Top Christmas Movies Guaranteed to Get You in the Holiday Spirit

A Christmas Story (1983) All nine-year-old Ralphie (Peter Billingsley) wants for Christmas is a Red Ryder BB Gun. Problem is, everyone thinks he'll shoot his eye out.

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Elf (2003) Mayhem ensues when a lovable, but misguided, elf (Will Ferrell) tracks down his cranky father (James Caan) in New York.

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989) Pushy relatives, manic squirrels, and a very oversized tree-it could only be Christmas at the Griswolds.

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) Tim Burton's animated fantasy about what happens when Halloween usurps Christmas is a delightfully spooky treat.

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Scrooged (1988) An egomaniacal TV programmer (Bill Murray) learns the errors of his ways in this funny spin on Dickens' novella.

Home Alone (1990) Eight-year-old Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) is thrilled to spend Christmas away from his family. That is, until two bumbling burglars (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern) crash the party.

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Holiday Inn (1942) Jim (Bing Crosby) flees the city to open a rustic inn with his pal (Fred Astaire). Plot (or lack of) aside, Crosby's "White Christmas" and Astaire's fancy footwork are dreamy.

It's a Wonderful Life (1946) Faced with bankruptcy, George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart) laments the day he was born. A guardian angel changes his mind.

Miracle on 34th Street (1947) Kris Kringle lands the ultimate day job at Macy's. With the help of a flatmate, he wins over his supervisor (Maureen O'Hara) and her skeptical toddler (Natalie Wood).

The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) Looking for a more puppet-centric approach to the Scrooge story? Try this version, in which Ebenezer and the gang are acted out by everyone's favorite felt-covered friends.