On Saturday Cinema, I mentioned in passing that my sons, Peter and Joshua, and I had a list of Christmas films we watched in a certain order, a list established by the time they were in middle school. New ones were added over the years and a couple of honorable mentions, but back when the kids lived at home this film fest started Thanksgiving night and ran through Christmas Eve. Movies were big at our house, as you might imagine. (PJs, hot chocolate and cookies required.)
In response to the many listener requests I’ve received, here’s our list, in order:
Miracle on 34th Street (the original black and white!)
It's a Wonderful Life
A Charlie Brown Christmas
White Christmas
The Bishop's Wife
The Preacher's Wife
The Santa Clause
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the animated TV version, with Boris Karloff)
Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the Ron Howard version with the irrepressible Jim Carrey)
Scrooged
Elf
Home Alone
A Christmas Story
Mister Magoo’s Christmas Carol
Christmas Carol (1951 Alastair Sim version)
Christmas Carol (1999 Patrick Stewart version)
Christmas Carol (1984 George C. Scott version)
The Polar Express
The last two are always viewed on Christmas Eve!
Scrooge (1970 musical with Albert Finney)
A Muppet Christmas Carol
New in the lineup are two discoveries that the kids introduced to me for recent Christmases:
The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017)
Klaus (a 2019 Netflix film)
And these three I introduced to the kids this year:
Remember the Night
It Happened on 5th Avenue
The Shop Around the Corner
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