The Best 1980's Christmas Movies

Christmas is a magical time for a child. It is a time before you want to know how Santa and Christ coexist in Christmas and you fully enjoy both experiences. I turned three years old in 1980 and twelve in 1989 so the 1980's were my childhoodand I have a lot of positive memories of movies aired during that time period. The Christmas movies stand alone as my favorite of childhood.

A Very Brady Christmas (1988)

Cable was not widely available in rural areas when I was a child but from the time my family had cable, I was a very big The Brady Bunch fan. It was a special treat to have this reunion special air not long after I discovered the program. I think when most people discover classic television like The Brady Bunch they have a curiosity to know how what happened to the characters as well as to know what happened to the real-life actors. A Very Brady Christmas preceded Robert Reed's (Mike Brady's), death by four years. The movie follows Mike and Carol Brady as they attempt to have the family together at Christmas. Greg is divorced and his wife has the children, Peter is too involved with his boss to care about gathering with the rest of the family, Jan and Phillip are separating and Alice (the maid) has to deal with her husband Sam cheating on her. The other main cause of them having problems getting together is financial and occupational problems. Bobby has quit graduate school to become a race car driver, Marcia and Wally have financial problems when Wally is laid off from work, and Cindy is in a rebellion against family obligation due to being in college and wanting to be independent. Mike Brady gets caught in one of his buildings and at the end of the movie, Carol and the rest of the family sing O Come All Ye Faithful as he emerges. The ending is a little naive but in perfect fitting for the spirit of being with family during the holiday season.

Santa Claus (1985)

Santa Claus is also one of my favorite Christmas movies from childhood. Santa Claus does not promote any specific religious denomination while it attempts to explore who Santa is and what he is about. Santa Claus reaches back in time to the fourteenth century when Claus and Anya, along with the reindeer Donner and Blitzen are saved from death in a blizzard. The blizzard instead transports them to the mountains "at the top of the world"--the North Pole. Claus is told he is to fulfill an ancient prophecy that would be brought to the lives of the elves at the North Pole. Claus will have no children of his own but love all children and he would have the gift of being able to make wonderful toys. I will leave the answers to how Santa's reindeer can fly and how Santa gets down chimneys unknown in case you have not seen the movie. Santa Claus is a wonderful movie for small children. I was eight years old when it was released and remember it vividly. If it is aired during this season, I plan to watch it with my children.

Scrooged (1988)

Scrooged is a movie that attempts to take the Dickens' classic A Christmas Carol and modernize it for more interest. Though I am always more keen to enjoy the classics, this movie is a decent take on the same theme as A Christmas Carol. The main character in the book is Scrooge who is sent to Christmas Past, Present, and Future. In this version, Scrooge is a television program executive named Frank Cross who is wealthy from being cold and cruel. He is a very lonely man who has isolated his family and friends. He is tasked with a live television version of A Christmas Carol and it is then his life begins to mirror the program. I love time travel whether past or present and this movie has both. Cross visits 1955, 1968, 1969, 1971 and it shows how he became who he is in the present. He is shown his assistant's family living in poor conditions and he is told by his guide that his brother James misses him in the present. The future shows Frank Cross dead with James and his sister being the only visitors to his cremation. Cross begs for a second chance when he feels the fire from the cremation and awakens back in his office at the end of the live broadcast. As in the real A Christmas Carol, this "Scrooge" changes his ways. I love the theme of realizing the error of one's ways. Who does not prefer the second ending to this book or movie or the one the main character sees? I was a little older when this movie was released and this is a part of why I enjoyed it so much.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (1983)

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever has been my favorite Christmas movie since childhood. My sister checked the book out from our school library and it was one of the first books I ever read. The mean kids in the neighborhood, or the ones everyone thinks are mean decide they should go to Sunday school because snacks are given out. While there, they find themselves involved in the church play. Everyone thinks the play will not go over well since these kids are involved but it does the opposite. This movie is so touching that it caused me to cry as a six year old. It is a lesson in not judging people by what they look like and on giving people second chances. Christianity is founded on second chances given through Christ and I believe this movie best epitomizes that theme from the 1980's Christmas movies.

A Christmas Story (1983)

A Christmas Story is also my favorite Christmas movie. For several years, this movie opened the holiday season by airing on Thanksgiving night or the night after Thanksgiving. It has been aired on HBO, Superstation WTBS, Superstation WGN, and FOX. Since the mid 1990's A Christmas Story has aired on the Time Warner cable networks (TBS, TNT, and TCM). A Christmas Story is well known for being aired twenty four hours straight beginning 7:00 pm CST on Christmas Eve. When I think of this movie, "You'll shoot your eye out" is the first thing that comes to mind. Ralphie tries to convince everyone he will not shoot his eye out (mostly his mom) and continues to want a Red Ryder BB gun. After opening presents, it looks like Ralphie will not get the gun only to have his father save the day. The first bullet Ralphie fires ricochets off a metal sign and hits him in the eye. He tells his mother it was caused by an icicle, which she believes but us moms know the truth. There are many subplots to this movie and it is easy to see why people watch it more than one time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Very_Brady_Christmas

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Claus:_The_Movie

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrooged

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Best_Christmas_Pageant_Ever

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_christmas_story