A Garfield Christmas 1987
A Charlie Brown Christmas 1965
A Flinstone Christmas 1977
Home Alone 1990
Polar Express 2004
Home Alone 2 1992
How the Grinch Stole Christmas 1966
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer 1964
Frosty the Snowman 1969
A Christmas Story 1983
Christmas Vacation 1989
How the Grinch Stole Christmas 2000
The Santa Clause 1994
Prancer 1989
Ernest Saves Christmas 1988
Fatman 2020
The Nightmare Before Christmas 1993
Daddy’s Home 2 2017
Santa Clause 2 2002
Elf 2003
Die Hard is a Christmas movie by construction, not opinion.
It is explicitly set on Christmas Eve, begins with Christmas music, and exists only because John McClane travels for a Christmas family reunion . The takeover happens during a Christmas office party, with security relaxed and the building nearly empty because it’s Christmas, which is exactly why the villains’ plan works. Hans Gruber’s timing relies on holiday staffing, predictable schedules, and delayed response. Christmas music and imagery are used throughout (Christmas in Hollis, Ode to Joy,cLet It Snow,cSanta hats, decorations, wrapped gifts, and literal falling snow). The themes are textbook Christmas….. reconciliation, redemption, humility, greed punished, family restored. The villain literally dies clutching a materialistic Christmas gift (Holly’s watch). The film ends with reunited family, falling snow, and Christmas music. Remove Christmas and the plot, symbolism, motivations, timing, and resolution collapse entirely….. which means Die Hard isn’t set at Christmas, it depends on it .
Definitely a Christmas movie. Right up there with Gremlins.
I worked for a Japanese company in America. They were very respectful of Christian holidays, more so than the US companies I had worked for.
They gave us a full week off for Christmas and even gave us Good Friday off, which I had never seen from any other employer. I think maybe they thought all Americans were dedicated Christians.
Elf on the shelf here is terrorizing The Young No Longer Scholar But Actual Engineer who has a doll phobia with Heat Miser popping up in a new place overnight.
