I guess I'm so happy if I was a dog my tail would be wagging

One person's definition of a "holiday movie" is not the same as any others, and what makes a good one is in question for sure. Here are 3 new (to me) options, and another film that I've seen before.

Holiday in Handcuffs (2006) - "Would-be painter Gertrude 'Trudie' Chandler loses her waitress job and boyfriend Nick on Christmas Eve, so her only shot to avoid feeling like her family's black sheep is to replace their ideal son-in-law with even-hunkier dream prince David Martin—by kidnapping him at gunpoint and dragging him to her family's holiday in a secluded, luxurious log cabin. Crazy lies prevent David from convincing the Chandler family that he's not Nick, and from escaping. When he finally places a rescue call to his spoiled fiancée, David decides to play the perfect catch to make her undoing worse. Before the police rescue him, he and the family realize that they adore each other, the others all prove imperfect, and David and Trudie reassess their relationship after getting to know each other. "
source: streamed on Amazon Prime
I watched it because: I wanted to watch something funny, whether it knew it or not
IMDB: 6.1/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: N/A% Audience: 64%
my IMDB: 6/10

notable quote: "So, you've been walking for what, about an hour? And you've gone exactly 1.8 miles and the nearest gas station is 20 miles away - you do the math. Look, why don't you come back to the house, we'll make some hot chocolate, okay?"

MPAA rating: NR

directed by: Ron Underwood

my notes: cute, silly, and surprisingly deep (in spots). I liked it. Will watch again.
overall:  recommended

Take Me Home (2011) - "In New York City, Thom is broke and jobless, illegally working as a taxi driver just to make some quick cash to try and pay his rent. Claire is a successful business-woman, but personally she's in shambles trying to recover from a bump in her marriage and then comes the phone call that her distant father is in the hospital. Not knowing what to do, Claire hops in Thom's cab and orders him to just drive. And so he does. The duo find themselves in Pennsylvania and make the rash decision to drive across the country. On the road to California, there are many detours, as the obstacles and secrets force them to learn about themselves and each other. "

source: streamed on Amazon Prime
I watched it because: I wanted something a little more serious
IMDB: 6.8/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: N/A% Audience: 67%
my IMDB: 9/10

notable quote: "'Eventually you have to settle down.'

    'Some people settle down, and some people just settle.'

    'Well, it's clear which category you fit into.'"

MPAA rating: PG-13

directed by: Sam Jaeger

my notes: I love this movie. It is funny, smart, sad, and thoughtful.

First reviewed here.
overall: highly recommended

Holiday Affair (1949) - "Just before Christmas, department store clerk Steve Mason meets big spending customer Connie Ennis, really a commercial spy. He unmasks her but lets her go, which gets him fired. They end up on a date, which doesn't sit well with Connie's steady suitor, Carl, but delights her son Timmy, who doesn't want Carl for a step-dad. Standard (if sweet) romantic complications follow."
source: I owned the DVD
I watched it because: it was Christmas with my parents, and we always look for something holiday-ish but a bit off-center
IMDB: 7.1/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: N/A% Audience: 69%
my IMDB: 7/10

notable quote: "Anything can change a life that's ready to be changed."

MPAA rating: Approved

directed by: Don Hartman

my notes: Robert Mitchum makes an appealing working man anti-hero in this film, playing so well off of Wendell Corey's wonderfully dry and staid gentleman. Janet Leigh's character is a dingdong, fragile and irritating. Gordon Gebert is the best, though, as little Timmy. I will definitely see this one again.
overall:  recommended

It Happened on Fifth Avenue (1947) - "Every winter, Michael J. O'Connor, the second richest man in the world, vacates his 5th Avenue mansion for his winter home in warmer climes. Every winter, Aloysius T. McKeever, a homeless man, and his dog moves into vacated mansions. This particular winter, McKeever meets Jim Bullock, an army veteran who has recently been evicted from his apartment and offers to share the mansion with him. It's not long before the mansion has a few more guests, including two of Jim's army buddies and their wives and children; runaway heiress Trudy O'Connor; her mother and even Michael J. O'Connor, himself."
source: I owned the DVD
I watched it because: I was at my parents' for Christmas for the whole day, and we needed some new and interesting entertainment
IMDB: 7.6/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: N/A% Audience: 80%
my IMDB: 6/10

notable quote: "I believe that people who require money should work for it. As for myself, I gave up working years ago. I never could make enough to satisfy my lavish tastes. So, I let other people work for it, and I enjoy it."

MPAA rating: Passed

directed by: Roy Del Ruth

my notes: a thoroughly ridiculous film, stocked with outlandish and grating characters, which somehow transformed itself into an inspiring and heartwarming movie
Academy Award nominee: Best Writing, Original Story
overall:  moderately recommended

[the title quotation is from Holiday Affair]