10 Holiday Films to Watch this Season

By: Laura Huie

‘Tis the season to stay inside, cozy up with a warm blanket and a mug of hot tea and watch a movie marathon of holiday classics. Not only is this special time of year perfect for revisiting old favorites, but for writers, it’s also a great time to gain inspiration from films that families watch time and time again.

So whether you’re a die-hard fan of timeless classics like Miracle on 34th Street or a lover of unconventional Christmas flicks like Die Hard, we can all agree that the holiday season is rife with timeless stories. Read on for ten awesome holiday films to inspire your own screenwriting.

Home Alone

An iconic Christmas movie for the whole family—there are many debates about whether this family favorite is the best Christmas movie of all time. While we’re not taking any sides, Home Alone certainly carries the jingle bell spirit while serving up comedic moments and witty one-liners that are sure to entertain everyone.

Watch Home Alone to learn how to create empathy for your protagonist and make the traditional hero’s journey your own. From script to screen, Home Alone is packed with gags and fun-filled chaos, but it also uses the hero’s journey to inspire hope and pit Kevin against his two antagonists, leading him to succeed in the end.

 

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Ron Howard’s live-action version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas is both delightful and strange. The reclusive green Grinch (Jim Carrey) decides to ruin Christmas for the cheery citizens of Whoville and does so with tons of laughs and comedic style.

Watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas to learn how to write a third-act twist. For all the work The Grinch tries to do in order to destroy Christmas, it turns out that Christmas comes anyway. Once our anti-hero realizes that the holiday season is a state of mind—his heart grows three sizes and he joins Whoville in celebration.

Our contests have helped over 100 writers kickstart their screenwriting careers

See how our Feature, TV Pilot & Short Film Fund Contests can help you break through as a screenwriter

 

Miracle on 34th Street

A true Christmas classic that will lift any spirit during the cold, winter season—Miracle on 34th Street is about an old, selfless man who believes he’s Santa Claus. The power of this story lies within its unabashed sentimentality and shows that sometimes we need to believe in the impossible to better ourselves and the world around us.

Watch Miracle on 34th street to learn how to write subtle comedic moments. Balancing realistic humor with sentimentality is key to writing a charming feel-good film.

 

Love Actually

Both a classic rom-com and a Christmas-themed film, Love Actually deals with love in many forms as we follow eight couples and how they’re finding themselves around the holiday season. While some find this wintry Rom-Com too cheesy, others find satisfaction in the main point of the film: the holidays are meant to spend time with those we care about.

Watch Love Actually to learn how to craft clear motivations for a wide-ranging cast of characters. Each person in the film has a tangible goal that allows the audience to become emotionally invested despite having to keep track of multiple storylines.

 

Elf

Another film where comedy meets Christmas, Elf is a well-loved holiday film that will leave you smiling. Elf does a wonderful job of taking traditional holiday themes and presenting them in a new and charming way. Buddy (Will Ferrell) learns about finding love, acceptance, and family—all themes that are time-honored for holiday films.

Watch Elf to learn how to write a lovable character-centric story that grabs the audience straight from its inciting incident. We’re immediately launched into the story when Papa Elf tells Buddy that he’s not an elf, but a human.

 

Gremlins

An entertaining and cautionary tale about gift-giving during the holidays, Gremlins may not be the first film that springs to mind when you think about Christmas. Other than being set during Christmastime, Gremlins is about an inventor trying to find the perfect gift for his son, Billy. While the gremlins are horrific yet fun, the movie also reminds us that not all people experience Christmas in the same way.

Watch Gremlins to learn how to write an effective horror-comedy—that just so happens to involve Christmas. In fact, if you’ve ever read Save the Cat!, you’ll see how Gremlins fits exactly in the Monster in the House genre (with its three key elements: Monster, House, and Sin).

Tap to read the scripts for Gremlins and Die Hard as part of our amazing 1980s Script Collection!

Die Hard

A controversial choice for a top-ten holiday film, Die Hard is also widely debated whether it is a Christmas film or not. Both director John McTiernan and writer Steven De Souza have confirmed that Die Hard is a Christmas movie, and the film does involve a man returning to his family for Christmas—so what do you think?

Watch Die Hard to learn how to incorporate an effective ticking time bomb into your plot. Die Hard’s “ticking time bomb” element is the seven locks to the safe that the computer expert is hacking. Both clever and effective, time pressure is key to raising the stakes in your story.

The Nightmare Before Christmas

A fantastical, stop-motion animated cross between Halloween and Christmas, this cult classic holiday film is not to miss. Much of the film takes place in Halloween Town and the main character Jack Skellington is the Pumpkin King, but once Jack travels to Christmas Town, plenty of the holiday spirit is there (not to mention Santa Claus).

Watch The Nightmare Before Christmas to learn how to implement the Out of the Bottle genre featured in Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat! Goes to the Movies. The protagonist has a wish that’s granted and a spell that envelops them which results in a lesson (often be careful what you wish for).

 

It’s a Wonderful Life

One of the most classic Christmas films of all time, It’s a Wonderful Life involves the joy and hope contrasted with the darker, less cheery parts of the holiday season. An angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed.

Watch It’s a Wonderful Life to learn how to write compelling secondary characters. Sam Wainwright, Bert and Ernie, Annie, Uncle Billy, and others are there to bring our protagonist George into the action.

 

A Christmas Story

The magic of being a child on Christmas can be revived through watching A Christmas Story. Both warmly nostalgic and darkly humorous, A Christmas Story deserves its status as a holiday staple and brings out the true essence of holiday cheer.

Watch A Christmas Story to learn how to incorporate voice-over narration into your screenplay. Ralphie as an adult narrates his younger antics which adds a healthy dose of humor to this classic, charming story.


Laura Huie is an experienced writer and editor involved in comedy-drama screenwriting, fiction editing, and full-time marketing copy. Laura is also a freelance article writer for Shore Scripts and has worked with Script Pipeline on their live Symposium series. She is one-half of screenwriting duo, Bloom & Huie. Together, they have written multiple television series as well as a feature-length film. Their mission is to write honest and witty female stories wrapped up in unbelievable worlds. 


Don’t miss a deadline. Download our Contest Calendar!

.