No one does Christmas quite like the McAllisters. Or the Griswolds. Or the Parkers. The most beloved Christmas movies showcase some of the best in holiday décor. Take the wood-paneled colonial in Home Alone, lit up to high heaven, or the fairytale country cottage in The Holiday. We've rounded up the 10 most iconic homes from your favorite Christmas movies. These houses, apartments and inns are stunning, ultra-festive and, above all, nostalgia-inducing. They take us back to that feeling of childlike wonder at the magic of Christmas, one well-placed wreath at a time.
We're spotlighting the top 10 Christmas movie homes that excel at decking the halls, taking a peek inside at every wallpapered foyer and glittering mantelpiece. You'll find awe-inspiring exteriors you didn't know were physically possible (Meet Me in St. Louis) and contemporary interiors that make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside (The Family Stone). Put it this way: If you lived in these cozy abodes, you'd always be home for Christmas.
Meet Me in St. Louis
MGM
1944's Meet Me in St. Louis is the debut of the Christmas classic "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," first sung by Judy Garland. It's fitting, then, that the musical should feature some seriously sumptuous holiday visuals. The Smith family's pink-and-red Victorian is like a dollhouse come to life.
MGM
The Holiday
Columbia Pictures
Rom-com queen Nancy Meyers invented cottagecore with her 2006 house-swap film The Holiday. Cameron Diaz trades in her modern California mansion for Kate Winslet's charming cottage in the English countryside. The slanted rooflines, clawfoot tub and country kitchen are just about the most adorable interiors ever put to film.
Columbia Pictures
Miracle on 34th Street
20th Century Fox
If you're a fan of dormer windows, then Susan's dream home from the 1994 remake of Miracle on 34th Street is the holiday abode for you. What's more, the interior is pretty much a Christmas explosion. The red velvet sofa, the mini tea chairs for kids, the plaid ottoman and elaborate mantelpiece. Just...heaven.
20th Century Fox
The Family Stone
20th Century Fox
Like the dysfunctional brood that inhabits it, the Greenwich, Connecticut home from the 2005 ensemble flick The Family Stone is an exercise in controlled chaos. The pristine white exterior, complete with an enviable wraparound porch, gives way to a cluttered but oh-so-warm eat-in kitchen and wood-paneled dens.
20th Century Fox
A Christmas Story
Warner Bros.
Ralphie's house from A Christmas Story is a dream in yellow and green. The 1940s home offers the best of pre-war architecture, with large front windows and a colonnade. Inside, a staircase with multiple landings and honey-colored wood gives off all the vintage vibes.
Warner Bros.
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
Warner Bros.
Clark Griswold knows there's no such thing as too much Christmas cheer. While it's a little humbler than the Home Alone mansion, the Griswold house is just as picturesque. There's a pink-tiled bathroom, candle sconces, and a 1980s step-down sitting room. But the real winner? The blue toile de Jouy dining room wallpaper.
Warner Bros./Getty Images
Home Alone
20th Century Fox
Every Christmas, the internet collectively asks one question: What on earth did Mr. McAllister do for a living to afford that mansion and a trip to Paris for the whole family? Outside of being uniquely booby trap-able, the Home Alone house is the gold standard for Christmas interiors, with a grand foyer, polished banister perfect for sliding down and ruby-red statement wallpaper.
20th Century Fox
Bridget Jones' Diary
Miramax
It served as the setting for an ugly sweater party, but the Jones family home in Bridget Jones' Diary is a gorgeous example of a rural English estate. Within, you'll find a hilariously quaint family home furnished with regal drapery, plenty of knickknacks and one of those French figurine lamps that somehow everyone's grandma had between 1990 and 2005.
Miramax
Elf
Warner Bros.
Buddy the Elf's family resides in Central Park West. If we know anything about Christmas on film, it's that prime New York real estate is inherently festive. Buddy gives the apartment a facelift, decking the halls with popcorn tinsel, a massive tree and paper snowflakes.
Warner Bros.
White Christmas
Paramount
The 1954 Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney musical White Christmas takes place at the Columbia Inn, tucked into the pine forests of Vermont. The grand staircase and wreathed archways will have you craving a country getaway of your own this winter.
Paramount
