As silly as it seems, this 1980 Hanna-Barbera classic is one of my favorites. After all, who doesn’t love Yogi Bear and Company?

In this film Huckleberry Hound, Snagglepuss, Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy travel to Jellystone Lodge for Christmas. They are told by Ranger Smith that the lodge owner, Sophie Throckmorton, is going to close down the lodge after Christmas because a resident troublemaking hermit named Herman has been causing problems for people who visit. And she’s sick of his shit. So Ranger Smith instructs the gang that they have to do everything in their power to keep her happy. And that means to especially keep Yogi and Boo-Boo, who are hibernating, away from the lodge.

No sooner does he say that, Yogi and Boo-Boo wake up and go to the lodge to discover their first Christmas. Mrs. Throckmorton is enamored with Yogi and his talents, much to her snooty nephew Snively’s dismay.

To help cause trouble himself, Snively befriends Herman. Each time the duo tries to ensue problems, Yogi seems to thwart them.

In the end Snively and Herman are forgiven for their misgivings and everyone ends up having a great Christmas and the lodge is saved. And Yogi and Boo-Boo are brought back to their cave to continue hibernation.

I’m not sure how often this one is still shown on TV during the season but if you enjoy a good cartoon and are able to catch it, do so. It’s certainly worth a few laughs.

“Santa Claus: The Movie” is a classic holiday film that has captured the hearts of audiences for decades. Released in 1985, the movie tells the tale of how Santa Claus came to be, and the journey of a toymaker who becomes his helper.

The film opens up introducing us to a woodworker named Claus (David Huddleston) who, along with his wife Anya (Judy Cornwell) and their two reindeer, Donner and Blitzen, delivering handmade toys to children in a village on Christmas Eve. When they leave, they get lost in a blizzard and are rescued by elves who take them to their workshop to live.

The following Christmas Eve Claus is renamed Santa Claus and it’s explained to him that he has all the time in the world to deliver toys to children all over the world. During one of his trips, Santa befriends Joe, a cynical homeless boy in NYC. Joe also befriends Cornelia, a well-to-do little girl who lives with her nanny and rich uncle B.Z. (John Lithgow), the cheap, unethical owner of B.Z. Toy Company.

As time goes on Santa realizes he needs an official assistant and holds a contest among the elves to see who it will be. The winner turns out to be Patch (Dudley Moore), who created a machine to speed up production. Unbeknownst to Patch, the machine is not working properly and a lot of the toys being produced have something wrong with them. When toys begin coming back to the North Pole as they are worthless and broken, Patch’s role as assistant is removed. Feeling bad, Patch runs away from the North Pole.

He goes to New York where he finds work with B.Z. Toys and lends his toy making abilities to the mean B.Z. Cornelia, living with her uncle, overhears his plans to destroy Santa. Joe is kidnapped by B.Z. and Cornelia learns of exploding candy canes that Patch has created which make people fly. She tells Santa and in the end, he saves the day, as well as Patch and Joe. B.Z. ends up flying off into space somewhere, never to return. Joe and Cornelia agree to live with Santa and the elves at the North Pole.

Although the film received negative feedback, it’s still considered a cult classic by many, myself included. Again, it’s a film I saw in the theater when I was a teen so it’s always been a big part of my past.

There’s nothing quite like the awkwardness of meeting your boyfriend’s family for the first time. Especially when that first time is Christmas.

In this 2005 family comedy-drama, the awkwardness revolves around Meredith Morton (played by Sarah Jessica Parker), a high-maintenance, uptight New York businesswoman who is dating Everett Stone (Dermot Mulroney). And Everett is bringing her home to meet the family and has possible intentions of asking for her hand in marriage.

The rest of the Stone family includes matriarch Sybil (Diane Keaton), a strong-willed cancer survivor who has just learned her cancer has returned and patriarch Kelly (Craig T. Nelson) and their other children, eldest daughter Susannah (Elizabeth Reaser), youngest son Thad (Tyrone Giordano), Ben (Luke Wilson) and youngest child Amy (Rachel McAdams). So no wonder Meredith is overwhelmed and feeling awkward. Of course her personality doesn’t help. She’s already kicked Amy out of her bedroom, forcing her to sleep on the couch, simply because she doesn’t feel comfortable sleeping with Everett under his parent’s roof.

Meanwhile, Everett is trying to convince his mother Sybil to give him his grandmother’s ring so he can present it to Meredith. Sybil refuses and flat out tells him not to marry her. And you can feel the tension between Meredith and Everett and you wonder why they’re even together. Meredith and Everett eventually end up moving to the local inn for the remainder of their stay. And on top of that, Meredith has decided to invite her sister Julie (Claire Danes) to the Stone’s for moral support. As if that is going to make matters any better. Plus you already know Ben has the hots for Meredith from just the way he looks at her. And you know Everett is interested in Julie from the way he looks at her when he picks her up from the bus she has arrived on.

Following a very stressful and uncomfortable conversation at the dinner table, Meredith takes off and crashes Everett’s car in the driveway. Ben goes out to investigate and the next thing we know, the two of them are sitting in a local bar getting drunk. While doing so, they encounter Brad, an EMT and old boyfriend of Amy’s. Meredith invites him over to the Stone’s house for Christmas breakfast the next day.

Fast forward to Christmas morning (the day after Meredith and Ben spent time in the bar) and Meredith finds herself in Ben’s bed. A lot is assumed and mistaken between Meredith, Ben and Everett. Everett has Julie try on his grandmother’s ring and she can’t get it off. Meredith makes it clear to Everett that she won’t marry him and he states he wasn’t going to ask her. So that opens things up for her and Ben. Julie leaves in a hurry and Everett follows her, catching her just before she gets on the bus. She asks him if they can get together at New Year’s.

Fast forward a year later and everyone has returned to the Stone house for Christmas once again. It’s quite clear that Sybil has passed as everyone arrives and we only see Kelly. Thad and his partner Patrick have a baby boy, Susannah has another child, Amy is with Brad, Meredith is with Ben and in walk Everett and Julie. It’s a touching ending as the camera focuses on a picture of Sybil on the wall that Meredith has presented to her the year before.

Iconic actor Ed Asner portrayed Santa Claus in numerous movies throughout his career but the first time he dressed up as the Big Red Gift Giver was in Disney’s “The Christmas Star” in 1986.

The film is about Horace McNickle (Edward Asner), a felon serving time for counterfeiting. With only six months left on his sentence, Horace escapes from prison dressed as Santa Claus right before Christmas. His reason for escaping revolves around the same thing that landed him in prison: years before he and his partner Lucky stole some money; Lucky got away with his share and Horace ended up in prison. But before he went to prison, he hid his share of the loot in a throne used by a department store Santa. Now he has learned that the throne is to be sold. Horace is desperate to retrieve his share of the money before it’s too late.

He makes his way to a city neighborhood and ends up injuring himself before he hides in the basement of an apartment building owned by a mean landlord (played by Rene Auberjonois), who is planning to sell the building. Two children who live in the building, Billy and Trudy Jameson, discover Horace sleeping in the basement and believe he is the real Santa Claus. Horace tells the kids he needs something to help him walk because of his bum leg and Billy gives him his grandfather’s cane. The cane is very significant to the ending of the movie but I won’t tell you why.

Santa tells the kids he’s leaving for a bit and they end up following him to the department store where we see the throne and reindeer. Horace removes the head of one of the reindeer, thinking maybe his loot is inside but all he finds is newspaper and gets wary when questioned by a cop. Horace hurries off. It then cuts to the police precinct where a call has come in about Horace being spotted dressed as Santa walking with a cane. The police run off to hunt him down but Horace trades off his cane with another Santa and takes his bell instead, completely throwing the police off.

Back in the basement Santa requests a phone book from the kids. He looks something up in the book, telling the kids he’s looking for a reindeer doctor. Next we see Horace visiting an old shack by the railroad tracks and speaking with a raggedy woman who knew his old partner Lucky. She gives Horace a large metal key and tells him Lucky left it for him.

As Santa is cleaning the key in the basement he listens in on the various conversations going on in the building and learns Billy and Trudy’s father is having trouble finding work. Later on Santa tells the kids that he needs their help finding the money and getting into the store to look for it. The following day the kids get Horace some regular clothes and pretend he’s their grandfather as they all go back to the Santa at the department store and that’s when Horace sees the key hole in the side of the throne.

Because Santa knows the cops would be looking for him, he convinces Billy, Trudy and their friends to break into the throne and get the money. After they succeed, they bring the money to Horace who is waiting for it at the railroad tracks.

Feeling guilty, Horace splits the money between the landlord who was being forced to sell the building, saving all the people in the building from having to be evicted and the raggedy old lady that knew Lucky. Horace is caught by the police and returns to prison.

Although not the greatest film, it’s still entertaining and endearing as a Christmas film. And it helps that Ed Asner is the one playing Santa.

You can currently watch “The Christmas Star” on Disney+.