16 Holiday Movies to Share With A Senior

When you care to spend time with a senior family member, sometimes you both run out of things to talk about. Watching movies together can be a great solution. You can use a film as an excuse to get your senior out of the house for a lazy matinée, grab some popcorn like when you were young, enjoy the big screen where everything can be easily seen, and then talk about it on the way home.

Or, you can pop in a DVD on your own time schedule and watch a selected feature without your senior having to leave their favorite chair. And what better time to share those memories than the holidays!

Here are 16 holiday movies to share with a senior. A variety of movie choices, some familiar, some obscure and new selections that you can enjoy this holiday season.

Old Favorites Released On DVD

1) Is a holiday season complete without watching “It’s A Wonderful Life?” It airs on NBC Channel 5 on Christmas Eve this year. If you like that genre then here are additional selections you should consider:
2) The Irving Berlin musical Holiday Inn with Bing Crosby & Fred Astaire
3) It Happened On 5th Avenue – A homeless New Yorker moves into a mansion and before he knows it he’s living with the actual homeowners who befriend and help him. 

These Lesser-known Christian Themed Stories Are Sure To Freshen Your Holiday Season

4) The Encounter – Five strangers are marooned in a deserted roadside diner and encounter a man who knows all of their secrets and can fix all of their problems if they trust in him.
5) The Perfect Gift –A spoiled schoolgirl, her overworked executive mother, and a disillusioned young minister each receives an uplifting message about friendship, commitment, and the truest meaning of Christmas from a friendly, but mysterious drifter.
6) Touched by an Angel – This Emmy® nominated holiday collection features select episodes from the critically-acclaimed and landmark show that brought a message of hope and faith to millions of families.
7) The Perfect Stranger – tells the story of Nikki, a troubled attorney who one day receives a mysterious dinner invitation from a man claiming to be Jesus of Nazareth.
8) A Very Murray Christmas – a brand new and definitely offbeat entry into the arena of TV Christmas specials, this one can be a little bit bizarre, but it nevertheless ends up encapsulating the spirit of Christmas. This film is available now only through Netflix. A Very Murray Christmas will appeal to anyone having an unconventional sense of humor.

Lighthearted “Chick-flicks” With Holiday Trappings

9)The Holiday – Two women, one from America and one from Britain, swap homes at Christmastime after bad breakups with their boyfriends. Each woman finds romance with a local man but realizes that the imminent return home may end the relationship.
10) JOY- A promising new movie spanning four generations. Opening in theaters December 25th.

Movies & Videos Seniors Might Like To Share With Grandchildren

11) A Charlie Brown Christmas – Who can resist Charlie Brown’s choice of a small deserving Christmas tree which helps everyone realize the real meaning of Christmas.
12) Peanuts Holiday Collection- 3 features plus 5 bonus stories totaling 300 minutes.
13) North Pole: Open for Christmas – Christmas intervenes in the magical makeover of a majestic hotel – airing December 23 on the Hallmark Channel.
14) Swiss Family Robinson – The tale of a shipwrecked family building and island family home.
15) The Original Christmas Classics Gift Set – Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Frosty the Snowman, Frosty Returns, Mr. Magoos Christmas Carol, The Little Drummer Boy, Cricket on the Hearth. . . . 7 stories totaling 277 minutes to scatter over Christmas vacation.
16) The Polar Express – An adventure to the North Pole, a doubting young boy takes an extraordinary train ride. Based on the famous children’s book.

Also, remember that if your senior has a favorite sitcom, most have a holiday themed show and many of these are available on DVD.

The very best movie is always the one custom selected to match your loved one’s style, interests, and current mood– or the mood they would enjoy getting into. Sometimes it’s an old favorite. Sometimes it’s something they didn’t know existed. Some movies don’t mention Christmas, yet still can draw out holiday sentiments. But with any movie, the takeaway is up to the viewer and it can lead into wonderful conversations.

If you live far away from your senior loved one, are extremely busy, or are traveling during this holiday season, you can still make sure they have someone companionable to share a nostalgic or inspirational movie while providing them with a memorable gift.

Our caregivers are happy to fill in however you wish: they can pick up library movies, prepare snacks, and keep your loved one company. They can check theater schedules, arrange transportation, help your loved one get ready, take them out to a theater matinée, and see them safely home again.

Watching TV alone is never as much fun as sharing a movie. The holidays remind all of us that it is other people who make life worth living. Home and Hearth Caregivers are always mindful of this throughout the year, but even especially so during the holiday season.