Friday roundup: holiday movie edition

22 shopping days left until Christmas. Luckily, my list is completely done. As the lady on the Wal-Mart commercial says, BOOM!

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So after an online bantering session yesterday with Laura and Kanesha in which we discussed the importance of having a go-to movie to watch while wrapping presents, I decided today's roundup would be focused on a theme: my favorite holiday movies of all time.

(left to right, top to bottom, 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9)

Okay, so some of my choices are pretty typical (White Christmas, A Christmas Story, It's a Wonderful Life). But don't you just feel so holly-jolly-holiday after seeing them?

As for the rest of the list, here's why:

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation: My husband and his father love this movie. Actually, love isn't a strong enough word. They recite lines from it all year round, and when they watch it (every year on the Friday after Thanksgiving), they start laughing before the funny stuff happens. Like, laughing so hard they are crying. Now that we've been together for 11 years, I've been subjected to it enough times that I'm starting to crack up prior to the punch lines, too. Also, we own those moose mugs.

Little Women: I watch this movie every year when I'm wrapping presents. It's sappy, but the feminist, progressive family in this story makes my heart sing. When their father comes home from fighting in the Civil War to celebrate Christmas with them? Get the kleenex! (Pretty sure another blogger admitted once to this movie being a guilty pleasure, which is why I started reading her blog in the first place!)

Home for the Holidays: This is technically a Thanksgiving movie, but I think it easily makes the cut. The family dynamics here are pitch-perfect, as is the cast (Holly Hunter, Anne Bancroft, Robert Downey Jr.). The dinner scene is totally priceless. If you haven't ever seen it, it's worth a rental -- clever, funny, and true.

Bridget Jones's Diary: Maybe this doesn't jump to your mind as a Christmas movie, but it starts and ends smack dab in the holiday season. From the turkey curry buffet to the ruby wedding party, every minute of this movie makes me laugh. And it's amazing to see Hugh Grant playing a cad, finally. "'Seasons of mist and mellow fruitfulness!' Ah, f@$* me, I love Keats!"

About a Boy: Remember what I was saying about Hugh Grant? Yep, true again here. Another not-so-obvious Christmas connection, but it does have two holiday scenes in it -- and it's totally heartwarming to watch a complete cad be transformed by his love for someone unexpected. Also, Badly Drawn Boy's soundtrack is one of the best ever.

Love Actually: I bawled my eyes out when I saw this movie in the theater way back when I was student teaching. Big time Christmas theme running throughout, and you cannot beat the Dickens-esque connections between all of the separate vignettes. Such a good movie about all different kinds of love. Plus, Aurelia is so cute, isn't she?

So that brings my grand total to nine -- what should be the tenth movie on my holiday must list? Leave me a comment with your suggestion!