BBC Radio’s movie critic James King put together a list of classic Christmas movies for Radio 2 listeners to vote on the Twelve Films of Christmas

Certain Christmas films come up time and time again in lists, and it’s no surprise (given the long list was curated in advance) to find most of them cropping up in the list of Twelve Films of Christmas. We certainly can’t argue with the top 3:

1 It’s a Wonderful Life (1947)

2 Die Hard (1989)

3 The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)

James King had this to say about the winner:

It’s a Wonderful Life is what Christmas is all about: friendship, kindness and the importance of family, even in the toughest times. I’m so happy that it’s still warming hearts of all ages 74 years after it first came out and it feels especially poignant after a tough 2020 for so many.

He then goes on to mention how the list demonstrates the Christmas film credentials of Die Hard, as if that were needed!

The rest of the list contains much familiar fare, with Home Alone and Elf making up the top five. Lower down we have classics such as White Christmas, Miracle on 34th Street and Love Actually. There’s no place for The Santa Clause and the 1951 version of Scrooge only scrapes in at number 12.

You can see the full list here.