My Essential Christmas Films

Everyone has different films they watch at Christmas and I am aware that not all of mine will be traditional answers but these are films I think I always manage to watch in between the new Christmas specials on television.

Love Actually A modern classic which will have you feeling all of the feelings. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll be heartwarmed and you’ll want to cheer Emma Thompson up and hit Alan Rickman.

Blackadder’s Christmas Carol Blackadder always hits the mark for comedy and offers a new twist A Christmas Carol. With an excellent cast as always, this is a great festive parody.

The Muppet Christmas Carol I know, some people may find this one a little juvenile but it’s good fun, always puts me in the spirit of Christmas and would Michael Caine be in a bad film? No! While light and surprisingly funny, The Muppet Christmas Carol still contains the original message of A Christmas Carol but with added muppet puppet fun.

Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas Another one aimed at children and usually I am against Disney sequels but the Beauty and the Beast Enchanted Christmas manages to hit the mark especially if you want to show children the spirit of generousity and kindness exhibited by the characters. I may be somewhat biased as Beauty and the Beast was my favourite film as a child, so much so that I wore out my original VHS tape. I do think this newer film fits in well with the first film while adding in new songs and characters which stand up to the originals.

The Snowman The Snowman is an emotional classic that also features local Sussex and Brighton views during the flying scenes. The sequel with the Snowdog is also rather cute and this year there was a trail of Snowdog sculptures around Brighton which were recently auctioned for charity.

Die Hard Some people may say that Die Hard is not a Christmas film but it takes place during a Christmas party! How much more Christmas can you ask for? Christmas themes aside, Die Hard is a pretty excellent action film that has stood up to the test of time and features Alan Rickman’s brilliant entrance into Hollywood films. If ever there were a year to watch Die Hard at Christmas, I think it may be 2016.

Jo xx