With the holiday season in full swing and Christmas nearing, many television networks will be airing some great movie classics. Here are just a few staples that you should make some time
to enjoy during this season!

1. “Elf” – (2003)
As an orphan, Buddy is raised as a Christmas elf with other enchanting characters at the North Pole to keep him company. It soon becomes apparent though that his real destiny awaits him in New York City where he soon encounters his birth father – a Scrooge like character named Walter Hobbs.. Will Ferrell and Zooey Deschanel star in this whimsical story that will entertain both adults and children alike.

2. “Home Alone” – (1990)
The film that helped introduce Macaulay Culkin to audiences worldwide was an instant success and comes from writer John Hughes, the same mind behind classics like “The Breakfast Club” and “Ferris Beuller’s Day Off.” Culkin stars as mischievous 12-year-old Kevin McCallister who is left behind while his family goes on vacation. Alone, Kevin is left to fend for himself and defend his house against two home robbers nicknamed “The Wet Bandits” (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern).

3. “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York” – (1992)
This sequel to the 1990 hit finds McCallister being left behind in the big city after a mishap at an airport as his family tries to go on another vacation. He faces off against The Wet Bandits again, this time using tools in an abandoned apartment complex. McCallister brings new tricks to the table and this is a sequel we can all have fun with.

4. “A Christmas Story” – (1983)
What would the holiday season be without pink bunny costumes, leg lamps, “Chinese turkey,” and Ralphie Parker warning us all about BB guns. Be careful or “You’ll shoot your eye out!”

5. “Black Christmas” – (1973)
Almost a decade before he worked on “A Christmas Story,” director Bob Clark released this cult holiday classic, a horror film following a group of sorority sisters being terrorized by a killer while on Christmas break.

6. “Jingle All The Way” – (1996)
A ‘90s guilty pleasure, the film pairs Arnold Schwarzenegger with Sinbad as fathers teaming up to search high and low to secure the hottest toy of the season, a Turbo-Man action figure, for their sons as hilarity ensues.

7. “It’s a Wonderful Life” – (1946)
After being hit with a financial disaster, a young husband and father contemplates ending his life on Christmas Eve until an angel shows him what the world would be like without him.

8. “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas” – (2000)
A big budget, live action adapation of the Dr. Seuss book and cartoon of the same name. The Grinch (Jim Carrey), a green creature who lives outside of Whoville, is intent on ruining Christmas for everyone. That is, until he meets Cindy Lou, a child that befriends him and helps him change his ways.

9. “A Charlie Brown Christmas” – (1967)
Troubled by the materialism he sees around him, Charlie Brown is determined to find the true meaning of the Christmas season in this Emmy winning primetime special.

10. “Love Actually” – (2003)
A wonderfully done British film that follows eight different love stories, all of them weaving together in quirky ways and set against a backdrop of London during the Christmas season. This is the film that inspired such lackluster knock-offs as “Valentine’s Day” and “New Year’s Eve,” only it’s done right.

11. “The Muppet Christmas Carol” – (1992)
Jim Henson’s beloved Muppets retelling of Charles Dickens’ classic tale of Ebenezer Scrooge, a rich but grumpy old businessman who is visited the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future.

12. “The Santa Claus” – (1994)
After inadvertently killing Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, a divorced father (Tim Allen) finds he must now take over the job in this hilarious family comedy.