NOTE: This is an editorial post. Ben’s comments in no way reflect the views of AMLI Residential, their cheery employees, or their vendors. Ben is just kind of a scrooge.
I am not a fan of Christmas. I don’t like Christmas music. I have issues with decorating the house with energy draining twinkle lights even though the rest of the year we are trying to be “more green.” And speaking of being “more green,” what’s all this about cutting down green trees so that they can dry out in my living room? I am just a scrooge. It is a character flaw, I know. I’m totally aware that I am a grinch.
I have come to recognize that no matter how hard I try, escaping the holidays is absolutely impossible. The lights inevitably go up, the tree is beautifully decorated, thy goblet is filled with eggnog, and Christmas movies will be played.
If I can’t escape the holidays, the best I can do is to strategically fill my DVD player with Christmas movies that don’t annoy me. Here are the top 5 Christmas movies that I believe can help the scrooge in your life extract the HA! from Bah humbug!
1. Elf
You can’t help but love Buddy the Elf. His holiday cheer is so over-the-top it’s hilarious. Even us Scrooges have to re-evaluate our lack of holiday spirit when Buddy says “I just like to smile, smiling’s my favorite!”
2. Christmas Vacation
Holidays or not, I love this movie. Clark Griswold is one of the most classic characters in cinematic history, and this movie pretty much covers all the laughs that ensue from gathering all of your family into one spot. Of course, as with most Chevy Chase movies, you might not want to let the kiddos watch this one. Trust me, you don’t want them quoting some of these lines in front of Grandma.
3. Scrooged
If you’re going to remake a classic film, I highly recommend you do it as a comedy with Bill Murray. Are you surprised that a scrooge like myself put Scrooged on this list? If you haven’t seen this, I highly recommend it.
4. A Christmas Story
Yes, even a scrooge like me can like this movie. Honestly, I like this film for 2 reasons: I, with my indisputable brilliance, have actually frozen my tongue to a pole (thanks big brother!) and I too, like Ralphie, had to lobby my parents for my first BB Gun. (And no, I didn’t shoot my eye out)
5. The Grinch
Ok. So, I more than just like this movie. I love this movie. But not the remake, the 1966 cartoon. This Dr. Seuss film is pure genius and helps to remind me that even people like me, with my holiday heart being a couple sizes too small, can enjoy Christmas after all.
! Happy Holidays!!