Forty-five Longhorn students picked their favorite Christmas movie from a list of fifteen classics to get into the holiday festivities. 

The films to select from were Elf, Home Alone, A Christmas Story, The Grinch (Jim Carey version), The Polar Express, It’s a Wonderful Life, Frosty the Snowman, A Charlie Brown Christmas, The Santa Clause, The Holiday, Love Actually, Miracle on 34th Street, White Christmas, Die Hard, and Gremlins. 

Home Alone was the top holiday movie with seventeen out of forty-five students voting for this film. The story focuses on eight-year-old Kevin, who gets stranded by himself at his house while his family goes on Christmas vacation. When two thieves attempt to rob his house, it is up to him to stop them and protect his home.

“I like Home Alone because the kid is pretty cool… he’s strategic. As a little kid, I wanted to be him,” senior Dylan Monahan remembered.

“I love this movie because my family and I used to watch it every year together while we ate Christmas Cookies and decorated our tree,” an anonymous junior stated.

Elf was the second most-beloved film among Lamberts’ students, with seven students choosing this movie. This film depicts the story of Buddy the Elf, who discovers that he is human and that his birth father lives in New York City. It shows his journey of searching for his father, adjusting to the real world, and discovering love.  

“Elf is my favorite Christmas movie because it is very funny, and I can quote it line for line,” Rainey Morris, a sophomore, said. 

The Longhorn community voted The Polar Express their third choice. The Polar Express is a book-based, 2004 movie, featuring a skeptical little boy who wakes up to a train bustling with Christmas cheer. The train takes him on a journey to the North Pole and through self-actualization. 

Sasha Looby, a junior, chose this as her favorite as it “reminded [it] of [her] childhood and has an incredible storyline.” 

The Longhorn Nation came together to celebrate cherished films that remind them of the traditions they hold dear to their hearts and what this time of year is truly about.