The holiday season has finally come around once again and people could use some holiday cheer now more than ever. Because most families are still stuck inside their homes due to the extended stay-at-home order, it gives them an excuse to cuddle up and watch some of their favorite holiday movies! Prepare yourselves to bundle up with a fuzzy blanket and a freshly made warm cup of hot chocolate, and get ready to view some of the most popular and school-favorite Christmas movies of all time!  

Starting off this list we let the Mustangs of Yorba Linda High School decide on their favorite holiday movies! The YLHS newspaper Instagram (@ylhswangler) page posted multiple polls on their story to put holiday movie favorites to the test.

Here are the results! 18 mustangs picked Elf as their favorite movie, 6 chose Christmas Vacation, 5 for The Grinch, 9 picked Home Alone, 8 for The Polar Express, 21 chose The Nightmare Before Christmas, 5 selected A Christmas Story, and 1 student picked Christmas Chronicles. One student, Carlie Nelson (9), shared her opinion with me and said “My favorite Christmas movie is The Grinch because I love The Who’s and their crazy houses and I like the actor who plays the grinch.”

Streaming services have also taken this time period to present families with their Christmas movie collections and specials. Netflix recently launched its new original movie, The Christmas Chronicles 2! This movie is a sequel to the highly popular film, The Christmas Chronicles, which was released in 2018. The company also has many other festive movies that cater to people from all age groups on their platform such as: How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Let it Snow, Klaus, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, The Grinch, Christmas Wedding Planner, Mariah Carey Merriest Christmas, Trolls: Holiday, Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square, and Holiday Rush. As Netflix continues to be a top contender in the streaming category, their selection of seasonal favorites is quite expansive. 

Disney + has its own “holiday” collection that can be found by pressing on the search icon. This collection includes joyous movies such as Home Alone, Home Alone 2 Lost in the City, Home Alone 3, Noelle, Olaf’s Frozen Adventure, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Prep and Landing, Beauty and the Beast The Enchanted Christmas, Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas, Santa Pups 2, One Magic Christmas, Snowglobe, and Good Luck Charlie: It’s Christmas. The platform is also launching its very own new Christmas movies this year as well including, Godmother, Disney Holiday Singalong, The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special, and High School Musical the Musical: The Series: The Holiday Special! The collection also includes Disney television shows “Christmas specials,” which include episodes of: Phineas and Ferb, Jessie, The Suite Life on Deck, Austin and Ally, Shake it Up, Girl Meets World, Good Luck Charlie, Duck Tales, Kickin’ It, and Bizaardvark. 

Another popular streaming platform, Hulu, has a fair selection of holiday movies to choose from ranging from: The Man Who Invented Christmas, The Spirit of Christmas, My Dad is Scrooge, 12 dog days Til’ Christmas, Curious George A Very Monkey Christmas, Christmas Calendar, Christmas with the Andersons, Christmas on Holly Lane, and Christmas Competition. 

Even though this year’s Christmas won’t be the “same as usual,” we can still make the best out of it! So, take a night off and cuddle up with loved ones to enjoy watching a jolly movie! This will be sure to lift your “2020 mood” and boost your holiday spirit!