Christmas is just around the corner, it’s time for holiday season. So whatever your list of holiday favorites looks like, we picked our list of the Top 3 Christmas movies of all time.

Abe Friedtanzer

1. Love Actually (2003)
2. Die Hard (1988)
3. Silent Night (2021)

As someone who doesn’t celebrate Christmas but appreciates the spirit of the holiday, I enjoy movies that use it as a chance for people to come together and encounter unexpected issues. It’s hard to find a better ensemble than the one in Love Actually, a wonderful romantic comedy with so many plotlines that it’s nearly impossible to keep track of all of their threads. It’s also all about Christmas and how everyone wants to find exactly the right person for them. A totally different but equally enjoyable option is Die Hard, the definitive action movie that finds Bruce Willis’ John McClane operating pretty much all by himself, annoyed that he has to take care of a few terrorists when he’d rather just be home for the holiday. And my third-place choice is a brand-new film, Silent Night, one that I got to discuss with its filmmaker and star, that suggests that, at the end of times, all people want to be do is be with the people they love and bask in the warmth that coming together for the holidays can provide. It may not be the most comforting and uplifting watch by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s meaningful and celebratory in its own distinctive way. 

Karen Butler

1. Love Actually (2003)

2. Bells of St. Mary’s (1945)

3. Christmas Vacation (1989)

It’s not quite Christmas until I’ve watched these three movies — the first for the heart, the second for the soul and the third for the laughs. Love Actually is a flawed, overstuffed film, but I will defend and promote it until I die. My heart still soars watching the enormous, star-studded ensemble getting their various happy endings. The Bells of St. Mary’s is a beautiful story about an unconventional priest, played by Bing Crosby, who takes over a run-down Catholic school in New York City, ruffling the feathers of the Mother Superior, played by Ingrid Bergman. It is the portrait of two decent people trying in very different ways to do what is best for the kids who depend on them. It’s really funny, too, plus Bing sings! Christmas Vacation is just big, silly fun, with some real insight about the pressure people put on themselves to give their families the PERFECT Christmas when what is really important is just being together.

Karen Benardello

1. Home Alone (1990)
2. Krampus (2015)
3. Anna and the Apocalypse (2017)

The best Christmas films are often those that provide a wide array of timeless sentiments that families can repeatedly enjoy every holiday season, no matter what experiences they faced throughout the year. Home Alone, which features an incredibly hilarious ensemble cast that includes Macaulay Culkin in his breakout role, thrives on the physical humor that the actor’s main character, Kevin McCallister, engages in to not only protect his house, but also his family, who he comes to fully appreciate, despite their earlier clashes. Another stellar ensemble family-driven Christmas comedy is Krampus, which follows protagonist Max Engel, another boy who loses the holiday spirit due to his dysfunctional family’s constant fighting, and also eventually comes to realize how much he truly cares about them while taking charge in the fight against an evil force that wants to ruin their Christmas spirit and familial connection-all of which is set against non-traditional, B-movie holiday horror gags. Another memorable, engaging ensemble Christmas horror comedy is Anna and the Apocalypse, which features British actress Ella Hunt as the eponymous protagonist who sings about her relatable troubles as a high school student, which soon come to include fighting the impending titular zombie apocalypse in catchy musical numbers during what’s supposed to be the most glorious, but already equally stressful, time of year.

Chiara Spagnoli Gabardi 

1. White Christmas (1954)
2. It’s A Wonderful Life (1946)
3. Meet Me In St. Louis (1944)

If it were up to me, I would sing Christmas Carols all year round. Hence, when Yuletide arrives, I delve into the musical White Christmas, that boasts stupendous musical numbers performed by the phenomenal Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen Dean Jagger. Although there is no music, a classic that never ceases to move, not only during this season, is It’s A Wonderful Life. Jimmy Stewart’s George Baile represents every individual who feels that their existence doesn’t make a difference, until the lovely angel Clarence comes along and teaches us all to count our blessings. Last but not least, the Holidays are a time to gather with our loved ones and cherish also those who are far away.

Thus, Meet Me In St. Louis utterly encourages to wallow in the comfort of our nostalgia and hearth, whilst confronting the passing of time with an enchanted gaze.

Matthew Schuchman

1. Die Hard (1988)

2. The Ref (1994)

3. Blackadder’s Christmas Carol (1988) 

Christmas themes movies were never really on the top of my list as a genre that called out to me. I’m not a follower of any religion that celebrates the holiday, so I don’t have many traditions.

Die Hard is always on at the time though. The Ref is a lost classic that needs more attention brought to it, even if Kevin Spacey is in it. And nothing really surpasses the brilliance of The Blackadder’s Christmas Carol special. If you want some real laughs, that is where you go.

Nobuhiro Hosoki

1. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) 
2. Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983)
3. Bad Santa (2003)

Bad Santa, who said Christmas must be cheerful, Santa can be drunk, addict to sex…just a different kind of Santa is in town, Billy Bob Thornton is on top of his game. Well, for some folks, Christmas is just another day. Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, this is probably not a type of the film that you selected on Christmas time. But there are some messages in this film that memorable. Such as, even if countries are fighting each other, the friendship and affection between humans remains unchanged. The friendship between Hara and Lawrence is very intriguing and endearing. The Nightmare Before Christmas, the part of the attraction of this film is not only stop motion musical, but also it was so relatable about what I thought was good backfires sometimes, which is something in common with “Edward Scissorhands”, and you can slightly feel a gentle look toward minorities and the weak. At the end, Christmas for everyone!