This year’s Christmas lockdown means a moratorium on carolers, holiday parties and other traditions. One activity that isn’t cancelled: snuggling up in a bundle of cozy blankets to watch your favourite holiday movies. Here, we’ve rounded up 70 of our favourite end-of-year classics that’ll get you in a festive mood.
For the uninitiated, this ’90s classic starts Macaulay Culkin as crafty Kevin McCallister, Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern as wisecracking burglars, and, of course Catherine O’Hara (a.k.a. Moira Rose) in a recently rediscovered role as Kevin’s forgetful mom. For an optimal viewing experience, make sure to order a lovely cheese pizza just for you.
The original 1947 film version stars Edmund Gwenn as Kris Kringle, a Macy’s Santa forced to prove his identity, and a young Natalie Wood as Susan Walker, who was raised to not believe in fairy tales but changes her mind after her miraculous encounters with Kris.
In this 1994 Christmas comedy, Scott, a toy salesman played by Tim Allen, unknowingly agrees to take over the role of Santa Claus after he helps the O.G. Saint Nick out of a snowy-roof crisis. With no way out, Scott juggles the responsibilities of his highly demanding new job while also trying to also work on relationships with his ex-wife and young son.
Tim Burton’s animated classic is perfect viewing from spooky season all the way through Christmas, following Jack Skellington, the pumpkin king of Halloweentown, who discovers the neighbouring Christmastown and plots to take control.
In this 1998 holiday comedy, onetime heartthrobe Jonathan Taylor Thomas stars as a spoiled college student whose father bribes him to come home for Christmas with the possibility of a Porsche. The film follows his journey from California to New York during peak travel season—a quest that involves hitchhiking on the side of a highway and taking over a runaway horse-drawn buggy.
Noelle
A Christmas Carol
The Christmas Star
LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special
Nutcracker
Olaf’s Frozen Adventure
12 Dates of Christmas
I’ll Be Home For Christmas
The Muppet Christmas Carol
12 Dates of Christmas
Good Luck Charlies, It’s Christmas!
Snowglobe
Full Court Miracle
Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas
Snow
Mistle-tones
One Magic Christmas
The Ultimate Christmas Present
Decorating Disney: Holiday Magic
‘Twas the Night
Richie Rich’s Christmas Wish
The Christmas Star
One Magic Christmas
Babes in Toyland
This 2000 live-action comedy, based on the children’s book of the same name by Dr. Seuss, stars Jim Carrey as the pessimistic, Christmas-hating monster.
Nancy Meyers Week may be over, but her movies have serious staying power. Iris and Amanda—played by Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz—are both heartbroken at Christmas, so they decide to spontaneously switch homes. Iris finds herself in a glass-walled Hollywood mansion while Amanda is all alone in a quaint, stone-walled English cottage. Predictably and delightfully, romance ensues.
When Georgia, a timid New Orleans department store worker played by Queen Latifah, is informed out of the blue that she has three weeks left to live, she cashes in all her life savings and books a fancy no-holds-barred trip of a lifetime to a luxury spa hotel in the Czech Republic.
Anyone who’s boycotting Love Actually this year can check out the other ultimate British rom-com. Renee Zellweger became a star Bridget Jones, an office worker who takes control of her fledgling romantic life by chronicling her mishaps in a diary.
Four Christmases
DreamWorks Holiday Classics
Holidate
Arthur Christmas
Mariah Carey’s Merriest Christmas
Trolls Holiday
Love the Coopers
Let It Snow
Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square
A Christmas Prince
Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding
A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby
Klaus
The Princess Switch
The Princess Switch 2: Switched Again
The Christmas Chronicles
The Christmas Chronicles: Part Two
The Holiday Calendar
Holiday in the Wild
Hometown Holiday
Holiday Rush
Holiday Joy
Christmas Inheritance
Operation Christmas Drop
12 Gifts of Christmas
Christmas Wonderland
Will Ferrell’s all-time greatest performance is arguably his turn as Buddy the Elf, a childlike worker in Santa’s North Pole workshop, looking to connect with his long-lost biological father, a cold and cynical businessman in New York played by James Caan. While marvelling at the conveniences of modern technology, Buddy spreads his infectious and joyful Christmas spirit to his newfound family.
It’s a Wonderful Life
A Christmas Story
Polar Express
Christmas Vacation
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Little Women
Jingle All the Way
Eight Crazy Nights
Fred Claus
NEVER MISS A TORONTO LIFE STORY
Sign up for This City, our free newsletter about everything that matters right now in Toronto politics, sports, business, culture, society and more.