Entertainment
11 Funny Christmas Movies To Bring Holiday Joy
'Tis the season to be merry — and what better way to get your jolly on than with the perfect hilarious holiday flick? Finding funny Christmas movies that will make you laugh, but still remind you of why you love Christmas, is a task that's easier said than done. One has to be strategic about their choices. A good, hilarious, and heartwarming Christmas movie has got to have the type of humor that doesn't make you cringe, or even worse, not laugh at all.
And of course, as much as you may giggle throughout the course of the movie, you've got to walk away from the end of it feeling genuinely warm and gushy inside (not to be confused with the type of warm and gushy one feels while drinking wine and marathoning). There are so many holiday movies out there — from the ones with cheesy, albeit feel-good quotes to, well, Krampus , which is more of a holiday horror. But what I'm looking for here are movies that are more along the lines of The Night Before, which is gearing up to be the wildest Christmas-y movie yet. The following 11 holiday movies will make you laugh and feel the holiday spirit.
1. Elf (2003)
Ho-Ho-Ha Factor: 8/10
Holiday Feels Factor: 10/10
Will Ferrell's adventures as Buddy, a sheltered elf who ends up in New York City, are hilarious. You'll spend most of the time with this comedic Christmas classic laughing at Buddy's ignorance of the real world. But even with his naivety, Buddy still manages to bring the holiday spirit to those all around him.
2. The Santa Clause (1994)
Ho-Ho-Ha Factor: 10/10
Holiday Feels Factor: 10/10
In this family-friendly comedy, normal guy Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) accidentally causes a Santa injury, and so ends up having to take his place. He physically becomes Kris Kringle. His newfound responsibility alienates him from his family at first, but ultimately brings them together at the end.
3. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)
Ho-Ho-Ha Factor: 9/10
Holiday Feels Factor: 7/10
What do you get when SWAT team officers, a power outage caused by too many Christmas lights, a burning Santa Claus and reindeer set? This movie, which is considered a Christmas classic. As wild as the hijinks are, like most holiday films, there is much mush to be had toward the end.
Stream National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation here.
4. Home Alone (1990)
Ho-Ho-Ha Factor: 7/10
Holiday Feels Factor: 10/10
This is the one movie you definitely know Macaulay Culkin from. When a wish for his family to disappear right before a Christmas trip comes seemingly comes true (the reality is, his family accidentally forgot him), Culkin as Kevin McCallister has the time of his life home alone— until he starts wishing for his family to come back. This makes them reuniting on Christmas all the sweeter.
5. Bad Santa (2003)
Ho-Ho-Ha Factor: 9/10
Holiday Feels Factor: 4/10
This dark and twisted Christmas comedy holds a barrel of laughs for more cynical audiences with raunchier tastes. Despite the movie's blatant debauchery, there are some glimmers of holiday cheer and moral, though not nearly as much compared to the other movies on this list.
6. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
Ho-Ho-Ha Factor: 10/10
Holiday Feels Factor: 10/10
Because honestly, any movie starring the Muppets is going to make you smile. And of course, their take on A Christmas Carol is guaranteed to squash your inner Scrooge.
Stream The Muppet Christmas Carol here.
7. Jingle All The Way (1996)
Ho-Ho-Ha Factor: 9/10
Holiday Feels Factor: 9/10
Arnold "The Terminator and Former Governor of California" Schwarzenegger is a comedic delight as he dukes it out with Sinbad on screen. Both actors are fathers, duking it order to obtain a certain toy to bring home to their respective sons. But as we know, and as this movie shows, there's more to the holidays than action figures.
Stream Jingle All The Way here.
8. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Ho-Ho-Ha Factor: 7/10
Holiday Feels Factor: 6/10
To answer the question behind the big debate concerning this movie: it's a Christmas and Halloween flick! That said, the humor and holiday aww stems from Jack Skellington's wish to embrace Christmas, despite being an icon more aligned with #TeamHalloween.
Stream The Nightmare Before Christmas here.
9. Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
Ho-Ho-Ha Factor: 10/10
Holiday Feels Factor: 10/10
A personal favorite of mine, Jim Carrey's Grinch is terrible as he is endearing, as well as memorable. We all know how this story ends, but Carrey's transformation from sour Grinch to happily celebrating with the Whos is one that never gets old.
Stream Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas here.
10. Love Actually (2003)
Ho-Ho-Ha Factor: 10/10
Holiday Feels Factor: 10/10
This super-British comedy takes the best of laugh-out-loud (at times, NSFW wit) and combines it with a handful of holiday stories all brought together by love. Love Actually hands down provides the perfect combination of funny, but sweet with plenty of Christmas cheer to spare.
11. Ernest Saves Christmas (1988)
Ho-Ho-Ha Factor: 9/10
Holiday Feels Factor: 7/10
Ernest movies are always a hoot and this one is no exception. And whose heart doesn't melt at the idea of Christmas being saved famous funnyman Jim Varney himself?
Stream Ernest Saves Christmas here.
And there you have it — 11 fantastic, genuinely funny Christmas movies that you got to watch this season because they're going to make snicker as much as they'll make you feel like wishing for a white Christmas.
Images: New Line Cinema; Giphy (12)
