The holidays are in full swing, and one of the most beautiful parts of this time of year is watching a good Christmas movie. While Christmas films aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, around the holidays, even the meanest Grinch has to crack a simple when a Christmas movie comes on this time of year. So, what’s the most popular holiday movie in the state? Each state has its own pick, and it’s fun to see where this one lands.
Top Christmas Movie in Pennsylvania
A fresh survey from film and culture publication PixlParade names the most popular Christmas movies for 2025, plus the top choice in each state. As for research, PixlParade polled roughly 2,000 Americans in all of the states and asked people to pick their favorite holiday movie out of 27 movies released within the last 50 years.
As for which movie tops the tally overall, the results show that by far National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, which came out in 1989, is the most popular Christmas movie in America, getting 31.02% of the vote. It was also the top choice in 31 states, making it an easy winner for the country’s Christmas favorite. Coming in at No. 2 was 1983’s A Christmas Story with 16.21% of votes, and coming in at No. 3 was 1990’s Home Alone with 11.23% of the votes.
“Whether you prefer cozy classics, toasty rom-coms, magical marvels, or hilarious holiday hijinks, there’s a Christmas movie for everyone,” PixlParade notes. Also, a few states were the only ones to pick their particular movies, such as Oklahoma, which chose 1994’s The Santa Clause as its top pick and Rhode Island, which picked 2006’s The Holiday.
So, what’s the top holiday movie in Pennsylvania? It’s the classic National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. This comes as no surprise, because it’s really a favorite each and every year. Now, you have one more reason to watch it.
Anne Erickson started her radio career shortly after graduating from Michigan State University and has worked on-air in Detroit, Flint, Toledo, Lansing and beyond. As someone who absolutely loves rock, metal and alt music, she instantly fell in love with radio and hasn’t looked back. When she’s not working, Anne makes her own music with her band, Upon Wings, and she also loves cheering on her favorite Detroit and Michigan sports teams, especially Lions and MSU football. Anne is also an award-winning journalist, and her byline has run in a variety of national publications. You can also hear her weekends on WRIF.