For many people, Christmas is a great time to get together with family and friends. Sadly, that is such a hard thing to do under this year’s circumstances. with the Covid 19 restrictions, many of us will only get to spend Christmas with our immediate family watching Christmas movies and listening to Christmas music. which brings up the question of what is New Castle High Schools’ favorite Christmas movie and Christmas song. With the help of our guidance counselor, Stephine Gibson,  I was able to get surveys out to all of the high school students asking just that. Thanks to the almost 500 students who participated, Here is what I found out.

Starting with Christmas Movies, let’s be real there are a lot of amazing classics but we will only be discussing the top three in New Castles opinion. In third place, with 69 votes (14.4%) we have How The Grinch Stole Christmas. The Grinch made his first appearance in a 33-line poem called ¨The Hoobub and The Grinch¨ in 1955.  later in 1957, Dr. Suess publish How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Lastly, the first depiction of How The Grinch Stole Christmas was a movie short first aired in 1966. In My Opinion, The Grinch is a great movie to watch with your family and has some amazing songs.  Coming in second with 85 votes (17.7%) is Elf. Though the script was written in 1993, Elf, directed by Jon Favreau was made in 2003. Elf is a classic Christmas comedy starring Will Farell. Fun Fact, Jim Carrey was initially lined up for the role! Finally in first place, having 91 votes (18.9%) Home Alone. Home Alone is a 1990 American Christmas comedy written and produced by John Hughes, directed by Chris Columbus, and stars Macaulay Culkin. It was the Number 1 film at the box office for 12 straight weeks, from its release weekend of November 16–18, 1990 through the weekend of February 1–3, 1991, and celebrating thirty years this year. Personally, I believe Home Alone is an amazing movie with some iconic scenes, It is a family favorite in my home.

Before moving on, Here are some Honorable mentions! My Favorite Movie The Polar Express, with 63 votes (13.1%) was listed in the 2006 Guinness World Records as the first all-digital capture film, and was recently added to Netflix! To Add The Santa Clause, another one of my favorites had 33 votes (6.9%), and also a name change! The original title of the movie was Such a Cladder. though it is not an official movie, one student responded with The day before Christmas break spectacular. which is an amazing musical written and cast by our very own Mr. Ryan Lubin. it was performed for the first time around this time last year. though we will not get to see it this year, the boy’s reenactment of the iconic Mean Girls scene will forever live rent-free in our heads!

Moving on to New Castle Highs Favorite Christmas song. In third place Jingle Bell Rock with 40 votes (9.4%). Jingle bell rock was first written by Bobby Helms in 1957 and has been a U.S Christmas favorite since. Jingle Bell Rock sits high on my personal list for the many different depictions of it. Coming in second we have You’re A Mean One, Mr.Grinch. You’re A Mean One, Mr.Grinch was originally written and composed for the 1966 Christmas special How The Grinch Stole Christmas.  This song placing second supports my statement ¨How The Grinch Stole Christmas has some great songs.¨ In first place with a Whopping 140 votes (32.9%) is All I Want For Christmas Is You. this iconic Christmas bop is co-written and co-produced by Mariah Carey for her first Christmas album in 1994. All I Want For Christmas Is You is a Christmas classic, there is not a year you’ll go without hearing it. I had predicted it would sit high on the podium.

There are a lot of movies along with a lot of songs that are forever amazing, and will always be enjoyed amongst families. However, according to New Castle high, these are the best. Covid 19 has broke traditions and puts limits on how many relatives you can see but on the bright side, it can’t take away your Christmas favorites! In the end, though Christmas may be a little different this year, we will still be able to enjoy our favorite Christmas movies and songs. Thank you to all who took my surveys and I hope all of New Castle Junior-Senior Highschool has the happiest of holidays.