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Kick back for a Christmas movie as you wait for Santa to come to McCullom Lake

Christmas movies McCullom Lake
One way to celebrate the season as Christmas
comes to McCullom Lake is to watch a
Christmas movie. Here's a list of movies to 
help choose the movies you and your family
can watch.
There are only a few nights left until Santa sweeps into McCullom Lake on his reindeer-powered sled. Hopefully, while you eagerly anticipate the gifts he’ll bring you and the family, you’ve completed your Christmas shopping (if not, and you’ve got someone on your list who is impossible to shop for, you might consider a gift certificate from Performance Unlimited - contact us and we'll be happy to help).

Assuming, however, you’ve got your shopping done, by this time, you’re probably thinking of kicking back and relaxing until the big day arrives. One great way to do that is to make some hot chocolate and, maybe, some popcorn and stream a Christmas movie or pop in a Christmas DVD.

Once you’ve decided to enjoy a festive film about the holiday season, the next question is which Christmas movie to watch. There are a plethora of options. In fact, there are so many that Rotten Tomatoes has a list of the “100 Best Christmas Movies.”

Christmas movies come in several categories – Classic Christmas movies, comedies, those that capture the holiday spirit, dramas and action movies, and Christmas movies for kids.

Here is a list of some of the best Christmas movies for you to consider. Of course, they don’t all fit neatly into their categories:

Classics

  • It’s a Wonderful Life (1946). This, of course, is the pre-eminent classic Christmas movie and a must see.
  • Little Shop Around the Corner (1940). This film also stars James Stewart, in this case with Margaret Sullavan, and is a delightful holiday tale.
  • Miracle on 34th Street (1947). Released in the summer and, by all accounts, was a surprise hit, even for the studio. It is now an all-time Christmas classic.
  • A Christmas Story (1983). Who doesn’t want to see Flick stick his tongue to the flagpole again?
  • White Christmas (1954). This is another time-tested holiday film success and a true feel-good movie
  • Christmas in Connecticut (1945). A tale of a recuperating soldier (Dennis Morgan) and an unscrupulous publisher (Sydney Greenstreet) who sets up his reporter (Barbara Stanwyck) for a scam publicity stunt. Of course, what would Christmas be like without a happy ending.
  • Holiday Inn (1942). Released during WWII, this film with Bing Crosby, Fred Astair and Marjorie Reynolds, introduced the song “White Christmas.”
  • A Christmas Carol (1951). There are multiple Christmas Carol movies. This one stars Alastair Sims and is considered, by many, possibly the best.
  • The Bishop’s Wife (1947). There is a newer version with Denzel Washington titled, The Preacher’s Wife. The original starred Cary Grant, Loretta Young and David Niven.

Comedies

  • The Santa Clause (1994); The Santa Clause 2: The Mrs. Claus (2002) and The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006). All three of these, and the series they’ve inspired, are worth watching.
  • Elf (2003). This film, with Will Ferrell and the late James Caan, has become one of the top Christmas films.
  • Scrooged (1998). This film, starring Bill Murray, offers a comedic version of A Christmas Carol.
  • National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989). The National Lampoon Vacation series is extended into the holidays as we witness a racoon attacking Chevy Chase from the Christmas tree.
  • Home Alone (1990). Macaulay Culkin rocketed to stardom in this, the first in a series of Christmas movies about a family that accidently leaves a son at home where he confronts the bad guys during the holiday.
  • Bad Santa (2003). This is a dark comedy with Billy Bob Thornton.

The Holiday Spirit

  • One Magic Christmas (1985). In this film, a Christmas angel helps Mary Steenburgen’s character recapture the Christmas spirit.
  • The Family Man (2000). This is another Christmas Carol type film as with One Magic Christmas. In this version, Nicholas Cage discovers how his life could have turned out.
  • The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (2024). This is a heartwarming story of a family of children who virtually terrorize a town who take over a Christmas pageant. Watch it to the end and you’ll see that it truly belongs in this category.

Dramas and Action Movies

  • Joyeux Noel (2005). This is a well-made and serious dramatic picture about one of the unofficial truce’s called in No-Man’s Land between the trenches during WWI where Germans, French and Scottish troops fraternized celebrating the season.
  • Die Hard (1988). People have argued for years about whether this qualifies as a Christmas movie. Whether it does or is simply a Christmas tradition to watch it at this time of the year, Bruce Willis gives a thrilling performance as officer John McClane fighting bag guys in a high-rise building during a company’s Christmas party.
  • The Ref (1994). Dennis Leary takes a bickering husband and wife hostage during the holidays. Some might consider this a comedy but it’s dark enough to fit in this category, too.
  • Red One (2024). An action film with Wayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson trying to save a kidnapped Santa Claus.

Christmas Movies for Kids

  • The Polar Express (2004). This is an animated delight as lucky children hop on the Polar Express for a trip to the North Pole on Christmas Eve.
  • Prancer (1989). A young girl rescues one of Santa’s reindeer as her faith in Santa is reinforced.
  • Frosty the Snowman (1969). This is an animated film telling the story of the traditional Christmas song by that name.
  • A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965). This Christmas classic follows Charlie Brown as he tries to find the spirit of Christmas.
  • Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (1964). Another animated classic that tells the story behind the popular Christmas song.
  • Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983). Mickey Mouse and his other animated friends tell Charles Dicken’s classic Christmas story.
  • How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1967). This is the original animated film (there is a live-action film and a Disney animated film that came out in recent years). But none of those have the voice of Boris Karloff as the Grinch. 

Of course, there are many other Christmas movies. But this should be a good list to start with when choosing what to watch as Christmas approaches McCullom Lake.

Merry Christmas from all of us at Performance Unlimited.




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Location: McCullom Lake, IL 60050, USA

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