The holidays are more than just eating tons of food and opening presents; you can’t forget the family fun classic movies that are on television two weeks, even a month, before Christmas. It’s those kind of movies that you just have to watch every year in order to get the whole effect of the special holiday.

If it’s just sitting on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate with the Christmas tree hanging, or the whole family sprawled out on the floor laughing, crying, and just enjoying the movies together. My favorites are a mix of holiday classics and modern day comedies.

5. The Polar Express

This movie was released on Nov. 10, 2000. As a child, I would adore this movie and how the directors and producers made a fantasy of the North Pole come alive. The graphics and effects still amaze me to this day because the producers made the train and the characters in the story look so lifelike. The storyline behind the movie was so cute and inspiring to kids who don’t believe in Santa in order to show them that Santa does exist. It had an equal amount of conflict and resolution to get kids feeling a mixture of emotions throughout the whole production.

4. Frosty the Snowman

This movie is definitely a holiday classic. It’s one of those movies that is on every year and you can’t turn it off. It was released on Dec. 7, 1969, which is one of the oldest Christmas movies out there. It has a different effect than other movies because the narrator (Jimmy Durante) explains the whole story from beginning to end. Frosty the Snowman is a movie that you show to your kid at age 3 and then every year after that so they remember so a great childhood classic. The story behind it is the snowman named Frosty comes to life and the kids in the movie adore him. When it comes time for Frosty to melt, the kids are sad, but Frosty assures him that he will be back again someday.

3. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Jim Carrey Version)

This movie was released on Nov. 8, 2000, and classified more as a modern day story. This story has a clear villain (the grinch) who hates Christmas. The town tries to convince him to enjoy the holiday, but he is only concerned with ruining it. However, the grinch had a horrible childhood, especially around Christmas time, and that is why he hates Christmas in present day. This is a more twisted story and has a different plot than most Christmas movies. It isn’t an animation, and set in present day which gives it more of a real life effect on viewers

2. The Santa Clause

This movie is another modern day story released on Nov. 11, 1994. It is set in a real-life setting and with actual actors who played the specific parts. Santa (played by Tim Allen) gets chosen to become the new Santa Claus and doesn’t know it until his body starts getting more plump, gets a long white beard, and rosy red cheeks. He is then visited by an elf who tells him the news that he is the new Santa. The story has a lot of emotion and depth because Santa has a child with divorced parents. His mom and stepdad don’t believe he is Santa because they never believed in Santa in the first place. Charlie (Santa’s son), however, believes it 100 percent

1. A Christmas Story

This movie was released on Nov. 18, 1983. It plays on TBS Christmas day for 24 hours straight every year and is the biggest classic of them all. All Ralphie (the little boy in the story) wants for Christmas is a gun. His mother disagrees with it, but his dad is all for the idea and gets him what he wants. The famous line “You’ll shoot your eye out” is ironic because that is exactly what Ralphie did with his gun. It is definitely a comedy and keeps you laughing throughout the whole movie. Even though it is old, it is still one of the best Christmas movies to watch every year, even more than once.