Fun Friday–The Greatest Christmas Movie EVER
I know that there are a lot of people who are going to disagree with me about this one, but, frankly, I really don’t care. This is MY blog and thus my opinion is the one that gets posted here. (Neener-neener-neener)
[How’s that for Christmas spirit? ;-)]
[Oh, and speaking of Christmas spirit . . . with one click of a button on Amazon—well, okay several clicks of the “add to cart” button and then one click of the “complete order” button—I finished my Christmas shopping yesterday. Yay! And I didn’t have to get out in the below-freezing temps to do it!]
(And no, Ruth, as of 12:45 a.m. when I’m writing this, I haven’t had any caffeine for at least 12 hours. If you think I’m scary during the daytime, you don’t want to see what kind of mad energy I have at this time of night!)
Anyway, back to my absolute most favorite, best, all-time greatest Christmas movie ever:
For me, the Christmas season doesn’t begin until I pull this DVD out and watch it—a couple of times. About a week ago, I finally figured out why, even with the colder-than-usual weather, and even though I put my Christmas lights up outside before I left to go to Arkansas for Thanksgiving, it just didn’t feel like Christmas. And then it struck me—I hadn’t watched A Christmas Story yet. So I remedied that right away.
There is no way for me to pick out a favorite scene from this movie. As I watched it, I kept thinking: That’s the scene I’ll use. No, that scene. No, this one. By the time I finished watching it, I wanted to post the whole movie. So I went over to YouTube and found a montage to share.
Now, if you aren’t already aware, let me explain a few things about this movie before you go out and rent the movie or find it on cable (which it will be—if not today then sometime in the next two weeks).
1.) The language is a little crass.
2.) Ralphie and his friends are all (now) my age. That’s how old this movie is (1983).
3.) Did I mention this is my favorite Christmas movie?
4.) What Ralphie wants most for Christmas is an “Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle.” And he has a vivid imagination.
5.) It’s deliciously sarcastic with its humor—that’s why I like it so much.
What is your absolute, most-favorite, best, greatest Christmas movie ever?
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KayeDacus.com 
I LOVE Ralphie and the gang. This is one of the best movies ever. I’ve actually watched the Christmas Eve Chritmas Story marathon.
For a more serious entry into Best Christmas movie category IMHO that would be Its a Wonderful Life
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Whenever I find it on TV, I’ll usually start watching it—and then as soon as the first commercial comes on, I’ll pull out the DVD. I hate commercials!
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Oh good grief, I didn’t think you were scary, LOL! That other post simply read like it was super charged on caffiene!! 🙂
I watched this movie over Thanksgiving with my folks…fun times! It’s really hard for me to pick out 1 Christmas movie favorite, though…I know it’s cliche but if I had to go with 1 I guess I’d pick White Christmas.
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Why does that not surprise me? 😉
You’ll be so proud of me—I went ahead and bought the 2-disc special edition of Meet Me in St. Louis (because that was the only version Amazon had), and have already watched it twice since it came in a week ago.
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Oh, yay! I don’t have the 2-disc version of Meet Me in St. Louis – just the 1st disc, it came as part of a 3-movie collection I got several years ago. But my mom has the 2-disc version, if I ever get a hankering to watch the special features. 🙂
Well, I’ve been perusing my Christmas movie collection since I left this comment, and I want to throw a few other favorites out there (since White Christmas is a deservedly #1 pick in my view, but it’s not shocking as you say…LOL!):
Holiday Affair (Janet Leigh & Robert Mitchum)
Christmas in Connecticut (Barbra Stanwyck)
Holiday Inn
Silent Night (made-for-TV movie about German & Allied soldiers who meet over Christmas)
Joyeux Noel (about the 1915 Christmas truce during WW1)
I saw a new-to-me one recently on TCM – Remember the Night starring Fred MacMurray and Barbra Stanwyck. I really enjoyed it – I think TCM is scheduled to reshow it 1 or 2 more times between now and Christmas.
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I have so many that are *MUST* sees during the Christmas season: White Christmas, Christmas in Connecticut, Elf, Polar Express, The Grinch…I know a few are kid-themed, but with four kids in the house, it’s bound to happen! 🙂
Jolanthe
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I’m more likely to listen to Christmas music than to watch Christmas movies. I guess a lot of that has to do with the fact that so many of the Christmas movies/specials are geared toward children and I don’t have any.
Of course, this year, a lot of that could also have to do with the fact that I’m swamped with work, between freelancing and writing Love Remains—which opens on Memorial Day weekend. Thus, rather hard to immerse myself in that time of year while watching Christmas movies!
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Christmas Vacation. Absolutely, positively Christmas Vacation. Here’s my official list from last year:
Christmas Vacation (1989)
Home Alone (1990) / Home Alone 2 (1992)
A Christmas Story (1983)
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
Love Actually (2003)
Gremlins (1984)
Scrooged (1988)
The Grinch (2000)
The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
Elf (2003)
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I thought of another really good one: The Bishop’s Wife with Cary Grant and Loretta Young. (So much better than the Whitney Houston re-do.)
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Let’s see…there’s Silent Night, Deadly Night and Black Christmas. Those are good ones.
Or do you mean Christmas movies that aren’t about Santas who kill people? 😉
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Hey, if that’s what puts you in the X-mas spirit. . .
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I like “The Christmas Story” too, but my all time fav and tear-jerker is “It’s A Wonderful Life” with James Stewart.
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I mentioned in a reply to someone else yesterday that It’s a Wonderful Life makes my skin crawl. Of course, I don’t do tear-jerkers or sentimentalism very well.
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My second favorite is almost any version of “A Christmas Carol”, especially the one with Alastair Sims and the “Muppet version.
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I love seeing A Christmas Carol on stage. When I was growing up, we had season tickets to the American Southwest Theater Company at NMSU, and several years, they did a production of A Christmas Carol. No film version has ever managed to live up to that experience. (And I’m horrified by the ads for the latest animated version—especially the idea of Jim Carey as Scrooge. . .and not just because of the horrible fake British accent.)
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We go to see A Christmas Carol at Trinity Rep in Providence every year. They re-envision it each year with a totally different set, costuming, and feel, while staying true to the script. It’s so wonderful.
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I can’t stand A Christmas Story. I loathe it. Elf too.
White Christmas!!!!!!!!!!! Always and only White Christmas. Then Holiday Inn, and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.
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I have never been able to sit through one of the Vacation movies. To me, they’re more annoying than funny . . . but to each her own!
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I love The Grinch. NOT the 2000 live-action version. I almost picketted that one, but it was too cold to do so. No, it’s not Christmas until I watch the 1966 Chuck Jones cartoon, where Boris Carloff lends his all-too-creepy voice to narrating this fantastic story. I have a stuffed Grinch sitting in front my fireplace screen, a Grinch ornament on our tree, the book on my children’s book shelf, and the 40th anniversary DVD that waits patiently all year to be enjoyed.
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“You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch . . .”
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NOoooo! I can’t STAND that movie! Agk, just 5 minutes of it is enough to make me bonkers. To each his own though 😀
My favorites are It’s a “Wonderful Life”, “White Christmas”, “The Bishop’s Wife”…. and I’m with Emilie on the original “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” too 😀
A couple more obscure kids’ ones that I love: “Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey” (despite the name, this is a great puppet movie, animated the same way as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (which is yet another of my favorites) and “The Trolls and the Christmas Express”
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LOL—see, and I feel the same way about It’s a Wonderful Life. Makes my skin crawl!
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Not a fan of “A Christmas Story,” but I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE “White Christmas” and “Christmas Vacation.” Another favorite of mine, and it’s an oldie, is “Christmas in Connecticut” with Barbara Stanwyck. Screwball comedy at its best! I think there was a remake in the 90’s with Dyan Cannon, but the original is the best!
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I need to explore more holiday movie options with the classics. There are a few I know I like and a few I know I can’t stand (It’s a Wonderful Life and Miracle on 34th Street being the two at the top of the can’t-stand list)—but probably tons more that I at least need to give a chance.
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My favorite Christmas films hands down are the following:
“It’s a Wonderful Life”
“While You Were Sleeping”
“The Christmas Child”
“The Christmas Card”
“You’ve Got Mail” (Is good in the fall too.)
“Shop Around the Corner”
“White Christmas”
“The Nativity Story” (I’ve only seen it once, but liked it and plan to see it again over the next few days.)
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Another great one that I thought of which I like to watch at this time of year is While You Were Sleeping.
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I’m a movie junkie, so Christmas movies are always a must-do thing.
My favorites:
-A Christmas Carol (1951, love, love love. Defining version)
-Muppet’s Christmas Carol (completely ADORE.
-Ms. Scrooge (Fun seeing the black woman/modern twist. A little more politically correct at times than I cared for, but fun.)
-It’s a Wonderful Life (A-D-O-R-E. I know, kill me… 😉 )
-Miracle on 34th Street (old version…kill me again)
-Shop Around the Corner (LOVE LOVE LOVE)
-Christmas Child (love love love)
-A Christmas Story (finally got to this! I do love this movie. The scene where he lays the magazines around for his parents to see was exactly what I did the Christmas I was five and wanted an American Girl doll 😉 )
-How the Grinch Stole Christmas (ditto to the commenter about the new one. Cartoon only. I remember watching it when it wasn’t out on VHS yet. I can remember the commercial breaks and what they were. I know, I’m not that old, but still.)
-The Homecoming (the Waltons fought a lot more than I like, grrrrr but still love this)
– Home Alone (prefer John Hughes’ 101 Dalmations but still love this. The kid’s a brat, but hey, it’s funny.)
-White Christmas (love Bing Crosby. And he’s the only guy who should be allowed to sing White Christmas, IMO.)
-Meet Me in St. Louis (favorite Christmas song)
-Meet John Doe (loved this one)
-Going My Way (another Bing Crosby I love.)
Lots of others I can’t think of right at this moment… 😉 Anyway. Yeah. Loved the video clips you put up here! Hahaha. I love the A+ scene….she writes it all across the chalkboard and across the room…
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Oh, and Christmas Card…liked…kinda. It made a big deal about the guy getting the girl’s card and him going all over to find her…I was thinking some Somewhere in Time kinda thing, and then I watch it and bam, in the first five minutes, he’s there with her. And I DID NOT CARE FOR the heroine. Loved the hero, though, which gave me the stomach to watch the whole thing through. It was ok, just not what the back cover made it out to be.
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I’ve only ever seen a bits and pieces of A Christmas Story – I may have seen the whole thing though in those bits and pieces. Not a movie that really ever appealed to me. But I’m thinking that I need to pull out some Christmas movies – that sounds like a blast. This year Christmas will be yucky (no family) and I’m not sure if I’m going to anyone’s house or not so it’ll be an interesting day for sure.
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White Christmas, hands down. I cry every time when the general enters and his old regiment sings, “We’ll follow the old man….”
But I also love Miracle on 34th Street (the original), The Grinch (the live action with Jim Carrey-way over the top, but I love it!), The Preacher’s Wife (the remake with Whitney Houston and Denzel Washington), and of course, Peanut’s Christmas. If I see all of those, my Christmas season feels complete.
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My favorite is Holiday Affair with David James Elliott. I’m such a huge JAG fan, and he really makes that movie. It’s just such an adorable movie.
I enjoy A Christmas Story as well.
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