’Tis the season to be jolly, and after the 2020 we’ve all endured, maybe it’s best to put aside the ickyChristmas Horror moviesand ironic Christmas Action for a year to focus instead on big Christmas laughs. Lucky for you, we have over a dozen classic Christmas comedies here to choose from. Some are perennial classics, others you may have forgotten about. All are more likely to make you laugh than a 100th viewing of thesurprisingly depressingIt’s A Wonderful Life.
So grab your hot cocoa, stock up on candy canes, and try a few of the following titles. Each of them ought to make your tummy shake like a bowl full of jelly. That really shouldn’t be jelly, right? Does jelly even shake? More like Jell-O. Now that that’s settled, on with the list!
RELATED:Christmas Movies and TV Shows to Watch on HBO Max Now
The Thin Man (1934)
The Thin Manworks for any occasion. It takes place over the holidays, so it’s a Christmas movie. But everyone in it is drunk, so it’s also a good New Year’s Eve picture. But really, the rapid-fire wit betweenWilliam Powell’s Nick andMyrna Loy’s Nora entertains no matter what holiday it is. As a Christmas film, it offers a look at how people celebrated almost a hundred years ago. It turns out, even then, booze was a necessity for getting through the holidays. On top of all the drinking and wit, the film also offers a great murder mystery and one of cinema’s all-time cutest dogs.
A Christmas Story (1983)
Maybe the most widely-beloved modern Christmas movie,A Christmas Story’s legacy is secure enough that you can still find channels marathoning it for 24 hours on Christmas Day. That is a lot ofA Christmas Story. But the film is popular for a reason. It tempers its absurdist humor perfectly with a relatability that remains potent decades later, which makes it both mildly biting and super easy to digest. It’s just one of those films the whole family can enjoy, even if they’ve already seen it a thousand times.
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
For families who take their humor with a bit more bite, there’s alwaysNational Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, which had got to be among the most treasured “Part 3” entries of all time. It’s ironic that a series built around travel has its best film when the central family decides to stay home, but it also lets the Griswolds play host to an onslaught of weirdos (headlined, of course, byRandy Quaid’s returning Cousin Eddy) toward whom they must be kind and patient. Everyone knows what it’s like to have your house overrun during the holidays, and everyone wishes they could explode the wayChevy Chasegets to here. Instead, we just watchChristmas Vacationand everyone goes home happy. And safe.
Home Alone (1990)
Home Aloneis either a fantasy or a nightmare depending on your age. When you’re young, its tale of an unaccompanied minor defending his home from robbers is the kind of thing every kid goes to sleep dreaming about. When you’re old enough to have kids of your own, the idea of accidentally leaving one behind somewhere will haunt you forever. It all turns out fine in the end, so just kick back and enjoy the Looney Tunes antics of a child hilariously torturingJoe PesciandDaniel Stern.
Mixed Nuts (1994)
It’s possible you forgot aboutMixed Nuts,Nora Ephron’s dark horse movie about guy who works for a suicide prevention hotline. If so, it’s time to right that wrong. Just look at this cast:Steve Martin,Robert Klein,Rob Reiner,Rita Wilson,Juliette Lewis,Anthony LaPaglia,Liev Schreiber,Adam Sandler, and the incomparableMadeline Kahn. This is one of those darker Christmas comedies, focusing more on the loneliness some feel during the family holiday. But its comedy is even more biting and emotional because of it.
Jingle All the Way (1996)
Oh, I’m sorry. You thought this list would somehow not includeArnold Schwarzenegger’s amazing turn as a normal, everyday dad just trying to get his kid a Turbo Man toy? Sorry, omitting this one is not possible. You either think the story’s antics are funny, or you think hearing Schwarzenegger repeatedly say Turbo Man is funny or you at least thinkPhil Hartmantrying to steal Arnold’s wife (Rita Wilson, making her second appearance in a row on this list!) is funny. By golly, there is at least one thing for people to laugh with/at inJingle All the Wayand that automatically means it’s a Christmas Comedy Classic. Also, Arnold fights a nunchuck-wielding elf at one point. That’s all anyone needs to say, really.
Scrooged (1988)
All the cool kids list this as their go-to favorite Christmas comedy and with good reason. It’s theA Christmas Carolyou know and love, just with ‘80s yuppie cynicism dialed up to eleven, all focused around a wild and manicBill Murrayperformance. There are so many great jokes here, from the pinpoint media satire to Murray’s grumpiness, to the amazing support performances (Carol Kaneis always ready to steal a scene). You don’t finishScroogedthinking you just watched some lame bit of Christmas season pandering. It’s a fully realized classic movie all by itself.
The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
What? TwoA Christmas Caroladaptationsin a row? Sorry, that’s just how it shook out chronologically and there’s no way this later Muppet entry is missing the party. WhileScroogedkeeps its comedy pretty dark,The Muppet Christmas Carolobviously goes in a different direction, one filled with songs and an unbearably cute Tiny Tim. Michael Caine’s superbly vile Ebenezer Scrooge manages to keep things just salty enough despite acting against a bunch of felt weirdos half his height.
Ernest Saves Christmas (1998)
Elf (2003)
When it comes to Christmas comedies to rivalA Christmas Story’slegacy as America’s #1 Christmas Movie, this is the biggest contender out there.Elfhas been growing in popularity since it came out, to the point where now it has 24-hour broadcast marathons as well. It’s easy to see why. CastingWill Ferrellas a childlike man who grew up around Santa and his elves was a stroke of genius. Star Wars and Marvel guruJon Favreau’s genius, that is. Aside from all the great comedy, you can see Favreau’s touch in the Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer-Inspired stop-motion animation that kicks the film off. At the end of the day, Elf is fun, funny, and great for the whole family.
