10 Best Christmas Movies

What better way to bring in the holiday season than to celebrate it with the 10 best Christmas movies? These ten films can be funny, scary, or intense, but they still manage to maintain the holiday spirit throughout. How would you prefer to spend your Christmas? Maybe you'd like to take a vacation with the Griswold family, help Ernest replace Santa Claus, or maybe you would like to spend it with John McClaine inside of a terrorist-occupied high rise? These are ten Christmas adventures that you can't afford to miss.

1. "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation." Chevy Chase and the Griswold family are back for yet another vacation. This time, they're hoping for a happy holiday season, but it all spirals into a huge disaster of epic proportions. Since this is the third vacation for the Griswold family, you have to wonder if it's possible for these people to ever have a decent vacation?
2. "Home Alone." Macaulay Culkin stars in the ultimate Christmas film that launched him to super stardom. Step into the shoes of Kevin McCallister, an eight year old who's having issues with his family. All that changes when he's forgotten when his family leaves for a Christmas vacation in Paris. Kevin is left all by himself and must defend the house from two crooks. "Home Alone" was a massive success during the holiday season it was released.
3. "Home Alone 2: Lost In New York." Macaulay Culkin returns as the heroic youngster Kevin McCallister, this time fending for himself on the streets of the Big Apple after accidentally boarding the wrong plane while his family is on their way to a Christmas vacation in Miami. "Home Alone 2" successfully recaptures the incredible holiday spirit of the first film and is just as good as the original.
4. "Ernest Saves Christmas." Jim Varney returns in his third outing as the infamous Ernest P. Worrell character. This time, it's the holiday season and Ernest is given the unfortunate task of finding a worthy replacement for Santa Claus, who's getting too old for the job. "Ernest Saves Christmas" was one of the biggest holiday season earners at the box office in 1988 and stands out to this day as a Christmas movie classic.
5. "The Long Kiss Goodnight." How's a little action sound for your holiday season? "The Long Kiss Goodnight" is one of the few action-oriented Christmas flicks that delivers the explosive goods yet still maintains the Christmas spirit. The film features wisecracker Samuel L. Jackson and the persistent Geena Davis along with the clever screenwriting of Shane Black. 
6. "Mixed Nuts." This is a highly underrated Christmas film that is filled to the brim with tons of laughs and a memorable all-star cast that is headed by Steve Martin. Witness Adam Sandler in one of his earliest film roles here. "Mixed Nuts" delivers a barrel of laughs and cast of colorful characters for the holiday season.
7. "Scrooged." This is a modern-day retelling of the classical "Scrooge" story and stars Bill Murray in the title role. Murray's fabulous sense of humor helps this film get the job done, even if the ending may be a little too preachy. 
8. "Lethal Weapon." Known as one of the most memorable action flicks of the '80s, "Lethal Weapon" is an iconic Christmas film as well. Set on the hot streets of L.A., the film follows a psychotic cop and his older and much wiser partner as they track down the scum of Los Angeles during the holiday season.
9. "Die Hard." Just like "Lethal Weapon" and "The Long Kiss Goodnight," "Die Hard" proves that there's no other way to celebrate Christmas than to go out with a bang. You'll have one heck of a Christmas with John McClaine, an average cop who suddenly finds himself going up against a band of terrorists in a skyscraper. 
10. "Gremlins." If you thought action movies set during Christmas were strange enough, what do you think about a bunch of furry little creatures that get bigger when you feed them after midnight and multiply when they get wet? "Gremlins" is a trademark Christmas film that features a strange mixture of dark comedy, warmth, and horror all in one package.