22 Characters That Are Essential To Christmas Movies

    If the main character is a high flying businesswoman who hates Christmas, you know the film's gonna be good.

    1. The downtrodden kid who finally believes in Christmas Magic™ after being disappointed year after year.

    Mara Wilson smiling next to christmas decorations  in Miracle on 34th street

    2. The single dad who can't seem to catch a break.

    3. The overzealous Christmas stan whose festive excitement ends up doing more harm than good.

    jack skellington dressed as father christmas giving a gift to a child in a nightmare before christmas

    4. The kinda sad woman who magically finds her true love.

    kate winslet as iris crying in the holiday

    5. And don't forget the single mum who finally finds the love she deserves.

    melissa joan hart and Ricardo Antonio Chavira staring lovingly  at each other

    6. The kid whose one Christmas wish is that their divorced parents get back together.

    Thora Birch as hallie in all i want for christmas

    7. The little kid who doesn’t do much, but is ~Christmas Sprit~ personified.

    hero girl leaning on the train seat in the polar express

    8. The workaholic dad who leaves getting into the festive spirit to the very last minute.

    Arnold Schwarzenegger (as howard) giving Sinbad (as myron) a dirty look in jingle all the way

    9. The wise old elf who is clearly tired of Santa’s shenanigans.

    bernard from the santa clause standing with his hands on his hips

    10. The high-flying businesswoman who suddenly realises that her life is actually empty because she prioritised her career over love.

    11. The small-town guy who woos said high-flying businesswoman.

    dave and odette annable staring at each other in no sleep 'til christmas

    12. The dutiful mum who's rushed off her feet making sure her kids have the perfect Christmas, despite having a shit one herself.

    emma thompson wiping her tears in love actually

    13. The eccentric old guy that turns out to be Santa.

    a black and white court scene with santa and his lawyer in miracle on 34th street

    14. The mum's boyfriend who tries to play the role of doting step-father, but is lame AF.

    15. The charmingly blundering son of Santa, forever living in the shadow of this universally loved father.

    arthur christmas clutching a pile of letters

    16. The kid who's an absolute terror for most of the movie, but redeems themselves in the last five minutes.

    buzz from home alone scowling

    17. The scrooge who learns the ~true meaning~ of Christmas.

    the grinch holding the whoville telephone directory

    18. And of course, the adorable little kid whose cuteness helps defrost the scrooge’s icy heart.

    bill murray as frank in scrooged holding calvin as the crowd smiles at them

    19. The woman who manages to get her shit together in exactly five days despite her life being a complete mess at the start of the the film.

    emilia clarke as kate in last christmas walking down a street at night

    20. The random relative who shows up uninvited and unannounced, and then proceeds to wreak havoc.

    cousin eddie standing out in the snow next to the christmas decorations in national lampoon christmas vacation

    21. The person who seems to hate everything about the festive season, but for some reason works in a Christmassy job.

    zooey deschanel as jovie in elf, smiling in her festive work uniform.

    22. The creepy old guy who saves the day, and teaches us not to judge a book by their cover.

    old man marley from home alone

    Who are your favourite Christmas characters? Let me know in the comments!