‘Twas the weeks before Christmas — *dun, dun, duuun* — which, for parents, often means the most wonderful and stressful time of the year. Let’s just be real here: Being the maker of all things magic is exhausting. The tree lightings, holiday parties and festivals, and school plays are a ton of fun… and also a lot of work. But there’s one holiday tradition I look forward to that only requires me to snuggle up on the couch with my mug of hot chocolate and a warm blanket to relax: Christmas movies from my youth, the ’80s and ’90s!
Honestly, I’m not an expert on much (my tween likes to remind me of this on the daily), but I do know this — those two decades churned out the most iconic Christmas movies. They just don’t make movies with that kind of humor anymore. The holiday films released during the ’80s and ’90s not only perfectly capture the cozy spirit of the season but also showcase the unique blend of biting humor, warm nostalgia, and the very essence of what defined those epic eras. They transcend generations and are still an enormous part of the cultural lexicon today.
Exhibit A: 1989’s Christmas Vacation. This movie will forever remain a pop culture classic with its laugh-out-loud antics and memorable quotes. Hapless Clark is obsessed with hosting an idyllic and memorable “fun, old-fashioned family Christmas,” and we love him for it. Despite all his plucky optimism and can-do Christmas spirit, nothing seems to be going his way, a plight we can all relate to as parents. (I resonate with Clark’s holiday meltdown a little more than I care to admit.)
The Griswold’s hilarious dysfunctional family drama is pure relatability. Because, c’mon, who among us doesn’t have that wacky family member a la Cousin Eddie? The quotable one-liners are absolute gold. “Shitter’s full” and “If I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn into the carpet, I wouldn’t be more surprised than I am right now” will never not be funny.
Which brings me to another movie with some of the most quotable lines: 1983’s A Christmas Story. If there are five words that every Gen X and millennial knows, they’re “You’ll shoot your eye out!” Certain scenes (I’m looking at you, flagpole scene) and lines (“Fra-gee-lay — it must be Italian!”) have become ingrained in popular culture.
It’s iconic for a reason. Watching it feels like an ode to a time gone by and perhaps even childhood in general. We can all see ourselves in Ralphie, who so accurately captures the essence of childhood and the excited anticipation of Christmas from a kid’s perspective.
Leg lamp, anyone?
A Very Brady Christmas (1988) is my holiday staple, not because of the excellent acting or riveting plotline and perhaps even in spite of it. For a super fan like me, seeing those beloved characters all grown up feels like a warm hug. The struggles they face as adults — just as their childhood struggles did when I was growing up — feel relatable because the story revolves around universal themes such as divorce, personal obstacles, and challenging family dynamics.
Even though I already know how it’s going to end, I wait with bated breath for Mike Brady to be rescued from the collapsing building, and the joy I feel when he is reunited with his family is palpable. I always get chills when they collectively sing, “O, Come All Ye Faithful” (fun fact: this was a nod to Carol singing it in the original series’ episode “The Voice of Christmas”). The flick is pure fun, and its feel-good message about the importance and power of family is exactly what I need at this time of year.
Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Home Alone (1990), a movie so timeless that my kids love it as much as I do. Sweet Kevin is forever relevant because we’ve all felt overlooked and forgotten. And I don’t know about you, but even as an adult, I’m still living vicariously through him while he carries out his wild antics of sledding in the house, rifling through an older sibling’s personal stuff, and eating ice cream at inappropriate times.
I think the reason these movies resonate with me so much is that they really grasp the cultural moment of the ’80s/’90s so well, which, for my fellow Gen Xers and millennials (in the clerb, we all fam!), this was a truly monumental time in our lives. It was also a much simpler (and better, fight me) time, and these movies showcase all the simple pleasures of that life that are now considered relics. The characters were not like the zombie people of today’s society, with our faces constantly buried in screens — these films showcased families *gasp* actually interacting with each other. Plus, the throwbacks (hello, wall phone) bring me so much joy.
This time of year, we all just need a little break to laugh. The familiar tropes and happy endings deliver comfort to us elderly folks, and the “retro” settings remind us of our own childhoods. Case in point? That awful wallpaper in the McCallister house was reminiscent of my own childhood home.
These Christmas classics give us the joy we deserve and provide a welcome escape from the overwhelming demands put on parents this time of year. Clark’s wife, Ellen, perfectly sums up the holidays: “It’s Christmas, and we’re all in misery.” So, put down the wrapping paper, pour yourself a big ole glass o’ eggnog, and fire up Netflix to watch these feel-good holiday films from your youth. A Christmas movie marathon is good for the soul (and the sanity).
Christina Crawford is a Dallas-based writer, guacamole enthusiast, and mom to three feral little boys. She spends her days putting out fires (actual and metaphorical) and trying to keep goldfish alive. Her words have appeared in Newsweek, HuffPost, Health Magazine, Parents, Scary Mommy, Today Show Parents, and more. You can follow along on Twitter where she writes (questionably) funny anecdotes about her life at @Xtina_Crawford
