Christmas is around the corner and to make the wait for Santa’s arrival less excruciating, here are three classic movies from bygone years that are sure to get you into that special holiday spirit and festive mood. Which are your favorite Christmas movies from the past?

Holiday Affair (1949)

This is a romantic comedy about Steve Mason (Robert Mitchum), a department store clerk in New York City who falls hard for a widowed mother Connie Ennis (Janet Leigh). After she scams the store into buying a train set she doesn’t want on behalf of a rival department store (was this something that happened often?), Steve refunds her money and is terminated from his job. He goes broke buying the train back for Connie’s son for Christmas and tries to win her love. Will Connie marry her longtime boyfriend or run into the arms of the penniless dreamer before he boards a train to California?

White Christmas (1954)

Directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye and Rosemary Clooney. White Christmas (1954) is a perennial Christmas favorite in Technicolor. The theme song was actually written for an earlier Bing Crosby film, Holiday Inn – such a good film a hotel chain took its name (no kidding). Bob and Phil are big Broadway producers who have their eye on Betty and Judy, a song and dance act. On the way to love, they sing Count Your Blessings, Sisters, Mandy, and White Christmas – the top-selling single of all time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ia3mTycsjKk

A Visit to Santa (1963)

I’m a big fan of organ music, window displays and early 1960s décor, though I’m pretty sure the real Santa’s fireplace mantle is made of sturdier stuff than painted cardboard. In A Visit to Santa, Santa Claus takes young Dick and Ann on a guided tour of a toy store. Santa spends 99% of the film showing them all the cool gadgets and dolls they could get for Christmas then right before “The End” card pops up, he throws in a “it’s really all about Jesus” reminder. Santa is a class act all the way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuBXCeLV9dE