The votes are in.  The Point Equity Staff’s favorite Christmas comedies as of December 2020 are below.

1. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)

Clark Griswald first took his family to Wally World in the original Vacation movie in 1983, and then across Europe in the sequel European Vacation in 1985.  In 1989 National Lampoon released Christmas Vacation, which is the top Christmas comedy voted on by the Point Equity Staff.

(Fun fact:  The family’s youngest child, Russ Griswald was played by Johnny Galecki, who went on to play the boyfriend of Darlene in Rosanne, and then Leonard in The Big Bang Theory.)

2. Elf (2003)

In second place on our list is Elf, which also ranks second all-time among the highest grossing Christmas movies ever with $220,885,524 (The Polar Express is first with $314,134,445).

3. Die Hard (1988)

Is Die Hard really a Christmas “comedy”?    Well, two of our staff thought it was funny enough to be a comedy, and it does take place on Christmas eve.  It’s also the only other movie on our list to receive multiple votes.

4. A Christmas Story (1983)

Next year we should take an office survey asking “How many times did you watch A Christmas Story this year?  Both TBS and TNT are running their traditional 24-hour marathon of the film on December 24 and 25, kicking off at 8 p.m. and 9 p.m.

In keeping with the Die Hard “comedy” theme, here’s the scene where Ralphie gets his Red Ryder bb gun, and nearly shoots his eye out:

5. Home Alone (1990)

Our second favorite Christmas kid behind Ralphie Parker of A Christmas Story is Kevin McCallister, played by Maccaulay Culkin in Home Alone.  Released in 1990, Home Alone was the top-grossing box office movie of the entire year!

5. Gremlins (1984)

First our staff argued that Die Hard was a “Christmas comedy”, and then it was pointed out that Gremlins is a Christmas movie too!   Technically Gizmo was a Christmas gift to the main human character in the movie.

(Fun fact: Stephen Spielberg wanted to keep the movie from getting an R rating, so he pushed for the creation of a PG-13 rating.  Gremlins was one of the first movies to ever receive a PG 13 rating.)

6. Bad Santa (2003)

From Gremlins rated PG-13 to now Bad Santa rated R.  We clearly have an adult theme going on at Point Equity.  Even the trailer for Bad Santa may not be appropriate for all audiences:

7. Four Christmases (2008)

Four Christmases is a romantic comedy about a Bay Area couple that is forced to cancel their vacation plans and stay home to visit their four divorced families over the holidays.  If you’re bummed out that you can’t do what you want to this year, give Four Christmases movie a try.