Everyone has their favorite movies to watch during the Christmas season. Some classics include It’s a Wonderful Life, White Christmas, Miracle on 34th Street, and more recently, Elf. And who can forget A Christmas Story, a standard for my family – especially since it is played 24 hours straight. And then there’s the classic cartoons – Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, A Charlie Brown Christmas and many, many others. These are all Christmas Standards when it comes to the season.
But have you ever thought about introducing some alternate Christmas movies into your holiday viewing? I find it important in life and in work to look at things from different angles – this is where the term “think outside the box” comes in. Sometimes the standards are great and you find that is what you need. Other times, maybe when you need a boost or to get different results, its important to look at all of your alternatives.
So, let’s take a look at some alternate Christmas movies. All of these movies are based around the Christmas season, but for whatever reason, aren’t your typical Christmas story.
Die Hard – What? You don’t think Die Hard is a Christmas movie? Well, let’s review the plot. John McClane is traveling back to LA to be with his wife and family during Christmas. At a Christmas party, his wife and co-workers are taken hostage by German terrorists. John McClane must save the day, defeating the terrorists and putting together a great, and classic, Christmas movie. Terrorists, bank robbing, blowing up buildings – ah, the holidays!
Home Alone – OK, this one, if you remember, is a bit more family friendly than the first. While it is a bit dated now, it is still a fun movie. Let’s review the plot a bit. An extended family plans to take a trip together over Christmas break, so naturally, the all sleep the night before the flight at one house. Due to the chaos of the next morning, they forget Kevin, and it’s a good thing too. Kevin gets over his fears, shaves, and saves the house for the Wet Bandits. Again, a fun, family movie that still is very fun to watch.
Lethal Weapon – Another classic that is overlooked during the holiday season! The buddy cop classic from the 80s! Set in LA, this jolly Christmas movie pits our hero cops against a gang of drug smugglers. Not only must the two cops, who just recently were partnered together, get along, but they need to get to know each other. Gritty, sometimes dark, and an overall enjoyable movie, this Christmas Classic does have some heart as well. If you like your Christmas movies to have some action and martial arts, well, this, kind of, fits!
Iron Man 3 – Well, this is a newer movie as it just came out earlier this year. But if you are looking to get a great Christmas movie for someone special on your list, look no further than this one. Again, set in LA (is there a theme here?), this movie has many of the classic Alternate Christmas movie standards – terrorists, buildings being blown up and destruction! What more can you ask from a Christmas movie? Iron Man must battle against a new terror that has sprung up. He partners with his best friend to do so in this very enjoyable movie – one of my personal favorite movies for 2013.
Gremlins – Did you forget that Gizmo was a Christmas gift for the main character, Billy? Yes, he received a pet mogwai from his dad with three very specific rules and he, of course, broke all of those rules and unleashed horrible gremlins all across his sleepy small town. Good thing Billy and Gizmo team up together, along with others from the town, to fight the gremlins off in a variety of ways. This movie adds a bit of horror to the Christmas season. While there is talk of a remake, the classic 1984 version will continue to be a fun Christmas movie!
Do all of these movies have the same message, feeling, and overall look of the classic Christmas movies? No, not at all – but that’s why they are the alternate Christmas movies. So, this season, as you sit down to watch a movie or two, try one of these out!
What is your favorite movie to watch during the Christmas or Holiday season? Please list it below in the comments!
