Natalia Valentina Merry Christmas Eve! If your household is anything like mine, the tree is twinkling, the wine is mulling, the mince pies are being munched on, and the family is engaging in a good old festive fight. Subjects of the Christmas family tiff can range from disagreements around the distribution of presents to deep-seated ancestral issues…but if picking the perfect Christmas Eve classic to watch is the potential source of your strife, then you’re in luck! Defer the bulk of your decision-making to how much stuffing to put on your plate because we at the committee have compiled a list of the films we plan on watching tonight. Hopefully, one strikes your fancy…happy filmgoing!
Charlie McDonald, President: While You Were Sleeping (1995)
The film I watch every year without fail is ‘While You were sleeping’. A criminally underrated Christmas film. It is a rom-com but it’s more about the importance of family at Christmas and that’s what makes it so heartwarming.
Things spin out of control for lonely, only child Sandra Bullock, a frazzled 90s romcom queen, when an unintentional white lie forces her into the lives of the warm, friendly Gallagher family for the holiday season. Can a relationship starting on a lie last and, can she undo it without hurting the family she has come to love as her own. Whenever I feel suffocated by having a big family at Christmas, I watch this film to remind myself that for some people the dream is to not be able to hear yourself think at a meal or to have your plate piled high with unsolicited second helpings. Watching While You Were Sleeping reminds me that the very things that can feel overwhelming—being squished on a couch for family photos or listening to Grandpa retell the same story for the fifth time—are the moments that make a house feel like home. For someone like Sandra Bullock, it’s the noise and love that turn a lonely holiday into something magical.
Pelin Pala, Workshops Officer: The Holdovers (2023)
My go-to Christmas film this year is definitely The Holdovers. It’s about the unlikely bond between a grumpy teacher, a rebellious student, and a grieving cook during Christmas break at a prep school. I first watched it last year when it came out, and I have been obsessed with it ever since. The film captures that nostalgic, cozy Christmas feeling so perfectly, it’s like stepping into a simpler time. It’s an easy, comforting watch, but it also goes deeper than the usual surface-level holiday cheer. It’s the kind of movie that leaves you feeling warm inside. Definitely have your blanket, christmas lights and a cup of hot chocolate ready when you’re giving it a go. I always say “They don’t make films like they used to,” but after watching The Holdovers, this is the perfect nostalgic Christmas movie that takes me straight back to my childhood.
Ella Ayres, Secretary: How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
Every year, my brother and I watch this film, and Jim Carrey never fails to make us laugh! Both of us adore the memorable songs, as well as the unique and vibrant characters and costumes.
Additionally, we both find it hilarious that the Grinch’s constant references to his desire to spend his days alone in bed make him more relatable as we age. Similarly, we are starting to understand him as a more complex and nuanced individual rather than just the villain of the narrative. He is a man who wants to fit in but is rejected by society at a young age and chooses to reject society in return. It is a great family film, with a heartwarming message and very funny characters, I would definitely recommend.
Louis Philpott, Studio Equipment and IT Manager: Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday (1953)
I can’t wait to watch this brilliantly funny and heartwarming little film this Christmas! If you enjoy Mr Bean or Peter Sellers, meet Jacques Tati – the man whose character ‘the Uncle’ inspired so many of the comedies we enjoy today. Featuring some incredibly impressive visual gags and a simple story which will surprise you every now and again by being super sweet and moving, ‘Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday’ is the perfect film to make you laugh and also feel warm inside this Christmas.
James Tyler, Workshops Officer: The Muppets Christmas Carol (1992)
The Muppet Christmas Carol is, in my humble opinion, the very best film adaptation of Charles Dickens’ Christmas novel. The Muppets are humorous as ever with Kermit as Bob Cratchit and Gonzo as The Narrator, Charles Dickens. Meanwhile, Michael Caine’s Scrooge is a memorable and striking portrayal. The film also has several fun, festive musical numbers. This is the perfect family movie, offering both laughter and meaningful performances, securing its place as a timeless holiday classic. “Light the lamp, not the rat!”
Sophiya Sian, Co-EIC of the Journal: Old BBC Christmas Specials
Christmas, a time for questionable jumpers, stacked carbohydrates and laughing fits over impeccably poor cracker jokes, is not a time for taste. We are familiar with the well-trodden path of the heartfelt 90s or early noughties feature [insert Richard Curtis here], but many of us have only experienced this classic festive ‘nostalgia’ on screen. So for those empty moments where various family members are scattered among wrapping paper and carrot tops, I’d like to shout out the Christmas TV special. Nostalgic comfort watches for where one eye is on the oven and the other on the telly, I strongly encourage a rummage among any of ye oldie under 60 minute specials. In one sitting you can travel the animated lands with The Gruffalo’s Child, the strangely proportioned world of Doctor Who (The Runaway Bride) and the wobbly waters of Mortimer and Whitehouse (Gone Fishing). When in doubt, travel back in time – that’s what Scrooge would say surely?
Natalia Mosquera, Co-EIC of the Journal: Arthur Christmas (2011)
A Christmas film which makes me feel like I’m sitting on the squeaky wooden floor of a primary school gym picking the cherries out of a bag of Haribos, sipping lukewarm hot chocolate from a plastic cup in a semi-unfortunate woolly jumper– in short, which makes me feel like a child again.
Voiced by the ever wonderful James McAVoy, Arthur (as a proto-Tom-Holland-era-Peter-Parker) is all awkward, gawky charm as the youngest in the Claus family. We follow him and his Woodstock-esque supercentenarian Grandpa/GrandSanta (Bill Nighy) on a journey to deliver one girl’s Christmas present, to save Christmas! In principle!
Frankly, GrandSanta alongside the elves and their parodic mission impossible style gift giving procedures are reason enough to watch this festive future classic. Andy Serkis was made to be an elf. But these absurd antics are also tempered by a genuinely heartwarming message. As a seven year old, I might have even shed a few happy tears; as a twenty year old, well…I can neither confirm nor deny. What I can say for certain is that there is no better way to ring in the holiday.
Merry Christmas everyone!