Christmas movies are a staple in some households during the holiday season not just for how funny the movie can be or how magical it is, but how they can relate to them. It can be the whole movie they relate to, the theme, or just a scene from the movie that you can tag you down to memory lane and nostalgia avenue. “There have been a few moments in that I can relate to,” said Grant Wilhoite, a senior at AHS, “like, um, maybe if we might have to go cut out a tree and we accidentally got like an animal in the tree, like, maybe a squirrel or something, but their habitat, like, we have looked in a tree.” He is referring to a scene from Christmas Vacation where a squirrel is in the Christmas tree they planned on using for their house and how he relates to that.
“Every year for Christmas Eve,” Wilhoite said, “We [Wilhoite and his family] would watch the movie Elf, but we would also watch National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.” Wilhoite also says, “I have a list full of Christmas movies, like ‘Home alone’, the different versions of ‘The Grinch’, but if I had to pick one as my favorite I would pick Christmas vacation.”
While Wilhoite says ‘Christmas Vacation’ is his favorite Christmas movie, that doesn’t mean it is everyones favorite. According to the Anderson Tribecast Instagram story 41% of voters say ‘The Polar Express’ is their favorite Christmas movie, while 39% of voters say ‘Home Alone’, and 20% say ‘Elf’ is their favorite.
While Christmas movies can be universally agreed to be actual Christmas movies, other movies can be more decisive. Die hard for example is a film some would call a Christmas movie while others say it isn’t. But it does lead into some interesting conversations during the holidays. Wilhoite says, “My mom, really, you know, says that die hard is not a Christmas movie, but according to me, my dad, I, we both agree that it is a Christmas movie,” he then adds, “It’s just funny how we like to say, ‘Hey, Die Hard is a Christmas movie’, but other people in the community are saying how it’s not a movie.”
These movies bring people together either by tradition, conversation, or by nostalgia of the simpler times back when they were a kid playing with trains or playing with their friends in the snow. Christmas movies aren’t just about Christmas, it’s about being people together for the holidays. “Enjoy your family and just basically, you know, make sure y’all have a great time and obviously don’t do stupid things.”
