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Home • Christmas

Don’t Change the Channel: 7 Traditional Holiday Movies That You Won’t Want to Miss this Season

The holidays are right around the corner and one of the best parts of the season are feel-good movies to enjoy with loved ones. Here are some classic holiday films that never get old. 
By Essence · Updated October 27, 2020
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01
‘The Preacher’s Wife’ (1996)
The holidays are right around the corner and one of the best parts of the season are feel-good movies to enjoy with loved ones. Here are some classic holiday films that never get old. A holiday classic, this remake of Carey Grant’s The Bishop’s Wife starring Denzel Washington and the late Whitney Houston is filled with soulful tunes and a heartwarming tale of a dejected pastor trying everything to keep his church open and his family together.
7 Traditional Holiday Movies That You Won’t Want to Miss This Season
02
‘Soul Food’ (1997)

Soul Food is the ultimate tale of the ups and downs that come with family. Perfect for any get-together with loved ones, the film explores what happens when the glue that holds a family together is no longer there.

7 Traditional Holiday Movies That You Won’t Want to Miss This Season
03
‘The Kid Who Loved Christmas’ (1990)
This ’90s feel-good movie produced by Eddie Murphy, and starring Cecily Tyson and Sammy Davis, Jr., tells the story of a young orphan who has to fight to stay with his adopted father.
7 Traditional Holiday Movies That You Won’t Want to Miss This Season
04
‘Fat Albert’s Christmas Special’ (1977)

Fat Albert and the gang encounter trouble while rehearsing their Christmas play. Things get tense when mean old Mr. Tyrone threatens to shut it down. But it takes a host of happenings, a newborn baby and more to warm his icy heart.

7 Traditional Holiday Movies That You Won’t Want to Miss This Season
05
‘Trading Places’ (1983)

This 80’s film starring Eddie Murphy is not only a holiday favorite but a comedy classic. Trading Places is sure to bring holiday laughter as it tells the story of what happens when a prince and a pauper switch places. 

7 Traditional Holiday Movies That You Won’t Want to Miss This Season
06
‘A Dream for Christmas’ (1973)

In this made-for-TV Christmas classic, a southern minister is tested when he is assigned to a poor church in California with a drifting congregation and a pending demolition. 

7 Traditional Holiday Movies That You Won’t Want to Miss This Season
07
‘A Diva’s Christmas Carol’ (2000)

One of the newer movies on the list, Diva’s Christmas stars Vanessa Williams in a fresh twist on an old classic. Williams plays Ebony Scrooge, who gets a visit by four spirits that scare her straight and rid her of those diva ways.

7 Traditional Holiday Movies That You Won’t Want to Miss This Season