Christmas movies, I love ‘em, you love ‘em, but we can all agree that some are better than others. Now, it would be impossible to crown a best movie out of all of them, so let me introduce you to my Top of the Tree ® rating system. Near the tree skirt we have the movies you only watch if you have to, in the middle we have the movies that you’re definitely okay with watching, and up near the star you have the movies you break out after the Thanksgiving turkey. Let’s just jump into it, shall we? 

Tree skirt:

The Santa Clause- This is a strange movie if you think about it. The main character kills Santa, becomes Santa, and becomes embroiled in a custody battle with his ex-wife? Little tone switch at the end, but you do you I guess. 

A Christmas Story- I know I might get some heat for this but I… don’t like this movie. I think it has a weird concept, strange characters, and disturbing scenes. Ralphie can go shoot his eye out for all I care, I won’t be watching.

The Grinch (Live action)- Objectively the worst version of the Grinch, Jim Carrey tried his best to salvage this dumpster fire, but he was not able to. I know it’s a cult classic for some people, but cult classics imply it’s not popular. I think that’s for good reason, Jim can stay up at the top of Mount Crumpet. 

Middle of the Tree:

A Charlie Brown Christmas- Don’t get me wrong, this is a good movie, and has one of the best soundtracks of any Christmas movie, but outside of that, what else? Okay, they found a tree and it was sad but they fixed it, yay? They spend the whole movie prepping for a play, but they never actually do the play. I like this movie and I don’t want it to sound like I’m just hating on it, but it has some drawbacks. 

Christmas Vacation- Are you serious Clar-Yes. Yes I am. This is a mid movie. It’s even set in the MIDwest. It has some funny moments and very quotable quotes, but this isn’t getting pulled out until at least December 10th. 

The Grinch (New animated)- I actually really liked this movie, I thought it was cute. They did a great job harkening back to the older ones but putting a fresh spin on the tale. The jokes land, and they got even Tyler the Creator for You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch. The only reason this isn’t higher is because of 

Tree star:

The Grinch (original animated): Perfect movie. No notes. The jokes are great, it has the old nostalgic feel, the songs are fantastic. This is definitely one of the first movies I’m pulling out when December hits. 

Home Alone: This is a fantastic movie, maybe in contention for one of the best of all time, not just Christmas. The combination of jokes and heartfelt moments show up for a great movie. I still quote it all the time, and John Candy might be my favorite cameo in a role ever. 

The Polar Express: This gets bonus points for having a musical number about hot chocolate. The main character (played by Tom Hanks) is picked up on a special train with a conductor (played by Tom Hanks), and along the way is helped by a hobo (played by Tom Hanks). Along the way he is confronted in a dream by Scrooge (played by Tom Hanks), and gets to meet Santa (played by Tom Hanks), before discovering the true meaning of Christmas, and getting home to his parents (the dad is played by Tom Hanks)