Check out this list of 25 Christmas movies to watch this holiday season!
It’s not Christmas without watching all the Christmas movie, amiright?! There’s just something so special about popping in a Christmas DVD (or streaming it online). So many of my favorite Christmas movies bring me right back to when I was a little kid enjoying them with my classmates at school, my family and baby-sitters at my home or theirs, or with friends. I’m so glad that new Christmas movies continue to be made year-after-year, but I think my
favorites will always be the ones that bring back all the nostalgia.
If you’re looking for a Christmas movie to enjoy this year, whether it’s kid-friendly, romantic, or a Christmas classic, you’ll be sure to find something you’ll love on this list of 25 Christmas to watch this season.
THE HOLIDAY (2006)
The Holiday is about two women who don’t want to feel lonely at Christmas, so they decide to swap houses (and countries) for the holidays. And of course, there’s two love stories that start to unfold in the most adorable, comedic ways. This will forever be one of my favorite Christmas movies. I love when two stories merge so seamlessly together, and these two couples are just wonderfully perfect for each other.
LOVE ACTUALLY (2003)
Love Actually follows the love stories of several couples in London, England. What I love is that many of the love stories loosely intertwine as the movie progresses. There’s joy, pain, heartbreak, love, and loss. You’ll go through so many emotions while watching the film, but mostly you’ll just feel all the love and happiness that’s extra special around Christmastime.
WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING (1995)
While You Were Sleeping is about a woman named Lucy who works as a Chicago Transit Authority token collector. On Christmas Day, Lucy saves a man named Peter who she has a secret crush on. While at the hospital, Lucy gets mistakenly identified as Peter’s fiancee, and then craziness ensues.
THE FAMILY STONE (2005)
It’s hard not to fall in love with The Family Stone with a star-studded cast, including Diane Keaton, Sarah Jessica Parker, Rachel McAdams, Dermot Mulroney, Claire Danes, and Craig T. Nelson. The film is about the Stone family, particularly the eldest son who brings his girlfriend home for the holidays to introduce her to everyone and ask for the family ring so her can propose. This is such a crazy and fun Christmas film with lots of laughs, twists, and turns, and the love stories don’t pan out the way you thought they would.
A CHRISTMAS PRINCE (2017)
I can’t be the only one who thought this Netflix film was absolutely adorable. I’m also obsessed with Rose McIver because I love iZombie. A Christmas Prince is about a reporter who goes undercover to dig up all the dirty secrets about a prince. Of course, she ends up falling for him, and she has to decide what’s more important – her job or heart (sorry, I’m almost embarrassed at how cheesy that sentence turned out to be)?
TO GRANDMOTHER’S HOUSE WE GO (1992)
My love for Mary-Kate and Ashley is no secret, so of course I had to include their Christmas movie on my list. Admittedly, it’s been years since I’ve seen it, but it will always be a favorite. To Grandmother’s House We Go is about twin girls who believe their mom is tired of them, so they decide to run away to grandma’s house for the holidays. Of course, lots of randomness happens along the way.
ELOISE AT CHRISTMASTIME (2003)
Eloise at Christmastime is based on a children’s book published in 1958. It follows 6-year-old Eloise who lives at the Plaza hotel in NYC. The daughter of the hotel owner is getting married, but Eloise is convinced she’s marrying the wrong person, so she decides to do a little matchmaking to make her fall in love with someone she deems a little more suitable.
PRANCER (1989)
It’s been years since I’ve seen Prancer, but I remember being it one of my favorites in elementary school. The movie is about a girl who helps nurse a wounded reindeer that she believes is one of Santa’s. Her belief raises the Christmas spirit of everyone around her.
THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL (1992)
I don’t think I’ll ever be too old for the Muppets. The Muppet Christmas Carol is a Muppet twist on the classic Christmas Carol tale. It’s cute and hilarious and is guaranteed to give you all the Christmas feels.
THE SANTA CLAUSE (1994)
This is a Christmas movie that I remember watching a lot with my siblings growing up. The Santa Clause is about a man who accidentally kills Santa on Christmas Eve, so he is forced to take his place before the next Christmas comes.
DR. SEUSS’S HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS (1966)
I have so many fond memories surrounding this particular version of the Grinch, both new and old ones. Everyone knows the story of the Grinch, and the cartoon version will always be a classic.
WHITE CHRISTMAS (1954)
If you can believe it, I didn’t watch White Christmas until Christmas last year when I went to Michigan. It’s a favorite of Kyle’s family, so I’m excited to start watching it every year with them. This Christmas classic is about a male duo that teams up with a sister duo to perform a Christmas show. It’s a musical, and it’s lovely.
A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1984)
I had to read A Christmas Carol in high school, and I actually loved it, but even before that, I knew all about the story of ole Scrooge. This book has been adapted and made into so many different movies, but you can’t ignore the classic. This particular version wasn’t the first to be made, but it’s the first one I ever saw, so it’s a personal fave.
MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET (1947)
Another incredible Christmas classic – Miracle on 34th Street is about a man named Kris Kringle who fills in for a drunk Santa during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and then claims that he’s the real Santa. This leads to a whole court case situation with a lawyer fighting to prove that he’s the real deal.
A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS (1965)
I think anything with Charlie Brown is classic, and A Charlie Brown Christmas is no exception.
RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER (1964)
I can’t tell you how many times I watched Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer when I was growing up. I love seeing the story behind one of my favorite Christmas songs come to life onscreen.
FROSTY THE SNOWMAN (1969)
Just like Rudolph, Frosty the Snowman was a favorite of mine when I was younger. This movie makes singing the song so much more fun.
BABES IN TOYLAND (1986)
This isn’t the original version, but I owned the 1980’s version of Babes in Toyland on VHS growing up. It was one of my favorite Christmas movies, and just one of my favorite movies in general. Now that I live in Ohio, I sing the Cincinnati song that I learned from the movie way too often. The movie is about a girl who is starting to not believe in the magic of Christmas. One day, she wakes up and finds herself in Toyland where she has to team up with some of our favorite nursery rhyme characters to overthrow the evil Barnaby.
ELF (2003)
You can’t make a list of Christmas movies without including the movie, Elf. It’s a comedic film about a boy named Buddy who was raised as an elf in the North Pole, but he always felt like he never quite fit in. He decides to travel to NYC to find his real father, and he has some surprises along the way while he’s trying to understand life outside of the North Pole.
HOME ALONE (1990)
Every time I think of Home Alone, I think of how Tahani described it in The Good Place: “Jason’s making me watch this horror film about two ex-convicts who try to rob and murder a neglected child,” which kind of sums it up, right? It’s about an 8-year-old boy whose family leaves for the airport for their Christmas trip, and they accidentally leave him behind. He’s excited about getting his wish to have no family, but then two guys try to rob his home, so he does everything he can to protect it.
FOUR CHRISTMASES (2008)
Four Christmases is one of my hilarious favorites. Every year, Brad and Kate go on an exotic vacation to avoid spending Christmas with their crazy families. When all flights are cancelled, the unmarried couple is forced to spend the holidays with their families, which means they’ll be traveling to have four Christmases. This movie is freaking hilarious from start to finish, and it’s definitely a favorite of mine.
LAST HOLIDAY (2006)
I love me some Queen Latifah, and tbh, it’s been way too long since I’ve seen this Christmas movie. Last Holiday is about a woman who finds out that she has a terminal illness. She’s used to living life so carefully, but this discovery prompts her to drain her savings, and go on a whirlwind trip to Europe. And of course, there’s a little love twist in there.
CHRISTMAS WITH THE KRANKS (2004)
Christmas With the Kranks is a comedy film based on the book Skipping Christmas by John Grisham. It’s about a couple who decides to go on a cruise in lieu of their normal outrageous(ly awesome) Christmas traditions because their daughter isn’t able to make it home for Christmas this year. The neighbors aren’t so happy about this, and soon they start isolating the Kranks due to their desire to skip Christmas.
I’LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS (1998)
Not caring about spending the holidays with his family, in I’ll Be Home for Christmas, Jake accepts a bribe from his dad who says that if he comes home for Christmas, he’ll give him the Porsche. This goes awry when bullies dump Jake in the middle of the desert with no money, identification, or means to make it home, but that doesn’t stop Jake from doing everything he can to get that care.
HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS (2000)
Based on the story and movie that I shared before, the 2000 version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a live-action comedy film following the same story line. It stars Jim Carrey, so naturally, you expect to get lots of laughs along the way.
What are your favorite Christmas movies?
