This year, for my Christmas Eve post, I'm gifting you guys with my 12 Days of Christmas: Movie Edition. Every day during the 12 days leading up to Christmas Eve, I'll update this post with a new movie until we get to my #1 favorite Christmas movie of all time!
Along with the movies, you'll get a little bit of commentary on why these movies are my faves and an Honorable Mention that didn't make the top 12 but is still highly loved.
12: December 13th: Friday After Next
Okay, hear me out! Because a lot of y'all gone say this isn't actually a Christmas movie, but it really is! You got Black Santa going around stealing everybody's presents. You've got a Christmas house party. You've got a six-foot-tall ex-con trying to jingle the local pimp attire store owner's bells. It's definitely a Christmas movie!
Honorable Mention: It's A Wonderful Life
Listen, it's a requirement at this point. You can't have Christmas without It's A Wonderful Life. The movie's in black and white, and it's old as Methuselah, but you gotta admit, it's a good movie. Not the best, which is why it's an honorable mention, but I can vibe with it while I'm breaking down cornbread for the dressing.
11: December 14th: ALL the Rankin Bass Christmas Claymation movies
Listen, you gotta have 'em. Christmas just ain't Christmas without 'em. Here's the list of my favorites:
~The Year Without A Santa Claus (Listen, you GOTTA have Heat Miser and Snow Miser! It's a requirement!)
~Santa Claus is Coming to Town
~Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (Who doesn't love an origin story? Plus, you get the Island of Misfit Toys! It's a two-for-one!)
~Rudolph & Frosty's Christmas in July
~Rudolph's Shiny New Year
Honorable Mention: A Charlie Brown Christmas
I know y'all gone have my head for this one, but at least it got an honorable mention. It's definitely a Christmas staple, and don't get me wrong because I love the Peanuts gang, but it's just not in my top 12.
10: December 15th: Baggage Claim
Say what you want, but yes, it is a Christmas movie. Plus, I'm a sucker for Paula Patton and forever one of Trey's Angels, so here we are. It's there. It's on the list. It's my list. There's nothing you can do to get it removed.
Honorable Mention: Miracle on 34th Street
This is another old one, and it's a staple, too, so I had to add it. Plus, it's a good movie. I do prefer the 1994 version over the 1947 one, though.
9: December 16th: Last Holiday
Who doesn't love Queen Latifah? And Queen Latifah believing she's dying due to a "faulty dog scan machine" and rolling around in the snow, hanging with the senators and big businessmen and eating everything she wants to eat on the menu? And LL Cool J flying across the world and trekking through the snow because she made him fall in love with her? You can't go wrong!
Honorable Mention: The Santa Clause
I struggled a bit with not putting this one on the actual list, but I couldn't rank it higher than the ones that actually did make the list, so here it sits as an honorable mention. I do love this movie, though, and all it's sequels. They're definitely holiday must-watches.
8: December 17th: The Best Man Holiday
The Best Man has to be one of the staples of 90s Black Cinema, and The Best Man Holiday was exactly the sequel we needed. A whole friend group, half of whom don't get along and can't stand each other, under one roof for the holidays. Secrets and lies revealed. Ulterior motives uncovered. And with hot chocolate, tree decorating, and caroling sprinkled throughout. Then add some football in there, and we've got the ultimate holiday movie!
Honorable Mention: The Perfect Holiday
Morris Chestnut. Gabrielle Union. Faizon Love. The late great Charlie Murphy. Katt Williams. It's an all-star cast! I had to include this one at least as an honorable mention because Charlie Murphy playing a deadbeat celebrity daddy is wilddd!
7: December 18th: Almost Christmas
This has to be one of the funniest Christmas movies ever! I watch it multiple times every single holiday season. It's legit one of my go-to Christmas comfort movies. Monique. Danny Glover. Kimberly Elise. Gabrielle Union. Omar Epps. Nicole Ari Parker. DC Young Fly. JB Smooth. Keri Hilson. Monica. John Michael Higgins. And even Auntie Gladys! You just can't go wrong with this one!
Honorable Mention: Bad Santa
Listen! This movie definitely gives Almost Christmas a run for its money in the funny department. Bernie Mac never disappoints, and with Billy Bob Thornton and Tony Cox in tow, it just doesn't get much funnier for a holiday flick!
6: December 19th: This Christmas
This movie will always be on of my go-to Christmas comfort movies. The soundtrack is amazing, and the storyline is so relatable. It's one of those Christmas cinema soft spots for me.
Honorable Mention: The Nightmare Before Christmas
This is another one I struggled not to put on the actual list, but it definitely had to go in the Honorable Mentions. Tim Burton is a genre of movies all on his own, and this movie is definitely a classic. A lot of people argue that it's a Halloween movie, and I understand why, but the bulk of the plot centers around Christmas, which makes this a Christmas movie in my book. I don't know anyone who doesn't love this movie!
5: December 20th: ALL of the Muppet Christmas movies
I've always loved the Muppets, and Christmas is really their time to shine in my movie world. Here are some of my absolute favorites:
-
A Muppet Family Christmas
- Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas
- Muppet Christmas Carol
- A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa
- It's A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie
- The Great Santa Claus Switch
And let's not forget the Sesame Street gang belongs to the Muppet Universe too!
- Christmas Eve on Sesame Street
- Elmo Saves Christmas
- Once Upon A Sesame Street Christmas
Honorable Mentions: Frosty the Snowman and Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer
Frosty is definitely a classic, so I had to make sure I added him to the list.
Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer, though, isn't as popular or as widely known as Frosty, but it's still a great movie. Whoever thought to turn this classic Elmo & Patsy song into a cartoon special was a genius because it's hilarious and definitely well worth the watch!
4: December 21st:
3: December 22nd:
2: December 23rd:
1: December 24th: