The first one has aged a lot better than this one

Couldn't agree more. There was a time when I was younger where I though I liked 2 better. As I've gotten older, it's still a fun movie and one of my favorite Christmas movies but it doesn't come close to the first.

The first is just a good movie overall. Good script, good music, good editing.... It seems like with 2 they had pressure to live up to one and it shows.

Still great, but one has the edge, especially in terms of aging.

I just re-watched them both over the weekend and you're absolutely right. The first one has such a charming timeless feel to it and deserves its status as a holiday classic. Whereas the second definitely has more of a 90s feel to it. It might also have to do with the fact that the second movie was so much more commercialized than the first. I was very young when it came out but I remember that ads for the movie, the talkboy, etc, were everywhere. You couldn't escape it.

I concur.