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I’ve never been a huge fan old holiday classics like “It’s A Wonderful Life”, “Miracle On 34th Street” or “White Christmas”. I prefer the more modern holiday classics. Here is my list of the best holiday movies to come out in the past 25 years.

1.) A Christmas Story - This is the best holiday movie ever. Full of classic Christmas scenes; the leg lamp, “you’ll shoot your eye out” and many more. The characters are timeless, and everyone can relate to the mayhem of Christmas dinner, photo’s w/ Santa and grandma’s home made gift (in this case it was bunny suit pajamas). This movie never gets old.

2.) The Nightmare Before Christmas - This is the best animated holiday movie out there, even those tired Rudolph and Frosty TV toons can’t compare to the brilliance of this picture. Tim Burton found a way to extend the Halloween scares into Christmas cheers. The soundtrack will last in your iPod from Oct. 1st through Dec 30th, keeping you in the holiday mood every step of the way. The songs, visuals and characters are timeless.

3.) Elf - This is one of the funniest movies I have ever seen, let alone a Christmas movie. The childlike energy of Will Ferrell’s character keeps the laughter and holiday vibes rolling along. This movie is sweet, charming and inventive. Zooey Deschanel’s dry wit gives this movie an adult feel balancing out the youthful energy of Christmas, making this a big kids holiday classic.

4.) Emmet Otter’s Jug Band Christmas - If you have not seen this genius, dark “Muppet” holiday movie, you were deprived as a child. Based on the holiday classic story “The Gift Of The Magi” this musical brings a flood of Christmas memories to mind. If you can get past the depressing subtext you will enjoy the music and production values of this early 80’s, lost Jim Henson gem.

5.) Bad Santa - This is the ultimate anti-Christmas movie. This movie says “Bah Fucking Humbug” to all sappy Christmas movies of the past. The “Badder Santa” version is nasty, mean and fun providing great laughs and many shocks at St. Nicks expense. Billy Bob’s performance is understated and hilarious, all of this makes for a great anti-”holiday” movie watching experience. Watch this movie after having a crappy X-Mas shopping day, it’ll bring you some holiday cheer.

6.) Scrooged - Bill Murray makes this movie a festive comedy classic with catchy one liners and memorable scenes. This movie spins the traditional telling of “A Christmas Carol” into a modern day holiday parable. Full of great holiday references and cheer, this movie will make any Scrooge laugh. This new take on a tired tale owes much of it’s greatness to the performances of Murray and Carol Kane as “the ghost of Christmas present”.

7.) National Lampoons Christmas Vacation - This movie is silly, poorly made and full of bad acting. But, how can you not laugh at the many frustrating scenes of Griswold holiday angst. From squirrels in the Christmas tree, to uninvited guests to Christmas light power outages this movie makes fun of the excruciating holiday family gathering perfectly.

8.) The Family Man - This Nicolas Cage charmer is my hidden gem out of the bunch listed here. When it was released in 2000 many critics loved the sweet nature of the story. Cage plays a hard nosed corporate big wig that laments his lonely life on Christmas Eve. He wakes up the next day as a “family man” with a wife and kids, with the inevitable lesson to be learned. But this movie is not heavy handed. You slowly fall in love with Cage’s grumpy guy as the ice slowly melts from his cold heart. This is a touching and cute Christmas film. This is my favorite “Capra-esque” holiday film.

9.) Home For The Holidays - Jodie Foster perfected the modern day holiday family get together movie with “Home For The Holidays”. This movie is the most realistic portrayal of the holidays on this list. Uncomfortable, hilarious, endearing and true to life “Holidays” delivers. The script is adult and fresh. Holly Hunter’s performance is fun and a stand out. This movie stands up to the test of time with each Christmas viewing.

10.) Home Alone - If you are like me then you have seen this movie hundreds of times. Each time you see it you can’t help but feel the Christmas energy, no matter what time of year it is. This has become a staple in the Christmas movie viewing tradition for most people who enjoy getting into the holiday mood.