25 best Christmas movies to watch during the holiday season

NATIONAL LAMPOON'S CHRISTMAS VACATION - Deck the halls with boughs of laughter - the Griswolds are back! Hapless Clark (Chevy Chase), exasperated Ellen (Beverly D'Angelo) and their ever-changing kids (Juliette Lewis and Johnny Galecki) gear up for Christmas in this Vacation installment that became a holiday classic. As usual, all the good intentions in the world can't save them from disaster ... or Cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid), whose unannounced visit throws the house into further disarray. (WARNER BROTHERS)CHEVY CHASE /

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23. Elf

Okay, this one was hard to rate within the top 25 for me. I thought about putting this one higher, but at the same time, it was hard to push down other movies for this one. As someone who is not a fan of one of the key actors in the movie, Elf doesn’t get quite as much love from me as I want to give it.

However, at the same time, I can’t remember a single year since this movie was released that I haven’t watched it at least once.

Elf has plenty of ridiculous moments (which work within the story), as well as feel-good moments, and even those moments we expect from a holiday offering. Basically, it feels like this movie has it all in many ways.

We get music and singing, which is always a bonus in a Christmas movie. We get some veteran actors and actresses who are able to embody their characters. And of course, we get the magic of forgiveness and love, as well as a Santa sighting or two.

In many ways, Elf is a great Christmas movie. But for me, it’s just not a favorite, which leaves it lower on the list than some of the other great movies of the season. Of course, it does get a boost thanks to the fact that we get to see some classic animated characters we did not expect to see gracing the screen (the Narwhal anyone?).

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