The 5 movies to watch over Christmas 2013

Christmas – the time for gifts, food, family and, of course, some classic festive movies. In the post-dinner lull nothing beats sitting down to watch those familiar stories that tug at the heart strings and warmly ignite our Christmas spirit. With a wealth of entertainment showing on our screens, here are five of the best offerings this Christmas:

White Christmas (1954)

There are few film scenes so ingrained in our festive conscience as when the stars of this yuletide classic, dressed head to toe in crimson, gather around the Christmas tree to sing Irving Berlin’s White Christmas. A staple in the seasonal schedule, this musical brims with wintery charm as Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye serenade dancers Vera-Ellen and Rosemary Clooney in the snowy setting of Pine Tree, Vermont.

White Christmas is on Channel 4 on Monday 23^rd December at 10.10 am.

                                                                   Scrooge (1951)

Classed as the definitive film version of Dickens’ classic ghost tale, Alastair Sim typifies the humbugging miser Scrooge in this artfully shot and impeccably cast adaption. Offering a stirring portrayal of the Victorian approach to poverty and want, Scrooge is a film full of heart-wrenching poignancy and warming Christmas sentiment.

Scrooge is on Channel 5 on Tuesday 24^th December at 5.10 pm.

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)

Incredulously, the McCallister family have yet again managed to mislay their son Kevin – this time in the bustling Big Apple. Despite not quite living up to the franchise’s first instalment, Chris Columbus’s second comic-caper is still a Christmas must-see, with plenty of farcical slapstick, comic one-liners and laughs.  

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York is on Channel 4 on Wednesday 25^th December at 6.15 pm.

                                                                   Love Actually (2003)

Following the lives and loves of Londoners during the run-up to Christmas, Richard Curtis’s modern classic shows off the capital in all its festive splendour. Be it between the Prime Minister and his secretary, the writer and his house-keeper or the rock star and his manager, Curtis aims to show us that Christmas affection is never far away and “love, actually is all around”.

Love Actually is on ITV on Wednesday 25^th December at 10.45 pm.

Wallace and Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)

It wouldn’t be Christmas without the bumbling escapades of Britain’s best-loved plasticine duo. In their first feature length film Wallace and Gromit exercise their entrepreneurial spirit through a rabbit control agency. All is well until a giant bunny threatens the village’s annual vegetable competition. Full of fun, frolics and plenty of giggles, this Hammer horror spoof is bursting with festive charm.

Wallace and Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit is on BBC1 on Thursday 26^th December at 1.05 pm.

Alexandra Sims