Our Favorite Holiday Movies of All Time
When I was a child, one of my favorite times of year was that magical time—right around Thanksgiving—when my father would pull a box labeled “XMAS TAPES” off its perch, high in the back of our coat closet, and my brother and I would jump on it, anxious to get at the VHS treasury contained within. You see, this was the early 1990s, a time before Netflix and Hulu+ and torrenting sites. When we wanted to watch a movie, we had to sort through a big pile of haphazardly labeled tapes—most of which had been recorded from our TV and had commercials we had to fast forward through—and sit there, waiting for them to rewind, for what seemed like HOURS because we would never rewind them after viewing. And, while I was a child, no movies were more prized than our holiday ones. We only took that box down on Thanksgiving and put it back every New Year’s Day, so those movies became part of our holiday landscape and still inform who I am as a person today. Because even though holidays are a time of togetherness and everything, they are also the perfect time to watch a bunch of movies. Whether you’re spending hours on a plane and need something good to download on your iPad or trying to avoid talking to your crazy great-aunt by turning on the TV, there is never a bad time for a good holiday movie. So, I thought I would ask around and see what some of the all-time favorites are here at the Brooklyn Magazine/L Magazine offices. I recommend watching while eating a lot of popcorn and occasionally reaching over and giving your brother a wet willie. At least, that’s what I’ll be doing.
