It’s about this time of year that I start to watch the Christmas films that are being shown on channels such as Christmas 24, True Christmas and Hallmark.  There is something comforting about the format of these films: girl has to come back to home town, boy is there whom she doesn’t get on with, some kind of parade, cookie competition or nativity play has to be organised by Christmas Eve, couple get thrown together and fight against each other, after a few obstacles couple find out that they really love each other and get engaged on Christmas Eve!

This has made me think about my top five comedy Christmas films and I came up with the list below, I don’t expect everyone to agree with me, but these are my go to Christmas comedy movies for when the decorations are up, Christmas tree lights twinkling, with a cup of hot chocolate and a tin of Quality Street.

Firstly, number five is Elf, 2003 film starring Will Ferrell and James Caan.

Did you know?  Jim Carrey was originally asked to portray Buddy, but he turned down the role.

Film summary:  Buddy, is a regular-sized man who was raised as an elf by Santa Claus. When Buddy is told that he’s not a real elf, he decides to head back to his place of birth, New York City in search of his biological family.

Favourite part: When Buddy sees that Father Christmas at Gimbels is not real, stating, “You sit on a throne of lies.”

At number four is The Muppet Christmas Carol, 1992 film starring Michael Caine and of course, the cast of the Muppets.

Did you know?  This film was dedicated to the memory of Muppet’s creator, Jim Henson who died during pre-production.

Film summary: A retelling of the classic Dickens tale of Ebenezer Scrooge, miser extraordinaire. He is hld accountable for his dastardly ways during the night-time visits by the Ghosts of Christmas Past Present and Future.

Favourite part: When the two rats are lighting up the lampposts and one is accidentally set on fire, “Light the Lamp, not the Rat!”

Number three is Christmas With The Kranks, 2004 film starring Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis.

Did you know? This was based on the book, Skipping Christmas, written by John Grisham who is usually known for writing thrillers like The Pelican Brief, The Firm and The Client.

Film summary: With their daughter away, the Kranks decide to skip Christmas altogether until she decides to come home, causing an uproar when they have to celebrate the holiday at the last minute.

Favourite part: Luther has some botox and then meets Nora for lunch, but he can’t eat anything as his face won’t move and he tries different techniques, nearly choking himself in the process.

Number two is Jingle All The Way, 1996 film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sinbad.

Did you know? The Parade took three weeks to film with 1,500 extras being used and three custom built floats.

Film summary: A father vows to get his son a Turbo Man action figure for Christmas. However, every store is sold out of them, and he must travel all over town and compete with everybody else in order to find one.

Favourite part: When Howard is in the warehouse and ends up fighting with the Santas, plenty of slapstick fighting which is very funny.

My number one film is National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, 1989 film starring Chevy Chase and Beverley D’Angelo.

Did you know? This film originated from a short story by writer John Hughes called Christmas ’59 and was published in the December 1980 issue of National Lampoon magazine.

Film summary: It’s Christmas time and the Griswolds are preparing for a family seasonal celebration, but things never run smoothly for Clark, his wife Ellen and their two kids. Clark’s continual bad luck is worsened by his obnoxious family guests, but he manages to keep going knowing that his Christmas bonus is due soon.

Favourite part: All of it!

So there you go, I hope you enjoyed my list of five favourite Christmas comedy films – have I missed yours, if so, let me know which it is by commenting below.