Matthew Burnette, Staff Writer

Christmas movies and television are a staple every holiday season. Just like any other tradition, taking in a good Christmas program tends to strengthen the generational tethers and bring families together for a night of fun and joy.

A lot of the stuff I enjoy at Christmas time are things that I’ve watched for most of my life, though some of my staples were picked up along the way as my personal tastes changed and new films were released and old ones were discovered.

The one caveat that I try to stick to is that I only watch my Christmas programs from an actual satellite box or, if I happen to be somewhere with a DVD player, on physical media.

It’s simply a personal preference that’s stemmed from the over-availability of things making them less special, but with that being said, stream away and enjoy your holiday programs in whatever method you have available.

Here’s my list of Christmas must watches:

Miracle on 34th Street (the original!)

Interestingly enough, despite this film coming out roughly five decades before I was born, it isn’t  a Christmas movie that I grew up watching. I came to it a little more recently, but it quickly became one of my favorites, and dare I say, the quintessential Christmas movie.

It encapsulates everything that a Christmas movie should be. It’s fun and whimsical, but also meaningful and heartfelt. The epitome of Christmas magic.

The movie stars Edmund Gwenn in an Oscar-winning performance as Santa Claus (in the film referred to as Kris Kringle) who makes his way to New York City and finds a job as the resident Santa at Macy’s department store.

Along the way, he breaks through the hardened hearts of a cynical mother and daughter and teaches the world what kindness looks like and gives everyone a reason to believe in Santa Claus.

Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas

I have adored this movie since getting to see it in the movie theater when I was seven years old, despite the mixed reception that it may get.

To me, it’s exactly what an adaptation should be. It takes a book and tells its story but with added details to make it a more rounded and complete story.

Jim Carrey gives my favorite performance of his as the titular curmudgeon who decides to teach the Whos down in Whoville a lesson about focusing more on gifts and items from the store.

The movie adds a bit of backstory for the Grinch that explains how his hatred of the Whos stems from being ridiculed by classmates for being different.

In the end, the Grinch is the one who learns the real reason for the season with the help of Cindy Lou Who.

Fun fact: this movie also won the Oscar for Best Makeup and Hairstyling.

Any (and hopefully every) Christmas episode of The Simpsons and King of the Hill

I’ve expounded my love for these two shows before and felt it necessary to give them the props they both deserve for producing the best Christmas episodes of any show.

Luckily, the stations that get the syndication rights for both shows have realized the quality of their Christmas episodes and regularly airs marathons of them throughout the season.

With both shows having a large number of episodes, it’s hard to pinpoint certain Christmas-themed offerings for either, but I can pick two that are particular favorites from each.

For The Simpsons, you can’t go wrong with the very first episode of the series “Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire” or the 1995 Christmas episode “Marge Be Not Proud”. Both episodes perfectly paint the picture of the dysfunction that family is known for but also a wholesomeness that may surprise some viewers.

My picks for King of the Hill would be  “Twas’ the Nut Before Christmas” which details what can happen when you try to extend the Christmas season, “Mrs. Wakefield,” an episode where the Hills deal with a former resident of their home, or “Hillenium” where the Hills and their neighbors navigate the Y2K hysteria with a Christmas backdrop.

Any Hallmark movie

I added this entry begrudgingly. I will never openly confess to liking Hallmark movies and will dig my feet in the sand on that subject.

What I will confess, though, is that, man, do those things really suck you in. I never actively seek out watching a Hallmark Christmas movie, but if I ever find myself mistakenly coming across one, I have to watch it until the end, which is something that somehow seems to happen.

It might be something in my subconscious, but that’s a discussion for another day.

They’re all virtually the same plotlines with a rotating cast of characters and similar soundtracks, but there’s just something about them that is comforting.

Maybe it’s the fact that they are all the same, so you don’t really have to do much thinking about them.

It’s A Wonderful Life

Not only is this considered one of the greatest Christmas films of all time, but it’s also considered one of the greatest films in general.

It takes a darker turn than most Christmas films do, but it also offers one of the best messages about life.

In it, we see George Bailey getting a glimpse of what life would have been like had he not been born after cursing life and nearly jumping off of a bridge. With the help of Clarence, his Guardian Angel, he learns to appreciate what he has.

As much as I love this family, funnily enough, my tradition in the last few years has been turning it on on Christmas Eve and slowly falling asleep before the ending. It’s not a condemnation of the film, but more so an indication of short attention span.

So here’s to the Christmas programs that bring you joy, and at the very least, a nice Christmas Eve nap!

Note from the Editor: Matthew made a glaring mistake and omitted the best Christmas movie of all time, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.