The Best Foodie Movie Scenes to Watch This Christmas

For families at Christmas, there's nothing better than curling up together to watch a great heartfelt Christmas movie. From old school classics like Miracle on 34th Street to more modern treasures like Elf, there's beautiful bonding to be had with a good Christmas flick.

But what if your idea of a great movie is something food related? Are there Christmas movies out there that feature good food? You bet there are! From Macaulay Culkin's monstrous ice cream sundae in Home Alone to the Cratchit's Christmas dinner in A Christmas Carol, there's a plethora of delicious movie scenes that any foodie would love to sit in front of this Christmas. Who knows, A Christmas Story might inspire you to switch the turkey for a Peking duck or The Polar Express could see you switching gluhwein for hot chocolate.

Love good food? Then you'll love these great Christmas food scenes.

1. Elf

While not necessarily your typical Christmas dinner, it's certainly a Christmas-filled scene when Will Ferrell guzzles down sugar in Elf, claiming that "Elves stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corns, and syrup." Buddy drinks an entire liter of Coke and then proceeds to pour maple syrup all over his spaghetti dinner.

2. A Christmas Carol

One of the best Christmas food scenes of all time has to be the Cratchit dinner scene in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Here, Ebeneezer Scrooge watches with the Ghost of Christmas Present as the Cratchit family sits down to roast goose and Christmas pudding. The excitement at the table is exhilarating and you can't help but smile as you watch each child eagerly await the slicing of the goose. Even the build up to the scene is exciting, with Mrs Cratchit making gravy, Master Peter mashing potatoes, Miss Belinda sweetening the apple sauce, and Martha dusting the hot plates. It's a scene of absolute joy and the perfect example of what good food can mean to a family.

3. Little Women

Despite having saved hard for months to ensure a memorable Christmas breakfast of sausages, oranges, muffins and cream, the four March sisters decide to donate their feast to their struggling neighbours, the Hummels. The girls all agree wholeheartedly to the selfless plan, and the result is an extra special Christmas.

Mr Lawrence (the wealthy neighbour) and his grandson Theodore are impressed and astonished by the act of kindness from the girls. They decide to create their own act of kindness and when the girls return home from their performance of a play on Christmas Eve they are amazed to find their table filled with an extravagant meal.

4. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

While this might not have you rushing out to buy a turkey or jelly mould, there's something very heart-warming about the Griswold's Christmas dinner. Everything starts out well with a fine looking turkey and a welcoming speech from Clark. But once the turkey is cut into it soon becomes apparent that this is no ordinary Christmas dinner.

5. Home Alone

No list of Christmas movies is complete without Home Alone. In the classic series, Kevin is left home alone for Christmas and decides to order a 'lovely cheese pizza', just for himself. He messes with the delivery guy a little, with the help of some sound effects from a movie. Who could forget the classic quote 'Keep the change you filthy animal'?

6. La Buche

The title of this movie refers to the rich Yule-log cake dessert that holiday-hating character Charlotte Gainsbourg says "makes her want to throw up". The movie itself revolves around Emmanuelle Beart, who works tirelessly to prepare a spectacular feast for her family to enjoy. Sadly, no one appreciates her efforts (least of all her husband) and when it's discovered that the turkey is not stuffed with truffles, Christmas is essentially ruined.

7. A Christmas Story

The turkey-deprived Parker family descend into a fit of giggles over a whole roasted duck – and this is a highlight of A Christmas Story. After the Bumpus hounds tear through the Parker's home and make quick work of the cooked turkey, the Parker's are forced to find an alternate meal. They find themselves in Chop Suey Palace Chinese restaurant, where they are not only treated to a jolly singsong, but to a Peking "smiling" duck. The scene ends with the words, "That Christmas would live in our memories as the Christmas we were introduced to Chinese turkey. All was right with the world".

8. Polar Express

How does steaming hot chocolate on a cold train get better? It get's delivered by song, that's how. The Polar Express hot chocolate scene is toe-tapping fun that's guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

9. Matilda

We know this isn't a Christmas movie, but there's no food scene more memorable than this one from Matilda. Principal Trunchbull forces Bruce Bogtrotter to eat an entire chocolate cake on stage. Bruce begins to stuff his face, enjoying every minute of it, but when he realises he had only finished the first piece of what is the biggest cake we've ever seen, he looks like he might give up. Bruce, however, triumphs over the monstrous cake, and as the school cheers on he licks the plate clean and holds it up to the crowd. Most of us relive our own version of this scene in our homes on Christmas Day (if only we had a whole room cheering us on too!), but now we can relive it on the big stage with Matilda the Musical now on in Australia. Want to win tickets to the Brisbane performance, plus flights, accommodation, a backstage experience, and a $500 Good Food Gift Card? Enter Good Food Gift Card's latest competition here.

Movies for your foodie family this Christmas

We hope that you'll be inspired to watch one of our favourite foodie films, listed above, and perhaps bring a new tradition into your family. Christmas is about spending time with loved ones, but, it certainly does revolve around food too! So get cosy, grab a hot chocolate and some fruitcake, and nestle in with your family over some of these great films.

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Mireille Kilgour

Mireille Kilgour has been an entrepreneur for 35 years in the hospitality sector. French born, she has been an accomplished business owner and operator for a number of Sydney venues. Leading the industry with high profile institutions such as Lamrock Café Bondi, she has endless passion for the industry, and now has the pleasure of supporting restaurants to fill their tables with the new Good Food Gift Card program.

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