Christmas movies to relax with

Watching Yuletide movies is a fun way to relax and celebrate the Christmas season. As one song goes, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” This is the perfect time to bond with your family and friends with a bag of popcorn, the remote control and one of these enjoyable Christmas movies. These holiday movies are made to be enjoyed during this season of goodwill and good cheer.

The 1990 comedy film Home Alone stars Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McCallister, an eight-year-old clever kid left behind when his family flies to Paris, France for a Christmas vacation. While he is enjoying being home alone, two clumsy burglars who call themselves “Wet Bandits” (they clog the sinks and leave the water running at every house they rob) try to get inside the house. Kevin successfully outwits them by rigging the house with booby traps. When Kevin’s mother realizes her son is not with them, she desperately tries to get a return flight to the US. She arrives the next day after the police arrested the two burglars. The rest of the family later arrives but Kevin does not tell them about his adventure with the burglars. 

Will Ferrell plays Buddy in the comedy Elf. Santa unwittingly takes Buddy to the North Pole when he was an infant in a New York orphanage. Buddy is raised by the elves and he does not know he is really a human. When Buddy overhears the other elves talking about him being human, he seeks his adoptive father’s advice. Papa Elf finally reveals the truth and Buddy decides to find his real father which leads him to all kinds of humorous trouble. 

Dr. Seus’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (or The Grinch) is based on the 1957 book and TV special of the same title  by Dr. Seuss. The movie explains why the Grinch (played by Jim Carrey) hates Christmas. The movie became the No. 1 film in the US for four weeks and earned $260-M at the US box-office. Everyone in Whoville is rushing to get ready for Christmas. The Grinch comes down from his cave on Mount Crumpit with his dog Max to stir some trouble. He meets Cindy Lou Who who thinks the real meaning of Christmas is lost because of the Yuletide rush and hubbub. The Grinch is bullied by Augustus May-Who, the future mayor of Whoville, when they are growing up. The Grinch goes berserk and runs away to live in Mount Crumpit when the whole class (except his crush Martha May Whovier) laughs when he gives her a gift. He attends a party but the mayor humiliates him. The Grinch plots to steal Christmas. He makes himself a Santa suit and builds a rocket sled with his dog as a reindeer. He flies to Whoville and steals everything that has to do with Christmas.

The Polar Express is based on the children’s book of the same title by Chris Van Allsburg. It is about a boy (Hero Boy) who searches  for the true meaning of Christmas. After he falls asleep on Christmas Eve, a giant magical train called the Polar Express pulls up in front of his house. He joins other kids in a magical journey to the North Pole. Hero Boy is handpicked by Santa Claus to receive the first Christmas present. He chooses a bright silver bell from Santa’s sleigh which makes a melodious sound. After Santa left, Hero Boy discovers that the bell fell from his torn pocket. On Christmas Day, he wakes up wondering whether the nighttime events are a dream or a reality. He finds a toy train similar to the Polar Express beneath the Christmas tree. He opens a small gift and finds a silver bell.

The musical movie White Christmas became the top grossing film of 1954. It stars Bing Crosby (Bob Wallace) and Danny Kaye (Phil Davis). It features the famous song White Christmas by Irving Berlin and Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep. The story is about two World War II US Army buddies — a former Broadway entertainer (Wallace) and a would-be entertainer (Davis). Davis gets injured in the arm while saving Wallace from a toppling wall. Using his wounded arm as an excuse, Davis convinces Wallace to join forces with him when the war is over. The buddies are the hottest act in nightclubs, radio, and Broadway after the war. They eventually become producers and their New York musical Playing Around is a big hit. While at the Florida Theatre, they receive a letter from a mess sergeant they knew in the war. Their friend asks them to audition his sisters Betty (Rosemary Clooney) and Judy (Vera-Ellen). It turns out that Judy sends the letter. In the memorable finale, Bob and Betty fall in love, as do Phil and Judy. The background shows the snow falling and everyone raises a glass, toasting, “May your days be merry and bright; and may all your Christmases be white.”