Okay, I’ve been holding off on doing this but now…here it is, my all time favorite Christmas movies:
| Rank | Title | Directors | Year |
| 1 | Bells of St. Mary’s  |
Leo McCarey | 1945 |
| 2 | Going My Way |
Leo McCarey | 1945 |
| 3 | It’s a Wonderful Life |
Frank Capra | 1946 |
| 4 | White Christmas |
Michael Curtiz | 1954 |
| 5 | The Homecoming (The Waltons) |
Fielder Cook | 1971 |
| 6 | Miracle on 34th Street  |
George Seaton | 1947 |
| 7 | The Little Drummer Boy  |
Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jr. | 1968 |
| 8 | Pocket Full of Miracles  |
Frank Capra | 1961 |
| 9 | Holiday Inn  |
Mark Sandrich | 1942 |
| 10 | The Littlest Angel  |
Joe Layton | 1951 |
| 11 | Scrooged  |
Richard Donner | 1988 |
| 12 | A Christmas Story  |
Bob Clark | 1983 |
| 13 | Home Alone  |
Chris Columbus | 1990 |
| 14 | A Charlie Brown Christmas  |
Bill Melendez | 1965 |
| 15 | The House Without A Christmas Tree  |
Paul Bogart | 1972 |
| 16 | A Christmas Wife  |
David Jones | 1988 |
| 17 | Elf  |
Jon Favreau | 2003 |
| 18 | Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer  |
Kizo Nagashima, Larry Roemer | 1964 |
| 19 | Frosty the Snowman |
Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jr. | 1969 |
The Home Book of Christmas (May Lamberton Becker) is a family favorite. When I was really young, my sister read aloud to me, some of the wonderful stories. I put a new cover on the book (it was falling apart) and gave to her for Christmas several years back. Then she found a copy and gifted it to me a few years later. I love this book so much. Some of my favorite stories from it are:
1. Jimmy Scarecrow’s Christmas by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman
2.The First Christmas Tree by Eugene Field
3. The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Anderson
There are many more too.
Finally, I also was a fan of Little House on the Prairie as a kid and even later years. There was an episode called, The Lord Is My Shepherd. Description: Convinced that she is responsible for her brother’s death, Laura runs to the mountains in the middle of the night. Atop the mountain with her is Jonathan, a kindly old man who helps her reaffirm her.
Watch it with your kids – great stuff.
What are your favorite Christmas movies, books, etc.? Let’s compare lists…I may have forgotten some.
Merry Christmas to you and your families!
Running for Life 