Meg’s Top Ten Favorite Christmas Movies, Number Eight: Elf

It's time to grab a mug of cocoa and cozy up with the greatest holiday films of all time. I'll spotlight one of my favorites every day until we reach number one.

Meg's Top Ten Favorite Christmas Movies

Number Eight: Elf (2003)

From start to finish, Elf is delightful. It's hysterically funny and irreverent but still sweet and sentimental. I don't think Christmas time has truly arrived until I've seen Elf at least twice. What's not to love about Christmas cheer, Will Ferrell, and the movie that gave us the word "ginormous?"

Will Ferrell starts as Buddy the Elf, a human who has been living at the North Pole. Buddy sets off on a quest to find his real dad and ends up in cynic-filled New York City just in time for Christmas. Buddy views the world with endless optimism and child-like wonder--which is endearing to some, but downright annoying for almost everyone else. Buddy learns a lot about himself in New York, but he also teaches those New Yorkers a thing or two about Christmas cheer.

Favorite moments in Elf: the narwhal, Buddy's attempt at answering phones (Buddy the Elf, What's Your Favorite Color?), Zooey Deschanel as the lovely Jovi, Jovi and Buddy's shower duet for "Baby, It's Cold Outside," Buddy's reaction to the Gimbel's Santa (You sit on a throne of lies!), Buddy's fight with Miles (the always delightful Peter Dinklage), and fantastic holiday advice: The best way to spread Christmas Cheer, is singing loud for all to hear!

Elf is a Christmas classic, despite being released just a few years ago. I can't imagine the holidays without at least one viewing of this fantastical farce, and I look forward to making that viewing an annual tradition with Dolly.

Next up on the countdown: we leave Gimbel's and head across the street to meet another department store Santa...