It’s Christmas again. Thanksgiving barely passed, yet some already put up Christmas lights. As people get ready for the Christmas season — stocking up on hot chocolate mixes, buying ornaments for the Christmas tree — there is one important detail that can’t be forgotten. Christmas movies. Even in quarantine, the family Christmas movie tradition continues.

“We would watch them (movies) in the living room and watch any Christmas movie whether it be old or new,” junior Dylan Duque said. “However the family favorite would be Frosty the Snowman.”

Many people like watching classic Christmas movies that have been played many times.

“My family and I really like watching Meet me in St. Louis, Elf, Mickey Mouse Christmas specials and Rudolf the Red-Nosed-Reindeer,”   Franklin High School junior Savanna Ashby said.

People have been watching movies like The Grinch Who Stole Christmas or The Polar Express since elementary school. Many agree that classics like these never get old. However, there are a lot of other Christmas movies.

“We also enjoy a large variety of new Christmas movies that may appear on Netflix,” Ashby said. “One of them was Christmas on the Square by Dolly Parton. It is a sweet and heartwarming movie with catchy music, funny lines, and a good message. However, it is rather cheesy and cliche, so we skipped some parts.”

Heartwarming stories about friendship and family are also Christmas movie favorites.

“Another one we watched was Shoelaces for Christmas. It is about a self-centered girl whose father wants her to be more responsible after her mother becomes ill. She had to help out at a homeless center where she meets a girl who never talks, teaching her to be more caring,” Ashby said.

Although the family Christmas movie tradition is a lovely time for many people, there are some who like to watch Christmas movies alone.

“I used to watch movies with my family a lot when I was a kid, now I mostly watch them by myself,” junior Alexander Garcia, said. “I would watch Elf, The Grinch, Frosty the Snowman, and Home Alone 2.”

“I would also watch Edward Scissorhands and Ghostbusters. They aren’t Christmas movies but they feel like they are, and it’s like a tradition to watch them for me.”

Some like to watch movies that are not Christmas related during the holidays.

“I will watch some action and superhero movies,” speech teacher Ricardo Jordan said.

Some people also like watching movies of different cultures.

“We use the TV a lot to watch Chinese Wuxia and Xianxia,” Ashby said. 

With the virus still rampaging through the country, the Christmas movie tradition may hold more meaning.

“I think it (the virus) made (Christmas movies with family) more important,” Jordan said. “It has become an escape from everything.”