Welcome back to my absolutely correct ranking of my greatest Christmas movies ever made. Parts 1 and 2 covered my Honorable Mentions and #6-10. But today? Today I’ll be covering my elite tier. The movies that have shaped my personality and have taken permanent residence in my December rotation.

Let’s get into the final five.

5. This Christmas (2007)

Cast: Loretta Devine, Delroy Lindo, Regina King, Idris Elba, Diane Leal, Lauren London, Columbus Short, Chris Brown

This movie is Black Christmas Excellence personified. It captures the messy truth of the holidays: you can love your family down to your bones and still want to hide in the bathroom with a glass of wine.

The Whitfields feel like real people – not caricatures, not glossy sitcom versions of a family, but a beautiful tangle of history, tension, love, unresolved conflicts, childhood bonds, and the kind of inside jokes that resurface every Christmas whether you want them to or not. They argue, they avoid each other, they whisper/beef in the hallways, they make up, they act out, they come together – it’s loud, it’s flawed, it’s complicated, and it’s home.

Regina King is the heart of this movie. She moves quietly through the story until she doesn’t, and when her character finally snaps and delivers the bathroom belt scene heard around the world, it becomes one of the most satisfying moments in holiday film history. You watch it and think, “YAAAAAAASSSSS!!! Heal, queen, HEAL!” Her performance is layered – strength, vulnerability, comedic timing, rage, resilience – all wrapped into a character who feels like someone you know. Maybe someone in your family. Maybe it’s you.

And the soundtrack? An absolute sleigh-ride. Smooth R&B. Gospel warmth. Holiday soul. A soundtrack that feels like curling up under a blanket while the Christmas lights blink softly around you.

At its core, This Christmas is a movie about healing old wounds, finding joy where you can, and remembering that family – blood or chosen – can be both your greatest challenge and also your greatest blessing.

4. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)

Cast: Michael Caine, Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Rizzo the Rat

The Muppet Christmas Carol is the rare adaptation that captures the true spirit of Dickens while also letting a frog, a pig, and two chaotic narrators run the show – and somehow, the result is perfection. No other Christmas Carol even comes close. This adaptation has heart, humor, humanity, and a hint of sincerity. You come expecting silliness – and you get that, because you know, it’s the Muppets… – but you also feel uplifted and ready to promise the universe you’ll be kinder in the new year because you get three ghosts sent after you.

And let’s talk about Michael Caine. This man said, “I will act as if the Muppets are Royal Shakespeare Company performers,” and he MEANT IT. He delivers a masterclass performance. His Ebenezer Scrooge is one of the best portrayals ever: stern and icy at first, then slowly unraveling into regret and joy. His final transformation feels earned.

The musical numbers are legendary. Two of my favorites are:

“One More Sleep ‘Til Christmas” – pure nostalgia wrapped in gentle softness. It radiates that magical anticipation only Christmas Eve can produce.

“Feels Like Christmas” – you cannot sit still during this one. It has a festive joy that grabs you and forces you into the holiday spirit. The Ghost of Christmas Present said BIG CHEERFUL ENERGY and we accepted.

I love that the Muppets never mock the story – the play within it. They honor its emotional core. The treat the themes of compassion, generosity, regret, and redemption with genuine respect.

It’s not just a Christmas movie – it’s a holiday ritual. One that I have taken part in EVERY Christmas Eve since I was 3.

3. Home Alone: Lost In New York (1992)

Cast: Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, Catherine O’Hara, Tim Curry

While the first Home Alone is great and all, it cannot compete with Home Alone: Lost in New York. This sequel DID NOT have to go this hard, and yet it did – effortlessly.

Everything about this movie is childhood wish-fulfillment dialed up to 100. Kevin McCallister, unsupervised in New York City? A fever dream every 90s kids had after watching this movie at least once. The Plaza Hotel becomes his personal playground – luxury suites, on-demand chocolate desserts, a limo rolling up with a personal pizza like he’s a tiny celebrity. The TALKBOY??? If you didn’t want one, you’re lying.

And there’s Kevin’s second round of domestic warfare cranked up to 20 in this one. We’re talking:

• paint cans
• flaming ropes
• falling bricks
• floor-splintering booby traps
• a full electrocution moment where we literally see Harry’s skeleton

The skeleton reveal? Never stops being hysterical. I laugh EVERY YEAR like it’s brand new. Marv and Harry are basically indestructible cartoon entities at this point.

Beneath the chaos, there’s surprising emotional depth. Kevin is still a kid navigating loneliness, responsibility, and what it means to feel loved – all mirrored beautifully in the Pigeon Lady, whose quiet heartbreak softens the film’s edges.

Sprinkled with nostalgia and New York magic, this movie is a December essential. A classic that ages like fine Christmas wine (with a splash of childhood trauma).

(Kevin 100% grows up to go no-contact with his family. I know it. You know it. The IRS knows it. After being left behind not once but TWICE???? Yeah. He’s healing in therapy and living his best independent adult life somewhere far from the McCallisters.)

2. The Preacher’s Wife (1996)

Cast: Whitney Houston, Denzel Washington, Courtney B. Vance, Loretta Devine

I’ve LOVED this movie every since I could remember. It’s so tender and soulful and overflowing with the happiness that only happens when music, love, faith, and community all hold hands and sway together.

My girl, Whitney Houston (R.I.P) is the heartbeat of this movie. She doesn’t just deliver a performance – she delivers ministry. The way she pours emotion into every lyric, every note, every quiet expression – you can feel it in your chest. When she sings “Who Would Imagine a King,” time stops. When she delivers “I Believe in You and Me,” your soul leaves your body, floats toward the heavens, and high-fives the angels. You can feel every beat of her inner conflict: the responsibility she carries, the love she’s protecting, the dreams she’s shelving, and her tenderness despite her exhaustion.

Denzel Washington as Dudley the angel is so incredibly charming that it’s borderline unfair. His chemistry with Whitney is a perfect blend of sweet, subtle, and impossibly magnetic – warm enough to make you swoon (and forget you’re encouraging infidelity with a legit angel), but never overshadowing the movie’s spiritual message.

Courtney B. Vance grounds the film with his quiet intensity. His portrayal of a pastor under dire financial strain and the emotional distance forming in his marriage feels heartbreakingly real. His arc is one of growth, humility, and re-centering.

Also, the little boy that plays their son is so dang adorable.

The Preacher’s Wife blends romance, faith, comedy, gospel, and community into something deeply satisfying. It’s not just a movie about recovering spark not only in relationships and faith, but in having a purpose and remembering the beauty of acts of kindness.

And 1. How The Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)

Cast: Jim Carrey, Taylor Momsen, Christine Baranski, Jeffrey Tambor, Molly Shannon

Yes. THIS is my favorite Christmas movie of all time. The crown jewel. The emerald G.O.A.T. If I ever say I don’t love this movie, please assume I’ve been abducted by aliens. I will defend it like a Who guarding their last can of Who-Hash.

Jim Carrey didn’t act; he spiritually merged with a green creature full of trauma, sarcasm, and startling emotional range. The physical comedy? Unhinged brilliance. The emotional depth? Surprising but still a gut punch. There are moments in this movie where you forget it’s Jim Carrey and instead believe some green feral creature wandered onto set and started monologuing about hating the Whos.

The production design is BONKERS – and I mean that lovingly. Whoville looks like if someone fed Dr. Seuss’s imagination too much sugar and then spun it like cotton candy. Everything is loud, colorful, excessive, festive, and the tiniest bit unsettling…but in a cheerful way!

Christine Baranski as Martha May Whovier? The slay jumped out.

Taylor Momsen, tiny and adorable, gives Cindy Lou Who so much heart. She brings sincerity and softness that keeps the movie grounded – especially during “Where Are You Christmas?”, which continues to emotionally clothesline me well into adulthood.

When you’re a kid, it’s like, “aw, she’s sad.”

As an ADULT? It’s “this is about losing yourself while trying to perform holiday joy and wondering where your spark went because life put you through a blender…but by the way, happy holidays!”

Yeah.

It hits different.

Beneath the chaotic humor and iconic one-liners (“Hate, hate, double hate, LOATHE ENTIRELY!”), the film sneaks in razor-sharp commentary on consumerism and the pressure to perform Christmas cheer even when you’re not feeling it. It calls out the performative nonsense while still offering a path back to authentic joy.

Final Verdict:

This movie is iconic for a lot more reasons than I can describe on a simple blog post that’s way too long already.

This movie raised a generation of sarcastic, tender-hearted millennials.

And it is, without question, my definitive Christmas movie.

And That’s a Wrap on My Top 10 Christmas Movies of All Time

If you’ve made it this far, congratulations – you’ve survived my extremely passionate, highly biased, utterly correct opinions about Christmas movies.

These films aren’t just movies to me; they’re emotional landmarks, annual rituals, food for the soul. They’re the background sound to my wrapping paper disasters (there are many), my “is it still seasonal depression if there are Christmas lights and cocoa?” moments, and my cozy blanket hibernation sessions.

Some of them make me laugh.

Some of them make me cry.

Some of them make me rethink my entire life while I’m standing in the kitchen holding a half-eaten candy cane.

And all of them remind me why I love this season – the magic, the mess, the memories, the music, and the moments that feel soft and human and warm.

Whether you agree with every entry or you’re currently drafting a 10-paragraph rebuttal – I love that for you. Truly. But these movies? They live in my holiday heart forever.

Now go forth and watch something festive.

And remember: even the Grinchiest heart can grow three sizes with the right movie.