The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974)

Rated: G

Genres: Animation, Fantasy

Starring: Shirley Booth, Mickey Rooney

Synopsis: When a weary and discouraged Santa Claus considers skipping his Christmas Eve run one year, Mrs. Claus and his Elves set out to change his mind.

Review: Santa is supposed to be jolly which is why him being so sulky and self-indulgent is sort of weird as an adult.  As a child I just felt sorry for Santa and wanted so much to tell him I believe so he’d feel better.  My favorite part is the song with Heat Miser and Snow Miser.  It’s fantastic.  That song is a true classic.  This is one I catch every year.

Scoring: 5

Yes, Chef!  Christmas (2023)

Rated: PG

Genres: Family, Romance

Starring: Tia Mowry and Luke Humphrey 

Synopsis: Alicia is a culinary school instructor who receives an invitation to participate in an annual cook off competition. With help from a mentor, she tries to prove to herself that she’s a capable head chef. 

Review: It was different from typical Christmas movies. It was interesting but there were so many stories going on it was hard to get invested in anyone. I enjoyed it enough that I will watch it again. Buddy Valastro tried his best, but he is not an actor. 

Scoring: 3.5

Yes, Virginia There Is A Santa Claus (1991)

Rated: PG

Genres: Drama, Family 

Starring: Richard Thomas, Ed Asner, and Charles Bronson

Synopsis: While newspaper writer Church struggles with the death of his wife, he receives a "special" assignment. He must answer a little girl's question about whether Santa Claus really exists. Based on a true story.

Review:  This film gives an interesting look at turn of the century New York, especially for Irish immigrants. Their struggles but also their heart. It also shows the innocence of a child’s heart longing to believe in Santa and magic, despite poverty and hardships. A good family film. 

Scoring: 4

You Can’t Fight Christmas (2022)

Rated: PG

Genres: Comedy, Family, Romance

Starring: Brely Evans, Andra Fuller, and Persia White

Synopsis: An unlikely encounter between Christmas designer and enthusiast Leslie Major, and a businessman trying to end the Christmas tradition at The Chesterton makes Leslie use all her Christmas charms on him to love Christmas. - and her.

Review: This was an enjoyable movie.  I liked the back and forth about the fate of the hotel.  I loved Leslie’s spirit and joy.  It feels Christmasy and has a lot of wonderful characters.

Scoring: 3

You Light Up My Christmas (2019)

Rated: PG

Genres: Drama, Romance

Starring: Kim Fields, Adrian Holmes, Lisa Whelchel, and Mindy Cohn

Synopsis: Emma returns to her hometown for Christmas. She discovers the lights have gone dim in the once festive town, prompting her to reconnect with an old flame to set their hearts and the town lights ablaze with light again. 

Review: The best part of this movie was the cast of Facts of Life being in it. Other than that it was a little dull. It felt like the world’s longest run on sentence. It does have lots of Christmas decor but not a lot of spirit. It’s okay for watching once but I wouldn’t watch it again. 

Scoring: 2

You Make It Feel Like Christmas (2021)

Rated: PG

Genres: Family, Romance

Starring: Mary Antonini and Mixhael Xavier

Synopsis: Emma is a talented designer who finds herself too busy to return home for the holidays, much to her father’s chagrin.  When her ex-boyfriend finds out, he tries to convince her to celebrate Christmas with her family.

Review: I really enjoyed the romance part of the story.  Seeing Emma open up and heal old wounds and become a better version of herself was really special.  I felt they could beef up the part about her parents but I really enjoyed it.  Very sweet.

Scoring: 3

You, Me & The Christmas Trees (2021)

Rated: G

Genres: Family, Romance

Starring: Danica McKellar and Benjamin Ayres

Synopsis: An arborist falls in love with a farmer as she tries to save his trees before the town tree lighting.

Review: I think most people have experienced a Christmas they had to just get through because of loss, a broken heart, or other issues.  That makes the lead characters so relatable and their journey so special as they learn to love and to embrace Christmas again.  The story, the acting, everything was wonderful.  Fantastic movie.

Scoring: 4

Your Christmas or Mine (2022)

Rated: PG-13

Genres: Comedy, Family, Romance

Starring: Ada Butterfield and Cora Kirk and 

Synopsis: Hayley and James are young and in love. They both make the same mad split-second decision to swap trains and surprise each other. Passing each other in the station, they are completely unaware that they have just swapped Christmases.

Review: I didn’t find any humor in this movie. Everything was so over the top but still managed to be awkwardly done and blah. It is a British film and they tend to have a different sense of humor. If it interests you, it can’t hurt to try. 

Scoring: 2

Yuletide The Knot (2023)

Rated: G

Genres: Family, Romance 

Starring: Mary Antonini, Peter Porte, and Kelley Jackle

Synopsis: Small town wedding planner Rachel is planning her biggest Christmas wedding for an influencer couple, is thrown a surprise when the bride's manager turns out to be Logan, her first love and high school sweetheart - her one that got away.

Review: The main characters have no chemistry, Rachel’s grieving for her mother, all the family issues, etc. cause a movie that’s scattered, and I struggled to stay interested. 

Scoring: 2.5

The Yummy Gummy Search for Santa (2012)

Rated: NR

Genres: Animation, Fantasy

Starring: Sonja Ball

Synopsis: Gummibar and friends set out on a dance-filled, musical mission to rescue Santa Claus from an alien.

Review: This movie is very silly and clearly meant for younger children but at the same time, it was sort of entertaining.  I liked the way the chameleon kept changing color.  His voice, however, sounded like a comedian impersonating Regis Philbin which was a little grating.  Most adults probably won’t enjoy it but if you’re watching with children it’s definitely tolerable.

Scoring: 2

Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas (2021)

Rated: TV-14

Genres: Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Musical 

Starring: Jane Levy and Skylar Astin

Synopsis: On her first holiday without her father, Zoey wants to create a magical Christmas for her family just like the ones Mitch used to do.

Review: I absolutely loved it. I will say that I was a big fan of the show. If you haven’t seen the show, you may not get the emotional drama of them trying to cope without their father. The music is great and for Zoey fans this is amazing. 

Scoring: 4