This year, I’ve felt more in the Christmas spirit than I have in a long time.  It might be because my wife and I are expecting a baby in six short months.  It might be because my neighbors have young ones who are so excited by the prospect of having Santa visit their homes.

And it might be because my heart’s grown three sizes this year.

Whatever the cause, I’ve been watching Christmas movies almost non-stop this weekend as my wife and I transform our home into a Christmas wonderland.  We have lights and decorations on the tree, stockings hung on the entertainment center (no fireplace at our house), and a giant inflatable snowman floating in our snow-covered lawn.

That’s started me thinking:  what is it that makes some Christmas stories “good”, and others swept into the “not gonna watch again” pile?

Element 1:  Good music

All of the movies that I enjoy the most include good Christmas music.

Examples (by no means complete):

• A Muppet Family Christmas (especially the hard-to-find original version, not available in stores)
• Frosty the Snowman
• Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
• The Christmas Toy
  

Element 2:  Relatable Characters

All of the movies I watched included characters that were relatable.  They made mistakes (getting on a train with a strange man), were not “perfect” according to social standards (Rudolph’s nose), and didn’t always know about what was happening around them (scheduling a Christmas vacation while the kids were away).

Examples (by no means complete):

• Christmas with the Kranks
• The Polar Express
• Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
• A Christmas Carol (alternatively:  A Muppet Christmas Carol, Disney’s A Christmas Carol)

Element 3:  Snow

Every one of the examples above (and hence the reason why no examples are included here) includes a story where snow is a main element.  There’s definitely something about the cleansing magic of a winter snow that helps people focus on the Christmas season.

Element 4:  Santa

Santa embodies the Christmas spirit, making an accessible character regardless of one’s religion.  I can’t help but want to emulate his generosity in giving presents with no thought of anything in return.  This is part of the reason my wife and I always donate toys around this time so that children we don’t know can have something at Christmas.

While many stories use Santa as a character, there are a few that stand out as being about the big man himself.

• Santa Claus: The Movie
• The Santa Clause
• Miracle on 34th Street (updated 1994 version here)

These are the common threads I noticed in the stories I watched. Of course, there were also other underlying themes (love, forgiveness, joy), and lots of good character development opportunities, but these pieces seemed to be in all of the movies I watched this weekend.

What other things do you notice in a Christmas story?  Do you notice more the themes of love, forgiveness, and joy?  Are you more focused on the religious aspects of the holiday (this post focused on the secular aspects)?  What do you do to get in the spirit of Christmas?