With the holiday season just around the corner, Christmas movies have begun to play on every TV channel and streaming service. There has been much speculation among which Christmas movie is the best, and Academy’s POWER (Passionate Outstanding Women Encouraging Respect) club gave each of their favorite movies to put on while drinking cocoa by the fireplace.
1) Elf
Junior Maddie Kant chose the 2003 box office hit, Elf. The movie stars Will Ferrell, as Buddy the elf. Buddy is a human who was raised by elves in the North Pole and, as a grown man, travels to New York to meet his biological father. The movie is full of laughs, and memorable moments, like when Buddy gets into a fight with a store Santa Claus. The movie also scored big during release, generating $224 million world wide. The movie shares wholesome feelings of family and joy, that brings viewers back to the Christmas spirit they felt as children.
(Photo credit: IMDb)
2) Home Alone
Yasmeen Luzod (‘26) picked Home Alone, a cult classic, for her favorite movie. The movie centers around Kevin McCallister, an eight year old boy who is accidentally left alone when his family goes on vacation. Kevin then has to defend himself and his home as two burglars break into his home on Christmas Eve. Kevin is played by child star Macaulay Culkin, and stars alongside Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern, who play the “Wet Bandits.” The movie was filmed in 1990 and made $477 million worldwide. The movie also holds several iconic lines such as, “Keep the change ya filthy animal.” It has been seen that people live vicariously through Kevin as they watch he him make fun choices like eating ice cream for dinner and beat “the bad guys” at the end.
Luzod, about her favorite moment, states “The part where Kevin sets up the booby traps to defeat the burglars is really funny and satisfying to watch on the screen.”
3) How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Junior Kaikara Varmah passionately voted for Dr.Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas as the best Christmas movie. The film is based on the book with the same title and follows the Grinch, who is Whoville’s town outsider and hates Christmas. As he goes through with his plan to end Christmas, his heart grows, and he finds the Christmas spirit through little girl, Cindy Lou Who. The film premiered in 2000 and stars Jim Carrey as the Grinch and Gossip Girl star, Taylor Momsen, as Cindy. It became the best selling Christmas movie of all time, earning $526 million worldwide. People enjoy the interesting setting, Whoville, as well as the eccentric characters, such as Christine Baranski’s Martha May Who.
4) A Christmas Prince Trilogy
While the A Christmas Prince trilogy is not as well known as other holiday films, POWER’s president Maisi Sigler (‘24) is an avid fan. The first movie premiered in 2017 and follows a reporter following a prince and falling in love during the holiday season. It was then followed by the sequel, A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding, in 2018. In 2019, a third and final movie was released, A Christmas Prince:The Royal Baby. The movie stars Rose Mclver as Amber, and Ben Lamb as Prince Richard. Currently, the movie can be watched by everyone on Netflix.
Sigler adds, “I love the sappy romantic Christmas movies, and the Christmas Prince is also really funny.”
Whether one prefers a good laugh like Elf, enjoys cult classics such as Home Alone and The Grinch, or loves romance-filled films like A Christmas Prince, the variety of Christmas movies is so wide-spanning that anyone can find one that they choose to watch every year with their family.
