I have a bit of a confession to make. As much as I adore Christmas, I am not a fan of Christmas movies. I prefer movies where the holiday may be taking place in the background, but I don't usually watch films that centre around it. Don't ask me why, but they have never been as big a part of my Christmas as they are for others. But, that doesn't mean I don't have my favourites, and today I thought I would share my five favourite Christmas movies!

GREMLINS



Nothing screams "Christmas" to me more than small, frightening creatures running around a small town causing mayhem and spreading like wildfire. While it may not sound like the most festive film around, Gremlins is an absolute classic that combines everyone's favourite holiday with dark, slapstick humour and a very adorable reminder that pets are for life, not just for Christmas, and there can be severe consequences if you don't look after them properly. It makes me feel a little sad to see Gremlins continually left off of lists of Christmas films because its funny, festive but with a twist, and I adore it.

NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS



Never mind one of my favourite Christmas movies, The Nightmare Before Christmas is one of my favourite films of all time. It successfully combines two of my favourite holidays, and in this socially aware age, has a very good message about attempting to claim the rights to something that is not yours to take. The music is fantastic, and there's not a day goes by in December where I don't quietly sing What's This? to myself, especially when it's snowing. It makes me laugh, cry and freaks me out in equal measure, but it wouldn't be Christmas in my house if I didn't force my family members to watch this with me every year.

LOVE ACTUALLY



Until about two years ago, I had never seen Love Actually, because as well as not liking Christmas films, I also hate rom-coms in any form, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this film. I even went on to watch it again after I finished it the first time! The all-star cast are fantastic, and I didn't find the paralleling storylines as confusing as I thought I would, and although some of them make me cringe and cry, this film is definitely my guilty Christmas pleasure. 

GRANDMA GOT RUN OVER BY A REINDEER



This is another film I see consistently left off of Christmas film lists, which makes my inner six year old very, very unhappy. One of the most vivid moments of my childhood I can remember is being very unwell after finishing school for the holidays, and being curled under a blanket with my mum, eating soup and watching this film together. It's a funny take on a classic Christmas scenario that everyone is familiar with, and makes me think of how much my own grandparents make Christmas a special experience.

RUDOLPH THE RED NOSED REINDEER



Remember when you were little and when school was coming to a halt for Christmas, your teacher would bring out the TV and put on festive films instead of making you do work? This is the one film I remember watching in school, and it's stuck with me every since. I never see it on TV anymore, which is a huge shame, because I think to values and message are still so important. 

I hope you've enjoyed reading about my favourite festive films! What's your favourite?

Until next time,

Rachel x

*All movie posts and screencaptions have been taken from Google. I do not own the rights to any of the above images.