12 Foods And Drinks To Pair With Your Favorite Christmas Movie

One of the best things, arguably, about the holiday season is getting to snuggle up and watch your favorite Christmas movies. So many of them hold an incredibly nostalgic feel, and the fact that you get to watch them during this special time of year makes them even more enjoyable. From "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" to "Love Actually," there are endless amounts of movies to add to your holiday watch list. To make your viewing experiences even more immersive, we've created a list of foods and drinks to pair with these movies.

With meals that are actually eaten in each movie as well as creative concoctions inspired by events of the films, having these treats while watching will help you feel like you're living in a winter wonderland. Whether you want to use this list for a solo movie night, a date night, or even a holiday party — we hope this guide inspires you to take advantage of all that the holiday season has to offer.

This 1990 Christmas classic is a hilarious and heartwarming movie that has created quite a cult following. It tells the story of a young boy, Kevin McCallister, who is accidentally left behind as his family heads to Paris for Christmas. He makes the most of his time alone — dancing around with Christmas music, watching R-rated movies, and even does the laundry and grocery shopping. He then realizes that two burglars are planning to rob his family's house. In preparation, Kevin sets up booby traps all around the home in an iconic film montage.

Once Kevin is done securing his house, he makes himself microwavable macaroni and cheese. As the refined eight year old he is, Kevin sets his macaroni and cheese on a big plate, sets out silverware and a white place mat, and has milk on the side that is served in a wine glass. He then takes a second to pray over his "highly nutritious microwavable macaroni and cheese," and as he prepares to take a bite, the clock strikes, and Kevin has to run to brace for the robbers.

We're not sure about you, but seeing that Kevin never even got to take a bite of his delicious mac and cheese always frustrated us. So, to combat that frustration, we recommend that you make your favorite microwavable macaroni and cheese and enjoy it thoroughly while you watch "Home Alone." If Kevin didn't get to enjoy it, someone has to, right?

The next Christmas for the McCallister family doesn't go quite as planned, either. In the 1992 sequel, the family decides to have a warm Christmas in Florida. Kevin gets lost at the airport, and accidentally follows a man who looks just like his father onto a flight to New York City. Once Kevin arrives, he ends up staying at the world famous Plaza Hotel, using his father's credit card, of course.

As any young child, Kevin wanted to do everything that he's not normally allowed to do when his parents are around. He orders an endless amount of room service — and the most over-the-top thing he gets is an ice cream sundae buffet delivered to his room. A waiter, who has the ice cream cart right next to Kevin's bed, scoops out all of the flavors that Kevin wants and covers it in hot fudge and whipped cream. It's the true dream, and Kevin enjoys it while sitting in the beautifully decorated hotel.

If you can't make it to the Plaza Hotel, that's okay. Instead, you can treat yourself to your own ice cream sundae to enjoy alongside Kevin. We recommend getting fun holiday ice cream flavors like eggnog, peppermint bark, or gingerbread. Don't skimp out on the toppings — you're going to want to enjoy this sundae Kevin McCallister style.

"The Santa Clause," another early '90s Christmas movie, is a great film that helps you feel immersed in the magical world of The North Pole. It's about a man named Scott Calvin and his young son Charlie, who accidentally come across Santa Claus after he's fallen off of their roof on Christmas Eve. Scott puts on Santa's suit, and becomes the new Santa Claus. After a night of delivering presents, the pair are whisked away to The North Pole, where Scott (in his immense confusion) is calmed down by an elf who brings him a delicious cup of hot chocolate.

Now, this hot chocolate isn't just any hot chocolate. It's served in a silver mug embossed with reindeers on the bottom. Judy explains that the recipe took her 1,200 years to "get it right," and she shares her secret — "not too hot, extra chocolate, shaken, not stirred." Scott's widened eyes at the taste of this delectable treat would make anyone want to have a cup of their own.

To make your own version of Judy's hot chocolate, we recommend ditching the hot cocoa powder and making this cup a bit more special. Go ahead and get some whole milk, evaporated milk, cream, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and marshmallows. Melt the liquids together first on the stove, then add in the chocolate chips and marshmallows. This special treat will transport you straight to Santa's workshop in the North Pole.

"Eloise at Christmastime" is another holiday movie that takes place at the magical Plaza Hotel in New York City. It features a spritely young girl named Eloise who is lucky enough to actually live at the Plaza Hotel, and she runs around causing mischief during the holiday season. Although it's originally based on a children's book, this movie can be enjoyed by people of all ages.

Eloise is a lover of room service, and orders a ton of breakfast food from room service for herself and her grandmother (played by the one and only Julie Andrews) every morning. Her orders tend to be hilariously strange and specific — like asking for a singular raisin — but sometimes they are normal. In one instance, she orders two oatmeals. Now, "Eloise at Christmastime" definitely gives off "morning movie" vibes. It's a great one to cozy up to on a weekend morning during the holiday season, and what better than to make an oatmeal of your own to enjoy while watching the movie?

To make a Christmas themed oatmeal that would surely be served at The Plaza, you're going to want a few key ingredients. Dried cranberries, brown sugar apples, honey, cinnamon, and nutmeg are all delicious add-ins that will take your regular oatmeal from plain and boring to Christmas-at-The-Plaza level delicious. You can stay warm with your bowl of oatmeal while Eloise traipses around the cold and snowy streets of New York City.

The Dr. Seuss classic, "How The Grinch Stole Christmas," has many iterations. Whether you're a fan of the 1966 animation, the 2000 Jim Carrey version, or the most recent 2018 animated retelling – we have the perfect meal to put together while you watch the famous films. The Grinch is about an angry and sad green Who who hates Christmas. In retaliation for his hatred of the holiday, he steals all of the presents and Christmas decorations from every single Who in Whoville. On Christmas day, the Whos wake up incredibly sad, but come together using their Christmas spirit to lift each other up. Moved by the Whos reaction, the Grinch is healed and is invited to Whoville's Christmas dinner.

You can make your own Christmas Who feast with foods that are mentioned in the movies: Who hash, Who pudding, and of course, the Roast Beast! To make Who hash, you can stick with an old-fashioned scalloped potatoes recipe. This onion-y mixture will pay homage to The Grinch's love for eating raw onions, and the potatoes are necessary for a hash. Who pudding can truly be anything you want it to be. You could keep it simple and make vanilla pudding with green food dye in it, or get a bit fancier and make a decadent rice pudding. Lastly, the Roast Beast is simply roast beef. You can follow any recipe that you like, but we recommend making a simple version in the air fryer to save time.

"The Holiday" is one of the coziest Christmas romantic comedies out there. It's a sweet story about Iris (Kate Winslet) and Amanda (Cameron Diaz) who are from England and California, respectively. Both heartbroken and looking for an escape for the holidays, the women meet on a home-exchange website and decide to switch houses. The film shows the magic of Christmas in a charming town in the Cotswolds, England and the luxurious Christmas elegance of Los Angeles, California through Iris's and Amanda's eyes.

Near the end of the movie, it's finally Christmas day, and Iris is spending the evening with her newfound friend, Miles. Miles has recently had his heart broken, and Iris tries to cheer him up (although she's just as heartbroken as he is) through the way she knows how — a Christmas fettuccine.

To make Christmas fettuccine like Iris serves it in the movie, you're going to want to make sure it's extra creamy. Butter, garlic, white wine, heavy cream, and an incredibly generous amount of Parmesan are necessary for the sauce. Adding in a touch of nutmeg and fresh parsley will make it taste a bit more Christmas-y. Cozy up on the couch with your Christmas fettuccine, a glass of white wine, and allow yourself to be transported to the idyllic Christmas vacations of Iris and Amanda.

"Elf" starring Will Ferrell came out in 2003, and is known to be one of the funniest Christmas movies of all time. Will Ferrell plays an "elf" named Buddy, a human raised by elves. He goes on a journey from The North Pole all the way to New York City, and since Buddy was raised by elves, he dresses, acts, and eats differently than all of the humans he meets.

We learn in the movie that the elves consider candy, candy cane, candy corn, and syrup to be the main food groups. In one scene, Buddy tries to bond with his human family by making them breakfast with leftover pasta from the night before. He pours syrup all over the noodles, crunches in pop tarts, and drizzles it all with chocolate syrup. He is shown shoving every single bite into his mouth with pure satisfaction, to the point where it kind of looks appetizing. It's an iconic scene that is absolutely hilarious — especially knowing that Will Ferrell actually ate that concoction.

To make your own Buddy the Elf pasta, you're going to want to substitute plain spaghetti noodles for sweet potato gnocchi instead. It may still sound odd, but the gnocchi will go great with any sort of sweet toppings. You can choose whatever toppings you please, but we recommend pouring maple syrup straight on the gnocchi, sprinkling crushed up Pop Tarts on top, and marshmallow or chocolate syrup drizzled over the plate.

"Love Actually" is a romantic comedy that features tons of famous British actors. It follows nine different story lines, all of which are slightly intertwined with each other. The movie takes place in London, and completely immerses you into the adorable and charming British Christmas traditions and happenings.

Keira Knightley plays a character named Juliet, who is trying earnestly to become friends with her husband's best friend, Mark. In one of the movie's scenes, Juliet shows up at Mark's apartment holding a Banoffee Pie, and uses it as a ploy to attempt to gain his affection. Little does she know, he's actually madly in love with her, which is why he tries to avoid her completely. Juliet holds the pie in a precarious white container, and opens it up to show Mark. Every single time this scene comes on, our mouths water and the thought of eating that delicious treat.

To immerse yourself into British culture while watching this heartwarmingly hilarious movie, you can make your own Banoffee pie. The pie is mainly made with banana and toffee (hence the name, which mixes the two words together). You'll need a graham cracker crust, which you can buy at the store or make yourself. Then, pour a layer of dulce de leche on top of the crust. Layer on some banana slices and top with whipped cream, and you're practically a Brit!

"National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" came out in 1989, and has had a huge following ever since. The slapstick movie follows a family as they navigate through the holidays, with many twists and turns that attempt to shake their Christmas cheer. Clark Griswold, the father of the family, constantly tries to create memorable and joyous Christmas memories for his wife and two children — and he becomes increasingly stressed as his attempts continue to fail. In one famous scene, Clark is seen hunched over a bowl of eggnog. He dips his cup in the nog over and over, and he continuously chugs the drink as the family watches with looks of shock on their faces.

In another scene, Clark serves eggnog in glass cups that are shaped like a moose head. Today, you can find these exact moose cups for sale in many places — and lots of families use them as a traditional cup for drinking eggnog. So, grab your favorite boozy eggnog, and do Clark Griswold the honor of chugging a few glasses while you enjoy the movie.

"A Christmas Story" was released in 1983, and famously plays on TNT and TBS for 24 hours on Christmas Eve until Christmas Day, filling America's homes with the quirky story of the Parker family. In this movie, it follows a typical family — a mother, father, and two sons, who are going through the Christmas season in the chilly state of Indiana.

The movie focuses on the days leading up to Christmas, showing how the parents deal with their boisterous boys on a daily basis, as well as a few outside annoyances, like the neighbor's dogs who keep coming into the Parker family's house. We finally get to Christmas Eve, and the family is about to have a delicious turkey dinner. As the turkey is sitting on the kitchen counter, the neighbor's dogs decide to run through the house, and end up eating the entire turkey! Mr. Parker is incredibly upset, and the family has to go out to eat instead. There weren't many restaurants open on Christmas Eve, so the Parker family ended up eating at a Chinese restaurant.

To enjoy a meal Parker style, we recommend ordering in your favorite Chinese takeout to have while watching this movie. Whether you love pork fried rice, lo mein noodles, or General Tso's chicken — you will be eating in solidarity with the family as they enjoy their untraditional Christmas Eve meal.

One of the best Christmas movies to watch is the 1964 stop motion animation of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." It's simply a classic, and it's always loved by young children. Now, all children (and adults) love a good snack when watching a movie — and we've got just the one.

You're going to make something called reindeer chow, which is a mixture of a few types of snacks. To make the chow, you'll need Rice Chex, Cheerios, pretzels, M&M's, and white chocolate. The white chocolate will need to be melted (either on the stove or in the microwave) along with some coconut oil to give it a smoother consistency. Then, mix the white chocolate with the other ingredients together. Once everything is properly coated, you can place the mixture into the refrigerator to harden the chocolate.

This is called reindeer chow because it looks like a type of food that magical Christmas reindeer might eat. So, go ahead and throw it in a large bowl, and tell the children watching the movie that this is the food that Rudolph and his friends eat! It's a silly, delicious treat that helps the story come to life even more.

"The Polar Express," a 2004 film starring Tom Hanks, is a magical film that shows a young boy taking a journey to the North Pole. In the film, all of the children who end up on The Polar Express to the North Pole are beginning to not believe in Santa. The journey is meant to re-awaken the children's sense of magic and wonder, filling them with Christmas spirit. One of the most fun scenes in the movie is the famous "Hot Chocolate" song, where tons of waiters come singing and dancing into the train car, and serve hot chocolate and other treats to all of the children.

To make your own homage to the delicious treats served on "The Polar Express," we recommend making hot chocolate cookie mugs. To do this, you can make any sort of cookie dough that you please. Then, place the dough into cupcake tins and shape them into a cup-like shape. While they bake, you can make the hot chocolate sauce. To do this, melt a generous amount of semisweet chocolate chips and heavy cream together. This will make a nice and thick chocolate sauce. Pour the sauce into the center of the cookie cups once they're out of the oven, and let them sit for one hour. This is the perfect treat to have for a watch party of "The Polar Express," and will definitely help bring the Christmas magic to everyone watching.