7 Things You Need For the Perfect Holiday Movie

Believe it or not, there was a time when most of us believed in a fat, jolly, white-bearded man entering our houses through the fireplace — or some other magical way for those that didn’t have one — and leaving behind a belly of presents after enjoying the milk and cookies that we left behind on Christmas Eve. We believe that somehow this single being could serve the children of Christmas worldwide in a single night. The magic of that truth (wink wink) has escaped us and we’re blind to it. As adults, we live in a cynical world. We live in a world of practicality, deadlines, appointments, and bills.

The movies that focus on the magic of Christmas and Santa — The Santa Clause, Miracle on 34th Street, The Polar Express, and so on — tap into a part of our lives that we’ve long let go. And when we watch them with our children, that magic is reborn as we pass that feeling of wonder onto them.

For adult audiences especially, the magic of Christmas, and the holidays as a whole, can stay alive as long as screenwriters and filmmakers are willing to explore it.