THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – I'LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS (1988)

 

As World War 2 rages on in Europe the Bundy family are making plans for a Christmas reunion in the small town of Rockport.

The matriarch Martha (Eva Marie Saint) cashes in all of her ration-stamps to purchase the best Christmas dinner she can with everyone expected round the table.

Rockport is a small town where everyone knows everyone else and the tough times bring them even closer.
But the one person no one wants to see at their door is the Western Union man, because most of the news he delivers are telegrams from the War Department, reporting the death of a loved one and sadly he makes his rounds far too often.
This is a wonderful Christmas movies with happiness and sadness in equal measure and some strong performances, Hal Holbrook as head of the family, Joseph, Courteney Cox as expectant daughter in law Nora, and the strongest of all Nancy Travis as young widow Leah.

 

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – 12 DATES OF CHRISTMAS

 

This is very much a case of Groundhog Day meeting Christmas but is an absolute delight.

12 Dates of Christmas is a romantic comedy that follows Kate (Amy Smart) who is forced to relive the same first date on Christmas Eve with Miles (Mark-Paul Gosselaar).

Initially she focuses on trying to win back her ex-boyfriend.

But Kate actually ends up pursuing Miles in an effort to not keep ruining there blind date.

Kate finally sees the light and learns to take risks in her life as there are no consequences when the the slate is wiped clean at midnight.

Everything comes good in the end and Kate finds happiness with the handsome guy she's been set up with.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – CHRISTMAS COOKIES

 

Aunt Sally's Christmas Cookie Company is sold to a large conglomerate and executive Hannah Harper (Jill Wagner) must seal the deal and shut down the factory in the small town of Cookie Jar, which is the lifeblood of the town.

What was supposed to be a simple assignment for Hannah becomes complicated when she meets Jake Carter (Wes Brown), the factory owner, who is determined to keep the factory in the town.

Despite Jill not being a fan of the holiday, the Christmas spirit in this small town is infectious and she gets swept up in the joy of the season while also falling in love.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – THE CHRISTMAS HEART

 

A teenage boy collapses during a high school basketball game after suffering from a heart problem.

As his condition deteriorates it becomes clear that the only thing that will save him is a heart transplant.

After a near fatal set back the family are told that he will die if a doner heart doesn’t become available by Christmas Eve.

the quaint street where the family live have a forty-year old tradition of lining it with Christmas luminaries but the lighting of them is put on hold until they get news of a doner heart.

And when on a stormy Christmas Eve when the heart is being flown through a violent snow storm the luminaries are lit and perform an unexpected purpose.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – SCROOGE (1970)

 

Albert Finney stars as miser Ebenezer Scrooge in this musical retelling of Charles Dickens' “A Christmas Carol”.

The classic tale in which he is taught the true meaning of Christmas by three Spirits who visit him, revealing to him the truth about his own miserable existence, what opportunities he wasted in his youth, his current catalogue of cruelties, and the dire fate that awaits him if he does not change his ways.

Scrooge is faced with his own story of growing bitterness and meanness, and must decide what his own future will hold, death or redemption.

The Spirits are played by Edith Evans (Past), Kenneth More (Present) and Paddy Stone (Future)

The other key characters and portrayed by Alec Guinness (Marley), Suzanne Neve (Belle), David Collings and Frances Cuka (The Cratchit’s), Richard Beaumont (Tiny Tim), Laurence Naismith and Kay Walsh (The Fezziwig’s), Michael Medwin (Fred) and Anton Rodgers (Tom Jenkins).

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – GIFTS FOR CHRISTMAS

 

Mark Webber and Marla Sokoloff star in this modern take on the classic tale the Gift of the Magi.

Newlyweds Jim and Della Young move into to their new apartment, that they can barely afford and despite having to make do with second hand furnishings they are happy.

However, after Della’s car is stolen, they have to use up all their saving to buy another one.

As a result, they agree not to buy Christmas presents that year.

Secretly however they both decide to do so anyway.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – THE CHRISTMAS NOTE

 

Gretchen Daniels (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) moves back to her hometown with her son Ethan (Dylan Kingwell) but without her serviceman husband and finds her life in disarray as Christmas approaches.

But she discovers new purpose when she helps to deliver a message to her neighbour, Melissa McCreary (Leah Gibson).

Thanks to her son, a friendship begins which ends with her being an ally in the quest to find the neighbour’s sibling she never knew she had.

The women become bonded not only by the search, but by the understanding that being there for each other means they're no longer alone and this friendship becomes the greatest Christmas gift of their lives.