Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
The Plaza Hotel (formerly the Park Plaza Hotel) is a century old and renowned for its elegant decor and deluxe amenities. It's also where Kevin McAllister faced off against the Sticky Bandits for round two. Live the dream of your favorite childhood movie as you order pizza, watch 1930s gangster flicks, and fill your room with booby traps. (We cannot be held responsible for any injury or legal action resulting from you filling your room with booby traps.)
Die Hard
There's no bad time to take in some behind-the-scenes movie magic, and there's no better cure for the winter doldrums than some sun. But what about L.A. is quintessentially Christmas? Well, Century City features Fox Plaza, the skyscraper that stood in for Nakatomi Plaza in Die Hard, widely regarded as the greatest Christmas movie of all time.
(image via abbi_herrera)
Bad Santa
The Saguaro Square Mall may not be real, but that doesn't mean you can't reenact the rest of Bad Santa here. (Legal note: Please do not reenact any part of Bad Santa.) Still, Phoenix is nice any time of year: full of boutique hotels, entertaining diversions, and temperatures in the high 60s through December for you snow-haters out there. Nearby Scottsdale also has plenty to discover and even has one of the largest private Christmas lights displays around.
(image via fergusonphotography, CC)
A Christmas Carol, Doctor Who, or Love Actually
Love Actually is underrated, probably because of the many saccharine imitators the movie's own producers churned out in the wake of its success. But this movie is basically the Pulp Fiction of romantic comedies—clever, sharply-written, and keenly aware of genre tropes. So why not celebrate it by spending Christmas in London? There's even a guide to taking your own tour of the city inspired by the film. If you still don't like Love Actually, just say you're celebrating every Doctor Who Christmas special ever, or any of the innumerable versions of A Christmas Carol, preferably the Muppet one.
(image via James Petts, CC)
Jingle All the Way
Jingle All the Way is an unqualified masterpiece. (At least, I thought it was when it came out in 1996, and I haven't seen it since; let me have this.) It's also a movie set very firmly in Minneapolis/St. Paul. As Schwarzenegger and Sinbad duke it out over the sold-out Turbo-Man doll, they rampage through locations that include the Mall of America and Mickey's Diner. Even the KQRS radio station gets a shout-out.
Christmas with the Kranks
Take the cruise the Kranks never got to. Christmas with the Kranks wasn't a particularly beloved film, but this trip is too good to leave off the list. Besides, you can say the trip was inspired by the film's source material, the superior Skipping Christmas—weirdly, written by John Grisham in a rare break from legal thrillers.
A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas
Ever since Charles Dickens first set pen to paper to write A Christmas Carol, the holiday has been emphasized in popular media as a time for love, forgiveness, and coming together. There may not be a story that encapsulates the themes of friendship, family, and redemption quite as much as A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas. And while much of the action takes place in New York City, the film starts and ends in humble New Jersey, proving to all of us that love is where we choose to find it, and the Christmas spirit is with us wherever we go.
(image via hobokencondos, CC)
Miracle on 34th Street or Elf
Even if you're a poor, misguided soul who somehow doesn't recognize Home Alone 2 as a masterpiece, there's plenty of Christmas tourism to be had in New York City. Macy's flagship store is a big one. Not only is it at the heart of Miracle on 34th Street, it also stood in for Gimbels in Elf. You can also go hang out at 30 Rockefeller Plaza and think about how great 30 Rock's "Ludachristmas" is.
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and Home Alone
Chicago is home to a couple of Christmas classics. First off, it's the home of the perennially hapless Griswolds, and, for once, they're not traveling anywhere, so the city gets to be front and center. Chicago is also home to the McCallisters, and it was in Chicago that Kevin first fortified his home against Harry and Marv. Both movies, of course, were written and produced by 1980s icon John Hughes, who's from the Chicago metro.
(image via jordanfischer, CC)
