Guest post by Dan Stephens of Top 10 Films

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When it comes to festive favorites, I’m inclined to think of Bill Murray doing his bah humbug routine in Richard Donner’s Scrooged. It was the film playing on TV during Christmas while I was growing up, so there’s definitely nostalgia involved. Perhaps that’s why others that stand out – Santa Claus: The Movie with a dastardly John Lithgow, and the Griswold’s family fun in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation – were also released in the 1980s.

There’s that other thing too: youth. These were the films I was watching as a kid. It was when the magic of the holidays had a different appeal. Then it was all about Christmas Day and what was to be found under the shimmering tinsel gleam of the tree. Now I’m the one sneaking around the house at midnight arranging presents. Instead of the excitement of unwrapping the biggest gift I can find, the most important thing is that first glass of wine to toast good health alongside my nearest and dearest.

But what age doesn’t diminish is the thrill of escapism. And that’s what the best festive movies have always managed to accomplish. Along with a healthy dose of schmaltz, sentiment, and happy endings. So, while I still have rose-tinted glasses for the escapades of Frank Cross and Clark Griswold, I’ve continued to find Christmas delivering cinema goodness. Here are my top 10 from the last decade that all have plenty of Christmas cheer!

Happy Christmas (2014)

Anna Kendrick is always a delight. She’s a big reason why Happy Christmas, which was made on a shoestring budget, is worth seeing. Re-teaming with her Drinking Buddies writer-director Joe Swanberg, the film employs the same improvisational style, giving it a pleasing sense of spontaneity. Kendrick is Jenny, an irresponsible 20-something, who goes to live with her older brother and ends up shaking up family life, in particular inspiring her sister-in-law novelist to step out of her comfort zone.

Get Santa (2014)

Director Christopher Smith is better known for horror. He made his debut with 2004’s Creep (not to be mistaken for the found footage horror from 2014 starring Mark Duplass) which saw a woman being stalked in the London Underground. He then made cult favorites Severance, Triangle, and Black Death, the latter witnessing another tragic Sean Bean death. This time he’s not only infected with the plague but dismembered by horses. He can’t catch a break!

Ditching the sight of flesh wound crimson for the red of Father Christmas’s recognizable suit, Smith brought us the wonderful Get Santa in 2014. Here a father and son team up to save Christmas after discovering Saint Nick in their garage. Along with Jim Broadbent’s lovable turn as Santa, the film boasts an endearing relationship between Rafe Spall’s Steve and his son Tom (played by Kit Connor).

The Night Before (2015)

One for “grown-ups” only, 2015’s The Night Before is a bromance at Christmas. It sees Seth Rogen and Joseph Gordon-Levitt return to the screen together after the incredibly moving tragicomedy 50/50, their unmistakable chemistry revisited alongside Anthony Mackie who fits in perfectly. The writing sizzles with dry wit, the cast’s energy is infectious, and a frozen, snow-kissed New York-looking picture is postcard-perfect.

Director Jonathan Levine, who directed 50/50 as well as The Wackness and more recently Long Shot, is also wonderfully adept at executing epic laugh-out-loud moments (for example, a nod to Big’s giant piano and a crowd-pleasing rendition of Miley Cyrus’ Wrecking Ball) and finds a neat balance between knockabout fun and moving melancholy.

The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017)

An alternative look at a classic festive tale, The Man Who Invented Christmas sees Dan Stevens step into the shoes of Charles Dickens as the celebrated author begins work on A Christmas Carol. As the story begins to take shape, he starts to interact with his fictional creations, notably Ebenezer Scrooge played by the inimitable Christopher Plummer.

Victorian London looks magnificent even though the production never set foot in England (it was wholly shot in Ireland, mostly at Wicklow’s Ardmore studios). We thought we knew this tale so well, but director Bharat Nalluri, who made the equally likable Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, brings us an enchanting new way to enjoy the most famous Christmas story of all.

Daddy’s Home 2 (2017)

Who could have expected that the amusing Daddy’s Home franchise would produce a memorable Christmas classic? Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg had previously proven what an entertaining comic duo they could be as two very different father figures. Now enter Mel Gibson and John Lithgow; the dads of the dads.

Daddy’s Home 2 switches the bickering from its two original stars to their elders with a bit of generation gap comedy that’ll resonate (maybe painfully) with anyone experiencing a family get-together this year. It’s not original, it’s not groundbreaking, but it does amuse and benefits from plenty of yuletide cheer.

The Christmas Chronicles (2018)

I always thought it would be interesting to see Kurt Russell play Santa Claus. In 2018 Netflix gave me my wish. The Christmas Chronicles tells the story of sister and brother, Kate and Teddy Pierce, whose Christmas Eve plan to catch Santa Claus on camera turns into the sort of epic unexpected journey that kids dream of. It’s fair to say Russell lives up to his billing. When has he ever been disappointed? Producer Chris Columbus, who famously made Christmas classic Home Alone, hailed Russell as the perfect Santa, saying he was “charismatic, tough when needed with a wicked sense of humor.”

Klaus (2019)

A beautifully realized hand-drawn animation that brings that warm, fuzzy feeling of Christmas classics of old, Klaus certainly has that vintage feeling. Sergio Pablos finds his own unique yuletide cheer that recalls the festivities of Christmas we all recognize with a singular wit and inventive characterization. Its overarching message is suitably twee but a reminder that selflessness, no matter how it manifests itself, is a value worth celebrating.

The Last Train To Christmas (2021)

Recalling the contemporising of the curmudgeonly Scrooge in one of the 1980s best Christmas movies Scrooged, The Last Train to Christmas swaps Bill Murray for Michael Sheen who must learn from the error of his ways via a magical train whose carriages take him backwards and forwards through time.

Sheen plays Tony Towers, a successful nightclub owner and local celebrity, who steps on the 3.17pm to Nottingham for a Christmas family reunion. However, he discovers he can move between periods in his life, changing events as he goes. Can he fix things for the better or just make it worse?

A Boy Called Christmas (2021)

An ordinary young boy called Nikolas sets out on an extraordinary adventure into the snowy north in search of his father who is on a quest to discover the fabled village of the elves, Elfhelm. Taking with him a headstrong reindeer called Blitzen and a loyal pet mouse, Nikolas soon meets his destiny in this magical and endearing story that proves nothing is impossible. The film boasts an all-star cast including Toby Jones, Kristen Wiig, Michiel Huisman, Zoe Colletti, Stephen Merchant, Jim Broadbent, and Maggie Smith.

8-Bit Christmas (2021)

A refreshingly earnest retro-inspired Christmas movie set in the 1980s, there’s an obvious love for festive tradition from director Michael Dowse and writer Kevin Jakubowski. Starring Neil Patrick Harris and Come Play’s Winslow Fegley, a young boy sets out on a quest to get the Christmas gift of his generation: the latest and greatest Nintendo video game system. A warm heart throughout and tear-inducing finale will no doubt endear 8-Bit Christmas to fans of Christmassy sentiment.

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What do you think of this holiday movie list? Do any of your favorites make the top 10?