What to Watch this Holiday Season

This time of year, not a day goes by that my facebook feed isn’t littered with friends, asking for recommendations. One question echos throughout the newsfeed…

What Do I Watch?

I love to watch tv and movies. I LOVE it. My taste is varied and eclectic! Give me comedy, and musicals. Give me serious plots, mystery, suspense and thrillers; romance, action and history! Honestly the only genre I don’t enjoy is horror.

This post is dedicated to all those who sit, wondering what to watch. Friend, you no longer have to wonder. Take a moment and browse this list I’ve compiled. (scroll to the bottom if you’d like tv show recommendations!)

If you’re in the Mood for grown-up comedy with a flare for romance check out these movies:

 

-Love Actually (Netflix) stories woven together; an all-star cast celebrating the Christmas season (in England!)
-A Christmas Prince (Netflix) an american journalist and a prince= happily ever after!
-A Christmas Prince 2: Royal Wedding (Netflix) 2018 sequel to the modern fairy tale, A Christmas Prince
-The Princess Switch (Netflix) modern prince and the pauper with a practical, happy ending. #fairytaleforreal
-Holiday Calendar (Netflix) slightly magical love story; a selfish girl’s dreams come true
-The Holiday (freeform) two single gals swap homes and find love in LA & the UK!
-Christmas Wedding Planner (Netflix) An orphan entrepreneur, pretty people and a Christmas wedding. Are we really looking for more than that?
-Christmas Inheritance (Netflix) silly small town christmas love story; not the best acting
-Christmas Crush (Netflix/Prime) a holiday high school reunion disaster; mean girls xmas
-A Holiday Engagement (Netflix/Prime) no fiance? why not hire one and fall in love?
-I’ll Be Home for Christmas (freeform) JTT and Jessica Beal! Santa, Desert, Buzzard, Tumbleweed!
-A Princess for Christmas (tubi) Sam Heughan is a charming prince. Enough said. 

Other grown up comedy/romance worth watching once (if there’s nothing better on!): Spirit of Christmas (netflix), Merry Kissmas (netflix), Christmas in the Smokies (netflix), A Cinderella Christmas (hulu)

New Classics: These movies radiate Christmas Magic (and were all released in the last 30 years!)

The Man Who Invented Christmas (Prime) Dickens writes A Christmas Carol (this is my favorite new christmas movie!) It’ll make you cry.
The Santa Clause (freeform) Scott Calvin becomes Santa and a better father
The Santa Clause 2: The Mrs Clause (freeform) Scott Calvin finds a wife super fast
The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (freeform) Jack Frost plots to become Santa
Elf (amazon, not prime) iconic human/elf restores Christmas spirit in tights
Polar Express (amazon, not prime) magical train ride and bells restore belief in Santa
Home Alone (starz) parents forget son and fly to Paris, house gets robbed hilariously
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York a kid in NY at christmas. Plus Tim Curry. It’s magical
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Netflix) Jim Carrey as the furry, green, mean one
Disney’s A Christmas Carol a surprisingly ghory, but magical take on the Dickens classic
Nightmare Before Christmas (freeform) The Pumpkin King steals Christmas; iconic soundtrack
National Lampoons Christmas Vacation the absolute best film in the “vacation” series! Salty language. Everything goes wrong. It’s one you’ll never forget!
Jack Frost (michael keaton) (HBOgo) musician dad dies and comes back as a snowman
Four Christmases (HBOgo) Vince Vaughn And Reese Witherspoon hate their families. This one has grown up language and some dirty humor
Scrooged (Starz) Bill Murray is a modern (90’s) Scrooge. Put a little love in your heart. It’s got grown up language, but a timeless story
The Christmas Chronicles (Netflix) yes, it’s as good as everyone says! (The first 30 min has some very grown up language for a kid’s movie)

Family Classics

Charlie Brown Christmas (not prime) iconic music, the true meaning of Christmas
Mickey’s Christmas Carol (Netflix) Scrooge McDuck learns to be generous and kind
The Star (Netflix) The Nativity Story with an all-star cast, starring the donkey
A Christmas Story (freeform) The Christmas Season for a whiney elementary school kid and family
Christmas With the Kranks (Prime) The Kranks try to skip Christmas for a cruise
Jingle All the Way (amazon, not prime) workaholic dad hunts for a last minute toy.
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (not prime) bullied caribou saves Christmas 
Santa Claus is Coming to Town (amazon, not prime) Kris Kringle origins. He makes toys and breaks the law
The Year Without a Santa Claus (amazon, not prime) Tired Santa wants a break. Heat and Snow Misers quarrel!
Frosty the Snowman (amazon, not prime) A magical hat brings a snowman to life; he melts. Happy Birthday!
The Little Drummer Boy (amazon, not prime) Talented Aaron has a unique gift to share with the baby Jesus
Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey a sweet donkey gives Mary a ride to Bethlehem
It’s a Wonderful Life (Prime) A man discovers that the world IS better with him in it!
Arthur Christmas (Starz) Santa’s sons vie for Santa’s job when he retires
If You Give a Mouse a Christmas Cookie (prime)
Maryellen 1955 (American Girl) (prime)
The Snowy Day (prime)
The Christmas Dragon (prime)

That’s a Christmas Movie? The following movies are Perfect to watch at Christmas time! Don’t you remember?…

Bridget Jones’s Diary (HBOgo) It begins and ends with Christmas…ugly jumpers and all! It’s pride and prejudice with saltier language
Just Friends (amazon, not prime) Ryan Reynolds fights to emerge from the “friend zone” at Christmas time
The Family Man (USA) Nic Cage gets a glimpse at what might have been at Christmas time
Die Hard (amazon, not prime) Separated husband visits wife in LA at Christmas time. Defends against terrorists
Mean Girls (amazon, not prime) This one’s worth a watch just for Jingle Bell Rock! You go Glenn Coco!
You’ve Got Mail (HBOgo) New York at Christmas; The modern movie version of the musical,”she loves me”

Musicals

Muppet Christmas Carol (amazon, not prime)
White Christmas (netflix)
Holiday Inn (prime)
Meet Me in St Louis (amazon, not prime)
George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker (Netflix)
Rent (Netflix)
Baryshnikov’s Nutcracker (Prime)
The Nutcracker on Ice (Prime)

A New Tradition:
A few years ago, the hubs and I started a new tradition. One night each December, we sit down and watch The holiday episodes of our favorite tv shows!

 

We started with seasons of The Office on DVD! Though we still keep lot’s of these shows on DVD, it’s a lot easier to stream these them, instead of changing out dvd’s every 23 minutes!

If you love tv (and I’m assuming you do if you’ve read this far), I encourage you to start this tradition as well, there’s no need to hunt down those episodes. Just check out this list I’ve made and start celebrating the season with your favorite cast! Feel free to use the comments section below to suggest more awesome shows with holiday episodes!

Key: S = Season, E = Episode number

The Office:
S2, E10 Christmas Party
S3, E10 A Benihana Christmas
S5, E11 Moroccan Christmas
S6, E13 Secret Santa
S7, E11 Classy Christmas pt1
S7, E12 Classy Christmas pt2
S8, E10 Christmas Wishes
S9, E9 Dwight Christmas

Home Improvement: (Hulu)
S 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, & 6: Episode 12
S 7 & 8: Episode 11

Friends:  (Netflix)
S1, E9 TOW the underdog gets away
S1, E10 TOW the monkey
S2, E9 TOW pheobe’s dad
S3, E9 TOW the football
S3, E10 TOW rachel quits
S4, E8 TOW chandler in a box
S4, E10 TOW the girl from poughkeepsie
S5, E8 TOW all the thanksgivings
S5, E10 TOW the innappropriate sister
S5, E11 TOW all the resolutions
S6, E9 TOW ross got high
S6, E10 TOW the routine
S7, E8 TOW chandler doesn’t like dogs
S7, E9 TOW all the candy
S7, E10 TOW the holiday armadillo
S8, E9 TOW the rumor
S8, E11 TOW the creepy holiday card
S9, E8 TOW rachel’s other sister
S9, E10 TOW christmas in tulsa
S10, E8TOW the late thanksgiving

New Girl: (netflix)
S1, E6 Thanksgiving
S1, E9 The 23rd
S2, E8 Parents
S2, E11 Santa
S3, E10 Thanksgiving III
S3, E11 Clavado en un Bar
S4, E9 Thanksgiving IV
S4, E11 LAXmas
S6, E7 Last Thanksgiving
S6, E10 Christmas Eve Eve

Sherlock: (netflix)
S2, E1 A Scandal in Belgravia (features christmas about half way through)
S3, E3 His Last Vow
(The abominable Bride, S3 E4 is worth a watch too. It premiered at Christmas and takes place immediately following S3, E3)

10 points to Gryffindor if you can tell me which Christmas episode this scene comes from!

Doctor Who: (new who-on Prime)
(so many episodes have Christmas undertones, but here are some favorites)
S1, E3 The Unquiet Dead (Chris Eccelston)
S2, E1 The Christmas Invasion (David Tennant)
S3, E1 The Runaway Bride (David Tennant)
S4, E1 The Voyage of the Damned (David Tennant)
S4, E15 The Next Doctor (David Tennant)
Doctor Who the Christmas Specials with Matt Smith (prime)
1: Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol
2: The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe
3: The Snowmen
Doctor Who Christmas Specials with Peter Capaldi
Doctor Who: Last Christmas
Doctor Who: The Husbands of River Song
Doctor Who: The Return of Doctor Mysterio
Doctor Who: Twice Upon a Time

Psych: (prime)
S2, E10 Gus’ Dad May Have Killed a Guy
S3, E9 Christmas Joy
S5, E14 The Polarizing Express

Brooklyn Nine-Nine
S1, E10 Thanksgiving
S1, E11 Christmas
S2, E10 The Pontiac Bandit Returns
S3, E10 Yippie Kayak
S4, E7 Mr Santiago
S4, E10 Captain Latvia
S5, E7 Two Turkeys

Fuller House
S2, E6 Fuller Thanksgiving
S2, E12 Nutcrackers
S2, E13 Happy New Year Baby

And Finally, if you love Baking Competitions, check these out:

The Great British Baking Show: Holidays (netflix)
Nailed It S2, E4
Nailed It Holiday
Cupcake Wars: S4, E1
Cupcake Wars S4, E2
Cupcake Wars S7, E8

 

Please recommend other movies or tv shows I haven’t mentioned in the comments below!

*I don’t own the rights to these pictures. I took screen shots while watching these great movies and shows to recommend to you all!*