Ten festive films
Let the festive favourite films roll
Everybody has a favourite festive film – I have a friend who wraps presents on Christmas Eve while watching Die Hard – once the children are in bed, of course.
That’s the movie starring Bruce Willis as a cop who, on Christmas Eve, ingle-handedly beats a gang of kidnappers led by the late Alan Rickman.
Each year my dad and me watch A Christmas Carol – the black and white version with Alistair Sim as Scrooge, writes Sue Wilkinson.
There are lots more familyfriendly movies out there – from Frozen to Home Alone – and we look at some of the best – either available on DVD or to stream.
1 Jingle Jangle
An imaginary world comes to life in a holiday tale of an eccentric toymaker, his adventurous granddaughter, and a magical invention that has the power to change their lives forever. Forest Whitaker stars.
2 Noelle
Santa’s daughter must take over the family business when her father retires and her brother, who is supposed to inherit the Santa role, gets cold feet. Shirley MacLaine, Anna Kendrick and Bill Hader star.
3 The Grinch
A grumpy Grinch plots to ruin Christmas for the village of Whoville.
The 2018 version stars Benedict Cumberbatch as the mean greenie. Jim Carry plays the character in the 2000 movie How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
4 The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
This is a gorgeous looking movie starring Mackenzie Foy, Keira Knightley and Morgan Freeman.
A young girl is transported into a magical world of gingerbread soldiers and an army of mice.
5 The Star
Animated, delightful version of the nativity.
A small but brave donkey and his animal friends become the unsung heroes of the first Christmas. Features the voices of Steve Yeun and Keegan-Michael Key.
6 Home Alone
An eight-year-old troublemaker must protect his house from a pair of burglars when he is accidentally left home alone by his family during Christmas vacation. Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesco and Daniel Stern star,
7 The Snowman
On Christmas Eve, a young boy builds a snowman that comes to life and takes him to the North Pole to meet Father Christmas. Based on a book by Raymond Briggs.
Aled Jones sings Walking in The Air.
8 A Christmas Carol
On Christmas Eve, Ebenezer Scrooge, a curmudgeonly, miserly businessman, is visited by three spirits who will show him the errors of his ways.
Alistair Sim’s version is the best ... in my opinion.
9 Frozen
When the newly crowned Queen Elsa accidentally uses her power to turn things into ice to curse her home in infinite winter, her sister Anna teams up with a mountain man, his playful reindeer, and a snowman to change the weather.
10 It’s a Wonderful Life
An angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed. James Stewart stars in what is considered one of the best festive films of all time.