Holiday Movie Traditions

There are several things I insist on doing every holiday season: visiting the Bryant Park shops (check); stringing festive white lights around the fireplaces in my apartment (check check); listening repeatedly to Mariah Carey's “All I Want For Christmas is You” (check check check, sadly). But most of all, there are certain movies I HAVE to watch at some point during the holidays. So let's talk about holiday movie traditions!

For my family, the top tradition is. . . drum roll please. . . National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (rated PG-13), which we try to watch all together (and try to not talk over each other as we quote liberally from the movie). But there are other must-sees, too:

• A Christmas Story (rated PG): usually this is playing (on marathon!) on Christmas Day, and we put it on after opening gifts. A classic!
• Elf (rated PG): does anyone out there not love this movie? Laugh-out-loud funny.
• Home Alone (rated PG): I start laughing when Kevin's sister says, “You're what the French call les incompetents” and I don’t stop until the credits roll.

And then, there's one holiday movie I like to watch by myself, preferably curled up on a comfy couch as my holiday lights twinkle throughout the room. It’s my all-time favorite kids' Christmas classic: 'Twas the Night Before Christmas (rated TV-G). I had forgotten about this animated movie until one December a few years ago when I caught it on television and remembered – bam! – just how fantastic it is. What can I say, I have a fondness for the Mouse Father and Mouse Mother and all their ker-plunking in the big clock tower.

There are so many other classic holiday movies, of course, and I could keep going (A Christmas Carol! A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie! Miracle on 34th Street!). But it's your turn now! What kinds of holiday movie traditions do you and your family have? What are your favorites?

– Morgan, Scholastic staffer

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BONUS WRITING PROMPT: In the book Inkheart, the characters actually go inside the book and interact with the characters there. If you were writing a book where that were possible, what would be the title of that book? Leave your answer in the Comments.

Comments

[Comment #26]

heyy cagie!! sup?? language arts iz soo borin right now!!! i <3 elf u should really watch it if u havnt!

[Comment #27]

hey cage n aiden!! im bored!! btw i c u!! u r across from me!!lol elf is awsome!! watch it!!!!!!

[Comment #28]

kayla, aiden, cage hola its shana heyyy im bored!!! elf is koolio koolio is an AH-MAZIN word!! lol

[Comment #29]

hey peeps i c u 2!! we should have r hole class confrence on here!! lol i <3 elf 2!! i luv the part: THE LELLOW 1S DONT STOP!!! lol

[Comment #30]

heyy people wut is sup?? u guyses r in my class hola!!!

[Comment #31]

u r really weird ryan JK ily!! tell lili 2 come on here with us cause she is next 2 u n tell austin 2!! 2 bad we cant talk ELF WOOO!!

[Comment #32]

heyy guys ryan told mee 2 come on!! im soo bored!! elf rules harry potter stinks n i <3 <3 <3 rob pattinson n taylor lautner we got 2 meet them we r awsome thx cagie!!! ily!!

[Comment #33]

heyyyyy sup harry potter is dumb!!!! wut wut wut wut now?? i h8 this y cant we go on somethin else??

[Comment #34]

inr??? 2 bad g2g class iz over in 5!! lol

[Comment #35]

Grandma Got Ran Over By a Reindeer!

[Comment #36]

We watch so many movies/shows around Christmas that it's not even funny.

[Comment #37]

i would call it the finish of the book i wrote led to my life in my book

[Comment #38]

The insider or the inside story of inkheart......

[Comment #39]

we watch a christmas story which we <3(love)we love the part when ralphie gets the pink bunny suit!!!!!!!!!

[Comment #40]

very cool very cool awesome movie

[Comment #41]

Me and my family go to a friend's house and watch "Home Alone" with my friends, then i watch The cartoon network to watch that.

p.s WHO DOESN'T WATCH How the Grinch stole Christmas

[Comment #42]

All those movies are good.

[Comment #43]

I would call my book Where the Words Meet Reality. Not the best title I know.

[Comment #44]

every christmas while we're setting up our christmas tree we HAVE TO watch NATIONAL LAMPOONS CHRISTMAS VACATION!!!!!!!!!! it is awesome! i love the part with the cat! all of the sudden a cat just squeals and all you hear is MROOOOOOW!!!!! it is sooooooooo funny but it is rated PG-13 so ask your parents before you try to watch it! LOL!