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Almost everybody has at least a couple of holiday movies they must watch every year. Maybe you always tune into the annual Christmas Story Marathon. You certainly aren’t alone if your Xmas season is not complete without seeing Julia Louis-Dreyfus attacked by a crazed squirrel. The Christmas season is perfect for spending an evening in front of the big screen enjoying a great movie.
Xmas is also the perfect time of year to check out some new books. If you love Xmas movies, we bet we can help you find some great books as well. Here are 10 books to read based upon your favorite Xmas movies.
(c) Amazon
1. Are You a Fan of Bad Santa? Check Out Christmas Letters From Hell: All The News we Hate From The People we Love
If you loved Bad Santa, we bet you prefer a darker more sardonic take on the holidays. That’s why you should check out, Christmas Letters From Hell: All The News we Hate From the people we Love. Everybody has at least one person who insists upon sending out an annual family update with news such as:
● Dad Got His Gallbladder Removed
● Michael Jr. Was Just Accepted Into Devry
● Bubbles The Hamster Has Crossed The Rainbow Bridge
● After Last Years Debacle Aunt Marney Will No Longer Be Handling Family Dinners
● Great, Mom Won’t be Baking Fruitcake For The Auxiliary This Year
These updates might be grating, but you will feel much better about the state of you and yours after reading some of these letters.
(c) Pinterest
2. Do You Love A Miracle on 34th Street? Read The Night Before Christmas
One uplifting classic deserves another! A Miracle on 34th Street is all about the good that can happen if people just have hope that Santa will come. The Night Before Christmas might be a short read, but it is a great way to set a holiday mood. Why not start Christmas with this classic movie and end it with a reading of this perennial holiday classic.
(c) Amazon
3. Can’t Miss National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation? Add Holidays on Ice to Your Kindle
This hilarious movie details yet another saga in the lives of Clark Griswold and his clan. Even if you haven’t seen the movie itself, chances are you are familiar with at least a few of the funny if not more than a little profane scenes.
This movie shows that the holidays nearly never works out perfectly, but that there can still be fun had by all. One book that shines a similarly, brutally honest spotlight on Christmas is Holidays on Ice. This is a collection of essays by humorist, David Sedaris all covering various aspects of this holiday.
(c) American Library Association
4. Is A Charlie Brown Christmas in Your Blu-Ray Collection? Read The Polar Express
Who doesn’t love this movie. It takes a cold cold soul not to tear up at Linus’ monologue, or to bop along to Schroeder’s musical virtuosity. There’s definitely a reason this one is a classic, and still makes it way onto network television every season after all of these years.
So, what should you read if you love this movie? How about the Polar Express. Like the Charlie Brown Christmas, it’s all about the power of belief. Yes, there’s also a movie, and to be honest we love it as well. But, before you check it out, read the book. It really is special.
(c) Pinterest
5. Does Scrooged Crack You up? Go Back to The Original And Check Out A Christmas Carol
Scrooged Is a gut bustingly hilarious take on Lewis Carroll’s A Christmas Carol. It is definitely well worth the watch, even though you’ll probably have to do a bit of searching in order to find it. If you are already a fan, hit the library and check out the OG. The book is an amazing piece of literature, and definitely stands the test of time.
(c) Simon and Schuster Canada
6. If The Santa Clause is on Your Nice List Try Sketchy Santas: A Lighter Look at The Dark Side of Saint Nick
The premise behind The Santa Clause is to pull back the curtain and show audiences the sausage making that goes on behind the scenes at the North Pole. Namely, the fact that instead of an immortal being, Santa is just as capable of kicking the bucket as anyone else, and whoever happens to be nearby at that moment gets stuck with the job.
Sketchy Santas started as a meme and humor site on the internet. The idea was to feature the often unintentionally creepy side of the shopping mall Santa. Talk about pulling back the curtain. Eventually, some wise (and financially savvy) person decided to curate all of this into a book for your pleasure. This is also one of the more popular holiday books for students.
(c) Suzanne Woods Fisher
7. If Dutch is on Your Not to Miss List You Might Like The Christmas Joy Ride
If you love Dutch, it’s no wonder. This highly underrated Ed O’Neill vehicle is both funny and touching. It features the misadventures of a spoiled, misguided boarding school punk and his mother’s boyfriend as they make their way across country to get home for Christmas. During the trip, the boy learns important life lessons in humility and kindness, and that things aren’t always as they seem.
The Christmas Joy Ride contains many similar elements, and is also a compelling holiday road trip movie. This time, instead of a teenager and his newly found father figure, the main characters are an elderly woman driving to her new retirement home in an RV decked in Christmas lights and her down on her luck neighbor.
(c) Bella Online
8. Is Die Hard Your Favorite? We Recommend Merry Christmas, Alex Cross
Die Hard is a movie that is all about some poor guy who just wants to spend Christmas with his family, but ends up single handedly fighting off terrorists instead. It’s a Christmas classic that is truly unique in its own right.
If the story line in Die Hard appeals to you, check out the James Patterson novel Merry Christmas, Alex Cross. It’s a story about a hostage negotiator who begins Christmas Eve investigating the theft of a church poor box, and who ends the evening navigating an intense hostage negotiation. Who said Christmas stories had to have snowmen and reindeer?
(c) Simon and Schuster Canada
9. If You Enjoyed The Nightmare Before Christmas Read The Gift of The Magi
Halloween theme and typical Tim Burton elements aside, The Nightmare Before Christmas is ultimately a love story. That’s always perfect for this time of year. If you enjoy this movie, take a look at what might be one of the sweetest Christmas stories ever by O. Henry.
In The Gift of The Magi, a couple who loves one another each gives the other the perfect Christmas gift. Unfortunately, a sad yet touching twist means that neither will be able to enjoy their gifts.
(c) Life of Android
10. Is Home Alone The Best Christmas Movie Ever? You Should Read How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Poor Kevin McCallister begins the story absolutely bitter about the holidays and feeling as if he doesn’t fit into his family at all. Then he’s forced to spend Christmas home alone without them. It gives him some real insight into the true meaning of the holidays.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas is another timeless Christmas classic that also shows the holiday redemption of someone who started off decidedly, well…grinchy.