I am not unfamiliar with the tragedy that accompanies this time of the year—and I refer not to finals week, but to a fate much worse.

The scenario plays out once you realize you have an itch to escape into some delightful piece of Christmas-themed cinema, but all that the channels of your television yield are pitiful attempts such as “Christmas with the Kranks” and the Governator’s forgettable “Jingle All the Way.”

Do not lose heart, though, for quality Christmas movies do exist, and they aim to please.

Here are three I always count on.

“It’s a Wonderful Life”

Director Frank Capra was already proving with his classic film in 1946 that a Christmas movie can have meaningful substance without also needing to be overly sappy. Considerably dark, the film’s narrative pushes its all-around “good ol’ boy” protagonist George Bailey (played by James Stewart) to an ultimate state of wanting to end his life. However, George’s suicide attempt is prevented on Christmas Eve by the guardian angel Clarence, who allows George a glimpse of just how terrible life would be for the rest of Bedford Falls were he not alive.

“It’s a Wonderful Life” garnered five Academy Award nominations, including Best Actor and Picture, and today is highly regarded by the American Film Institute, and rightly so. Sixty-plus years after its release, “It’s a Wonderful Life” still proves its value as a staple of Christmastime.

“National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”

Coming third in the popular “Vacation” series, the 1989 “Christmas Vacation” was directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik and was written by John Hughes (who directed titles such as “Sixteen Candles,” “The Breakfast Club,” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”).

The film equals, if not surpasses, the glory of the original “National Lampoon’s Vacation,” and clearly puts to shame the disappointment that is “European Vacation.”

In this installment, the Griswolds remain at home while the “vacation” comes to them in the form of an assortment of cranky, geriatric, and otherwise eccentric relatives. (Watch for Mae Questal of “Betty Boop” fame as the hilariously senile Aunt Bethany.)

The film’s PG-13 rating allows it just the right amount of coarse language and sexual humor to appeal to adults while still remaining on the “nice” list, and with gems such as “Don’t throw me down, Clark,” “Merry Christmas! Shitter was full!” and “You couldn’t hear a dump truck driving through a nitroglycerin plant,” the film is easily one of the most quotable Christmas movies of our time.

“Bad Santa”

While I don’t think I will go so far as to claim that Terry Zwigoff’s 2003 comedy is a Christmas classic, I do have to commend it for its irreverent humor, for where else can film fans find Santa floating his liver with booze, having sex in Women’s Big and Tall stores and dropping more f-bombs than presents?

Even though acting legends Bill Murray and Jack Nicholson were tapped for the role of mall Santa/safe-cracker Willie, only Billy Bob Thornton could give the character the unapologetic vulgarity that makes the film work. Also, the scenes between gone-too-soon actors John Ritter and Bernie Mac now add a touch of poignancy in a sea of obscenities.

Available in its theatrical version, an unrated “Badder Santa,” as well as a director’s cut, “Bad Santa” provides ample opportunities to make your Christmas just a little filthier.