Nursevillage.com : Your Personal Side : Arts and Entertainment : Movies to Get You in the Holiday Mood

Sometimes it takes a little kick-start to get into the swing of the holiday season. So if you’re feeling a little Bah-Hum-Bug, the staff at NurseVillage has put together a list of must-see holiday shows that will get your heart into the festivities for sure.

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation- The entire Griswald family is back and ready to wreak more havoc… this year’s victim — Christmas. This edition to the Vacation Series will have you laughing from start to finish, from the dog/squirrel chase scene to Chevy Chase careening downhill on a sled lubed with cooking oil.

Home Alone- The first and best of the Home Alone bunch teaches a young Macaulay Culkin to be careful what he wishes for when he’s accidentally left home alone , but thinks he’s made his family disappear. The end result is a good clean comedy that has become a “new family classic”.

White Christmas- It’s a musical. It’s campy. It’s over-the-top. And we can’t keep our eyes off of it. Who can resist the wooing voice of Bing Crosby crooning the title tune? Add to it the stellar vocals of Rosemary Clooneyand the charm of Danny Kaye and you’ve got yourself an instant classic.

A Nightmare Before Christmas- From the mind of Tim Burton comes this creepy claymation film. Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King and head of Halloween Town, becomes obsessed with Christmas and kidnaps Santa, hoping to step in for him on the Big Night. More of a cult classic, it’s a nightmare you don’t want to sleep through.

A Charlie Brown Christmas- This story is precious— right down to the twiggy Christmas tree. As Charlie Brown searches for the true meaning of Christmas, he comes up blank until little Linus sets him straight. In the end, we’re left with a jazzy rendition of “Christmas Time Is Here” and the lesson that some presents don’t come wrapped in fancy paper.

A Christmas Carol- A classic that’s been done to death (no pun intended) is great no matter who is starring in it, even Donald Duck plays a good Ebenezer. Charles Dickens tells a scary and heartwarming tale of Ebenezer Scrooge who gets a new lease on life after being visited by the ghost of his old partner Jacob Marley and by the spirits of Christmas past, present and future.

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How the Grinch Stole Christmas- We are taught what Christmas is all about in this half-hour classic. The Grinch, who lives just north of Whoville, is a holiday-hating villain who is out to put a stop to the celebrating once and for all. With a theme song that’s known by the young and the old alike… this green monster in the end, is loved by all.

Miracle on 34 th Street- No holiday season would be complete without a viewing of this sweet masterpiece. In this magical movie, Kris Kringle is put on trial and must prove he really is the “Big Guy” from the North Pole. Edmund Gwenn’s Oscar-winning performance will leave you believing in Santa no matter how old you are. And if that’s not enough, the adorable Natalie Wood will win you over for sure.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer- Burl Ives narrates as Sam the Snowman, telling and singing the story of a rejected reindeer who overcomes prejudice and saves Christmas one particularly blustery year. From Rudolph himself with his glowing red nose, to Hermey the elf who wants to be a dentist, to the sad collection of toys that includes a Charlie in the Box — this is a tale of beloved misfits that you won’t want to miss.

A Christmas Story- It’s quirky, and silly, but most of all it’s identifiable. We can all remember one gift we wanted more than anything else and if we didn’t get it we swore we would just die — much like the main character Ralphie’s coveted Red Ryder BB Gun. This hilarious childhood memoir of Jean Shepherd takes us back to the late 1940s, Indiana and gives us the slice-of-life riffs that make you want to watch this movie again and again. Among the movie's highlights are a surrealistic visit with little brother Randy to a department store Santa, and the childlike mixture of delight, pride, and awe with which Ralphie's dad takes possession of a spectacularly gaudy prize he's won in a radio contest. We also can’t forget the schoolyard scene and the Chinese Christmas dinner. This side-splitting story is Christmas at its funniest.

It’s A Wonderful Life- It’s hard to believe this holiday must-see was once a box office bomb. Luckily, it has now found a place in almost everyone’s heart. Jimmy Stewart turns in a tour-de-force performance as building-and-loan man George Bailey, who wants to shake the dust of his small town home, Bedford Falls, and see the world. But circumstances conspire to keep him enslaved to his home turf. Frustrated by his life, and haunted by an impending scandal, George prepares to commit suicide on Christmas Eve. A heavenly messenger, Guardian Angel Clarence, arrives to show him a vision: what the world would have been like if George had never been born. The sequence is a vivid depiction of the American Dream gone bad. Ultimately, the director was trying to acknowledge the difficulties and disappointments of life, while affirming – in the teary-eyed final reel – his cherished values of friendship and individual achievement.


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