Hi Guys - anyone have any recommendations for Christmas movies suitable for 3-5 year olds but watchable by the whole family? :)
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Hi Guys - anyone have any recommendations for Christmas movies suitable for 3-5 year olds but watchable by the whole family? :)
Presumably Die Hard isn't what you're thinking?
The Santa Clause Trilogy are good ones with Tim Allen :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t067u2Jnks0
Fred Clause is another great one :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzXjtxZaGS8
Deck the Halls is a great family movie :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EmhpFFGrxk
You cant go wrong with Muppets Christmas Carol :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhpu2tq9GG4
If you want something a little more mature than The Muppets I would suggest the George C Scott version of A Christmas Carol which is one of my all time favourites :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ku76enY11nE
Hogfather is great, a little more mature and worth watching, may not hold their interest though :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSOUIuGcY74
There is also Scrooged with Bill Murray, may scare them a bit but it is a PG certificate and very funny, I would watch first to make a better informed decision :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5s-xArZvjo
Christmas Vacation is classic, I watch it every year as a little Christmas tradition and I still laugh at the same things. My nephews giggled through it at the slapstick stuff, falling off a ladder etc
Seconded.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ferral
Not sure if it is the type of thing you were thinking of exactly, but as it was released around this time 25 years ago and is technically set at Christmas, I'd like to offer up the possibility of:
Hook
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48iCNTicD3o
And a suggestion fitting in more with the Christmas setting:
Jingle All The Way
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuPc9QJcGJs
Thanks guys.
I'm rather surprised how many Christmas-themed movies I've not seen.
I'll check out the Santa Clause films and I'll be curious to see how the kids respond to the Muppet Christmas Carol. They've not seen much of the muppets. Will see if it transitions to the next generation!
Jowsey - I'd considered Die Hard but I'm concerned it might be a bad influence on them...wouldn't want them to start writing things on clothing or anything like that.
Home Alone?
1) Muppet Christmas Carol. On repeat. That's all.
On a serious note, we're going through the same thing. We've got all the Thomas Christmas Carol, Octonauts bits but they're just extended episodes with a Christmas theme rather than proper films. I've just ordered Elf (the wife and I will watch this before deciding if it's suitable for our 3-year-old) and Santa Claus the Movie, but I've had the Muppets Christmas Carol on the Tivo since before the boy was born, waiting for the year when he would appreciate it. And now I see it's on normal telly this year as well...
Also a PG is Silent Night (2002). I watch it at least once a year, but check the content first.
If they're 3-5, live action may bore them as well, so things like Polar Express or Mickey's Christmas Carol may keep them occupied. Do not go for Disney's A Christmas Carol, the animated one with Jim Carrey. It's good, don't get me wrong, but it's quite dark and there are some scary bits which you wouldn't expect in a film that's a) animated and b) Disney...
An animated one I watch every year that I forgot is Yogi's First Christmas :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4Kng13EhOU
There is also the classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiaAIH8DQLo
Not forgetting the Jim Carey version of The Grinch which is pretty fun :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQV5Pr7pWtM
If you don't mind watching black and white movies Scrooge is a great Christmas movie.
Polar Express, Jingle All The Way and Home Alone are my festive family films.
The Christmas Dragon - Got some friends who starred in it, too!
Rated PG.
'Miracle on 34th Street' just as soon as you feel it is age appropriate for your kiddiewinks. Tis a joyous film for (almost) all ages.
Just ensure that it is the 'modern' Dickie Attenborough version and not the original B&W of the same title.
^ THIS! National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation is simply hilarious. Fun for the whole family :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Hicks
Not sure if it counts as it was more of a TV special but surely The Snowman (and the follow up The Snowman a& The Snowdog) are worth a go.
Excellent choice and we should add It's a Wonderful Life.
Probs not for this audience though
'Rise of the Guardians' is quite a good animated tale but probably more appropriate to middling aged kiddiewinks and parents.
+1 for Rise of the Guardians, and I reckon it'll do pretty much any age.Quote:
Originally Posted by esde
A Christmas Story is well worth a watch and feeds a surprising number of the other 80s Christmas memes. But, y'know, you'll shoot your eye out... ;)
A Nightmare Before Christmas. Anyone who says it's not a Christmas film is wrong. If I had to loop one film all Christmas this would probably be it.
EDIT: a couple that I just crowd sourced with the better halves:
Nativity! is a pretty good film. Risk of boring very small children, although I'd be tempted to make them watch it anyway so they get used to sitting through proper drama ;)
A Charlie Brown Christmas - more of an American tradition, but it is a *serious* tradition over there.
And, because I live with evil people: the Star Wars Holiday Special
The adaptations of Julia Donaldson and Axel Sheffler's works are quite good, although not strictly Christmassy.
The Gruffalo, The Gruffalo's Child and Stick Man have all been broadcast at Christmas, and are warm, family (winter-based) stories...
I quite agree on the 'Gruffalo' 'trio' and of course the 'Snowman' trio too, although (IMHO) the 1st (original) 'Snowman' was the best.