An A to Z of Christmas Movies

Put your feet up, slice off a little Christmas ham, and enjoy a quieter moment this festive season.  

To one and all we wish you a most Merry Christmas and the happiest of times. We all know how chaotic this season can be, so your festive friends at Forte have put together an A-Z of Christmas movies (and a couple of TV shows) for when you need a break from it all.

Keep up with the latest in local news and entertainment here.

We make no apology for some of the movies on this list. You know the ones. Ho, ho, ho!  

A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)

The first TV special based on the Peanuts comic strip sees Charlie set out to find the true meaning of Christmas in this animated season favourite. 

Bad Santa (2003)

Ratbag and alcoholic Willie (Billy Bob Thornton) plays a con artist whose gruff exterior is softened by the lonely Thurman Merman (Brett Kelly).   

Christmas with the Kranks (2004)

Luther (Tim Allen) and Nora (Jamie Lee Curtis) find themselves social outcasts when they do away with Christmas in favour of a Caribbean cruise.    

Die Hard (1988)

You knew this was going to be here. Bruce Willis’ John McClane must save the day when Nakatomi Plaza is taken over by some no-gooders during a Christmas party. 

Elf (2003) 

Raised among Santa’s elves, human Buddy (Will Ferrell) leaves the North Pole in search of his real father, only to discover he is severely lacking in Christmas spirit. 

The Family Man (2000) 

The high-living lifestyle of Jack (Nicolas Cage) is flipped when he awakes one Christmas with his college love (Téa Leoni), and children, in a suburban New Jersey home. 

Gremlins (1984) 

Billy Peltzer (Zach Galligan) receives a strange creature as a pet, only for things to spiral out of control when its spawn run amok on Christmas Eve. 

Home Alone (1990)

Young Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) must contend with a couple of robbers after his family accidentally leaves him at home during the Christmas holidays. 

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

James Stewart plays George Bailey, a man on the edge of despair who is shown what the world would have been like had he never existed. 

Jingle All the Way (1996)

Workaholic dad Howard Langston (Arnold Schwarzenegger) will go to extreme lengths to ensure his son Jamie (Jake Lloyd) gets the year’s most coveted toy. 

Krampus (2015) 

There is a reason children don’t want to be on the naughty list come Christmastime. Hopefully your Christmas spirit is alive and well. 

The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)

A schoolteacher and mother (Geena Davis) discovers her dark and mysterious past after hiring a private detective (Samuel L. Jackson) following unexplained behaviour.   

Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)

Marking the debut of Judy Garland’s ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’, this musical is divided into seasonal vignettes as it tells a year in the life of the Smith family. 

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)

The perfect Christmas is a must for Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase), but his good intentions don’t necessarily mean his plan is going to run smoothly.  

Office Christmas Party (2016)

When a CEO (Jennifer Aniston) looks to close her partying brother’s (T.J. Miller) branch, will a fight for the right to party save his job?  

Patti Rocks (1988)

Just before Christmas, philanderer Billy (Chris Mulkey) persuades his friend Eddie (John Jenkins) to go on a trip to confront his pregnant girlfriend Patti (Karen Landry). 

Quantum Leap: A Little Miracle (1990)

Dr. Sam Beckett leaps into the body of the personal valet of greedy industrialist Michael Blake, who is threatening to demolish a Salvation Army mission at Christmas.  

The Ref (1994) 

Car burglar Gus (Denis Leary) gets more than he bargained for after he takes hostage bickering couple Lloyd and Caroline (Kevin Spacey and Judy Davis) on Christmas Eve.   

Scrooged (1988) 

This take on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol stars Bill Murray as a television executive who is given a chance to right his wrongs. 

Trading Places (1983)

Upper-class Louis Winthrope III (Dan Aykroyd) and street con Billy Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy) must work together after they become the subject of a bet.

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)

A musical romance about a young Frenchwoman (Catherine Deneuve) who sells umbrellas, a mechanic (Nino Castelnuovo), and their brief romance that is interrupted by war.  

A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas (2011) 

Whatever can go wrong does go wrong when two old friends who have drifted apart must reunite to find a replacement Christmas tree.  

Why Him? (2016) 

An overprotective father (Bryan Cranston) does not approve of his daughter’s new love interest (James Franco) when they come together for the holidays. 

The X-Files: How the Ghosts Stole Christmas (1998)

It’s Christmas Eve and Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) are trapped inside a haunted house with two ghosts with a plan for the agents. 

Young Pioneers’ Christmas (1976)

Courage and spirit are at the heart of this made-for-TV Western about Molly and David Beaton (Linda Purl, Roger Kern) and their grief following the death of their baby son.   

Ziggy’s Gift (1982) 

In a world surrounded by naughty-listers, Ziggy, who has taken a job as a street Santa, remains good and kind in this animated holiday Christmas special.  

Words by Chester Ogilvie