December, 2023
By Maria Arredondo and Brisa Gomez, Staff Reporters
The holiday season has finally arrived, and that means it’s finally time for cookie decorating, holiday shopping, hanging up the Christmas lights, and best of all, watching Christmas movies! Maria and Brisa have personally sat down and deliberately chosen some of the best movies to watch this holiday season.
- The Nightmare Before Christmas
A Tim Burton classic “The Nightmare Before Christmas” takes you on a magical adventure through the two biggest holidays of the year; Christmas and Halloween. This movie tells the story of Jack Skellington and other Halloweentown citizens as they go on an elaborate scheme to kidnap Santa Claus in hopes of bettering their holiday. This movie has complex characters with witty dialogue, and catchy music, with the plot revolving around the influence of Christmas, making it a great movie to watch this holiday season.
- A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol tells the tale of Ebenezer Scrooge, a miserable man who has his past, present, and future spirits revealed to him in hopes of getting him to change his ways. The story is one that has you hooked from the start and it has you reflecting on your own life as well. The movie can pull at your heartstrings as we see through Scrooge’s character development as he becomes selfless and more caring.
- Home Alone
Another Christmas classic that tells the story of 8-year-old Kevin being left behind as a result of his family forgetting about him as they go away for Christmas. After being left behind, Kevin is excited about having the freedom that comes with being home alone, but later on, he discovers that two con artists are attempting to plunder his house. In showing no weakness, he decides to defend his house by setting up booby traps and playing practical jokes on them. This is a great movie to watch with your family and is guaranteed to make you feel nostalgic and emotional.
- Elf
Elf is the story of a naive elf named Buddy. He was taken to the North Pole as a toddler and remained there until he reached adulthood. After a while, he begins to feel out of place among the other elves as an adult, so in an attempt to find his father, he heads to New York. The story goes on with his father trying to become closer to Buddy but struggling due to his lack of Christmas spirit. This movie is a comedic joy that will keep you laughing and is an eye-pulling experience that keeps you wondering and wanting more. This makes a great movie recommendation if you’re looking to watch something that uplifts your mood and wants some Christmas spirit.
- How The Grinch Stole Christmas
An adaptation from the beloved Dr. Seuss’ book of the same name, this movie follows the story of the Grinch as he tries to steal Christmas from the town of Whoville. He ventures off to Whoville to steal any object that is related to the festive holiday. When on his mission, he ends up bumping into a young girl named Cindy Lou Who. Later on throughout the movie, his plans and perspective change as he realizes Christmas is not only about gifts and money, but instead it’s about spending time with those you love. This movie is not only funny, it’s profound and gets the viewers in the perfect Christmas spirit!
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