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As the end of the semester nears, it’s important to determine how to stay busy during winter break. After all, our four weeks of no classes and no studying need to be occupied somehow. 

I would argue that the best way to pass the time is by watching Christmas films. Whether you start your Christmas film watching in October or December, whether or not you think “Die Hard” is a Christmas film and whether you prefer classic or contemporary films, watching Christmas films is vital to ensuring your break is occupied to the brim and your proverbial Christmas cup is overflowing with joy and cheer. In fact, I will be spending most of my break on my basement couch in a four-week-long Christmas film marathon. In case you would like to join me in this festive endeavor, here are five of my favorite Christmas films that you should watch this year.

5. “Christmas in Connecticut” 

Peter Godfey’s 1945 classic “Christmas in Connecticut” is a film that has been called boring by many (my father). However, the film delivers a fun and festive story full of hijinks, transatlantic accents and post-World War II propaganda that is great for the entire family. It follows Elizabeth Lane (Barbara Stanwyck), a housekeeping newspaper columnist, as she hosts Christmas for returning war hero Jefferson Jones (Dennis Morgan) and the owner of the newspaper she works at (Sydney Greenstreet). However, Elizabeth has a dark secret: The farm, husband, baby and cooking skills she writes about in her housekeeping column are entirely fictitious. Conveniently, she is being perpetually proposed to by John Sloan (Reginald Gardiner), who happens to have a Connecticut farm and a friend who can loan them a baby. Elizabeth, along with her friends, travels to the farm and tries to pull off the greatest Christmas deception of all time.

4. “A Muppet Christmas Carol” 

Brian Henson’s 1992 adaptation of Charles Dickens’ 1843 novelette “A Christmas Carol,” appropriately renamed “A Muppet Christmas Carol,” is a delightful reimagining of the Christmas classic in which each of the characters (with the exception of Ebenezer Scrooge and his relatives) are played by Muppets. The film, narrated by Charles Dickens (Gonzo the Great) and Rizzo the Rat, follows Scrooge (Michael Caine) as he is taken on a journey by three spirits to learn the true meaning of Christmas and to reinvent himself from the cruel and grouchy man that he has become. Along the way, we meet Bob Cratchit (Kermit the Frog), his wife (Miss Piggy) and their children (various frog and pig muppets), who are struggling with financial problems and the illness of their youngest son Tiny Tim (Robin the Frog). With songs written by Muppet-film-songwriting veteran Paul Williams, such as “Scrooge,” “One More Sleep ‘til Christmas,” “It Feels Like Christmas” and the tear-jerking Tiny Tim solo “Bless Us All,” this film is both comedic and emotional, and also just a genuinely good adaptation of Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.”

3. “A Charlie Brown Christmas” 

Bill Melendez’s 1965 animated Christmas special “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” based on Charles Schultz’s “Peanuts” comic strip, is 25 minutes of pure Christmas spirit. The special follows Charlie Brown (Peter Robbins), a dejected and disillusioned 8-year-old, as he attempts to discover the true meaning of Christmas in a world overrun by commercialism and selfishness. Charlie Brown seeks out psychiatric advice from his (also 8-year-old) friend Lucy (Tracy Stratford), tries to direct a nativity play starring his friends who are only interested in avant-garde jazz dancing, and watches in horror as his dog Snoopy (Bill Melendez) wins a “lights and display” decorating contest. “A Charlie Brown Christmas” is filled with beautifully festive and nostalgic animation, humor and sincerity and the best Christmas jazz soundtrack of all time.

2. “It’s a Wonderful Life”

Frank Capra’s 1946 film “It’s a Wonderful Life” feels like it’s four hours long but is worth every minute. This Christmas classic follows George Bailey (James Stewart) through all his life’s trials and tribulations, from falling into a pool during a school dance (don’t ask how), marrying the love of his life and inheriting his father’s business to getting stuck in his small hometown despite yearning to travel the world. After a series of events that promise shame and bankruptcy, George contemplates suicide (yes, this is a Christmas movie) and is visited by Clarence (Henry Travers), an angel who grants him his wish of never having been born. George spends the rest of the night traveling through his town and seeing what would have happened if he had never been born, learning along the way that he “really had a wonderful life.” This film has everything, from Stewart’s geographically ambiguous accent, a great 1940s romance, theologically questionable depictions of angels and, of course, Christmas.

1. “White Christmas”

Michael Curtiz’s 1954 film “White Christmas” is one of the greatest Christmas-themed musicals of all time. It stars the legendary Bing Crosby and hilarious Danny Kaye as Bob Wallace and Phil Davis, acting and producing partners who meet while fighting in World War II. After the end of the war, the two find success in musical theater and, through a series of convoluted events, end up at an inn in Vermont with a dynamic sister act (Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen) where Wallace and Davis unexpectedly reunite with their former army commander General Waverly (Dean Jagger). Wallace and Davis attempt to honor their former commander by bringing their Broadway show to perform at the inn and, along the way, find love and a sequence of miscommunications that almost ends in ruin. The film boasts some incredible song and dance numbers like Danny Kaye and Vera-Ellen’s “The Best Things Happen While You’re Dancing,” Bing Crosby’s “Count Your Blessings (Instead of Sheep),” Rosemary Clooney’s “Love, You Didn’t Do Right By Me” and, of course, “White Christmas.”