A few days ago I asked the staff at The House what their favorite Christmas movies are. I was naieve enough to believe I could get 10 to rise to the surface. In about five minutes I had a list of almost 25 “favorites.” Then I began to think that a list of top 10 Christmas movies is oh-so-dull. I am afraid to even Google it and discover that something like 16 million people have probably already beaten me to the punch.
So here, instead, is a list of entertaining movies that are not about Christmas, but are all Christmassy just the same.
1. Sleepless in Seattle–This cute movie is so darn Christmassy, it’s arguable if it even belongs on this list of non-Christmas movies
2. Die Hard–ok, so this one wasn’t actually my idea. But everyone I mentioned it to resonated with it as a Christmas flick.
3. Gremlins–the girl found out there was no Santa because her dad died in the chimney? Huh?
4. When Harry Met Sally–On the basis of this one, I probably have to omit You’ve Got Mail to keep Meg Ryan from overpowering the list.
5. Bridget Jones’s Diary–Every ugly Christmas sweater now reminds me of this movie. I wish I didn’t have to think of it that often…
6. Family Man–One of the only Nicholas Cage movies I really, really love.
7. Cast Away–This one might be stretching it a bit, but the whole first scenes capture that feeling of trying to get your work wrapped up for the holidays.
8. About a Boy–a decent Hugh Grant movie about a guy who lives off the royalties from his father’s hit song, “Santa’s Super Sleigh.”
9. The Dead–John Huston’s last movie, and the last lines of his last movie come closest to making me cry of any movie ever. ‘Course they were written by James Joyce, so you kinda expect something from them.
10. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe–Father Christmas’s gifts permeate the entire series.
Honorable mention–Lady and the Tramp. Who can argue with a movie that opens and closes on Christmas, and has puppies!
Die Hard and Family Man are Christmas movies. They're both set at Christmas and the second one is a revisioning of It's a Wonderful Life.
Love Actually! I guess it's a Christmas movie, but it's good all year long.
You forgot While You Were Sleeping…The BEST non-Christmas Christmassy movie of all time!
For some reason a couple times we have watched a classic war movie on Christmas eve. So it was great to find this movie which is a Christmas War movie and is one of my favorites, Joyeux Noel.
What about the Home Alone series?
That was actually on my original list of Christmas movies. The last half of the movie seems specific to Christmas, but them some of these do as well.