Alone on Christmas Day? 10 movies to watch plus their perfect snack pairings

A Christmas Story is as timeless as, well, animal crackers and cocoa

A Christmas Story is challenging to miss during the holidays. But if you’ve skipped this classic movie each year despite the inevitable annual marathons on one or more TV channels, make your Christmas Day alone the time to appreciate the tale.

Anyone who has ever longed for a single gift as a child (a pony? an enormous dollhouse? tap dance shoes complete with the ability to shuffle gracefully) will empathize with the tale of Ralphie Parker. The film lets Parker as an adult recall what happened when he was 9-years-old longing for a very special Christmas gift.

But that Red Ryder Carbine Action 200-shot Range Model air rifle that topped Ralphie’s Christmas wish list got solidly slammed by all the adults in the kid’s life. Santa Claus chimes in with the caution that all the others voice: “You’ll shoot your eye out.”

Ultimately, Ralphie gets his longed-for gift, revealed by none other than his father. We won’t spoil the ending, but we will note that the movie includes some delightful scenes. There are dogs (aarf!), mean bullies (boo!), and even a naughty word (no, it wasn’t “oh fudge!”).

And here’s a fun movie fact to impress your pals: Peter Billingsley, who played Ralphie in A Christmas Story, is also in the holiday movie Elf. BuzzFeed celebrated the news that Billingsley took on the role of an elf named “Ming Ming” in Elf.

To go with this movie classic, we recommend a classic childhood snack, with a hat tip to Christopher Morley’s “Animal Crackers” poem.

“Animal crackers and cocoa to drink,
That is the finest of suppers, I think;
When I’m grown up and can have what I please
I think I shall always insist upon these.”