6 Beautiful Films for Christmas

During the run-up to Christmas, and especially around Christmas Eve, you want to sit down with your loved ones and digest the festive meal while watching a good film. But what kind of film should it be?
Unfortunately, many Christmas films are simply bad productions that are only made because of the prospect of making a lot of money. So to save you all that, I have selected 6 great films that won't spoil your Christmas!

Isn't life beautiful?

George Bailey is a self-sacrificing man, full of charity. He would like to travel, but prefers to stay in his hometown and when his father dies, he takes over his father's company. After an unfortunate coincidence that could land him in prison, George no longer sees any meaning in his life and wants to commit suicide. But then the angel Clarence comes and shows him how important he is to many people.

We're starting with an absolute classic and it's not for the faint-hearted! When we saw the film on cult night in my favorite cinema, we all cried several times. The film was a flop back in the 1940s, but nowadays it's just - and rightly so - THE Christmas classic.

The Stone family

The large Stone family celebrates Christmas together every year in a familiar setting. This year, Everett brings his fiancée, the ultra-conservative Meredith, and she doesn't want to fit in with the rest of the cosmopolitan family. Uptight and prudish, she finds it difficult to integrate into the tight-knit group and the whole situation threatens to escalate. Which is what it ultimately does.

The film sounds like a cheesy comedy, but it's not as stupid as most of its colleagues. I'm not usually a big fan of Sarah Jessica Parker, but she fits her uptight role so perfectly that no one else could have done it. The film also has such a lovely, cozy American Christmas atmosphere that you just want to sit at the Stones' table.

The Nightmare before Christmas

Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King aka the head of Halloween Town, accidentally visits the Christmas world. Totally intoxicated by what he has experienced, he decides to take over the holiday himself and has Nicki Kraus/Santa Claus kidnapped. But unfortunately it all backfires and Jack has to save his own ruined Christmas.

Another true classic and a hybrid at that! You can actually watch the film on a loop from October 31st and it never gets boring. As a child I was terrified of the film, but today it is one of my absolute favorites and I watch it at least once every year. The brilliantly staged stop motion technique under the direction of Tim Burton and the fabulous soundtrack by Danny Elfman are simply part of the basic Christmas repertoire.

The Polar Express

On the night before Christmas, a little boy doubts the existence of Santa Claus. Suddenly, a huge locomotive appears in front of the house with a conductor who invites him to come along. During the rapid journey towards the North Pole, the little boy and many other children experience a fantastic but also dangerous adventure.

A milestone in film history! It was the most expensive animated film produced at the time and was entered into the Guinness World Book of Records in 2006 because it was the first completely digital motion capture film. Another special feature is the fact that Tom Hanks dubbed six different roles and brought them to life in places using motion capture.
A great animated film, Tom Hanks in various roles and a beautiful soundtrack... What more could you want?

Family Man

Jack Champell couldn't be happier! He is successful and lives in luxury. One night he wakes up and suddenly finds himself in his own suburban hell with two children and a wife. He desperately tries to escape it all, but is increasingly drawn under the spell of his wife Kate, whom he actually left 13 years ago.

Normally I'm really sick of the thousand variations of Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol, but when Nicolas Cage is in it, it's not so bad. And it only focuses on one ghost: the what-if. The film was shot in 2000 and has that charming 90s Christmas vibe that you can't escape. Plus, the film is worth watching just for Cage's rage scene!

Love doesn't need a holiday

Amanda is a successful editor in LA and was cheated on by her husband. Iris lives in England and was left by her boyfriend. Out of sheer frustration, the two decide to swap places for Christmas. But instead of relaxation, the two expect interesting people who will make the holiday even more enjoyable.

I have no idea how many times I've watched this film, just how many girls' nights I've spent watching it. Although it's another classic romantic comedy, it lives from the lovable characters. These are played by Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, Kate Winslet and Jack Black.