It's time to flip on a seasonal flick with the family. Here are three lesser-known holiday movies guaranteed to put some spice in your eggnog and/or some marshmallows into your hot cocoa:

Holiday: 1938, 95 minutes, not rated, directed by George Cukor, starring Cary Grant, Katharine Kepburn, Lew Ayres, and Edward Everett Horton.

Starting at Christmas and going through New Year’s Eve, Holiday features the comedy team of Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, and director George Cukor. This one starts off slow but eventually leads to hysterical mayhem as a precocious rich girl steals her sister's fiancée, a struggling young lawyer who has controversial ideals. Cary Grant is at his pratfall best here (almost as good as his quintessential screwball performance in Bringing Up Baby) and Hepburn keeps up with him.  Not the most famous of the Grant/Hepburn/Cukor pairings (The Philadelphia Story would have to take that prize) but I feel it’s the best. The comedy has a quirky quality that makes it unconventional, which might be why it was not initially received as a classic, but it’s not strange enough to miss this wonderful film. 

The Shop Around the Corner: 1940, 99 minutes, not rated, directed by Ernst Lubitsch, starring James Stewart, Margaret Sullavan, and Frank Morgan.

In The Shop Around the Corner, James Stewart plays a head shop clerk in a Budapest store around Christmas and Margaret Sullavan plays his co-worker/nemesis/pen-pal. Yes, Budapest, Hungary.  Jimmy Stewart—the all-American boy—living and working in Hungary? Basically, this movie could have (and should have) been set in America, but since it’s based on a play by Hungarian playwright Miklos Laszlo, director Ernst Lubitsch decided to leave the setting alone. Getting past that, this is a charming, endearing film that will surely become a favorite if you like romantic comedies since this is one of the best of the genre. Lubitsch is known for his stylized and sophisticated rom coms and even though this one lacks a little of the polish of his previous work, Ninotchka, it still satisfies on all levels. Even by today’s standards the dialogue is crisp and alive. And Stewart and Sullivan are a great pairing, seeming just as perfect together when they are bickering as when they are kissing. You’ve Got Mail was a re-make of this classic, but the 1998 film lacks the style and wit of the original.

The Holiday: 2006, 138 minutes, PG-13, directed by Nancy Meyers, starring Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Jack Black, Rufus Sewell and Eli Wallach.

For the holidays, you want a feel-good film without sap being flung at you, right? Well, if that's your holiday mentality, The Holiday is right on target. It is a sweet, endearing film about love and finding the right person. Like all romantic comedies, it does make falling in love simple, but even though the believability level is pretty low, the entertainment level is top-notch. Kate Winslet is a sad-sack Brit who is smitten with the wrong man. Cameron Diaz is a successful L.A. businesswoman who has much more luck with her career than with her love life. Enter a home-switching idea that transports Kate to L.A. and Cameron to England over Christmas.  Enter two new beaus who rekindle each lady’s fire and there you have it...uncomplicated and delightful. So, if you want to see a film filled with cheer and charm, The Holiday is a must for you. It is not a stellar script or a blockbuster…it is just a small, unassuming film that should be on all romantic comedy lists.

Check out The Niles Library to find these titles on DVD. Like Niles Patch on Facebook to join more holiday fun.