10 Christmas movies you should totally see this yuletide season

In December, a few things are bound to happen. For Nigeria, the harmattan sets in, homes and companies light up for the festive holiday season – not forgetting the streets – knockouts like mini bombs are heard from every corner, and our favourite film production companies flood our screens with a wide choice of Christmas movies.

From classics that movie lovers never stop watching to new releases that can stir up our hearts and make us live the dream of Christmas, there are different ways movies can light up our lives with a little bit of joy. And 2022 has already given us a variety of Christmas movies. 

This is why we curated ten movies you absolutely need to see this Christmas:

How To Ruin Christmas (3 seasons)

This one is an Africa-wide favourite and is now in its third season. “The Wedding” (2020) happened in season one, “The Funeral” (2021) happened in season two, and the third season “The Baby Shower”, was released this year. 

“How To Ruin Christmas” highlights and examines several issues, including the local traditions of South Africans, family, friendships, marital life, the consequences of leaked secrets, etc.

It is pure comedy and will keep you through all the seasons. Just get your popcorn.  

Guardians of the Galaxy: Holiday Special

The “Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special” was written and directed by James Gunn for Disney+, based on Marvel Comics featuring the superhero team “Guardians of the Galaxy”. 

It is the second instalment of Marvel Studios Special Presentation in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and is produced by Marvel Studios. It follows the Guardians of the Galaxy as they celebrate Christmas and search for the perfect gift for their leader Peter Quill.

There were characters in the Galaxy sphere that came out to the limelight in this special, like Cosmo the Dog, Mantis and Drax, who played prominent roles. It also highlighted how Christmas is all about cheerfulness and gift-giving/reaching out.

The special has received positive reviews from critics for its humour, Gunn’s direction, and the cast’s performances.

Pinocchio

“Pinocchio” is a musical fantasy film directed by Robert Zemeckis and produced by Walt Disney Pictures, Depth of Field and ImageMovers. 

The film is a live-action remake of Walt Disney’s 1940 animated film of the same name, based on the 1883 Italian book The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi.

The story follows a wooden puppet named Pinocchio (Evan Ainsworth), who is brought to life by a blue fairy (Erivo) after being crafted by an old Italian woodcarver named Geppetto (Tom Hanks). While the role of Pinocchio‘s conscience Jiminy Cricket (Gordon-Levitt), attempts to guide Pinocchio in matters of right and wrong, Pinocchio encounters a host of unsavoury characters in his efforts to become a real boy.

If you like storytelling through animation, you will definitely love this one, as it is quite relatable and shows that love may genuinely exist. 

Violent Night

“Violent Night” is a film designed by writers Pat Casey and Josh Miller and director Tommy Wirkola to answer the question of what a full-length version of “The Night the Reindeer Died” may have been like. 

“The Night the Reindeer Died” is another story of holiday carnage in which terrorists attempt to seize the North Pole until Lee Majors saves the day by killing the attackers while Santa Claus assures him he has been a good boy this year.

“Violent Night” opens with the gathering of the super-rich, powerful, but clearly dysfunctional Lightstone family, with only the youngest of them all, Trudy (Leah Brady), willing to embrace the spirit of the holiday season. 

All the quiet bickering transforms into actual gunfire when a group of violent thieves led by Scrooge (John Leguizamo) arrive to steal $300 million they believe has been nefariously acquired by Gertrude and locked away in a supposedly impenetrable safe.

“Violent Night” intends to be some hybrid of “Die Hard” and “Home Alone.” 

Spirited

If you are a Ryan Reynolds fan, you will know how the action is perfectly mixed with comedy. 

“Spirited” is a fresh perspective on Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol” from the perspective of the ghosts. 

Every year as Christmas approaches, three ghosts descend upon a figure needing de-Scrooging, redemption being the ultimate goal. “The Ghost of Christmas Present” (Will Ferrell) is edging toward retirement but eager to make an impact before that day comes, so he picks Clint Briggs (Ryan Reynolds), a mindless media consultant who spends his life causing conflict. He’s what’s known as an “unredeemable”, someone incapable of real change, but along with Past (Glow’s Sunita Mani) and Future (the voice of Tracy Morgan), he’s determined to finish the job.

There’s a memorable subplot about a 12-year-old and the dangers of misusing social media. Other themes include teamwork and perseverance.

Falling for Christmas

“Falling for Christmas” features Lindsay Lohan in her first lead role since Paul Schrader’s “The Canyons” nearly a decade ago and the directorial debut of co-writer Janeen Damian. The film pays homage to films like “Christmas In Connecticut” and “It’s A Wonderful Life”

Lohan plays a hotel heiress, Sierra Belmont, who finds herself in this situation; offered the position of “Vice President of Atmosphere” at her father’s exclusive ski chalet, she’s there a week before Christmas to let him know she doesn’t think the position is the right fit for her, even though she doesn’t know what else she should be doing with her life instead. All she knows is she wants to be known for more than her father’s last name.

She eventually loses her memory in a skiing accident, and the rest of the story is familiar. 

The Mean One

“The Mean One” is a Christmas film directed by Steven LaMorte. It is a horror parody of the 1957 children’s book How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr Seuss. It is the fourth screen adaptation of the story; the first is the 1966 television special, the second is the 2000 live-action feature-length film, and the third is the 2018 computer-animated film.

“The Mean One,” however, is a lacklustre parody with a much higher body count than Dr Seuss’ story or the revered animated special. While the film isn’t the best Grinch movie ever made, it is a hilarious parody on its own.

It follows a young woman on a mission to defend her town from a green homicidal humanoid creature who goes on a murderous rampage during the holiday season. 

To end, “The Mean One” is learning to let go of anger and treat others with empathy and kindness.

Holiday Heritage

“Holiday Heritage” is Hallmark’s first-ever Kwanzaa movie. Director Alfons Adetuyi and writer Rhonda Baraka teamed up with Hallmark superstar Holly Robinson Peete to make the story happen. 

The story follows Ella, who returns to her hometown to mend fences with her fractured family. With the help of Griffin, her ex-boyfriend, she encourages her family to celebrate Christmas and Kwanzaa and to heal their past wounds before it’s too late.

“Holiday Heritage” is all about family, healing and repairing relationships. 

12 Days of Christmas Eve

In “12 Days of Christmas Eve”, Brian Conway is a successful businessman whose relationships with those around him have taken a wrong turn. 

While this Christmas season has been the most successful for his business, he’s divorced, his relationship with his daughter Michelle is strained, and he doesn’t have a meaningful connection with his only granddaughter. 

After Brian gets into a car accident on Christmas Eve, Santa gives him twelve chances to re-do the day and repair the relationships in his life to find the true meaning of Christmas. 

For Brian, these twelve days are a journey of self-realisation about life, love and happiness as he attempts to right the wrongs of his life in pursuit of the Christmas spirit. 

Home Alone

If you do not see “Home Alone” in your lifetime, this is where we tell you that: ‘you f**king  missed!’. This holiday is your opportunity. “Home Alone” is undoubtedly the Best Christmas Movie of All Time.

Science has proven that the John Hughes-written, Chris Columbus-directed classic of 1990 is the ultimate cinematic Yule affair in several surveys and experiments conducted by illustrious institutions worldwide. The brightest mathematicians specialising in motion picture data analysis, statistics and logic have all come to the same conclusion – that it’s impossible to top the story with Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) taking on two thieves. 

We could give different reasons “Home Alone” is the GOAT, including that the McCallister clan is probably better than your fam, Kevin McCallister is pretty much an icon, “Home Alone” is beyond clever, all of Kevin’s traps, ETC. 

“Home Alone” is a classic filled with innocence, playfulness and a refreshing absence of malice. 

Watch all the “Home Alone” instalments and thank us later.