It's Edmund Gwenn as Kris Kringle and that adorable, little Natalie Wood in the holiday classic Miracle On 34th Street.

New Christmas DVDs are abound every December. We look at the latest releases, although none will stand a chance of replacing our DVDs of It's A Wonderful Life, A Christmas Story and the Alastair Sim version of A Christmas Carol as our personal favourites for the holidays:

HOLIDAY INN: SPECIAL EDITION

This 1942 Irving Berlin musical with Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire remains a winner, with Crosby singing White Christmas. The splendid new DVD includes a retrospective on Crosby and Astaire.

MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET: SPECIAL EDITION

This 1947 flick is another perennial fave. The new DVD offers a freshly colourized version (I think it's hideous but some viewers, especially young ones, prefer to avoid B&W prints). The original B&W is also here, and it looks great, and there are oodles of extras, including a doc on Macy's parade tradition.

ELOISE: LITTLE MISS CHRISTMAS

The Plaza Hotel's famous six-year-old scamp tries to save Christmas culture in an animated story. The DVD has full and widescreen options.

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey Saves Santa And Other Mousetales

Mickey and Donald have to save Santa when his sleigh breaks down on top of Mistletoe Mt.

HOLLY HOBBIE & FRIENDS: CHRISTMAS WISHES

More animation -- this one is a 44-minute adventure featuring country singer LeAnn Rimes.

ONCE UPON A CHRISTMAS (TWO-PACK)

The two live-action flicks in this Santa Claus melodrama are offered together, both in full screen.

MR. CHRISTMAS

Beth Brickell's newcomer to the DVD scene was a 2005 TV special.

The 56-minute film is a quaint, folksy look at one poor Arkansas family in 1941, showing how a merry Christmas can be found even in poverty, even as war clouds stormed the U.S. after Pearl Harbor.

O. HENRY'S FULL HOUSE

This 1952 omnibus film, with its five separate sagas and huge range of stars (including Charles Laughton and Marilyn Monroe), includes the inspirational Christmas love story The Gift Of The Magi.

For those who love old movies, this one is an unusual treat.

HOME ALONE: FAMILY FUN EDITION

Chris Columbus' 1990 camp comedy with Macaulay Culkin, when he was still cute, is recycled into a new DVD with plenty of extras action.

Included are a gag reel, games, deleted scenes and a clutch of featurettes, among them How To Burglar-Proof Your Home.