Hallmark Holiday
Yearning for a fresh blanket of snowfall outside and a roaring white birch fire in the hearth, Christmas enthusiasts rarely experience the ideal conditions for a perfectly merry night. Turns out, that kind of perfection only exists in the movies. Holiday movies play on repeat this time of year because society is obsessed with stories of amicable families, wrongs turned right, and a jolly elf-man discovering the streets of New York City. Christmas movies, especially those from decades past, often highlight positive feelings, like redemption, triumph, gratefulness, and a 1,200-year-old hot cocoa recipe. Predictable plots and uplifting themes are often the main reason these nostalgic Christmas classics have been watched and rewatched for decades.
“Predictability equals comfort,” says Steve Hartman from Screencraft. “In a world filled with unpredictability, we love knowing what’s going to happen.” When the holiday season comes around, people start rewatching familiar Christmas movies again because it brings about comfort and joy. Knowing what will happen next, anticipating the cheerful jokes, and eagerly awaiting the happy ending offers a sense of solace from the tumultuous nature of the Christmas season. Although many people don’t admit it, the holidays can be pretty stressful, and dependable Christmas classics bring with them a sense of security and reassurance.
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Alas, with streaming making viewership more accessible than ever, movie-lovers are faced with a tough decision. Do they expand their cinephile repertoire of holiday films or do they reach for a tried-and-true copy of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation? Just like that, the Griswold universe takes its annual tour through America’s home entertainment systems.
Old But Gold
Despite the ever-growing list of new Christmas films, audiences whip out classics like How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000), A Christmas Story (1983), and Home Alone (1990), without fail. Since 1997, a 24-hour marathon of A Christmas Story has run every year on television. With 22 years of airing the film 12 times in a row from Christmas Eve through Christmas Day, more than 40 million viewers tune in annually to watch. That’s close to a billion views on American broadcast networks alone. Compulsively, Christmas lovers watch the same four or five movies every season without ever considering expanding their watch list. However, with 91 new Christmas movies slated for release in 2025, surely some of those new movies deserve some screen time.
As a holiday cinephile myself and after years of fortifying my personal Christmas movie must-watch list, I’ve seen my fair share of good, bad, and terrible Christmas movies. In the last two decades, however, there have been some truly exceptional Christmas releases like The Night Before (2015), Klaus (2019), and Violent Nights (2022) are obsession-worthy, but they will never be as beloved as the films from the 80s, 90s, and 2000s. Overwhelmed by choices, audiences lean into their habits, selecting and replaying the old movies that feed their nostalgia-depraved hearts. This choice may be fueled by convenience and familiarity, but it fortifies the reliable reputation of old Christmas movies, ensuring yet another positive movie-watching experience. After decades of being replayed, old films continue to dominate the industry, and the new, unfamiliar movies get swallowed up in the sheer volume of selection.
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According to PopularScience, it’s not just the predictability of Christmas movies that audiences love, but the comforting themes. “Christmas movies act as a barometer of how we might want to live and how we might see ourselves, [portraying] everyday life while affirming ethical values and social mores along the way.” Holiday movies are like an oversimplified daydream of how we wish our holiday season would unfold, but oftentimes, that idyllic portrayal is an impossible reality.
People long for the “perfect” yuletide experience, but hardly ever experience it in the real world. Most people’s reality included holiday dinner arguments, stressful expensive gift list budgeting, and familial obligations that consume the winter season. Reality wears people down and as the year creeps to an end, Christmas spirit is desperately low. Christmas movies create on-screen worlds that kindle positive emotions, offering a few laughs and a healthy serving of nostalgia, which makes them the optimal vessel for a festive, nostalgic daydream. After a lifetime of fantasizing about peaceful snowy mornings, warmhearted family encounters, and the elusive magic of Christmas, it’s no wonder society seeks this ideological space outside of reality. Christmas movies ooze holiday nostalgia and have become the perfect escape for a tired, burnt out mind.
Transforming into a heartfelt holiday tradition themselves, nostalgic, old movies fortify our vision and our desires for the Christmas season, while offering a reliable, comforting activity for the whole family. Guardian reporter, Agnes Arnold-Folster, says “nostalgia arises from personally salient, tender and wistful memories, and it’s more than just benign; it can be actively therapeutic.” Comforting Christmas classics may be bogarting an entire genre of cinematic innovation and expansion, but the value they bring to people’s lives and the entire holiday season is irrefutable and irreplaceable.
All’s Right in the World
While new Christmas movie releases have proven to be reputable, high-quality productions, they will never be as popular and rewatchable as the dominant holiday classics. Over the years, a handful of Christmas movies have become a pillar of societal tradition. Millennials and Gen Z were raised on holiday movie afternoons with their cousins, circling around boxy TVs to watch Christmas movies while the parents cooked. With only a few films to choose from in the family movie cabinet, it’s no wonder these staple films found themselves on repeat every year.
With every rewatch and every cozy Christmas movie night, the movies that trigger nostalgia, comfort, and positivity rightfully earn their place in our holiday decor boxes. Although everyone can appreciate the flare of new, festive filmmaking every now and then, it’s the iron-clad classics that will always make audiences feel at home.
There’s nothing better than the snug feeling of being surrounded by loved ones, sipping eggnog, and enjoying the warmth of a cedarwood fire. Old Christmas classics will always deliver that sentimental feeling, mimicking the comfort and joy of the very best holiday, especially after the 100th rewatch.