15 Obscure Facts About Classic Christmas Films To Guarantee You Win Your Next Trivia Night
Yes, Die Hard is a Christmas movie. We've all agreed on that a long time ago.
Christmas movies have a way of sticking around long after the decorations come down, and some of the most familiar ones are packed with behind-the-scenes details most viewers never notice.
From motion-capture milestones to casting surprises and on-set tricks, these holiday classics have more going on than cozy nostalgia alone. Even the movies you have watched a dozen times can still hide a few trivia-night winners.
That is exactly what makes these facts so fun, and a little unsettling, once you know them.
1. In the British star-studded 'Love Actually' (2003), the scene with the girl singing 'All I Want For Christmas Is You' was cut because she sounded too good.
Apart from that trivia, the establishing shots and closing shots of people greeting one another at Heathrow Airport were filmed by regular people; none of them were actors.
Love Actually (2003)2. Buzz's pet tarantula was real in the first 'Home Alone' (1990) movie.
Daniel Stern, who played Marv (one of the burglars), shared that he insisted on using a live tarantula despite having the option of using a mechanical prop made by the production. By using a real critter, the actor said, his fear and reaction were more genuine.
Home Alone (1990)3. For the second Home Alone film, then 10-year-old Macaulay Culkin was the highest-paid child actor at that time, making $4.5 million from the second movie.
Added trivia: all of the kids in the toy store scene were asked to pick their favorite toy and were allowed to bring it home once the shoot was done. Looks like all of them were on Santa's nice list!
Home Alone 2: Lost In New York (1992)
4. Seventy-year-old Frank Sinatra was the first actor offered the role of John McClane in the movie 'Die Hard' (1988).
He starred in the 1968 film 'The Detectives,' where the characters for 'Die Hard' were first introduced. He had first dibs on the character according to his contract; John McClane would have been very different had Ol' Blue Eyes accepted the offer.
Die Hard (1988)
5. The people on the streets that Will Ferrell interacted with in the movie 'Elf' (2003) are actual New Yorkers and not paid actors.
All of the food he ate was also real. He had to shove tons of candies, pancakes, and marshmallows during the scenes, reportedly causing frequent headaches.
Elf (2003)
6. 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' (1965) was not expected to be successful by anyone at CBS, including its director and producers.
It was a 30-minute Christmas TV special that aired on December 9, 1965, where 15 million families tuned in. The overwhelming number of viewers turned the gamble into an instant classic.
In 1966, 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' won a Peabody and an Emmy for outstanding children's programming. It ran on CBS annually for 35 years until ABC acquired the rights to it.
A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
And if you think Christmas movie facts are weird, these 81 visual anomalies will make your logic short-circuit.
7. Michael Caine said he would only join the cast of 'The Muppet Christmas Carol' (1992) if he was allowed to treat the characters as real people, and he didn't acknowledge that he was acting alongside puppets the entire time.
The veteran actor was even more impressed when he found out that the film was Brian Henson's directorial debut. Everyone on set was in awe of Michael Caine's professionalism, including Kermit the Frog, who received a piece of advice from the actor: "never blink" while filming.
‘The Muppet Christmas Carol’ (1992)
8. When Tim Allen played Santa in the film 'The Santa Clause 2' (2002), he didn't break character throughout, as the child actors believed he was the real deal.
He felt responsible for keeping the magic alive for all the kids on set. Oddly enough, not many adults would mistake Allen for anyone else at that time, given that he was at the peak of his career.
The Santa Claus 2 (2002)
9. Security searched the cars of the crew members of 'Gremlins' (1984) to ensure none of the Gremlins were stolen, since each was valued at $40,000.
Originally, monkeys in costume were set to play the Gremlins, but they were too skittish when made to wear masks. Animatronic Gremlins were created to play the role, but they cost production a fortune to make.
10. 'Happiest Season' (2020) director Clea Duvall shared that the film is basically an autobiography.
Furthermore, she said she wrote it because she had never seen her personal experience on screen. If COVID-19 hadn't happened, the film would have been the first major studio theatrical release led by two women in a same-sex relationship.
Happiest Season (2020)
11. The effects department of 'It's A Wonderful Life' (1946) won an Oscar for their fake snow.
They used a combination of soap, water, and foam blasted through a wind machine to create fake snow. Before this, film crews used corn flakes, which were too noisy to drop, causing dialogues to be dubbed after filming.
It's A Wonderful Life (1946)
12. Flick's tongue was not actually on a frozen pole in 'A Christmas Story' (1983).
The crew cleverly used a suction tube within the flagpole to create the illusion. Someone also bought the house used in the movie and shelled out a fortune to replicate the set; it is now a major tourist attraction in Cleveland.
A Christmas Story (1983)
13. Arnold Schwarzenegger's 'Jingle All The Way' (1996) is based on the Cabbage Patch Doll craze of the '80s.
Since people go crazy almost every Christmas, it also inadvertently mimicked the Tickle Me Elmo craze of 1996. They were also sued by a teacher for copying his Christmas frenzy script and won; the ruling was eventually overturned once production proved they had their own script long before the teacher submitted his.
Jingle All The Way’ (1996)
14. Several cameras froze for real during the filming of 'Miracle On 34th Street' because of the extreme cold winter.
Miracle on 34th Street’ (1947)
15. Jim Carrey was not the first actor of choice to play the Grinch in the film 'How The Grinch Stole Christmas' (2000).
Legendary actors Eddie Murphy and Jack Nicholson were first approached to play the iconic role. The filming was so difficult that the makeup director had to go to therapy to deal with the job.
Actor Jim Carrey also felt so confined by the intense makeup process that he had to seek counseling from a CIA agent on how to withstand torture. Murphy and Nicholson must have felt relieved after learning this.
How The Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
Your favorite Christmas movies will never be the same after reading about all the backstage secrets. They are not all eggnog and warm, fuzzy feelings, are they?
Nevertheless, these facts make our favorite holiday films a lot more intriguing. They will certainly make your Christmas viewing traditions more interesting.
Now you have a few extra trivia bullets for the next holiday movie marathon.
Want more celebrity chaos, like when Hollywood’s biggest stars begged to be swallowed up by the Earth? Read this list of the moments they got totally caught off guard.
