The 16 Most Memorable Fights From Holiday Movies 

Who didn't want to beat the ever-living snot out of the menacing yellow eyed schoolyard bully Scut Farkus? Not only did he terrorize poor Randy and Ralphie, but he reminded us of every mean kid we ever dealt with in school. When Ralphie had finally had enough he went into a blind rage and gave Scut what was coming to him in an after school scuffle. When Ralphie broke down in tears after the brawl, we do too. 

When Brad (Vince Vaughn) makes a stop at one of the four Christmas visits he has to make (hence the title) things get rough and tumble. He's promptly pummeled by his Ultimate Fighter brothers Denver and Dallas (played by Jon Favreau and Tim McGraw). It wouldn't be the holiday season if our siblings didn't beat us up, metaphorically and physically. And, in the case of poor Ben, pretty violently. And repeatedly. 

Watching grown adults get into wild physical and verbal altercations all to get a toy for their offspring who are probably on the naughty list anyway? No, that's not just this year's Black Friday footage, but the premise of the 1996 family comedy in which Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sinbad (Merry Christmas, universe) battle it out in the Mall of America for a coveted "Turbo Man" action figure. 

It's easy to forget that 'Die Hard' is a Christmas movie. It's not easy to forget, however, that it's the most badass Christmas movie. Instead of spending his Christmas Eve trying to reconcile with his beautiful wife, NYPD detective John McClane (Bruce Willis) instead spends it fighting off Russian terrorist Hans Gruber and his squad of hired goons. It's impossible to pick which fight is the best here, but McClane walking barefoot on glass is every action movie lover's Christmas wish come true. 

Speaking of unconventional, albeit brilliant Christmas movies, Martin McDonagh's Oscar-winning crime drama 'In Bruges' follows hitman Ray (Colin Farrell), who reluctantly spends his holiday stuck in f**kin' Bruges with his colleague Ken (Brendan Gleeson). Things take a turn for the worse when their boss (Ralph Fiennes) shows up for an uncompleted job. It all escalates into a bloody, brutal — and for two of the men, fatal — shootout that begins in a hotel and ends in the town's square. It's violent and heartbreaking, but with the falling slow and Christmas lights, oddly beautiful, just like the movie itself. 

Aside from 'Die Hard', 'In Bruges, 'Reindeer Games' and maybe 'Black Christmas', Chris Columbus' PG-rated holiday classic is maybe the most violent Christmas movie ever. Did we mention it's PG because the last half hour of the movie — about a precocious youngster named Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) left to fend for himself when his family accidentally neglects to bring him along on their vacation — is said precocious youngster nearly killing a pair of bumbling thieves (Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern) thanks to some elaborate booby traps. We don't know what hurts more, thinking about how Culkin turned out or watching Daniel Stern step on that nail on the basement steps. 

'Scrooged', the modern take on Charles Dickens' classic 'A Christmas Carol' took some artistic liberties when they had their Ghost of Christmas Present (Carol Kane) kick, slap, and — perhaps most memorably — assault their version of Scrooge, Frank Cross (played by Bill Murray) with a toaster. 

You know what's not so wonderful? Watching poor George Bailey (James Stewart) get hit so hard in his bad ear that it bleeds in the depressing/heartwarming holiday classic 'It's A Wonderful Life'. Even though we know how things turn out for George and his family, this scene still stings to watch. 

A proper family gathering at Christmas not only has physical altercations, but verbal ones as well.  The brood in 'The Family Stone' had it down to a science, having both terribly awkward arguments at the dinner table (namely when family patriarch Kelly, played by Craig T. Nelson, understandably yells at daughter-in-law to-be Meredith, played by Sarah Jessica Parker, for her insensitive remarks about his gay son) and over-the-top chases around the breakfast table that ends in tears and a ruined strata. Hey, the family that fights together...

Talk about a warm welcome home for the holidays. When Drew (Ben Affleck) returns to his childhood home around Christmas he's greeted by the current tenant Tom (James Gandolfini)...with a shovel to the back of the head. Of course, that's what sitting through this movie felt like to anyone who endured it: a shovel to the head from none other than Tony Soprano. 

While the Griswold's various scuffles with their snooty neighbors, a SWAT team, an unwelcome squirrel, and an even more unwelcome cousin Eddie are all pretty great, nothing compares to Clark flipping out about his cheap boss and all-together ruined holiday takes the fruitcake. "We're all in this together. This is a full-blown, four-alarm holiday emergency here. We're gonna press on, and we're gonna have the hap-hap-happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tap danced with Danny f**king Kaye. And when Santa squeezes his fat white ass down that chimney tonight, he's gonna find the jolliest bunch of a**holes this side of the nuthouse" really says it all about family togetherness on the holidays, doesn't it? 

Spending the holidays with your loved ones may feel like you're being held hostage by a madman. But, in the case of the dysfunctional Chasseur clan (Kevin Spacey, Judy Davis), they were actually held hostage by a madman (Denis Leary.) After having a marriage counseling session on Christmas Eve, the troubled, barb-slinging couple are tied up, held at gunpoint, and eventually reconciled by the very crook who attempted to rob them. 

The raunchy dark comedy 'Bad Santa' is a hilarious assault on all things sweet and sugary about the Christmas season and while the film has its more than fair share of physical and verbal throw downs. But the most memorable fight happens when the titular boozy, bad Santa himself Willie (Billy Bob Thornton) attempts to teach young Therman how to fight and in the process, the two of them and his dwarf accomplice Marcus (Tony Cox) all wind up punching each other right in the nutcrackers in the boxing ring. 

This soul-crushingly awful Christmas movie about neighbors forced to decorate their home for the holidays because they were pressured by their pushy, evil neighbors features slapstick violence, bullying, protests, and run-over hams. Of course, the ones most hurt by a movie which glorifies holiday greed and excess, is anyone that watched it. 

Much like 'Christmas with the Kranks', the universally panned 'Deck the Halls' is also about sparring neighbors who really miss the point of the season. Here, suburban drones, a "Christmas expert" named Steve (Matthew Broderick) and his annoying care salesman neighbor Buddy (Danny DeVito) do deplorable things to each other to have the better holiday display at their homes. Among other atrocities and crimes they knock out each others electricity, blackmail embarrassing photos, and chop down the town's Christmas tree. The eventually call a truce, but no one walked away unscathed from this lump of cinematic coal.