5 Films you must watch this holiday season

As the festive season approaches, we've compiled five of the best classics that you can include in your list

Most of our fondest memories from childhood stem from having fun family movie nights. There's something about seeing a festive film that makes everyone smile and brings forth a sense of comfort, joy, and belonging that the rest of the year is devoid of. So, while you throw on your most festive pajamas and prepare a delicious holiday dinner, we have taken out the time to select the finest holiday-themed films so you can sit back, and enjoy your days off!

1. The Nightmare Before Christmas

Tim Burton's highly acclaimed directorial The Nightmare Before Christmas has been around for almost 30 years and is still dubbed a classic due to its impeccable visual aesthetics and scores. The animated fantasy displays an intriguing relationship between horror and festive themes, which makes it a perfect pick for the holiday season. It's also a brilliant nail-biting thriller as we see Jack Skellington on his quest to kidnap Santa Claus and take control of Christmas.

2. Freaky Friday

Let's be honest, a movie night remains inadequate without watching a memorable chick flick. Freaky Friday, a Lindsay Lohan starrer, is a popular fantasy-comedy film based on the novel by Mary Rodgers. Amongst others, it stars Lohan as Anna Coleman and Jamie Lee Curtis as her mother Tess Coleman. In the film, their souls are switched due to an enchanted Chinese fortune cookie, and they are forced to see life through the other’s lens.

3. Home Alone

It has become a tradition for all family members and their children to gather together in front of a television set, sit warm beside the crackling sounds of fire and watch all the parts of the Home Alone film trilogy in a single go. Everyone does it, so much so that the Chris Columbus directorial is now considered a stable movie for Christmas! With a home-alone boy with a variety of tricks up his sleeves, this comedic flick embodies the true holiday spirit.

4. A Christmas Carol

An animated adventure-comedy adapted from a Charles Dickens novel. Jim Carrey plays Ebenezer Scrooge, an avarice old man who doesn't care about Christmas until he encounters three ghosts that force him to accept his mistakes and urge him to change for the better. The film has a perfect child-friendly storyline and that's what makes it a great holiday film.

5. The Holiday

Who doesn't like a Nancy Meyers rom-com? Similar to Freaky Friday, The Holiday is a classic which utilises the old body swap storytelling device, but without the supernatural element. Instead of mind or soul trading, Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz essay two women with troubled relationships that eventually exchange their homes and start living in other's countries. And of course, they do find new love interests that spice up their new lives.

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