Bookmans Recommends: Christmas Movies to Get You Into the Holiday Spirit

by Megan Maiden, former Assistant Manager at Bookmans Mesa

I am unapologetically Christmas Crazy. I live for this time of year! Not that I don’t give Thanksgiving a chance, I just like to eat my turkey while I stare lovingly at my already decorated Christmas tree. My co-workers know that the music is coming (both piped in from above and sung at the top of my lungs) but, in my house the movies have already begun. Much like Santa, I love a good list. This is my list of favorite Christmas movies to get you in the mood for the season.

Scrooged. Have a Murray Christmas with Bill frickin’ Murray, a modern day Scrooge who discovers that there is more to this life than high ratings and working on Christmas. While the current Murray is a modern day, melancholy hipster grandpa to an entire generation, vintage Murray is at his goofy best in this twist on a Dickens classic. I got my autographed-by-Bobcat-Goldthwait DVD copy at Bookmans Mesa over a decade ago and, when I asked the customer who was trading it in if it was really his signature, the customer produced a picture of himself and Bobcat that he kept tucked inside the insert. That picture of a random stranger is still in my copy today, so it is a keeper! Yule love it!

Batman Returns. Tim Burton hit his stride with Batman Returns. Visually, the movie is a cosplayer’s dream! Thematically, the movie reminds us that money isn’t everything, especially around the holidays. You could be shoved out of a window or your nose could be gushing blood, so count your blessings, gather your penguin babies close and hope that you get all nine of your lives! Give this gem another look, especially around Christmas.

Elf. Elf is a modern day Christmas classic thanks in large part to the earnest portrayal of Will Ferrell as Buddy, an adopted elf in search of his birth father. Ferrell is great at playing the man-baby and infuses Buddy with a genuine sweetness — enough so that even James Caan’s heart grows three sizes that day.

Die Hard. Ho, Ho, Ho! Die Hard is a Christmas movie. It is also one of the best action movies in the history of action movies. With a plot that is water tight, this is the holiday movie to put on for those that don’t “do Christmas.” Die Hard blows the roof off of every holiday party!

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. I’ve spent a significant part of my life watching this movie, as it was the third DVD I’ve owned, and it still consistently cracks me up. Chevy Chase is perfect in the role of Clark Griswold and Randy Quaid is sublime in his lunacy as Cousin Eddie. Watch this movie every year, forever, but heed my warning: Do NOT watch Christmas Vacation, 2. I need to get the word out on that one!

Pee Wee’s Playhouse Christmas Special. I don’t know that any modern child would enjoy this now, but if you love 1980s Oprah, Grace Jones, KD Lang, Charro, Frankie and Annette, Little Richard AND MORE, then you need to find a copy of this DVD and hold it tightly. This gem gets a yearly watch in our home and I am truly thankful for the day it claimed me as its own.

* Bookmans is your store to explore. If you are looking for a particular Christmas movie, please give us a call and we will check our shelves for you. Otherwise, we hope you will come and browse.

UPDATED 12/15