Photo via IMDB

While exams and papers have us stressed to the limit these last couple weeks of school, cozying up to a holiday movie is exactly what we need. Put your pen down, put away the flashcards, and grab a hot cocoa with all the works; it is time to get festive. While there are countless holiday movies out there to get you in the mood, there are a few classics that would more than suffice in your endeavors.

The Polar Express (2004) – perhaps a childhood favorite to us all – is a Christmas classic that still inspires at every age. In this movie, we are led on a magical journey to the North Pole in pursuit of the first gift of Christmas, guided by Tom Hanks, who manages to voice almost every character in the film. Whether you still enjoy animated films or not, this movie truly does leave you filled with holiday magic.

Another family classic that follows the journey of our favorite elf, Will Ferrell, will leave you in tears after watch-ing. The comedic classic, Elf(2003), brings us on a journey with Buddy the elf as he finds out he is, in fact, human, and decides to travel to Manhattan in search of his family. Buddy teaches us many valuable lessons, including the best way to spread Christmas cheer and the four main food groups: candy, candy cane, candy corn, and syrup. For all of your holiday sugar needs, Elf is a one-stop fix.

For a true Christmas classic, look no further than White Christmas (1954). Featuring Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney, this romantic holiday film is what popularized its namesake song. Set at a rustic Vermont inn, David and Wallace must partner with the Haynes Sisters to put on a smashing hit of a holiday production. The endless musical and dance numbers will leave you humming “White Christmas” for days after watching it.

No holiday film list would be complete, however, without a claymation movie – and what better choice than Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) to take a trip down memory lane? Follow Rudolph on his search for acceptance, leading us from the Island of Misfit Toys all the way to the North Pole to save his parents, who are being held captive by the Abominable Snowman. This story is simply a necessity in regaining a sense of childhood magic.

For a feel-good film that ceases to leave a dry eye over fifty years after its release, watch Frank Capra’s It’s A Wonderful Life (1946). Starring Jimmy Stewart as the all-American, small town George Bailey, the audience is brought on a journey through Bailey’s reluctance to be content. Before taking his own life, Bailey is saved by an angel and is shown how different everything would be if he had never existed. This touch-ing Christmas classic truly re-minds us of the meaning of the holidays, and is not one to be forgotten.

Last but not least, you can never exclude the film that will have you chanting, “you’ll shoot your eye out” the entire Christmas season. A Christmas Story (1983) will have you root-ing for Ralphie in his pursuit of a “Red Ryder Carbine Action 200-shot Range Model air rifle with a compass in the stock and ‘this thing which tells time.’” A Christmas Story is as mandatory to the holidays as baking cookies or decorating the tree; it is not merely a recommendation, but a requirement.

Although this time of the semester is rather taxing with the list of assignments to accomplish, there is nothing like a holiday movie break to re-focus and gain perspective. Those exams will come and go and that twelve-page paper will get done, but a good Christmas movie or two is what is going to get you through until the end.Stay strong, Saints, you are al-most home free