Favorite Christmas tv episodes and movies

[MSOrange]

I tend to get sentimental around Christmas so I like those tv episodes that tug at your heartstrings but I also like to laugh. These are in no particular order.

tv episodes
1. Frasier - "Miracle on Third or Fourth Street"
2. Fraiser - High Holidays - just cracks me up when Martin gets high on the pot brownie and Niles think he is
3. The Office - Christmas Party
4. Perfect Strangers - Christmas Story
5. Perfect Strangers - Gift of the Mypiot
6. Mary Tyler Moore Show - Christmas and the Hard Luck Kid II
7. Happy Days - Guess Who is Coming to Christmas
8. Pretty much all the Home Improvement episodes
9. Bob Newhart Show - "His Busiest Season"
10. Bob Newhart Show "I'm Dreaming of a Slight Christmas"

Movies - I have to watch the classics every year
Christmas Vacation
A Christmas Story
It's a Wonderful Life
Christmas with the Kranks - not a classic and kind of a surprising choice, but I really enjoy it.

 

[OburgOrange]

 

[CuseCPT]

LOST - "The Constant"

 

[OrangeDW]

TV:
Martin - the one when he gave the kid the Jordan’s off his own feet. Though first he was the worst/best Santa ever.


Mad Men - the Christmas party when they got all liquored up and someone started up the riding mower and...well.

Movies:
Christmas Vacation and Home Alone are easily my two favorites.

 

[MiniCuse]

Die Hard
Christmas Vacation
A Christmas Carol (with George C. Scott)

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Space Ghost Coast to Coast had a rad Christmas special back in the day.

 

[donniesyracuse]

All of the holiday related episodes of Community are great!

A Very Sunny Christmas is also one of my favorites.

 

[br801]

Miracle on 34th Street is the gold standard for me. I also really enjoy Elf, Christmas Vacation, and The Santa Clause trilogy. As far as animated Christmas shows, I'm partial to Charlie Brown and the Grinch.

 

[MSOrange]

Miracle on 34th Street is the gold standard for me. I also really enjoy Elf, Christmas Vacation, and The Santa Clause trilogy. As far as animated Christmas shows, I'm partial to Charlie Brown and the Grinch.

I can't believe I forgot to name Miracle on 34th- another must see. There are some years I haven't been able to find it at all. Last Sunday, they had a marathon on Sundance Channel but I couldn't catch it. Need to just go ahead and get the DVD.

Charlie Brown is my all time Christmas favorite. About 7 years ago, I had finally gotten some health issues headed in the right direction right around Christmas time and was just a sentimental mess. Seemed like every show had me tearing up and when Linus made his speech, that just got me more than year than it ever had, and it usually gets me every year.

 

[OrangeDW]

Animated wise:
1. Rudolph - well, the clay version or whatever it is
2. The Grinch

 

[FAL]

I am very partial to the various incarnations of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Strangely enough, a musical version, Scrooge, with Albert Finney in the lead role was my favorite for many years. But that movie has finally been surpassed by The Man Who Invented Christmas, a superb rendition of events and people who inspired him to write the story itself. If you are A Christmas Carol fan, this is one not to be missed!

 

[JoeSU]

I agree about Home Improvement.
My list of favorite Christmas TV episodes would include:
M*A*S*H (there were a couple)
Andy of Mayberry
Red Skelton (featuring Freddy the Freeloader)
Andy Williams (for nostalgic reasons).

Near the top of my movie list would be "The Homecoming" (which was the Walton's pilot).

 

[MSOrange]

I agree about Home Improvement.
My list of favorite Christmas TV episodes would include:
M*A*S*H (there were a couple)
Andy of Mayberry
Red Skelton (featuring Freddy the Freeloader)
Andy Williams (for nostalgic reasons).

Near the top of my movie list would be "The Homecoming" (which was the Walton's pilot).

I can't believe I forgot Andy Griffith. That's definitely one of the top Christmas episodes with how Ben Weaver tries to get himself arrested so he can join in on the Christmas fun at the jail.

 

[donniesyracuse]

I am very partial to the various incarnations of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Strangely enough, a musical version, Scrooge, with Albert Finney in the lead role was my favorite for many years.

The version with Alastair Sim from 1951 is my favorite by far. I have trouble getting through any of the others.

 

[Alsacs]

Best TV Episode is Always Sunny’s Christmas Episode.
Best movie either Home Alone or Die Hard.

 

[FAL]

The version with Alastair Sim from 1951 is my favorite by far. I have trouble getting through any of the others.

To each his own! Check out The Man Who Invented Christmas. If you are a real fan of A Christmas Carol, you’ll absolutely love TMWIC.

 

[Briancuse]

Christmas movies

1. National Lampoons Christmas Vacation, it doesn't get much better than Cousin Eddie
2.Christmas Story- You'll shoot your eye out.
3.Miracle on 34th Street
4.Christmas Carol-George C Scott version.
5.Christmas with the Kranks

 

[Noexcuse]

Neither of these are Christmas movies per se but both culminate on Christmas Eve and are actually very underrated imo, and definitely worth adding to your Christmas time watch list.

TV shows (Very Old School):
1962 Twilight Zone Episode The Night of the Meek (Art Carney)
1955 Honeymooner's Twas the Night Before Christmas (Jackie Gleason and Art Carney)

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Watched Elf last night. Gets better every time, and I'm not a Will Farrell fan.

My favorite movie is White Christmas.

 

[br801]

Watched Elf last night. Gets better every time, and I'm not a Will Farrell fan.

My favorite movie is White Christmas.

I know why you like White Christmas.

 

[HoustonCuse]

One that we recently discovered which is a hidden gem is Arthur Christmas. It is a Pixar style animated move of recent vintage but I'm pretty sure it is of British origin. It is really excellent for kids and the grown ups we have shown it to all really liked it as well. It is tough to find, but I strongly recommend it. (ps. I think I may have just read it is on Netflix now, but it wasn't there a few weeks ago when I checked).

 

[OttoMets]

There were a couple good Christmastime Seinfelds. The Race is one. And The Chinese Gum. That's probably one of my ten favorite episodes, Lloyd Braun and George's paranoia at its best. (On that note, there's a Curb -- "Larry, you ate the baby Jesus!!" -- with Cheryl's parents and sister visiting for Christmas that belongs on this list in its own iconoclastic way.)

Cheers must have had a couple Christmas shows, right? I think there was one where Sam lost somebody's ring in the snow, but that was a Rebecca-era one (and I don't think those are as strong). The Wonder Years also usually did Christmas pretty well.

In addition to all the movies people have added, a few older ones: Lemon Drop Kid (Bob Hope introduced Silver Bells in this one), Holiday Affair (Robert Mitchum and Janet Leigh), and I'll argue to the death that Love Actually (which is now stuck in the paradoxical status of being a chick flick that is attacked by SJWs as misogynistic) is a Christmas classic.

And my wife and I usually try to watch the Godfather around this time, it's got some good Christmas-y imagery.

Also, did anyone mention Trading Places? An all-time great.

 

[MSOrange]

There were a couple good Christmastime Seinfelds. The Race is one. And The Chinese Gum. That's probably one of my ten favorite episodes, Lloyd Braun and George's paranoia at its best. (On that note, there's a Curb -- "Larry, you ate the baby Jesus!!" -- with Cheryl's parents and sister visiting for Christmas that belongs on this list in its own iconoclastic way.)

Cheers must have had a couple Christmas shows, right? I think there was one where Sam lost somebody's ring in the snow, but that was a Rebecca-era one (and I don't think those are as strong). The Wonder Years also usually did Christmas pretty well.

In addition to all the movies people have added, a few older ones: Lemon Drop Kid (Bob Hope introduced Silver Bells in this one), Holiday Affair (Robert Mitchum and Janet Leigh), and I'll argue to the death that Love Actually (which is now stuck in the paradoxical status of being a chick flick that is attacked by SJWs as misogynistic) is a Christmas classic.

And my wife and I usually try to watch the Godfather around this time, it's got some good Christmas-y imagery.

Also, did anyone mention Trading Places? An all-time great.

Cheers did have one. Sam finds out he is the only one that didn't get a Christmas gift for Rebecca and has to go out at the last minute to try to find something. And Cliff tries to win a trip to Disney World (I think) by collecting food for the needy - or something like that.

 

[SUFaninNJ]

Somewhere I have an original bootleg VHS of the first South Park episode, "The Spirit of Christmas".

 

[MSOrange]

bumping this in case anyone wants to add to the discussion