This is the season of joy, giving and love, and nothing says Christmas cheer like a good Christmas movie. I’m not talking about the B-movies on the Hallmark Channel because they’re all the same. (Someone who hates Christmas, finds a significant other and suddenly loves Christmas.) Despite these cheesy movies, there are those classic Christmas movies that everyone loves. Here are the top 10 Christmas movies that I recommend to watch this season.

Number 10 is actually a series of movies. The Santa Clause movies with Tim Allen are movies that I grew up watching. They had good plots and are full of Christmas spirit. Fun fact: the third movie came out on my 10th birthday.

Number 9 is the animated A Christmas Carol that came out in 2009 with Jim Carrey as the voice of Ebenezer Scrooge. Great digital mastery in this flick.

Number 8 is The Year Without A Santa Claus. It is an animated movie that came out in 1974 with a killer sound track. It is a timeless classic that I watch every year.

Number 7 is The Polar Express with Tom Hanks as the conductor. This digital wonder never fails to give me hope.

Number 6 is The Nightmare Before Christmas. I am a fan of Tim Burton’s movies, and I especially enjoy this one.

Number 5 is the animated Dr. Seuss’s How The Grinch Stole Christmas. When I was little, my parents would put on a movie while they decorated the house. One particular Christmas I watched that movie over and over again. My parents would ask which movie I wanted to watch and my response was always, “The Grinch!”

Number 4 is the original Home Alone. It fascinates me every time when the kid sets up all the booby-traps and defeats the bad guys. It is fun from beginning to end.

Number 3 is Jim Carrey’s How The Grinch Stole Christmas. It brings the classic animated movie to a whole new level by putting it in real life. It’s funny and heart-warming. (Jim Carrey seems to be in a lot of Christmas movies.)

Number 2 is Elf. Will Ferrell is hilarious. Every year we have to watch it, and it always makes me laugh.

Number 1 is It’s a Wonderful Life. It is a black and white classic that never fails to put me in the Christmas spirit.

There are several other movies that I have been told are wonderful as well, like Love Actually and Miracle on 34th Street, but I intend to watch them so maybe my favorites will change next year, but for now, these 10 are my favorites, and I hope you enjoy them, too.