The newsroom’s favourite festive films

Robin the frog as Tiny Tim (voiced by Jerry Nelson), Kermit the frog as Bob Cratchit (voiced by Steve Whitmire) and Miss Piggy as Emily Cratchit (voiced by Frank Oz) in The Muppet Christmas Carol

After lengthy debate about what defines a Christmas film (is Die Hard allowed?) the reporters in our newsroom have come up with a list of our top films to watch this season.

Black and white classics such as It’s a Wonderful Life, various versions of a Christmas Carol, and of course Home Alone have all made the cut, but there’s some wild cards in there too!

Let us know if you agree with our choices, and tell us what festive flicks you’ll be watching during the Christmas break this year in the comments below.

In no particular order, here are our top picks of movies to watch at this time of year:

Polar Express (2004) - A young boy embarks on a magical adventure to the North Pole on the Polar Express*

A Christmas Carol (1999) - Dickens’ Ebenezer Scrooge (Patrick Stewart) receives visits from three Christmas spirits who show him his past, present and future.

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989) - The Griswold family’s plans for a big family Christmas predictably turn into a big disaster.

Home Alone (1990) - An eight-year old troublemaker must protect his home from a pair of burglars when he is accidentally left home alone by his family during Christmas vacation.

It’s A Wonderful Life (1946) - An angel helps a compassionate but despairingly frustrated businessman by showing what life would have been like if he never existed.

Santa Claus the Movie (1985) - A peasant woodcutter becomes Santa Claus and later foils an evil toy.

Scrooged (1988) - A selfish, cynical TV executive (Bill Murray) is haunted by three spirits bearing lessons on Christmas Eve.

Gremlins (1984) - A boy inadvertently breaks three important rules concerning his new pet and unleashes a horde of malevolently mischievous monsters on a small town.

Die Hard (1988) - John McClane (Bruce Willis), officer of the NYPD, tries to save wife Holly Gennaro and several others, taken hostage by German terrorist Hans Gruber during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles.

The Grinch, also known as Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) - On the outskirts of Whoville, there lives a green, revenge-seeking Grinch (Jim Carrey) who plans on ruining the Christmas holiday for all of the citizens of the town.

The Holiday (2006) - Two women (Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz) troubled with guy-problems swap homes in each other’s countries, where they each meet a local guy and fall in love.

The Santa Clause (1994) - When a man (Tim Allen) inadvertently kills Santa on Christmas Eve, he finds himself magically recruited to take his place.

Love Actually (2003) - Follows the lives of eight very different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London.

Arthur Christmas (2011) - Santa’s clumsy son Arthur gets put on a mission with St Nick’s father to give out a present they misplaced to a young girl in less than two hours.

Harry Potter (2001 - 2011) - Follows the adventure of wizard Harry Potter at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, as he fights the evil wizard Voldemort.