10 Must-See Holiday Movies and Where to Rent to Them

Make it a movie night and get into the holiday spirit. There are certain movies that we watch year after year: some from childhood, some remakes of classics, and some that were made before we were born. Here are some suggestions from those who rent DVDs.

1. April Sanicola, who owns along with her husband Charles Sanicola, suggested her favorite, White Christmas (1954). Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney sing and dance to save a failing Vermont Inn.

2. Elf (2003) starring Will Ferrel is a shared favorite of the Sanicolas and a movie that Lisa Kramer, who works at the circulation desk of the said is a popular rental this time of year. Ferrel plays an elf at the North Pole who is sent to the United States in search of his true identity.

3. It's a Wonderful Life, the 1946 classic starring James Stewart, will be shown at on Dec. 19 at 3 p.m., as part of a cross-promotion with . If you can't see the screening at Guild Hall, Springs Fireplace Video has it in their collection.

4. At the , The Bishop's Wife from 1947, starring Cary Grant and Loretta Young, about a bishop praying for guidance to build a new cathedral when an angel (Grant) appears, will be screened at the  on Dec. 16 at 7 p.m. The movie will then be available in the movie collection.

5. One of Charles Sanicola's favorites is The Grinch from 2000 starring Jim Carrey.  It's a live-action re-make of the classic cartoon, Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Sanicola said he prefers it slightly better than another Carrey Christmas movie, A Christmas Carol, based on the Dickens classic.

6. Little Women (1994) based on the book by Alice Wolcott is especially popular with patrons this time of year at the East Hampton Library. Sheila Dunlop at the library also likes the movie and said, "It's not so much a Christmas movie as it just conveys the spirit of Christmas."

7. A Christmas Story (1983) is another one of Dunlop's favorites. Set in the 1940s, it's the story of Ralphie Parker who just wants a Red Ryder BB gun. Dunlop can quote the most famous line from the movie: "No, you'll put your eye out." 

8.Karen Rade of the Montauk Library said her favorite is Christmas in Connecticut from 1945 starring Barabara Stanwyck and Dennis Morgan. IMDB gives the synopsis "A food writer who has lied about being the perfect housewife must try to cover her deception when her boss and a returning war hero invite themselves to her home for a traditional family Christmas."

9. Then, of course, there's Miracle on 34th Street (1947) starring Edmund Gwenn, Maureen O'Hara, and little Natalie Wood. A man goes on trial for claiming to be Kris Kringle and causes an upheaval. It's another favorite of Rade's.

10. Home Alone (1990) and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) make a great double feature. The hi-jinks of young Kevin McCallister, played by Macaulay Culkin, as he lays snares for two blundering criminals who are after him are great, light-hearted fun.