For some, an annual display (or 12) of A Christmas Story it is a holiday tradition. The classic film offers viewers a glimpse of what the holidays were like in the old days, when people understood the true meaning of Christmas: that children deserve the weapons they want. Just kidding – it’s a satire! Or at least, that was part of Sam Kashner’s opinion in a Vanity Fair 2016 article:
So, when A Christmas Story premiered in 1983, suddenly we had a new type of holiday film, which recognized – even enjoyed the happy season. In other words, what real Christmas was like in royal families. It brought a stimulating explosion of satire and realism, wrapped in a hilarious and perfect story of a middle-class family negotiating the dangers of Christmas, remembered by the eyes of a nine-year-old boy.
And thanks to the soft focus, warm colors and vintage set design, if nothing else, A Christmas Story it’s a decent ambient film to have in the background while you cook, open gifts or do other activities around the house during the holidays.
How to watch ‘A Christmas Story’ on cable
This year, like so many others before it, the cable channel TBS will start showing A Christmas Story at 8 pm EST on Thursday, December 24, and run it repeatedly (12 times, to be exact) for 24 hours. If you have the TBS app, you can also watch there (although you need someone’s cable login information).
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And don’t worry, there is a backup cable option: TNT will also be on the air 24 hours a A Christmas Story, starting at 9 pm EST on Thursday, December 24th. (Plus the TNT app.) But also, the cable costs money and is not accessible to everyone, so let’s move on to ways to watch the classic vacation for free.
How to watch ‘A Christmas Story’ without cable
Those who do not have cable TV are not left out: there are other ways to watch the 37-year-old film. The first is the Internet Archive, where you can not only watch the movie for free, but also recorded version of the 1994 TVand includes the original ads running on TBS.
If you happen to sign up for Hulu Live, FuboTV or Funda, you will be able to watch TBS and TNT marathons through the streaming service. If you don’t have any of these streaming services and haven’t used your free trial periods for all of them yet, this is another way to go.
It is also available for rent for $ 3.99 at Amazon Prime Video, Google Play Movies, Voodoo, iTunes or Youtube.