A CHILD defending his home against two bumbling burglars, a modern-day twist on Dickens' A Christmas Carol and a heart-warming tale of love and charity will all be helping to get cinemagoers into the festive spirit.

In the run up to the big day, Quad is screening Home Alone, Scrooged and It's A Wonderful Life – three Christmas classics that will melt even the sternest Grinch's heart, or at least have them in fits of laughter.

The seasonal celebrations start tonight with the film that truly made a star out of the pint-sized Macauley Culkin – Home Alone.

Written by John Hughes and directed by Chris Columbus, who went on to helm the first two Harry Potter films, Home Alone pits Culkin's eight-year-old Kevin McCallister against two burglars who target his family's mansion on Christmas Eve.

After his entire family jet off to Paris and accidentally leave him behind, it's up to Kevin to defend the house and stop burglars Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern) with a series of traps.

Home Alone, which was released in 1990, tells the traditional story of the importance of family and forgiveness at Christmas with its tongue wedged firmly in its cheek.

The film is part of this month's Crossing The Streams film club at Quad and will be introduced by host and Derby filmmaker Dominic Burns from 8.30pm tonight.

The Christmas spirit continues at Quad from Sunday with It's A Wonderful Life.

Generally regarded as the best festive film of all time, the 1946 classic starts in glum fashion with George Bailey (James Stewart) standing on a bridge over an icy river on Christmas Eve, contemplating suicide. An angel, Clarence, is dispatched to try and stop him.

We discover that George has sacrificed every one of his own dreams and aspirations to help the community in the small American town of Bedford Falls and, over time, has been slowly ground down by frustration at his lack of success to the point where he decides he is worth more dead than alive.

Clarence decides to show George what the world would have been like if he had never existed.

It's not all doom and gloom, though – it all ends happily. It's a tale of salvation, showing a down-on-his-luck but good-natured man realising his worth and that he had made a positive impact on the world.

Frank Capra's classic was nominated for five Oscars and, although it was a box office flop on its first release, it is now hailed as one of the 100 best American films by the American Film Institute, who placed it at the top spot on their list of the most inspirational American films of all time.

It's A Wonderful Life will be putting the smiles on the faces of film lovers from Sunday until Christmas Eve, but will not be on show on Monday. For showtimes, call Quad on 01332 290606 or visit www.derbyquad.co.uk.

The third film in Quad's Christmas canon is Scrooged, a light-hearted, modern-day (well, modern in 1988) comedy twist on Dickens' A Christmas Carol, from 8.40pm on Friday, December 23.

It stars Bill Murray as a ruthless TV executive who will happily fire one of his colleagues on a whim on Christmas Eve.

He is visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future, all of whom convince him to change his ways and win back his family and the love of his life.

To find out more about the Christmas films and any other events at Quad, in Derby's Market Place, call 290606 or visit www.derbyquad.co.uk.

Quad's BFI Mediatheque will also be offering some free festive entertainment including Santa's Grotto Collection, which features Father Christmas Union, spending Christmas Day in the Workhouse (1914), and season's greetings from the celebrities of yesteryear in British yuletide TV of the past.