I don't like either of those, but I chose The Christmas Carol because the nativity bores me... XD I prefer horror stories written around this time of year.
I like them both. I like anything that has to do with Christmas, except those cheesy Hallmark romance stories. I'm a very romantic person, but I'm bored from all the heterosexual Christmas love stories that basically have the exact same story line.
Initially I enjoyed both stories however, after having read it a couple times and seen the movie a few too many times it's sort of gotten boring. So I prefer the Nativity, it seems more 'magical', 'christmas-y' and 'loving' than The Christmas Carol, imo.
I'm a Christian, so it'd be wrong not to pick the Bible, but I'd argue A Christmas Carol is the greatest story ever written. I'll never ever get tired of it.
The Nativity adds something to the magic of Christmas and it's a nice story, but that's all it is, in my opinion. I don't think it's a factual account of how Jesus came into the world. I understand why the author of Matthew's gospel created the story and why the author of Luke subsequently altered and embellished it (and how we came to conflate the two stories into The Christmas Nativity), but in no way do I believe they were providing a true historical account of events c. 2016 years ago. Still, it's a nice story that connects us to the celebration of Jesus' birth and the Christian festival.
I do enjoy both stories; they both have powerful timeless messages. Do I regard the Biblical story as anything more than a story? Not particularly, but that doesn't negate its long-reaching implications and the influence it has had on generations. Not to mention the wonderful music and art inspired by it.
Definitely prefer the Hallmark movies... not. Though they're hilarious as hell! Especially that one where the woman dates a prince from some made up country and everyone in the royal family hates her. I think it's kinda Christmas related as well because they like buy a tree or something... I can't remember now but that one's my favorite. I picked A Christmas Carol but my real favorite is Home Alone. Not sure if that counts as a Christmas story though so I'll go Grinch.