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‘Tis the season for streaming!
It’s that special time of year — when we celebrate the joy, love and laughter of Christmas in a special way: by streaming holiday movies.
And with more streaming platforms than ever before, you’re spoiled with choices when it comes to festive films.
Technically the beginning of the 12 days of Christmas, Christmas Day is the perfect time to rewatch a beloved festive flick or one of this year’s new additions to the genre.
So if you’re looking for something to watch — whether it’s with family, friends, that special someone or your fur baby — pour yourself a cup of cocoa, grab a cozy blanket and treat yourself to one of these 12 holiday movies (and one bonus) as you enjoy the holiday.
“Elf”
“Buddy the Elf, what’s your favorite color?”
Will Ferrell’s 2003 screwball Christmas comedy is a perennial favorite among a wide swath of demographics, making it a perfect choice for family viewing. If, somehow, you haven’t seen it, the movie follows Buddy the Elf (Ferrell), one of Santa’s elves, who learns his birth father is a businessman (James Caan) living in New York and sets out to find him. Hijinks ensue as Buddy tries to acclimate to life in the big city.
Watch “Elf” on Hulu or Disney+.
“Our Little Secret”
Lindsay Lohan’s second Netflix Christmas movie, “Our Little Secret,” delighted fans just as much as her first, 2022’s “Falling for Christmas,” in which she played a spoiled hotel heiress who falls for a down-on-his-luck innkeeper (Chord Overstreet) after being diagnosed with amnesia after falling in a skiing accident.
For her sophomore holiday movie venture, Lohan stars opposite Ian Harding (“Pretty Little Liars”), who plays her ex. Each resentful of the other, they are forced spend Christmas under the same roof after learning that their respective significant others are siblings.
Watch “Our Little Secret” on Netflix.
“The Polar Express”
The animated adaptation of Chris Van Allsburg’s 1985 children’s book of the same name, “The Polar Express” seems to find its way into the top 10 of streaming rankings each year.
Directed by Robert Zemeckis (“Back to the Future,” “Forrest Gump”) and starring the voice of Tom Hanks, “The Polar Express” follows a young boy who questions whether Santa Claus is real as he is swept aboard a magical train to the North Pole on Christmas Eve where he meets the big man in red himself and learns an invaluable lesson about the true spirit of Christmas.
Watch “The Polar Express” on Hulu and Max.
“The Merry Gentlemen”
If you’re looking for holiday fare that’s a bit meatier, look no further than “The Merry Gentlemen.”
Part of Netflix’s 2024 roster of Christmas movies, “The Merry Gentlemen” takes inspiration from films such as “The Full Monty” and “Calendar Girls” to create a crowd-pleasing holiday film that will have you reaching for your candy canes.
When New York dancer Ashley (Britt Robertson) returns to her hometown to find her parents’ beloved nightclub is being shut down due to unpaid rent, she stages a Christmas-themed all-male Christmas-themed dance revue to raise funds to save the club. Ashley recruits local studs to star in the show. Among them is handsome handyman Luke (Chad Michael Murray). Cue the Chad Michael Murray-aissance.
Watch “The Merry Gentlemen” on Netflix.
“Hot Frosty”
Netflix’s other entry into the “Christmas movies about hot men” category, “Hot Frosty” is about a young widow (Lacy Chabert) whose magic scarf brings a sexy snowman (Dustin Milligan) to life. Can he help her rediscover romance? After all, he only has so much time to embody his new sexy self — all snowmen must melt (or must they?).
This is fare as light as freshly fallen snow, so don’t expect serious meditations on the temporal nature of love. But for “Schitt’s Creek” fans who’ve longed to see the affable Mulligan in more shirtless romps (see: the puppy cam; iykyk), look no further than this far-from-frigid romp.
Watch “Hot Frosty” on Netflix.
“National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”
“We’re gonna have the hap, hap, happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tap-danced with Danny f–king Kaye.”
It’s tempting to just write out every single iconic quote from “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” the raucous 1989 comedy starring Chevy Chase, Randy Quaid, Beverly D’Angelo, Johnny Galecki and Juliette Lewis, because there are so many memorable lines, such as, “Merry Christmas! Sh-tter was full!”
The tale of the Griswold family’s attempt to have and then survive the perfect Christmas, “Christmas Vacation” is the ideal film for anyone who’s ever felt like their family is the most dysfunctional, insane bunch of weirdos on the face of the planet, because chances are the Griswolds have you beat.
Stream “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” on Hulu, Max or Disney+.
“Die Hard”
“Yippee-ki-yay, motherf–ker!”
The debate about whether “Die Hard” is or is not a Christmas movie has effectively been settled given that the film’s streams spike every holiday season.
When New York City policeman John McClane (Bruce Willis) visits his estranged wife, (Bonnie Bedelia), at her work holiday party on Christmas Eve in an LA high-rise, the festivities are interrupted by a group of terrorists who take over the building and everyone in it. McClane realizes that it’s up to him to save his family, save the hostages and save the day. The film, which also starred the late Alan Rickman as the villain Hans Gruber, launched a franchise which today includes five other films.
Watch “Die Hard” Hulu, Disney+ or Prime Video.
“Miracle on 34th Street” (1994) & “Miracle on 34th Street” (1947)
OK, these are two movies, but warrant streaming given that the 1994 remake of the 1947 Christmas classic is one of those rare examples of a jolly Hollywood remake.
Both iterations of the film are immensely enjoyable and follow the same storyline: a 6-year-old Santa skeptic, Susan Walker, who was raised by her mother, Dorey, to believe that Santa Claus isn’t real, must confront her beliefs when a curious man named Kris Kringle who claims to be Santa is hired by her mother to be the official Santa Claus at Macy’s department store, where she works. The film also has a romance between Susan’s mother and a dashing young attorney, Bryan Bedford, who ends up coming to Kringle’s aid in his darkest hour.
The original film starred a young Natalie Portman as Susan. In its 1994 reincarnation, “Miracle on 34th Street” starred Mara Wilson as the precocious 6-year-old, Dylan McDermott as Bedford, Richard Attenborough as Kringle and Elizabeth Perkins as Dorey,
Watch “Miracle on 34th Street” (1947) on Hulu, Peacock and Disney+; and “Miracle on 34th Street” (1994) on Peacock, Hulu and Disney+.
“A Bad Moms Christmas”
The sequel to 2016’s “Bad Moms,” “A Bad Moms Christmas” returns to the lives of three under-appreciated and overburdened moms Amy (Mila Kunis), Kiki (Kristen Bell) and Carla (Kathryn Hahn) as they tackle the hardest time of the year for all moms: Christmas.
And as if creating the perfect holiday for their families isn’t hard enough, they have to do it while hosting and entertaining their own respective mothers when they come to stay for the holidays.
If nothing else, watch for Christine Baranski, who gives a master class in passive-aggressive white woman WASP-ishness.
The movie also stars Susan Sarandon, Christina Applegate, Cheryl Hines, Peter Gallagher, Justin Hartley, Jay Hernandez and Wanda Sykes.
Watch “A Bad Moms Christmas” on Netflix.
“The Holiday”
Always remember: you’re supposed to be the leading lady of your own life.
That is one of the many lessons gleaned from Nancy Meyers’ heartwarming romantic comedy, “The Holiday.” The 2006 Christmas flick follows two women, Amanda Woods (Cameron Diaz) and Iris Simpkins (Kate Winslet), both of whom are struggling with their love lives.
When movie-trailer-maker Amanda dumps her boyfriend for cheating on her and Winslet stops herself from pulling a Sylvia Plath after being blindsided by her ex’s engagement, the pair use a home-swapping website to switch homes for the holidays, sending them on their merry ways to find true love.
Also starring Jude Law, Jack Black and Eli Wallach, you can watch “The Holiday” on Prime Video.
“It’s a Wonderful Life”
A perennial Christmas classic, there’s a reason Frank Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life” has been beloved for so many years. Though the film has an uplifting ending, its main character George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart) sets the movie in motion when he almost takes his own life. Thankfully, his guardian angel, Clarence, shows up and shows him what his town would have looked like if it hadn’t been for all the good he did over the years.
The darkness of the film’s beginning makes the heartwarming end all the more satisfying. It’s no wonder “It’s a Wonderful Live” is so beloved.
Stream “It’s a Wonderful Life” on Prime Video and the Roku Channel.
“The Muppet Christmas Carol”
The Muppets give their own spin on the Dickens classic, making the holiday tale as heartwarming as any other movie in the muppet canon. Kermit the Frog steps into the shoes of Bob Cratchit, the beleaguered clerk of miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, a pitch-perfect Michael Caine giving his best bah humbug.
The rest of the muppet gang are here too, including Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Fozzie Bear and Sam the Eagle. In a fun added conceit, Gonzo plays Charles Dickens himself, narrating the tale with his pal Rizzo.
Watch “The Muppet Christmas Carol” on Disney+.
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