8 Christmas Movies/Specials We Watch

Tis the season to feed our Christmas-season-watching desire. What we will have to include?

1. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965 - TV) - We watched this last Tuesday night with Patrick for the first time. A true classic with the RIGHT message.
2. Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983 - TV) - Also watched with Patrick last Tuesday night. As the kids get older this will of course fade into the background (although the others cannot...I will not allow that). But while they are young and like Disney, we can tell a classic story through those characters.
3. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989) - (after the younger kids are asleep, of course) - This is actually my family's "traditional" Christmas movie to watch together.
4. Elf (2003) - LOVE IT! Seriously bound to be a classic.
5. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966 - TV) - I haven't seen the movie version, but the cartoon is definitely a classic
6. A Christmas Story (1983) - I hate this movie. Let me repeat myself. I. Hate. This. Movie. But Chip loves it, and Patrick is sure to as well, and those are two really good reasons that I will sit in while it plays across our screen.
7. It's a Wonderful Life (1946) - By far a classic in the purest sense. I feel like this is one I have to watch or it's just not Christmas.
8. Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964 - TV)/Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (1970 - TV)/Frosty the Snowman (1969) (TV) - This must be listed as one because if you watch one, you must watch them all. The originals. I don't care so much for the "spin offs."

Honorable Mention:

• Home Alone (1990) (the original one only...the others were pathetic) - We don't normally watch this one, but it is a good family movie and one Patrick is sure to love with all of its slap-stick type fun.
• The Santa Clause (1994) - This one has good potential. It's a cute movie.
• The Nativity Story (2006) - There was some controversy in the making of this movie that surrounded some of the actors, but after watching the movie last year (or maybe the previous year), I have nothing but good things to say about it personally. It takes some artistic liberties to fill in gaps where the actual Christmas story leaves some unknowns, but it seems very plausible in its telling.

Is it wrong that Elf and Christmas Vacation made the list while the Nativity Story only made an honorable mention? I actually feel really bad about that, but honestly the top 8 are the ones that we will see this year.