A Christmas Carol is a Victorian morality tale of an old and bitter miser, Ebenezer Scrooge (Jim Carrey), who undergoes a profound experience of redemption over the course of one night. Mr. Scrooge is a financier/money-changer who has devoted his life to the accumulation of wealth. He holds anything other than money in contempt, including friendship, love and the Christmas season. But an encounter with the ghostly figure of Jacob Marley (Gary Oldman) sets the stage for a mysterious and magical encounter with three phantasmic beings to help him realize the true magic of Christmas itself.

12 December 2009, 10.30
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The funniest thing about Christmas, according to Jean Shepherd's over-the-top holiday comedy, is spending it with your own family. In 1940's Indiana, nine-year-old Ralphie dreams of his ideal Christmas gift: a genuine Red Ryder 200-shot Carbine Action Air Rifle. But when his gruff dad and doting mom regularly respond with "You'll Shoot Your Eye Out!" Ralphie mounts a full-scale hint-dropping, Santa begging campaign.

In this tale you'll be caught up in all kinds of childhood calamities from snowsuit paralysis to the yellow-eyed Scotty Farkus affair to the dreaded tongue-on-a-frozen flagpole gambit.

Primary school teacher Paul Maddens (Martin Freeman) decides to take on the biggest challenge of his life - staging his school's musical production of the Nativity. Competing against his arch rival at the local private school for the coveted best reviewed show in town, the stakes are raised when a potential visit from a Hollywood agent sends everyone involved into a festive frenzy. Starring Martin Freeman, Ashley Jensen, Ricky Tomlinson and Alan Carr this fun-filled film has an abundance of festive sing-a-long cheer and will leave you grinning from ear-to-ear.

Standing out in the crowded field of screen adaptations of the classic Dickens novel A Christmas Carol is hard to do, but this version pulls it off. When a transparent Jacob Marley walks through Ebenezer Scrooge's apartment door, you know you're seeing something both timeless and contemporary. Other strategically placed special effects - a funnel cloud that transports Scrooge and the ghost of Christmas present, the hollow spectre of Christmas future - keep you riveted without slipping into anachronism. But, as good as the technology is, the performances are what really power this 93-minute television interpretation.

Patrick Stewart brings a depth to Scrooge that allows the character to go beyond the cartoonish qualities that have made him a Christmas mainstay. That doesn't mean he's any less heartless with his hapless employee Bob Cratchit (Richard E. Grant) or any less dismissive of his well-meaning nephew. A frail-looking Joel Grey makes an excellent ghost of Christmas past, and a superb cast ably fill the remaining roles. Director David Jones, shooting on location in England and at Ealing Studios, has achieved a balance of science and sentiment that will help this version hold up for many years to come.

Now perhaps the most beloved American film, It's a Wonderful Life was largely forgotten for years, due to a copyright quirk. Only in the late 1970s did it find its audience through repeated TV showings. Frank Capra's masterwork deserves its status as a feelgood communal event, but it is also one of the most fascinating films in the American cinema, a multilayered work of Dickensian density. George Bailey (played superbly by James Stewart) grows up in the small town of Bedford Falls, dreaming dreams of adventure and travel, but circumstances conspire to keep him enslaved to his home turf. Frustrated by his life, and haunted by an impending scandal, George prepares to commit suicide on Christmas Eve. A heavenly messenger (Henry Travers) arrives to show him a vision: what the world would have been like if George had never been born. The sequence is a vivid depiction of the American Dream gone bad, and probably the wildest thing Capra ever shot (the director's optimistic vision may have darkened during his experiences making military films in World War Two).

Capra's triumph is to acknowledge the difficulties and disappointments of life, while affirming--in the teary-eyed final reel--his cherished values of friendship and individual achievement. It's a Wonderful Life was not a big hit on its initial release, and it won no Oscars (Capra and Stewart were nominated); but it continues to weave a special magic.

The original 1947 version of this Valentine Davies story follows the misadventures of Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn) as he gets a job playing Santa Claus at Macy's department store in New York City. Natalie Wood is the little girl who tells him she doesn't believe in Santa, and Maureen O'Hara and John Payne are the couple who help Kris through a trial in which he must prove he's the jolly fellow from the North Pole.

A sweet movie and perennial Christmas favorite, this is one of those movies that gets under your skin and must be revisited every so often.

Following Mary and Joseph’s life for the two years before the birth of Christ. "The Nativity Story" chronicles the arduous journey of two people, Mary and Joseph, a miraculous pregnancy, and the history-defining birth of Jesus.

This dramatic and compelling story comes to life in a major motion picture starring Keisha Castle-Hughes (Whale Rider) as Mary and Oscar-nominee Shoreh Aghdashloo ("House of Sand and Fog") and Oscar Isaac (Syriana) in supporting roles. "The Nativity Story" is directed by Catherine Hardwicke ("Thirteen," "Lords of Dogtown") from a screenplay by Mike Rich ("Finding Forrester," "The Rookie").

The classic Charles Dickens tale about the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge who treats all men with contempt and all kindness as 'humbug'. Probably the finest version made.

A mixed bag as variations on A Christmas Carol go, this 1970 British musical tells the usual story of Scrooge (Albert Finney) and his spirits on Christmas Eve, although the whole thing is set to music by Leslie Bricusse.

Plenty of support, however, from the likes of Roy Kinnear (Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory) and Dame Edith Evans (Tom Jones), the handsome production is directed by veteran Ronald Neame (The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie).

This semi-remake of Holiday Inn (the first movie in which Irving Berlin's perennial, Oscar-winning holiday anthem was featured) doesn't have much of a story, but what it does have is choice: Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, an all-Irving Berlin song score, classy direction by Hollywood vet Michael Curtiz (Casablanca, The Adventures of Robin Hood), VistaVision (the very first feature ever shot in that widescreen format), and ultrafestive Technicolor! Crosby and Kaye are song-and-dance men who hook up, romantically and professionally, with a "sister" act (Clooney and Vera-Ellen) to put on a Big Show to benefit the struggling ski-resort lodge run by the beloved old retired general (Dean Jagger) of their WWII Army outfit.

Crosby is cool, Clooney is warm, Kaye is goofy, and Vera-Ellen is leggy. Songs include: "Sisters" (Crosby and Kaye do their own drag version, too), "Snow", "We'll Follow the Old Man", "Mandy", "Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep" and more. Christmas would be unthinkable without White Christmas.

A Chrismas Too Many is a comedic romp that examines the relationships of the "perfect" Christmas family. When Oscar winning actress Lana Myers decides to invite her estranged family back home to California for the holidays ... everything goes incredibly and inexplicably wrong.

"All I Want For Christmas" is a comedy about two New York City children who launch a hilarious scheme to get what they most want this holiday season. Ethan, a practical older brother, and adorable Hallie, who knows how to charm her way out of a difficult situation, are intent on spending Christmas with their parents, Catherine and Micheal, and grandmother Lillian. As Ethan and Hallie embark on their adventure, almost nothing goes exactly as they planned.

Complicating things is a smarmy businessman named Toney Boer, who has taken an interest in Catherine. Ethan, meanwhile, is preoccupied with not only his parents' romantic dilemma, but also his own - one brought about by his new friendship with Stephanie, his first teenage crush. What evolves is an elaborate scheme involving mice, telephone calls and an ice-cream truck, as Ethan and Hallie try to achieve their goal with the help of Stephanie. The duo's primary obstacle is their mother's fiance, Tony. The children finally succeed with a little Christmas magic from Santa Claus.

When Lucy Cullins, a successful but cranky producer at a home shopping network, hires an actor named Nick to play Santa Claus on the network she gets more than she bargained for.

Nick really is Santa Claus, and he faces mandatory retirement after 200 years on the job. Nick must find his replacement by Christmas Eve or the world will face dire consequences and he has his sights set on Lucy.

It’s turning out to be a pretty rotten Christmas for the Saunders family. Having just moved to Edmonton, Canada, all the way from Los Angeles, Brian and Danny are missing their friends, their dad Wayne has just been laid off, and their mom Judy is stranded at LAX due to Yuletide overbooking. Now Dad’s alone to shop for presents he can’t afford at one of the largest, most magnificent, malls in the world. But while Dad’s off fighting the throngs in this shopalooza of stores, Brian and Danny are stuck watching their 6 year old sister Mary while she stands behind a long line of people waiting to see old St. Nick. Mary's still full of the Christmas spirit, and the unselfish wish she made for her father while perched on Santa’s knee, is about to land right at her feet - except it’s counterfeit.

It seems that Mary just asked the jolly fellow in the red suit for a million dollars to make her daddy happy, and Leo and Sheldon Cardoza, two bumbling crooks, have just lost a satchel of fake Ben Franklins. But the Kooky Cardoza brothers, or as their Cruella de Ville boss calls them “the worthless pieces of lint,” have the situation under control. They just spotted two kids run off with the copied cash, and how hard could it be to catch a couple of kids? With older brother Danny off falling for a blonde beauty he spotted on the beach (yes, this glorious mall has its on wave pool!), younger brother Brian and innocent Mary are on the spending spree of their lives. These inventive adolescents have a plan to lead the clumsy criminals right to the law, all while discovering a magical wonderland right beneath the mall.

The Christmas Shoes bounces between two families - the Layton household, where father Robert (Rob Lowe, The West Wing) is so consumed with his work that he misses his daughter's recital; and the Andrews home, where mother Maggie (Kimberly Williams, According to Jim) has been diagnosed with a fatal heart ailment. Desperate to make his mother's last moments happy, Maggie's son Nathan struggles to buy a pair of red dancing shoes that seem like a pair Maggie remembers from her childhood. Naturally, the lives of these families become intertwined, particularly when Robert's wife takes over Maggie's choral program-which topples the already troubled balance between Kate and Robert.

Perhaps because Rob Lowe is usually stereotyped as glib and insincere, The Christmas Shoes feels surprisingly heartfelt. The earnestness of The Christmas Shoes surprises because the story originated in the famously sappy country song of the same name, and movies based on songs rarely feel anything but plastic and contrived. There are certainly moments when The Christmas Shoes lays on the sentiment woefully thick, but you'd have to be an ogre not to be touched when Maggie and her husband have one last dance.

Imagine a year without Christmas. No crowded malls, no corny office parties, no fruitcakes, no unwanted presents.

That's just what Luther (Allen) and Nora Krank (Curtis) have in mind when they decide that, just this once, they'll skip the holiday altogether, despite the fact that they're usually the most fanatical about it. They might as well, since it won't be the same without their daughter, who's away in the tropics. They get the idea to join their daughter in sunny paradise as a surprise, and thus, theirs will be the only house on Hemlock Street without a rooftop Frosty; they won't be hosting their annual Christmas Eve bash; they aren't even going to have a tree. But when their daughter surprises them by cutting her trip short and returning home for Christmas, there's a mad scramble to prepare themselves to have the traditional Christmas fanfare on extremely short notice.

A family comedy about one-upsmanship, jealousy, clashing neighbors, home decoration and the true spirit of the holidays.

Steve (Matthew Broderick), a suburban dad and Christmas enthusiast, leads a well-ordered, well-planned, and well-organized life. His new neighbor, Buddy (Danny DeVito), is Steve’s polar opposite: a big personality with big dreams, which have yet to materialize. But Buddy’s latest dream - to create the biggest holiday light display in the world, visible from outer space – is turning Steve’s disciplined world into a chaotic nightmare. As Buddy’s home explodes with festive lights of incredible design, increasing complexity, and exponentially-growing wattage, Steve becomes a man on a mission. At any cost, he will thwart Buddy – or top him.

Will Ferrell makes yet another memorable splash on the big screen in Jon Favreau's sweet and hilarious Christmas fable. Ferrell is Buddy, an innocent figure who was raised as an elf in the North Pole by his adoptive father, Papa Elf (Bob Newhart). When Buddy discovers that he's actually a human being, he heads to New York City to reunite with his biological father. The trouble is that his dad, Walter (James Caan), is a publishing executive who doesn't have time for anything other than work. Buddy moves in with Walter and his family, and proceeds to teach them a lesson or two about what being a family really means. Meanwhile, he also falls head over heels in love with the incredibly cute department store clerk, Jovie (Zooey Deschanel). By the time Christmas Eve rolls around, the general lack of spirit in the air threatens to ground Santa for the big night. He must rely on Buddy's expertise and overall enthusiasm to ensure that Christmas will be saved once again.

Favreau's film is family entertainment at its finest, featuring a performance by Ferrell that is at once innocent, tender, and laugh-out-loud funny. A stellar supporting cast - including Caan, Deschanel, Newhart, and Faizon Love - adds to the film's already overabundant charm.

When upsacle, happily unmarried San Franscisco couple Kate and Brad find themseleves socked in by fog on Christmas morning, their exotic vacation plans morph into the family-centric holiday they had, until now, gleefully avoided. Out of obligation - unable to escape - they trudge to not one, not two, but four relative-choked festivities, increasingly mortified to find childhood fears raised, adolescent wounds reopened ... and their very future uncertain. As Brad counts the hours to when he can get away from their parents, step-parents, siblings and an assortment of neices and nephews, Kate is starting to hear the ticking of a different kind of clock. And by the end of the day, she is beginning to wonder if their crazy families' choices are not so crazy after all.

Fred Claus has lived his entire life in his brother's very large shadow. Fred tried, but could hardly live up to the example set by the younger Nicholas, who was just a perfect, well, saint.

True to form, Nicholas grew up to be the model of giving, while Fred became the polar opposite: a fast-talking repo man who's run out of luck and money. Over Mrs. Claus' objections, Nicholas agrees to help his brother on one condition: that he come to the North Pole and earn the money he needs by working in Santa's Toy Shop. The trouble is that Fred isn't exactly elf material and, with Christmas fast approaching, Fred could jeopardize the jolliest holiday of the year.

Jim Carrey is up to all his old tricks (and some nifty new ones) in The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, a live-action film of Dr Seuss's holiday classic. Under a thick carpet of green-dyed yak fur and wonderfully expressive Rick Baker makeup, he commands the title role with equal parts madness, mayhem, pathos and improvisational genius, channelling Grinchness through his own screen persona so smoothly that fans of both Carrey and Dr Seuss will be thoroughly satisfied.

Adding to the fun is a perfectly pitched back-story sequence (accompanied by Anthony Hopkins's narration) that explains how the Grinch came to hate Christmas, with a heart "two sizes too small". Ron Howard proves a fine choice for the director's chair with a keen balance of comedy, sentiment and light-hearted Seussian whimsy. If a film can unleash Jim Carrey at his finest, revamp the Grinch story and still pay tribute to the legacy of Dr Seuss, you can bet it qualifies as rousing entertainment.

In writer/director Nancy Meyers' ("Something's Gotta Give," "What Women Want") "The Holiday," two women on opposite sides of the globe, Amanda Woods (Cameron Diaz) and Iris Simpkins (Kate Winslet) find themselves in a similar predicament.

Desperate for a change of scenery, the two women meet on the internet and swap houses for the Christmas holiday discovering that a change of address really can change your life.

Now and forever a favourite among kids, this 1990 comedy written by John Hughes (The Breakfast Club) and directed by Chris Columbus (Mrs. Doubtfire) ushered Macaulay Culkin onto the screen as a troubled 8-year-old who doesn't comfortably mesh with his large family. He's forced to grow a little after being accidentally left behind when his folks and siblings fly off to Paris.

A good-looking boy, Culkin lights up the screen during several funny sequences, the most famous of which finds him screaming for joy when he realises he's unsupervised in his own house. A bit wooden with dialogue, the then-little star's voice could grate on the nerves (especially in long, wise-child passages of pure bromide), but he unquestionably carries Home Alone. Billie Bird and John Candy show up as two of the interesting strangers Culkin's character meets. Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern are entertainingly cartoonish as thieves, but the ensuing violence once the little hero decides to keep them out of his house is over-the-top.

This somewhat unpleasant 1992 sequel to the blockbuster Home Alone revisits the first film's gimmick by stranding Macaulay Culkin's character in New York City while his family ends up somewhere else.

Again, the little guy meets up with colourful people on the margins of society (including a pigeon woman played by Brenda Fricker) and again he gets into a prop-heavy battle with Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern. The latter sequence is even worse than the first film in terms of violence inflicted on the two villains (director Chris Columbus, who also made the first film, can't seem to emphasise the slapstick over the graphic effects of the fight). The best running joke finds a concierge (Tim Curry) at the swank hotel where Culkin is staying trying and failing to prove that the boy is on his own.

A band of international crooks has hidden a military computer chip inside a toy car, but an airport mix-up lands it in the hands of whiz-kid Alex Pruitt (Alex D. Linz) who's home alone with the chicken pox in a quiet Chicago suburb.

When the criminals zero in on Alex's house with their high-tech gadgetry, madness and mayhem kick into high gear as the pint-sized hero defends himself against the bumbling bad guys -armed with an outrageous array of ambushes and booby traps!

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sinbad star in this frivolous comedy about two fathers who are trying to locate and purchase the same hugely popular action toy on Christmas Eve. Schwarzenegger plays a busy father who makes lots of promises to his son that he can't keep, while Sinbad is a crazy postman just trying to make his boy happy.

There are some truly comic moments in the film, such as the sight of Schwarzenegger being chased by a reindeer, and the obsequious efforts of a neighbor (Phil Hartman) to insinuate himself on Schwarzenegger's wife in the big man's continual absence.

From the new bachelor Prime Minister (Hugh Grant) instantly falling in love with a refreshingly real member of the staff (Martine McCutcheon) moments after entering 10 Downing Street, to a writer (Colin Firth) escaping to the south of France to nurse his re-broken heart who finds love in a lake, from a comfortably married woman (Emma Thompson) suspecting that her husband (Alan Rickman) is slipping away, to a new bride (Keira Knightley) mistaking the distance of her husband's best friend for something it's not, to a widowed stepfather (Liam Neeson) trying to connect with a son he suddenly barely knows, from a lovelorn junior manager (Laura Linney) seizing a chance with her long-tended, unspoken office crush, to an ageing "seen it all, remember very little of it" rock star (Bill Nighy) staging an end-of-career comeback in his own uncompromising way. All set against a glorious Christmas backdrop.

Pretty good remake of the 1947 charmer. Attenborough is wonderful as the man who calls himself Kris Kringle, and Wilson is irresistible as the little girl who doesn't believe in Santa.

Loses its way whenever it veers from the original script--as in the relationship between Mara's mom (Perkins) and her neighbor/friend (McDermott) ... and when it manages to keep the adorable youngster off-screen for a long, dull chunk of story. Tellingly, this version is almost 20 minutes longer than the earlier film. Produced and written by John Hughes.

The third instalment of the Griswold family saga is a significant improvement over their previous vacation (National Lampoon's European Vacation). Disaster-prone dad (Chevy Chase) discovers just how dangerous the Christmas season really is, as the Griswolds' old-fashioned holiday celebration turns out to be more "Bah! Humbug!" than Christmas cheer.

Chase is right at home with the outrageous slapstick and often cheerfully tasteless humour and John Hughes's script is stuffed full of classic Christmas movie references. However, Randy Quaid practically steals the film as the unemployed relative with his malicious grin and mooching lifestyle. Not exactly a holiday classic and a bit spotty but this gag-filled comedy is just obnoxious enough for the Scrooge lurking inside everyone. And fear not, a happy ending awaits all.

Grab a box of tissues, gather your loved ones around a cozy television, and bring on the hot cocoa - it's time for a dose of Christmas spirit. The tender and charming Mary Steenburgen (Parenthood) dons a sour disposition in her role as Ginny Grainger, a woman who finds little joy in life lately - let alone in the impending holiday season. Money is tight, her husband (beautifully downplayed by nice-guy Gary Basaraba) lost his job, and the family must move out of their house. Ginny cannot even bring herself to say, "Merry Christmas," despite her family's enthusiasm about the big day. With help from Ginny's brave and loving daughter (sweetly performed by Elisabeth Harnois) and a Christmas angel named Gideon (Harry Dean Stanton), Ginny undergoes a life-altering experience à la It's a Wonderful Life. The result? Happy endings, hugs and kisses, pass the tissues.

Not a light holiday entertainer by any means, the plot verges on depressing at times, as the family struggles through money issues and the tedium of daily suburban survival. While handled fairly subtly, some of the bridging story--including a shooting, a kidnapping, and a drowning--might prove disturbing to children under 6 years old. And really: if the somber Harry Dean Stanton (Paris, Texas) repeatedly appeared in your neighborhood, cloaked in a cowboy hat and overcoat, would you allow your kids outside? Still, a well-made favorite to cherish.

The first half of this film, set hundreds of years ago, shows how the old man who eventually became Santa Claus was given immortality and chosen to deliver toys to all the children of the world.

The second half moves into the modern era, in which Patch, the head elf, strikes out on his own and falls in with an evil toy manufacturer who wants to corner the market and eliminate Santa Claus.

Tim Allen makes an impressive screen debut in Disney's well-written holiday film, The Santa Clause. Divorced toy company executive Scott Calvin is pleased to have his son Charlie for Christmas, though the boy himself isn't happy about it. But when Santa Claus accidentally topples off the roof of the house and falls with a thud in the snow, Scott finds himself taking the merry old elf's place and earning new respect in his son's eyes. When the night ends, the reindeer take them to the North Pole, and Scott discovers that by donning the fabled red suit, he's inadvertently agreed to become the next Santa Claus. The next morning he wakes up in his own bed and thinks it's all a dream - but Charlie remembers it with crystal clarity. Scott now has to deal with his suspicious ex-wife (Wendy Crewson) and her psychiatrist boyfriend (Judge Reinhold), who both think he's playing tricks with Charlie's mind, and also with his own out-of-control body, which is putting on weight and growing a prodigious beard.

The Santa Clause probably won't supplant It's a Wonderful Life or Miracle on 34th Street as anyone's favourite Christmas film, but it's an enjoyable, straightforward family film, anchored by the affable charisma of Allen.

After eight years of being Father Christmas, Scott Calvin, discovers that he must find a Mrs Claus ... He sets out to find a suitable woman but unfortunately this proves to be quite a difficult task. In order for Scott to take time off and search for a wife he creates a toy Santa but the new Father Christmas seems to be making some very strange changes ...

Holiday magic mixes with comical chaos at the North Pole in "Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause". Tim Allen reprises his role of Scott Calvin - AKA Santa - as he juggles a full house of family and the mischievous Jack Frost (Martin Short), who is trying to take over the "big guy's" holiday.

At the risk of giving away the secret location of the North Pole, Scott invites his in-laws (Ann-Margret & Alan Arkin) to share in the holiday festivities, and upcoming birth of baby Claus with expectant wife, Carol, - AKA Mrs. Claus (Elizabeth Mitchell).

Along for the adventure are Scott's extended family, son Charlie (Eric Lloyd), ex-wife Laura Miller (Wendy Crewson), her husband, Neil Miller (Judge Reinhold) and their daughter, Lucy (Liliana Mumy) who, together with head elf Curtis (Spencer Breslin), foil Jack Frost's crafty scheme to control the North Pole.

Leslie Nielsen tones down the bumbling for Santa Who? but wearing a belly like a bowl full of jelly does little to diminish his trademark dimwittedness, which is what gets the bells ringing on this St. Nick flick. Peter Albright, self-involved TV reporter, can't believe his luck when Santa, presumably the for-hire variety, sails into his windshield and gets amnesia - what a story! When his search for Santa's family stops short at the North Pole, his humbug infestation subsides, setting him free to make merry.

Predictability aside, Santa Who? drags a sleigh-full of better than average shenanigans into living rooms, making this a winter-evening warmer for the whole family.

Most critics couldn't get behind Bill Murray's modern retelling of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, finding it too unfocused at times and not nearly wicked enough. Still, if you are a Murray fan, you have to enjoy his deliciously nasty portrayal of the world's meanest TV executive, who has his cathartic moment one cold Christmas night in New York City.

The various ghosts lead him on a ghost-town tour of Manhattan, with stops at holidays past, present and future and a Kumbaya moment when Al Green and Annie Lennox sing "Put a Little Love in Your Heart". The effects are otherworldly, but one wishes the writing were as sharp as Murray's edgy portrayal.

A rich record executive (Affleck) stuck with spending Christmas alone (after his girlfriend, played by Morrison, dumps him) decides to return to the one place where he was once happiest, his childhood home, asking the family that lives there now to take him in for their holiday celebrations, but he discovers that his new "family" is even more psychopathic than his real kin. (Applegate plays the daughter of the family, an intelligent scientist; Gandolfini and O'Hara play the parents).

This year, Christmas with the Whitfield's promises to be one they will never forget. All the siblings have come home for the first time in years and they've brought plenty of baggage with them.

As the Christmas tree is trimmed and the lights are hung, secrets are revealed and family bonds are tested. As their lives converge, they join together and help each other discover the true meaning of family.

If you don't mind a heavy dose of schmaltz and sentiment, this romantic comedy has a gentle way of seducing you with its charms. And most importantly - the story is set around Christmas. While You Were Sleeping was the first starring role for Sandra Bullock after her blockbuster success in Speed. In a role that nicely emphasises her easygoing appeal, Bullock is the reason the movie works at all. She plays Lucy Eleanor Moderatz, a Chicago Transit tollbooth clerk who's hopelessly smitten with a daily commuter, Peter Callaghan (Peter Gallagher). She saves the object of her affection from certain death after he's mugged and falls onto the train tracks. While Peter is in a coma, she lets his family believe that she is his fiancée, and surprisingly finds herself drawn to his brother (Bill Pullman), for whom the attraction is definitely mutual.

How Lucy gets out of this amorous predicament is what makes this pleasant movie less predictable than its familiar ingredients would initially indicate. It's feel-good fluff, with characters and performances that keep you smiling through the drippy plot mechanics.

The events unfold between the time in the first film where Belle bartered herself to the Beast and her later return to the village to save her father. So the Beast's heart still hasn't been melted yet and he's susceptible to the inky persuasions of Forte (Tim Curry), a malevolent pipe organ (and former music teacher to the prince). Belle is still trying to win over the Beast and decides that bringing Christmas to the castle will be the way to do it. Please control that gag reflex for this does work remarkably well and though entirely unnecessary and certainly not a complement to the original, it doesn't tarnish its good name.

Join Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy and many more Disney favourites for a special Yuletide collection of classic moments. Featuring Chip ‘n’ Dale, Cruella De Vil and many other Disney superstars this is the perfect animated stocking filler for Christmas and just the thing to amuse kids of all ages during the quieter moments of the big day. So trust in that old time Disney magic with the gift that really can make it Christmas every day.

To heck with the kids -this is one of the best Christmas presents you can give yourself. Adapted from the children's book by Dr Seuss, this charming story is one to watch every holiday season. It is just edgy enough to help you forget the more cloying aspects of Christmas. It is also sweet enough to remind you of the reason for all that holiday cheer. Animation genius Chuck Jones directed this 1966 television production featuring the voice of Boris Karloff as the mean greenie. Bitter and selfish, the Grinch decides to steal Christmas away from the Whos, sweet little folk at the bottom of his mountain that is his home. When little Cindy Loo Who returns his hateful act with kindness, she melts the old miser's heart.

There are many reasons to watch this: inventive wordplay, Karloff's impressive narration and a very memorable soundtrack.

I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown! centers on ReRun, the lovable but ever-skeptical younger brother of Linus and Lucy. It's Christmas vacation and, as usual, ReRun's big sister is stressing him out, so he decides to turn to his best friend, Snoopy, for amusement and holiday cheer. However his faithful but unpredictable beagle companion has plans of his own, giving ReRun reason to ask Snoopy to invite his canine brother Spike for a visit. When Spike shows up, it looks like ReRun will have a dog for Christmas after all... but then the real trouble begins.

The special begins with the short Pluto's Christmas Tree and ends with the entire 1983 short film Mickey's Christmas Carol. However, the highlight is a comic retelling of The Nutcracker with Donald as a reluctant Mouse King (complete with phony Mickey Mouse ears) and John Cleese as the exasperated narrator. The special is utterly unmemorable as a whole, but nonetheless bright, light, cute and sure to keep the attentions of young tots.

Donald Duck's nephews learn why holidays come once a year, Goofy and son discover the spirit of Santa, and Mickey and Minnie re-enact a classic tale of giving in this holiday offering. Kelsey Grammer (TV's Frasier) narrates as Donald hosts Christmas at his house, complete with an egg and pancake breakfast, a sledge for each duckling in the closet, and Daisy under the mistletoe. But the celebration gets old fast when the boys' wish for Christmas every day comes true.

Next up, Goofy's son wonders whether there is a Santa after the villainous Pete tells him there's not and he catches Dad impersonating the portly gift-giver. Goofy demonstrates the spirit of giving by taking a meal and presents to less-fortunate neighbours and, many Goofy-style mishaps later, father and son have a surprise visitor.

In the third story, the mouse lovebirds give an updated spin to O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi", with Minnie having the heirloom watch with no chain and Mickey a harmonica with no case. This trio of Christmas stories adds up to an hour of heartfelt fun, capped off by the gang singing "Jingle Bells".

Mickey and the gang team up for a new holiday adventure and for the first time ever they are all computer animated. There will be five mini films that include: Belles on Ice, Christmas:Impossible, Christmas Maximus, Donald's Gift, Mickey's Dog-Gone Christmas.

Brian Henson directs his late father's creations in the Charles Dickens classic, the best known (and most oft-filmed) Christmas story of all time. Michael Caine plays the old miser Scrooge with Kermit as his long-suffering but ever-hopeful employee Bob Cratchit, Miss Piggy as Cratchit's wife, and a host of Muppets (including the Great Gonzo as an unlikely Charles Dickens) taking other primary roles in this bright, playful adaptation of the sombre tale. Or at least it starts brightly enough - the anarchic humour soon settles into mirthful memories and a sense of melancholy as the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future take Scrooge on a journey of his lonely, wasted life.

Michael Caine makes a wonderful Scrooge, delightfully rediscovering the meaning of life as fantastic creations from Henson's Creature Shop (developed specially for this film) take the reins as the three ghosts. While the odd mix of offbeat humour and sombre drama undercuts the power of Dickens's drama, this kid-friendly retelling makes an excellent family drama that adults and children alike can enjoy.

For those who never thought Disney would release a film in which Santa Claus is kidnapped and tortured, well, here it is.

The full title is Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, which should give you an idea of the tone of this stop-action animated musical/fantasy/horror/comedy. It is based on characters created by Burton, the former Disney animator best known as the director of Pee-wee's Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands and the first two Batman movies. His benignly scary-funny sensibility dominates the story of Halloweentown resident Jack Skellington (voice by Danny Elfman, who also wrote the songs), who stumbles on a bizarre and fascinating alternative universe called ... Christmastown!

Santa Claus does not exist. Or does he? For one doubting boy (voice of Daryl Sabara and Tom Hanks), an astonishing event occurs.

Late on Christmas Eve night, he lies in bed hoping to hear the sound of reindeer bells from Santa's sleigh. When to his surprise, a steam engine's roar and whistle can be heard outside his window. The conductor (voice of Tom Hanks) invites him on board to take an extraordinary journey to the North Pole with many other pajama-clad children. There, he receives an extraordinary gift only those who still believe in Santa can experience.

This animated TV special features the Shrek characters putting their own spin on holiday traditions. It's Christmas Eve, and everyone is filled with holiday cheer, except for Shrek. He isn't exactly the picture of yuletide joy but, for the sake of Fiona and the kids, he tries to get into the spirit of things as only an ogre can.

Unfortunately, everyone seems to have their own ideas on what Christmas is all about, so when Donkey, Puss In Boots, the Gingerbread Man and the whole gang try to join in on the fun, Shrek's plans for a cosy family celebration end up spiralling into one truly unforgettable Christmas.

Spend Christmas with The Simpsons, episodes include 'The Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire', 'Mr. Plow', 'Miracle On Evergreen Terrace', 'Grift Of The Magi' and 'She Of Little Faith'.