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Other than the first Christmas after a family member had passed away, I feel fortunate to have experienced decades of perfect Christmas stories in my family, and not one of these memories involved the physical gifts received.

I am happy that movies and television have depicted dozens of ways and meanings to a perfect Christmas without the commercial aspect, without the purchased gifts, without the excess.

Home Alone, features a 10-year-old rambunctious boy named Kevin who is somehow left at home when the family is jetting off to France for the holidays. Once she discovers Kevin missing, his mother moves heaven and Earth to get home to him. In his home alone adventures, Kevin deters a duo of burglars but also learns some valuable Christmas lessons along the way, especially about an elderly neighbour who was rumoured to be evil. The end shows the family reuniting, Kevin seeing his neighbour, whom he was once afraid of, reuniting with his own family and the story has a happy ending revealing the bottom line of what makes for a perfect Christmas ‑‑ spending it with your family.

The Grinch is a timeless classic that has won the hearts of young and old for decades. The dastardly character known as the Grinch is determined to eliminate any and all parts of Christmas in Whoville. However, even after all of his efforts, he finds the townsfolk gathering merrily and singing joyfully. That’s when one of the most famous Christmas movie lines is heard (and realized). “Christmas came without ribbons; it came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. Maybe Christmas (he thought) doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more.”

It’s a Wonderful Life is absolutely my favorite must-see Christmas movie. When George Bailey is stressed about a number of circumstances beyond his control, he makes a wish, in desperation, that he had never been born. A struggling angel named Clarence hears the call and helps George realize what the town, his family, his friends, would have endured without him. When George is returned to his wonderful life, he has gained an entirely new appreciation for everything he has that was once taken for granted or misunderstood. Bailey even helps Clarence gain his angel’s wings through the adventure.

Charlie Brown Christmas is another family favourite, even today. The Peanuts gang is floundering around under Lucy’s bossiness and their usual chaos trying to put on the perfect Christmas pageant. Charlie, often feeling rejected and misunderstood, faces the struggle trying to find the perfect tree but instead finds beauty in a small sapling, by just showing it a little love and declaring “I think it needs me.” He proclaims to his friend Linus that Christmas was coming and he didn’t feel happy or the way he thought he was supposed to feel. As Lucy bemoans that she never gets what she wants for Christmas, during the pageant rehearsal, Charlie exclaims, “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?” Wherein Linus moves to centre stage and recites a Bible passage talking of the nativity story, ending the recitation with peace on Earth and good will towards men. That was when the gang recognized what the perfect Christmas was all about.

Whether you believe in the first Christmas or not, the Nativity story of a young couple travelling a great distance by order and unable to secure a room for the night, resulting in them birthing a child in the stable, evokes wonder. The peaceful, miraculous this story of hope exudes tells us of a simple yet reassuring Christmas message; that all the world could unite for a magical moment under a glorious star where a child is born to save the world, bringing mankind the greatest Christmas gift of all.