Lemon Drop Kid. In the movie, the Lemon Drop Kid owes the mob a great deal of money, and resorts to all kinds of Christmas trickery in order to come up with the cash. Among the film’s claims to fame was that it introduced the song “Silver Bells” to a wide audience . Hope would routinely feature the same song on his subsequent TV Christmas Specials.
No list of top Christmas movies is complete without at least three variations on A Christmas Carol. This one came in 1938 along with the tagline “Greater than David Copperfield” (which we imagine was high praise at the time). To share the film with as many people as possible, MGM released a record-breaking 375 prints during the holidays .
1945’s Christmas in Connecticut sees film star Barbara Stanwyck playing a food writer who doesn’t actually know how to cook. Things are going smoothly for the writer until her boss and a war hero invite themselves over for Christmas dinner. The premise might seem like something out of a modern-day sitcom, but the movie makes it work, hence the high ratings and enduring reputation.
Parallel holiday stories combine to hilarious effect in 2003’s Love Actually. The Christmas classic is a treasure trove of unforgettable moments, lines and characters. Apparently, things were just as fun behind the scenes. For instance, Hugh Grant had himself a merry old time exploiting Billy Bob Thornton’s bizarre fear of antique furniture , by flashing some right before the cameras rolled.
Nowadays, Home Alone’s wild success seems practically self-explanatory, but most of the people behind the film were not expecting it to be such a huge hit. It was to their surprise that the movie ended up earning the “Highest Box-Office Gross” for a comedy for its time. Needless to say, the antics of a young boy named Kevin McAllister--who gets abandoned by his family during Christmas and squares off against burglars--remains the holiday gift that keeps on giving.
Not to be confused with the 1989 remake starring Robert De Niro and Sean Penn, 1955’s We’re No Angels is a holiday gem about three convicts who spend Christmas with a well-intentioned family. Among the film’s notable stars is Humphrey Bogart, and a snake named Adolphe .
For an injection of supreme holiday cheer, look no further than 1942’s The Man Who Came To Dinner. It tells the story of a man who hurts himself on someone else’s property, and then slowly begins taking over that person’s house. Based on a hit Broadway play, the movie stars Bette Davis, who later claimed she wished John Barrymore had been cast in lieu of co-star Monty Woolley.
A sly study on Manhattan’s young upper crust, 1990’s Metropolitan mostly features a bunch of trust fund babies talking about things they don’t understand while falling in love with one another. Suffice to say, it doesn’t exactly make for quality family viewing during the holidays. However, if you enjoy terrific dialogue, sharp acting, and dry satire, the film serves up a classic slice of independent cinema in its own right. Maybe check this one out after the in-laws leave.
Based on a 1928 book of the same name, The Bishop’s Wife is about an angel taking human form to help a bishop build a cathedral and save his marriage. Originally, star Cary Grant wanted to play the bishop , but he was convinced to take on the role of the angel instead. It ended up being one of his most noteworthy performances.
Written by John Hughes and starring Chevy Chase, 1989’s National Lampoon’s A Christmas Vacation continues the story of the crazy Griswold family, who celebrate the holidays by turning every possible scenario into a full-blown disaster. The movie is actually based on a short story called “Christmas ‘59”, which John Hughes wrote while working for National Lampoon Magazine .
In 1940’s Remember the Night, Barbara Stanwyck plays a shoplifter who falls in love with the man prosecuting her. Such a premise might sound tawdry at first, but sprinkle on a little Hollywood fairy dust and you end up with a bona fide Christmas classic, not to mention a film that’s duly stood the test of time.
With Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire sharing screen time, you already know you’re looking at vintage movie gold. That gold is called Holiday Inn and it was released in 1942. True to its name, the movie centers around an exclusive inn only open on the holidays, where Crosby and Astaire go head to head over a young woman’s affection. One of the songs written for the film was “White Christmas”, which won an Oscar and remains a favorite jingle to this day.
Speaking of White Christmas, check out the 1954 classic by that very name. Starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye, the movie hits many of the same pitch-perfect notes as Holiday Inn. This time around, a duo of male entertainers team up with their female counterparts to save a failing inn. To call the film a song and dance filled extravaganza would be practically redundant.
1,2,3, 4 Christmas Carol adaptations on the list? The Dickens estate must get some serious royalties! In this version, the Muppets tackle the timeless tale. While Jim Henson’s presence looms large, this was actually the first Muppets movie made after his death .
Most Christmas movies keep it light in spirit, but Joyeux Noel goes straight for the jugular. Based on a true story, the acclaimed French film is about a temporary Christmas truce between enemy soldiers during World War 1. The movie was initially supposed to be rated “R”, but that was bumped down to “PG-13” after Roger Ebert openly critiqued the MPAA’s original rating .
Proving the original version is usually the best version is 1947’s Miracle on 34th Street, about a man who claims he’s the real Santa Claus and must convince others of the same thing. Not just one of the best Christmas movies you can find, it’s also #9 on AFI’s list of the 100 Most Inspiring Movies of All Time .
Stop-motion animation may very well have peaked in 1993 with The Nightmare Before Christmas. Put simply, the film is a visual masterpiece. Straight from Tim Burton’s head comes the story of Jack Skellington, a hero in Halloween Town whose life gets turned upside down after visiting Christmas Town. Disney wanted to make a sequel using CGI and Burton refused , preserving the movie’s integrity forever.
A classic holiday yarn, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer tells the story of an ugly duckling--er, red-nosed reindeer that is--who ends up saving Christmas by using his glowing honker as a navigation beacon. In 1964, NBC released a masterfully executed stop-motion animation version of the famous tale, which has become a seasonal mainstay ever since. In the original airing, Rudolph visited an Island of Misfit Toys, promising to help the abandoned toys but never returning. After viewers complained, a sequence was added to later airings where Rudolph leads Santa back to the island to help find the misfit toys a proper home.
As if sent by an angel, It’s a Wonderful Life is pure holiday perfection. Accordingly, the story of a man who discovers what his life would have been like had he never existed still strikes a nerve over seven decades later. Directed by Frank Capra--a master of emotional cinema if there ever was one--the movie actually tanked upon its theatrical debut . Time, however, has certainly healed that wound. Watch It’s a Wonderful Life with the whole family and bask in its warm glow.
A soldier suffering from PTSD strikes up a romance with a young woman on Christmas in 1944’s I’ll Be Seeing You. Nearly a full year after the film’s release, lead actor Joseph Cotton reprised the role for a radio adaptation .
The one, the only: A Christmas Story. If you haven’t already seen it, turn on the TV on Christmas day and you soon will. Directed by Bob Clark and based on the stories of Jean Shepherd, the movie details the exploits of young Ralphie Parker and his perpetual quest for a Red Ryder BB Gun. The film is an all-you-eat buffet of iconic scene after iconic scene, which helps explain its repeat "watchability." “You’ll shoot your eye out kid!”
The holidays have arrived, and that makes now the time to revisit history's most beloved Christmas movies. But what is a Christmas movie, exactly? So goes a question that continues to be hashed out on the internet, with titles such as "Die Hard" inspiring heated levels of debate. As if to fan the flames, the following list contains certain movies that only feature Christmas or the holidays in a fleeting capacity yet still make for quality viewing.
Then there are the no-brainer inclusions, which employ a holiday-based setting and run with the concept. Popular examples include timeless classics like "A Christmas Story" and "Elf," as well as the recent animated fantasy "Klaus." On the other end of the spectrum are bleaker titles such as "Black Christmas" and "Gremlins," which arguably subvert the holiday spirit by dispensing pure chaos or occasional bouts of violence. Just as all moviegoers are not the same, neither are all Christmas movies.
Stacker used IMDb and Metacritic to round up 50 of the best Christmas movies of all time. To qualify for the list, films had to have at least a 7.0 IMDb user rating or 70 Metascore and at least 5,000 IMDb user votes. Films are listed chronologically. Whip up the hot chocolate, pick your personal favorite, and enjoy.
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In "Remember the Night," Barbara Stanwyck plays a shoplifter who falls in love with the man prosecuting her. Such a premise might sound tawdry at first, but sprinkle on a little Hollywood fairy dust, and you end up with a bona fide Christmas classic, not to mention a film that's truly stood the test of time.
Two rival gift shop employees (James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan) forge an unwitting romance as anonymous pen pals in this old Hollywood classic. The 1998 comedy "You've Got Mail" later adapted the same source material, replacing letters with emails.
Before making "It's a Wonderful Life," director Frank Capra helmed this prescient romantic dramedy. Ambitious reporter Ann Mitchell (Barbara Stanwyck) conjures a human interest story out of thin air and spawns an unexpected social movement. The narrative builds toward an emotional Christmas Eve climax.
- Directors: Mark Sandrich, Robert Allen
With Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire sharing screen time, you already know you're looking at vintage movie gold. That gold is called "Holiday Inn," and was released in 1942. True to its name, the movie centers around an exclusive inn only open on the holidays, where Crosby and Astaire go head-to-head over a young woman's affection. One of the songs written for the film was "White Christmas," which won Irving Berlin an Oscar and remains a holiday favorite.
This blockbuster musical takes place in St. Louis at the turn of the 20th century and tells the story of the well-to-do Smiths. With plans to move after Christmas, the family must learn to let go of the things they hold dear. It introduced a number of iconic holiday songs, including "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."
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"Christmas in Connecticut" sees film star Barbara Stanwyck playing a food writer who doesn't actually know how to cook. Things are going smoothly for the writer until her boss and a war hero invite themselves to Christmas dinner. The premise might seem like something out of a modern-day sitcom, but the movie makes it work, hence the solid ratings and enduring reputation.
Bing Crosby reprised the Oscar-winning role of Father Chuck O'Malley from 1944s "Going My Way" in this musical dramedy. He and a stubborn nun (Ingrid Bergman) must overcome their differences if they want to save an inner-city parish. Between its original December release date and the inclusion of a holiday pageant scene, the movie has become associated with Christmas.
As if sent by an angel, "It's a Wonderful Life" is pure holiday perfection. Witness the story of George Bailey (James Stewart), who discovers what life would have been like had he never existed. Something of a flop upon theatrical release, it's now one of the most enduring Christmas movies ever made.
Actor Victor Moore delivers an indelible performance as drifter Aloysius T. McKeever in this Christmas-themed comedy. When the world's second-richest man (Charles Ruggles) heads to Virginia for the winter, McKeever moves into the millionaire's vacated mansion. "In the long run the sour millionaire is sweetened up, all disguises are cast off, and everybody is happy, including the audience," wrote critic James Agee for Time Magazine.
Based on a 1928 book of the same name, "The Bishop's Wife" is about an angel taking human form to help a bishop build a cathedral and save his marriage. Originally, star Cary Grant wanted to play the bishop, but he was convinced to take on the role of the angel instead. It ended up being one of his most noteworthy performances.
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The 1994 version may be the one most children would have seen, but 1947s "Miracle on 34th Street," about a man who claims he's the real Santa Claus and must convince others of the same thing, proves the original is usually the best. Not just one of the best Christmas movies to be found, it's also #9 on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 Most Inspiring Movies of All Time.
One among many collaborations between director John Ford and actor John Wayne, this colorful Western reimagines a famous Bible story. Three rugged bank robbers double as stand-ins for the three Wise Men, who must bring a newborn baby to New Jerusalem. It takes place around the holidays and features a rendition of "Silent Night."
Starring screen legends Robert Mitchum and Janet Leigh, "A Holiday Affair" is about the romance between a young widow and the shop clerk she accidentally got fired. RKO Studios originally released the film, but it's been given a second life on TCM, which airs it during the holidays.
One of the best adaptations of Charles Dickens' famous tale, this film features a deft performance by Alastair Sim as Scrooge. Sim later voiced a made-for-television version of the Dickens novella that also made it to the silver screen.
Starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye, "White Christmas" hits many of the same pitch-perfect notes as "Holiday Inn." This time around, a duo of male entertainers teams up with their female counterparts to save a failing inn. To call the film a song and dance-filled extravaganza would be practically redundant.
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This Billy Wilder comedy explores infidelity and interoffice romance while using Christmas as an occasional plot device. Insurance clerk C.C. Baxter (Jack Lemmon) lets executives use his apartment for their extramarital affairs as means to a promotion. It features an office holiday party and a recurring joke about Christmas fruitcake.
Paper Packet The Charles Dickens novella "A Christmas Carol" inspired countless film adaptations, including this musical version from 1970. Albert Finney plays the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, who's shown the true meaning of Christmas by an assortment of ghosts.