The weather outside is getting colder and it’s sweater weather here in sunny South Florida. The month of  December has officially begun and some of your favorite holidays are just around the corner, especially Christmas. With the holiday season starting, the time for binge watching holiday movies and decorating has started! One of the most common questions asked around this holiday season is what is your favorite holiday movie? Most people who are faced with this question have a hard time deciding upon just one? Well look no further here’s a list of my top 5 holiday movies for you to choose from.

Home Alone 

   This family comedy is one the best holiday films of all time and my personal favorite. This movie stars young Maculay Culkin as Kevin, whose parents accidentally leave him at home for vacation. According to the Box Office Mojo, Home Alone is one of the highest-grossing Christmas movies of all time with a staggering 472 million dollars in sales! Home Alone first came out in 1990 and is still widely popular today. It is considered one of the best movies to watch during the holiday season and a must see film. Home Alone is the perfect movie to enjoy with family and friends. This movie also has a sequel you can watch called Home Alone 2, that is just as incredible! 

Mistletoe & Menorahs

   This original lifetime film is one of the absolute best holiday films I have ever watched! Mistletoe and Menorahs has an outstanding cast and an amazing storyline. The film is about when Christy, a woman who works for a toy company as an executive, needs to learn about the holiday Hanukkah quickly in order to land a huge business deal. She seeks the help of Jonathon who is dealing with an issue himself of turning his bachelor pad into a Christmas Wonderland in order to impress his girlfriend’s father. They both help each other and end up finding something they weren’t even looking for and realize that there may be something more to their new relationship than meets the eye. Mistletoe and Menorahs does an outstanding job covering both Hannakah and Christmas in this two for one holiday film. Specifically, the film managed to include a lot of accurate historical information about Hanukkah. Personally, I was really captured by the light and overall tone of the film which was very merry and bright. Overall, this is a great movie choice for the holidays and is something anyone can enjoy! 

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

   National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is a hilarious comedy that will leave you laughing. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation isn’t your typical feel-good family holiday film. The Griswold family is having their annual holiday celebration during the Christmas time and Clark Griswold, the father and main character in the film simply wants to give his family the best Christmas possible. But things run anything but smoothly for the Griswold’s, in fact almost everything goes horribly wrong for Clark. No matter how optimistic he is, everything seems to go wrong for him whether it be putting up the Christmas lights, receiving his Christmas bonus, or even having Christmas dinner. However, the film highlights the true meaning of the holidays, not the presents, but spending time with your loved ones and appreciating what you have. 

Dr. Suess’ The Grinch

   The 2018 Dr. Suess’ The Grinch is a more modern day animated film adaptation of the 1966 How the Grinch Stole Christmas short film. The film stars Benedict Cumberbatch as the voice of the Grinch, Cameron Seely as Cindy-Lou Who, and Rashida Jones as Donna Who, some of the main characters of the movie. The film is based on theGrinch scheming to ruin Christmas for the Whoville village. This movie in particular is one of the best films to watch in the holiday seasons as it’s a comedy, has and is a fresh new take on the classic tale of the Grinch.  

Elf

   Elf is a modern Christmas movie that the whole family is sure to love! This comedy has an amazing cast with Will ferrel starred as Buddy the elf and Zooey Deschanel as Jovie and many more well known actors. Buddy played by Will Ferrel is a human raised by Santa’s elves, who learns of his true origins and travels to New York City with a mission to meet his biological father Walter Hobbs. Elf does an excellent job of focusing on many traditional holiday themes while remaining fresh and heartening. Through the film Buddy discovers what a family is and finds love with Joovie. When it comes to Christmas or holiday films in general these themes are just timeless and something that can be rewatched and enjoyed each Christmas!