Everyone likes to snuggle around a hearth with a mug of hot chocolate and watch an excellent Christmas movie. But lots of us have seen the best-known movies, like Elf, It’s a Wonderful Life, or Home Alone, so repeatedly that we will complete among the lines.
If you fancy a change, listed below are seven seasonal movies which might be less well-known, yet stuffed with Christmas spirit:
The Family Man (2000)
This might just be the very best Christmas film you have never seen. The protagonist is a Wall Street banker who abandoned his young sweetheart to pursue wealth, indulging in short liaisons with attractive women along the best way, and developing an awfully self-centred ego. A flash of compassion results in an encounter with an odd man and a supernatural change in his life—a glimpse of what his life might have been.
Nicolas Cage’s transformation from cold, ruthless businessman to, well, a family man, will warm any heart on a chilly winter evening. However, it’s Téa Leoni’s warm, sparkling performance that really steals the screen. The film’s old-fashioned, small-town values of prioritising family and community over wealth and success make it an ideal Christmas message.
Available on most streaming services, including free on Plex.
A Christmas Candle (2013)
There are only a few family movies that may claim to be thoroughly British, stuffed with Christian faith, and enjoyable to look at. This charming period film, an adaptation of Christian pastor Max Lucado’s novel of the identical name, achieves all three.
The film features Susan Boyle and her sweet voice, together with acclaimed British actors Lesley Manville, John Hannah, and Sylvester McCoy.
Freely available on YouTube and other streaming services.
The Nativity Story (2006)
This is the very best adaptation of the biblical story of Jesus’s birth on film. Keisha Castle-Hughes succeeds in portraying Mary’s warmth and innocence, with other notable performances throughout.
The script extends beyond scripture, because it must, given the limited dialogue within the Gospels. What is created is believable and faithful to the unique story.
Available for rent or purchase on most streaming platforms.
A Christmas Carol (1999)
No doubt you understand Charles Dickens’s story, but perhaps you have not seen this adaptation, which stars Patrick Stewart because the mean, tight-fisted Ebenezer Scrooge, Richard E. Grant because the put-upon Bob Cratchit, and Dominic West as Scrooge’s cheerful nephew.
The charm of this film lies in its faithfulness to Dickens’s original script and its depiction of gloomy Victorian London. Filmed just before the arrival of CGI, its old-fashioned computer graphics enhance its sense of time passed by.
Despite the solid of well-known British actors, this was a made-for-TV movie for US networks, perhaps explaining why it’s less widely watched. Stewart was even nominated for a Screen Actors Guild award for his performance.
Limited availability on streaming platforms.
Christmas Oranges (2012)
This charming little movie is filled with hope and perseverance amidst hardship, in addition to an appreciation of fine gifts, especially friendship and compassion.
Set in two orphanages with contrasting parental figures, the solid of youngsters delivers commendable performances, offering warmth and wisdom suitable for all of the family.
Freely available on YouTube and most streaming services.
A Smoky Mountain Christmas (1986)
If you enjoy campy fantasy entertainment, extraordinary 80s fashion, and Dolly Parton, that is the movie for you.
Made as a TV movie at the peak of Parton’s fame following her success in 9 to five, the film features her characteristic big hair, big nails, and larger-than-life charm. Dolly sings and charms her way through this family-friendly, somewhat silly, but warm-hearted movie.
Parton plays a disgruntled country singer attempting to cross over into the mainstream. The story has allusions to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs as she, her soon-to-be love interest, and 7 orphaned children battle a wicked witch and a sneaky press photographer—all while singing several of her own songs.
This movie is made for fun, not the Oscars, but it surely’s a pleasant watch.
Limited availability on streaming services.
Heather Tomlinson is a contract Christian author. Find more of her work at https://heathertomlinson.substack.com/Â or via X (Twitter) @heathertomli.
