5 Favorite New England Christmas Movies
It’s that time of year again! Pop some popcorn, light the fire, and check out some of these classic New England Christmas movies.
By Montana Rogers|Dec 08 2021|
Coffee By Design | Portland, Maine
Photo Credit : Katherine KeenanThe holiday season is here! Traditions may vary, from decorating the tree and baking cookies to singing Christmas carols and covering the house in twinkling lights, but I always make sure to leave a little time to watch at least one Christmas movie. Here at Yankee, we started wondering: How many Christmas movies have a connection to our fair New England? For the answer, check out our list of favorite New England Christmas Movies!
Photo Credit : Wikimedia Commons
5 FAVORITE NEW ENGLAND CHRISTMAS MOVIES
Christmas in Connecticut (1945)
Elizabeth Lane (Barbara Stanwyck) writes about recipes she cooks for her adoring husband and charming baby at her small Connecticut farm. The readers love her homey column; however the column is not entirely true. The recipes are real, but Elizabeth doesn’t really live on a farm, is not actually married, and certainly doesn’t have a baby. So when her publisher (Sydney Greenstreet) asks her to host a Christmas dinner at her fictitious Connecticut farm with her make-believe family for a returning soldier (Dennis Morgan), mayhem and hilarity ensue.
The Family Stone (2005)
Is there anything more relatable than family drama during the holidays? The matriarch of the Stone family (Diane Keaton) and her husband (Craig T. Nelson) live in the fictional town of Thayer, Massachusetts. Every year their adult-children travel home for the holidays, but this year, the eldest son, Everett (Dermot Mulroney), invites his uptight, soon-to-be fiancé Meredith (Sarah Jessica Parker) to accompany him. The family tries their best to welcome her, but misunderstanding, underlying family secrets, and inconvenient feelings get in the way. Desperate to have someone on her side, Meredith begs her sister (Claire Danes) to join her at the Stone’s home. Will the beautiful messiness of this family tear them apart or ultimately bring them closer together?
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Holiday Inn (1942)
On Christmas Eve Jim Hardy (Bing Crosby) announces his retirement from New York City showbiz. He intends to move to a small Connecticut farm and marry his sweetheart, Lila. His plans are dashed when he learns that Lila (Virginia Dale) has decided to stay in New York City with one of his performing partners, Ted Hanover (Fred Astaire). Hardy moves to Connecticut anyway. He learns that farming is hard and doesn’t suit him. A year later, he decides to open an entertainment venue called the Holiday Inn. The Holiday Inn will only open during holidays. Back in show business, Hardy crosses paths with his former partner and relationships are tested. Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas” first appeared in this film and garnered him an Oscar for Best Original Song.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966, 2000)
Yes, I know that Whoville is not in New England, but How the Grinch Stole Christmas was written by Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel), who was born and raised in Springfield, Massachusetts. Two New England Christmas movies in one: The 1966 cartoon version of the book is still an often-aired classic today, and the 2000 remake, starring Jim Carrey as the Grinch, is a fun live-action rendition of the story. The Grinch is a lonely character who lives on top of a high mountain above the small town of Whoville. The town’s people love to celebrate Christmas. The Grinch despises their holiday spirit. His two-sizes-too-small heart convinces him to steal Christmas. Can the Grinch overcome is anger and find the joy of Christmas before it is too late?
LEARN MORE: Remembering Theodor Geisel | Who Was Dr. Seuss?
White Christmas (1954)
White Christmas is one of the most classic New England Christmas movies. Despite being filmed on Hollywood studio lots, the film is set in the fictional town of Pine Tree, Vermont, and it successfully conveys a New England aesthetic and atmosphere. Two recently-returned-home soldiers, Captain Bob Wallace (Bing Crosby) and Private Phil Davis (Danny Kaye) pair up with the sister-act of Judy (Vera-Ellen) and Betty (Rosemary Clooney) to save the Columbia Inn in the snow-starved town of Pine Tree. Full of show-stopping dance numbers and classic Irving Berlin songs, such as the famous “White Christmas,” a holiday viewing of this film is a must!
Which is your favorite New England Christmas movie? Let us know in the comments below!
This post was first published in 2016 and has been updated.
SEE MORE:
Famous New England Christmas Carols
Notable New England Film Locations
20 Favorite Books Set in New England
I enjoy every version of A Christmas Carol.
I love Christmas in Connecticut. Sweet and funny. Barbara Stanwyck and Dennis Morgan are terrific.
Christmas in Connecticut has been one of my favorites since I was a teenager. One of the things I love about The Family Stone is that one member of the family is Deaf. It’s nice to see ASL integrated into the family’s conversation. That is true for some of us. (One of my grandkids is Deaf.) I love White Christmas and Holiday Inn, as well.
Love White Christmas and The Family Stone has become a favorite
White Christmas is my favorite Christmas movie of all time
Love White Christmas
If you notice in The Family Stone, much of the filming took place in Connecticut and may account for the Connecticut license plate on the Thayer ambulance. I don’t recall anything in the movie alluding to Massachusetts.
At the beginning of the movie, when the daughter pulls up to the house, she is carrying a WGBH tote bag. Wonderful movie: full of heart.
Christmas Carol has to be one of my favorites and have just about every version made including Mr Magoo’s.
Love Scrooge ! and White Christmas!
I guess I should have said A Christmas carol….
Although I am not one of them,there are those who profess to enjoy 1979’s “An American Christmas Carol”, which is set in Depression era New England. Most notable perhaps for the casting of Henry Winkler as the Scrooge character(Ben Slade?) I found it a little unspirited,despite the presence of the requisite spooks. Winkler isn ‘t bad,but “Yo Humbug” is never far from mind.
Let me be more specific; the Depression Era setting IS downright depressing(no victorian charm), and the Scrooge/Slade character before his conversion isn’t nasty or scary enough,just sour and sad. Stick to Dickens!
I know you hinted at it, Michael ,but I’ve heard An American Christmas Carol is a real gem. Christmas as in Connecticut (1945) is my favorite New England holiday movie. Also, if you’ve never seen The Shop Around the Corner , please treat yourself to this entertaining Jimmy Stewart film. TMC shows it every year on a night very close to Christmas Eve.
White Christmas. Cry like a baby at the end!
I always cry at the end of White Christmas as well!!! That’s my favorite holiday movie.
Always my favorite! I play it starting on Thanksgiving night and over again many times until Christmas Eve! The best dancing and singing! And great Edith Head costumes!!!
Family Stone! You need to watch it more than once to understand all that’s going on; it’s a great movie
I agree! When I put my Christmas DVDs on this year, The Family Stone was the first one I chose. One of the sons (Thaddeus) is Deaf and everyone in the family signs. I have a Deaf granddaughter and seeing that inclusion is so meaningful.
Moonlight and Mistletoe! It was filmed in Chester, Vermont!
hands down, It’s “White Christmas”,always #1
I love all of the Christmas Movies, but my very favorite is “It’s a Wonderful Life” <3
Christmas in Connecticut has been my favorite for Years! It has it all, fun, drama and a Great Christmasy Story. The snowy Farm scenery just puts me into a Christmas mood. It’s the best version, the newer version can’t compare.
Definitely “Christmas in Connecticut” but “Holiday Inn” comes in a very close second. I especially love the Thanksgiving scene when Bing’s housekeeper brings him his dinner – her kids are the cutest – and the vibe between Bing & the three of them is just adorable! There’s several little scenes with the kids in them and they’re really precious.
Holiday Inn does have that horrendously unacceptable Lincoln’s birthday scene…..
White Christmas!
White Christmas and Christmas Vacation
A Christmas Story. Peter Billingsley, Melinda Dillon, Darren McGavin, 1983. Ralphie gets his wish, and “the old man” gets a Major Award. A classic.
This is my favorite FUN holiday flick. Simply dripping with nostalgia and all-too-familiar sentiment. i look forward to this one, most of all!
Alastair Sim 1951 A Christmas Carol…
Couldn’t agree more! Every TV station should play it!
“Come to the Stable,” which is inspired by the Abbey of Regina Laudis in Bethlehem CT.
Funny Farm – not quite a Christmas movie but pretty Christmas scenes towards the end.
“Silent Night, Lonely Night” filmed in Amherst, MA in 1969.
The Gift of Love that was filmed in Burlington, VT. Has Angela Lansbury and Lee Remick.
I think the way Dennis Morgan’s character yearns for a country Christmas with all the fixings is what drew me to New England. I live in PA, but I daydream about New England. That whole lifestyle described in Christmas in Connecticut is the stuff that my daydreams are made of. I try to make time for that holiday gem every Christmas.
Whoville is Easthampton, Massachusetts which is near Northampton aka Noho, Hamp, and Paradise City.
Holiday Inn is my favorite Christmas movie with The Bishops Wife (Cary Grant and David Niven) coming in second. Let’s not forget, It Happened on Fifth Avenue. Though technically not a Christmas movie, it’s a real gem.
I’d count It Happened on Fifth Avenue as a Christmas movie. It’s one of my favorites.
The Gathering starring Ed Asner is my fav movie at this time of year. Lots of great actors star in this as well.
I love The Gathering! Is that river through town Camden?
That was a good movie and while it was set in New England it was actually filmed in the Cleveland suburb of Chagrin Falls because it “looked like New England”
Our family tradition is to watch the George C. Scott version of A CHRISTMAS CAROL. His transformation as Scrooge is fantastic. How can you not love Bob Cratchet and Tiny Tim. The realistic setting in Shrewsbury, England takes this version a step further than other versions.
My favorite version too!
George C. Scott is absolutely priceless.
Truly my favorite version…. George C. Scott brilliantly portrays Scroooge, and the casting ensemble itself was just perfect.
All that Heaven Allows and Holiday Inn & White Christmas 1 2 3
Holiday Inn gets my vote. Lincoln’s Birthday may touch a nerve, but, that’s the way it was back then. We’ve made a few improvements over the years but, the road we traveled was better than most in history. Bing and Fred are the kind of talent we no longer have today. Write a better story and then just try to find the talent needed to bring it to life. Merry Christmas is good back then and is still a nice greeting.
@The Man Who Came To Dinner (1942), though not generally thought of as a Christmas film, generates some of the same holiday cheer and hijinks as Christmas in Connecticut, with much of the story taking place around the holidays in Ohio, which is, admittedly, not in New England. But there is a similar vibe.
Let’s not forget The Bishop’s Wife with Carey Grant and David Niven. Although not a New England film, it’s a real Christmas gem.
“It’s A Wonderful Life” is by far my favorite classic Christmas film.
Mine, as well! i never miss it during the holidays.
Since the theme is not just Christmas movies, but Christmas movies set in New England, all of you Christmas Carol/Scrooge lovers need to tune in to Holiday Inn. Or Christmas in Connecticut. Or maybe Meet Me in St Louis, just to watch Judy sing “Have yourself a merry little Christmas.”
The Family Stone is set in northwestern Connecticut, and Thayer is a fictional college/prep school town where Kelly (the family patriarch) teaches. The house where the exterior shots were filmed is in Old Greenwich, CT, and the ambulance says “Town of Thayer” above the Connecticut license plates. I’m not sure why people continue to publish that this was supposed to take place in Massachusetts since there are no references (visual or otherwise) to the Bay State.
and it was an awful movie (grin)
My guess is bc Thayer Academy is in Braintree, MA. But you’re right it’s listed on several sites as CT.
COME TO THE STABLE (1949) is set in “Bethlehem” New England. Loretta Young and Celeste Holm are nuns trying to make a go of an old farm. Plenty of snow! Sleighs. If you liked her in THE BISHOP’S WIFE, don’t miss Ms. Young in this charmer !
here-here!!
White Christmas and Holiday Inn, are my favourites!!! But there is another great Christmas movie not mentioned…The original “Miracle on 34th Street” with Susan Hayward and Natalie Wood. My children ask for it every year without fail!
WHITE CHRISTMAS!!!!
My favorite is Christmas in Connecticut . Great cast that works together perfectly!!
My favorite holiday movie is “Christmas in Connecticut . I love it takes place New England . Christmas is my favorite time of the year . So i watch the movie during the season!!
I love the premise that this sailor recovering from being trapped at sea in a lifeboat is now slowly rehabbing with bland food in a hospital and reading magazine articles about delicious meals being served by this fabulous New England homemaker. How could he not be drawn to suburban Connecticut, or any other New England State for Christmas. I don’t live there but I feel the pull every December.
You missed Miracle on 34th Street which is supposed to be set in New York. They play it every year (both verions). Or The Santa Clause. I put Holiday Inn first tho.
The family Stone? a Classic? Not so much… The rest of the list is great. Love Christmas in Connecticut.
I agree that it is an excellent movie (both versions) but I feel compelled to point out that New York is not New England. If in doubt, a journey north through New York will reveal large signage showing travelers the way.
Bell’s of St. Mary! Is another favorite
Aside from all of the greats mentioned, and we love them all every year, we love “Jingle All the Way” Sinbad is the greatest!!! Arnold is great and Rita Wilson and of course Hartman and Belushi and Robert Conrad!!!
White Christmas, and A Christmas Story-“you’ll shoot your eye out!”
THE BISHOP’S WIFE…David Niven, Cary Grant, Loretta Young
Love this film and can’t get enough of it!
Christmas In Connecticut is good fun..and it Is ,of course, set in New England, but it’s odd that it seems that the characters all come from/ live in NYC…is there truth to the legend that The Nutmeg State is The Big Apple ‘s bedroom??( ????,Apples and Nutmeg…)
I live in southwestern CT and we used to be referred to as a “bedroom community” for NYC all the time, back in the 50’s-60’s. I don’t hear it as much these days,
Susan Hayward and Natalie Wood in the original “Miracle on 34th Street”? It was Maureen O’Hara and Natalie Wood, with John Payne and the delightful Edmund Gwenn as Kris Kringle.
The Bishop’s Wife. Cary Grant, David Niven, Loretta Young, Monty Woolley. 1947 film. ABSOLUTELY THE BEST! And who could possibly resist Cary Grant!