Image: Scene from "A Charlie Brown Christmas." Image courtesy of United Features Syndicated. — Image courtesy of United Features Syndicated.

Staff picks for top 10 ‘Modern Classic’ Christmas movies

By Jaimy Jones Last updated Dec 10, 2015 552 0

Christmas movies are just as anticipated as the annual Christmas tree every year. They’ve become a part of our collective tradition. And every year, Hollywood churns out more holiday-themed films to fulfill our demand for heart-warming cinema. Whether comedy or drama, each generation has its favorites.

Here’s a compilation of Christmas movies that have captured the hearts of Millennials: the modern classics.

1. Home Alone (1990)

Image: "Home Alone" movie poster. Image courtesy of 20th Century Fox. — *Image courtesy of 20th Century Fox.*

Kevin McCallister, played by MacCaulay Culkin is accidently left “home alone” when the 8-year-old’s family travels to Europe for Christmas. Thinking that the wealthy owners of the two-story home are gone for the holidays, two burglars, played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern, attempt to break into the house, but are met with a series of outlandish booby-traps set by McCallister. This one hits home with the Gen Y set, as they were about the same age as young Culkin when he bested the two intruders – and got to shoot his older brother’s BB gun in his absence, jump on his bed, watch all the rated-R movies he normally wouldn’t be able to and eat all the junk his little stomach could handle.

2. A Christmas Story (1983)

Image: Scene from the movie "A Christmas Story" when Ralphie receives his prized BB gun on Christmas morning. Image courtesy of Warner Bros./Turner Entertainment. — *Image courtesy of Warner Bros./Turner Entertainment.*

Oh, Ralphie Parker. The world will forever remember your pleas for a Red Rider BB Gun and your desperate eyes, filled with sadness with every denial. “You’ll shoot your eye out,” lamented every adult in the film. The story follows the Parker family over one Christmas set in the 1940s. The chronicles of Ralphie revealed the secret life of a school-age boy navigating his world of school bullies, an inept younger brother, the endless lust for a BB gun to fulfill his dream of becoming a real cowboy and, of course, his parents, who reminded us that our own families aren’t quite so bad.

3. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

Image: A scene from Frank Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life." Image courtesy of RKO Pictures. — *Image courtesy of RKO Pictures.*

From a retrospective look at the 1940s with “A Christmas Story” to a film actually written in the 1940s, “It’s a Wonderful Life” stands the test of time. It’s not just our grandparents who identify with the James Stewart and Donna Reed classic. The movie continues to speak to every age with its heart-rending plot of a young George Bailey, played by Stewart, who dreams of leaving his small home and going to college, but ends up having to take over his father’s bank, which eventually leads to him spending his entire life in the same small town. But by the end of the miraculous story, Bailey finds the beauty and divine intervention in his life. It’s a lesson for anyone who has dreams and uncertainty about the future, as well as someone who’s looking back and trying to make sense of it all.

4. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)

Image: The movie poster for "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation." Image courtesy of Warner Bros. — *Image courtesy of Warner Bros.*

The Chevy Chase classic premiered in the prime of Generation Y’s childhood. It’s the quintessential, light-hearted Christmas movie full of family quirks and trips to the emergency room. The series of ridiculous mishaps revolving around Chase’s character, Clark Griswold, and his obsession with constructing the biggest, brightest and most monstrous Christmas light display continues to be a hit year after year, even spawning numerous spin-off films with the family on other vacations.

5. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Image: Movie poster for "The Nightmare Before Christmas." Image courtesy of Touchstone Pictures. — *Image courtesy of Touchstone Pictures.*

Before Pixar dominated animated movies, Tim Burton brought his off-beat storytelling to this imaginative tale of a town where it’s perpetually Halloween. But one of the ghouls is taken with the idea of Christmas and wants to bring the celebration to his friends in Halloween Town. It’s full of creatures and characters from mythology who help bring a bit of meaning to what we think about Christmas, and what it really means to us in our culture, all wrapped up in a fantastical, animated tale that spellbound kids and adults alike.

6. Elf (2003)

Image: Scene from "Elf." Image courtesy of New Line Cinema. — *Image courtesy of New Line Cinema.*

A coming-of-age tale starring Will Ferrell, “Elf” has become an instant classic ripe with quotes you’ve likely heard on a daily basis, even if you didn’t know where they came from. Ferrell plays an elf brought up in the North Pole but never really fits in and is never accepted by his fellow elves. He sets off for the U.S. in search of his father and ends up finding himself. In spite of its silliness, it speaks to a very real quandary millennials find themselves in as they navigate their way into adulthood.

7. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1968)

Ever the moral compass, Charlie Brown wants to bring the true meaning back to Christmas. He’s fed up with the materialism he sees around Christmas and resolves to tell the real story by directing the town’s Christmas play. As if the retro-love of all things from the 1960s wasn’t enough, millennials love this film because Charlie tells it like it is when he tries to radically reverse the trend of consumerism — something Generation Yer’s know all too well.

8. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)

Image: The Grinch from "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" 1966 television special. Image courtesy of MGM Television/Warner Bros. Television Distribution. — *Image courtesy of MGM Television/Warner Bros. Television Distribution.*

Millennials have a thing for vintage, and it doesn’t get anymore vintage than Dr. Seuss. In the animated movie, the hateful Grinch attempts to thwart Christmas by disguising himself as Santa Clause and his tiny dog as a reindeer. The story has almost become a myth on its own, taken for granted as a Christmas theme as old as the holiday itself. It’s been retold in many forms, including a 2000 movie starring Jim Carrey. When The Simpsons repurposed the grinchy archetype for one its Christmas special episodes and Mr. Burns tried to sabotage the holiday in Springfield, it became instantly enshrined in Generation Y culture.

9. The Santa Clause (1994)

Image: "The Santa Clause" movie poster. Image courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures/Buena Vista Pictures. — *Image courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures/Buena Vista Pictures.*

The early ‘90s was the heyday for fun Christmas movies that appealed to kids, who are just coming into adulthood now. Tim Allen stars as a modern-day single dad — helping a generation of kids of divorced parents see themselves as a part of the new family model — and on a magical night encounters Santa Clause, eventually taking the torch from the original jolly, round man and inherits the role, taking on the mission of Christmas.

10. The Polar Express (2004)

Image: Scene from the animated film "The Polar Express." Image courtesy of Warner Bros. — *Image courtesy of Warner Bros.*

The traditional magic and mysterious power of Christmas set against the modern wonder of computer generated imagery (CGI) makes this animated film among the top Christmas movies for the latest generation. A young boy sets off on the biggest journey of his life when he boards a train, the Polar Express, toward the North Pole. Of course, he learns much more about life and himself than he expects along the way.

What is your favorite holiday movie?