12+ Christmas Movies + Accompanying Food and Drink Recs: Christmas Eve Through New Year's
The only holiday streaming schedule worth consuming...
In case you missed it, I’ve split up Film Flavor’s Christmas Movie, Food + Drink Pairings into two parts. You can find part one linked here, and part two below!
Christmas is officially three days away, the winter solstice has passed, and other holidays of the season are well under way. In a divided world, we can all agree there’s nothing quite like a good treat, a cozy drink, and some holiday movies.
In that spirit, herein lies a guide for edible and media consumption during the week from Christmas Eve and Christmas Day through New Year’s Eve!
When It’s Christmas Eve…
It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
Film Rating: ★★★★★| Food Rating: ★★★
Whether Saint Nick chooses to stop at your abode or not, Christmas Eve can be an eventful night. Family members and friends from near and far arrive after long journeys, and want to catch up over copious amounts of treats. For introverts and all those easily overstimulated, offering the option to go into the other room away from the chatter and watch not just any movie, but a truly beautiful film is a gift. “A reset,” as my sister calls it.
Especially if your home is hosting more than it’s usually residents, It’s A Wonderful Life is the choice for Christmas Eve viewing material. And for those spending Christmas Eve with the usual company, or no company at all, there’s no more important watch for you than the greatest humanist film of all time. Yes, you’ve probably seen it before, but you’ll notice something new each time, guaranteed.
(My husband doesn’t like that the movie gets super sad before it gets to the sweet stuff, but that’s all the more reason to have it playing in the other room: available for those who only want to watch the last quarter!)
So unique is the existence of It’s Wonderful Life, it is often separated from Director Frank Capra’s oeuvre in the minds of viewers. Fresh off the heels of comedy Arsenic and Old Lace, Capra sacrificed his relationships with his co-screenwriters to get the story where it is today.
(Fun fact, due to a clerical error at middle-man syndication-rights company, the film is riddled with copyright issues, and The Roku Channel is screening some backwards, chopped up, “public domain” version of “A Wonderful Life”, hilariously retitled. If you don’t own the film already, stream the original, black-and-white, Capra-approved classic version of it on Amazon Prime)
Food & Drink Pairing: Spiced Mulled Wine and the nicer, traditional Christmas cookies that you’ve been saving all week, like madeleines and zimtsternes.
When It’s Christmas Day, Post-Dinner…
Home Alone (1990) + Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
Film Rating: ★★★★⅞ | Food Rating ★★★★
For Christmas Day, nothing but the best will do. Following Macaulay Culkin’s Kevin through every kid’s dream scenario is ubiquitous with Christmas for many. Perfectly timed comedy, lush production design that defies reality, and movie magic courtesy of Director Chris Columus (aka Father Christmas) and mastermind John Hughes are requisite Christmas Day materials.
P.s. All-day marathoners can top off their back-to-back screenings with Netflix’s The Movies That Made Us “Home Alone” episode, a delightful behind-the-scenes documentary that interviews the cast and crew decades after filming.
Food + Drink Pairing: Takeout pizza before the screening, fritos during. Break out the ice cream with marshmallows on top during the end of the first home alone as your popping on Home Alone 2.
When You and Your Beau Are By The Mistletoe
The Holiday (2006)
Film Rating: ★★★½ | Food Rating: ★★★½
The Holiday is a Christmas romantic comedy that takes place in a fantasy land in which a society columnist can afford an adorable one-bedroom stone cottage with a large yard in the London suburbs. As if that weren’t enough of a draw, Jack Black and Kate Winslet gaze into each other’s eyes, and Jude Law tries to act cool in front of Cameron Diaz. Director Nancy Meyers serves up warm fuzzy winter vibes, plain and simple.
Food + Drink Pairing: Sushi
When You’re In a Post-Christmas Evening Food Coma (26th through 28th)
The Apartment (1960)
Film Rating: ★★★★ | Food Rating: ★★½
In those days after Christmas where your stomach feels like a bottomless pit, eating any Christmas dinner leftovers and cookies in sight, a vegetable doesn’t sound all that appetizing. And yet, we must survive, so nutrients must be consumed. From personal experience, I’ve found the only way one can bear to eat a leafy-green during these hibernating times is by throwing on The Apartment. Watching Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine’s winter-in-New-York antics is the only media moody and entertaining enough to distract from the taste of brussel sprouts
Food + Drink Pairing: A “baked salad” filled with kale, cabbage, quinoa, and any other vegetables you have. I’m obsessed with Justine Doiron’s recipe and tutorial.
When You’re on the Couch Post-Christmas with the Kids
The Polar Express (2004)
Film Rating: ★½ | Food Rating: ★★
Is your kid is too normal? If so, they probably haven’t seen The Polar Express yet.
Pop it on, and they’ll be forever changed. The uncanny animation techniques will leave them with more questions than answers about this strange world we live in, and forever grateful for the existence of Frozen.
Food + Drink Pairing: Astronaut Ice Cream, a cold glass of milk or (plant-based alternative), and any other weird candy your kid got in their stocking.
When You’re on the Couch Post-Christmas with Adults
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
Film Rating: ★★★½ | Food Rating: ★★½
Written, too, by John Hughs, Christmas Vacation ensures the 1980’s stay alive and well within the younger generations’s hearts. A touch much stone-cold sober, those so-inclined may participate in a spiked silly little Holiday beverage at this time.
Food + Drink Pairing: A strong cup of eggnog and roasted turkey leftovers.
When The Existential Horrors Strike: The Tale of the Christmas Carols
While there are countless film adaptations of the Charles Dickens’ novella, A Christmas Carol is usually done best when aimed at children. Why? I once saw a meme that read something like “If you can’t picture a pig in a children’s book doing your job, is your career even real?” It is with that same spirit that I urge you to make time to watch the following:
Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983)
Film Rating: ★★★½ | Food Rating: ★★★★
There is a scene in which Donald Duck’s Scrooge watches through the window as Mickey’s Bob Cratchit cuts a lone pea in half to split amongst his family, including Tiny Tim (played, of course, by a tinier Mickey.) I’ve thought about this scene every week of my life, and so should you.
Food + Drink Pairing: Eat an abundance of peas in silence after the screening, and relish in the gratitude that you have so many.
The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
Film Rating: ★★★½ | Food Rating: ★★★½
I’m not going to lie, I am recommending this film solely because it’s really delightful to watch Michael Caine act opposite a sea of muppets. The original songs slap too, but this one is mostly for the giggles.
Food + Drink Pairing: An abundance of apple slices with fresh peanut butter and melted chocolate spread to dip into.
When New Year’s Eve is Nigh
Elf (2003)
Film Rating: ★★★★ | Food Rating: ★★★★
Food + Drink Pairing: First, it has to be acknowledged that there is a deluge of Elf-movie-themed packaged food products out there, partially in honor of Elf’s 20th anniversary theatrical re-release. (Ostensibly, the good folks at Warner Bros. New Line Cinema’s licensing team are gunning for some promotions.)
If you’re not interested in cookies with Will Ferrell’s face on them nor in covering perfectly good spaghetti noodles with maple syrup: Take all of Buddy the Elf’s pasta toppings – Pop Tarts, M&Ms, candy corn, marshmallows, et al – and put them in a big bowl with some ice cream or pancakes instead.
When It’s Mid-Afternoon on New Year’s Eve
A Christmas Story
Film’s Rating: ★★★★ | Food Rating ★★★½
Something about A Christmas Story screams December 31st to me. The perfect mix of Christmas spirit and cynical energy, the film never fails to make me chuckle in my lowest vocal register. It keeps things light hearted on a day that can sometimes feel overwhelming, and pairs perfectly with everyone’s favorite New Year’s dishes…
Food + Drink Pairing: Chinese-American take-out. (Yes, the “Chop Suey Palace” scene in the movie is low key racist, but I don’t think it helps anyone to rip ourselves away from the teriyaki at this juncture.) Especially one of those places that offers Chinese Doughnuts.
Honorable Mentions…
Movies In Which Christmas Happens But… Are They Really Christmas Movies?
On Film Flavor’s Instagram stories, I polled my followers, asking whether they considered the films listed below “Christmas Movies.” Now, under 20 people voted, but based on my anecdotal experience, this focus group’s results are pretty gosh darn indicative of the attitude breakdown I encounter IRL.
Is it a Christmas Movie? Poll Results: Eyes Wide Shut ………………………………............ 17% Yes | 83% No Edward Scissorhands …………………….......…… 62% Yes | 38% No Gremlins ………………………………………............. 67% Yes | 33% No Little Women (Any rendition) ………..………… 50% Yes | 50% No Bridget Jones’s Diary ……………………….......…. 86% Yes | 14% No Serendipity ……………………………………............ 100% Yes | 0% No Annie the Orphan (Any rendition) ................ 50% Yes | 50% No The First Two Harry Potter Movies ……....... 70% Yes | 30% No Spencer ……………………………………….............… 29% Yes | 71% No Carol …………………………………….............………. 57% Yes | 43% No Die Hard 🙄…………………………...........………….. 50% Yes | 50% No
And now for the question on everyone’s minds…
Do I agree with the results?
Spoiler alert: I only consider the Christopher Columbus Harry Potter films to be certified “Christmas Movies” (again, he’s Santa Claus incarnate.) With the others, I can only sit back in awe that others are filled with the Christmas spirit watching them. Not I, my little flavocals, not I. I aim to someday have your optimism and spidey Christmas-spirit senses.
It’s been such a treat sharing Film Flavor with you all these past few months. My chief aim with Film Flavor is to delight, amuse, and perhaps encourage a critical thought or two about your everyday consumption. At the very least, I hope to arm you with a few extra trivia night answers. I believe in accessibility over exclusivity, especially when it comes to this little email!
To that end, I am asking that you all leave a comment on this story or email me at filmflavorvia@gmail.com with any questions, comments, and suggestions for what you’d like to see this newsletter cook up in the coming year.
🎄 Until next time, wishing you all the merriest of Christmases and the happiest of holidays. 🎄
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