Looking for the best Christmas movies to watch? You’ll want to check out these 50 Christmas movies for the family to enjoy this holiday season.
There is nothing like snuggling up on the sofa in a warm blanket and watching Christmas movies in December. It’s the perfect way to spend those chilly evenings.
Around 60% of US families say they watch a Christmas movie together during the holiday season. It’s clearly a treasured family tradition.
There are so many Christmas movies out there it can hard to know which ones to watch each year. There is only so much time, unfortunately. This list of the best Christmas movies can help you decide which you want to watch.
Don’t forget to add them to your movie list in your Christmas planner so you can keep track of which ones you want to watch.
These movies are perfect to watch with your own Christmas movie night. I love to make some delicious snacks and create a fun and cozy night in front of the Christmas tree with these Christmas movies.
The Best Christmas Movies
With this list of Christmas movies, you will have something fun to watch all holiday season long. There are Christmas movies for kids and Christmas movies for adults, something everyone will love!
Miracle on 34th Street (Original): After a divorced New York mother hires a nice old man to play Santa Claus at Macy’s, she is startled by his claim to be the genuine article. When his sanity is questioned, a lawyer defends him in court by arguing that he’s not mistaken.
Miracle on 34th Street (1994): A lawyer and a little girl must prove that a man claiming to be Santa Claus is the real thing.
The Preacher’s Wife: An angel comes to Earth to help a preacher save his church and his family.
Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch: A grumpy Grinch plots to ruin Christmas for the village of Whoville.
The Christmas Chronicles: The story of sister and brother, Kate and Teddy Pierce, whose Christmas Eve plan to catch Santa Claus on camera turns into an unexpected journey that most kids could only dream about.
The Christmas Chronicles 2: Kate Pierce, now a cynical teen, is unexpectedly reunited with Santa Claus when a mysterious troublemaker threatens to cancel Christmas – forever.
Love Actually: Follows the lives of eight very different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London, England.
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation: The Griswold family’s plans for a big family Christmas predictably turn into a big disaster.
Mickey’s Christmas Carol: The classic Disney animated characters play the roles in this animated retelling of the Charles Dickens masterpiece.
The Night Before: On Christmas Eve, three lifelong friends spend the night in New York City looking for the Holy Grail of Christmas parties.
Home Alone: An eight-year-old troublemaker must protect his house from a pair of burglars when he is accidentally left home alone by his family during Christmas vacation.
Home Alone 2: One year after Kevin McCallister was left home alone and had to defeat a pair of bumbling burglars, he accidentally finds himself stranded in New York City – and the same criminals are not far behind.
Frosty the Snowman: A living snowman and a little girl struggle to elude a greedy magician who is after the snowman’s magic hat.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: A misfit reindeer and his friends look for a place that will accept them.
Scrooged: A selfish, cynical television executive is haunted by three spirits bearing lessons on Christmas Eve.
The Santa Clause: When a man inadvertently makes Santa fall off of his roof on Christmas Eve, he finds himself magically recruited to take his place.
The Santa Clause 2: Scott Calvin has been a humble Santa Claus for nearly ten years, but it might come to an end if he doesn’t find a Mrs. Claus.
Happy Christmas: After a break-up, Jenny moves in with writer Kelly, her filmmaker husband, and their child. Despite a rocky start, Jenny’s influence helps Kelly realize that an evolution in her life, career, and relationship is necessary for her happiness.
The Muppet Christmas Carol: The Muppet characters tell their version of the classic tale of an old and bitter miser’s redemption on Christmas Eve.
White Christmas: A successful song-and-dance team becomes romantically involved with a sister act and team up to save the failing Vermont inn of their former commanding general.
Bad Santa: A miserable conman and his partner pose as Santa and his Little Helper to rob department stores on Christmas Eve. But they run into problems when the conman befriends a troubled kid.
The Man Who Invited Christmas: The journey that led to Charles Dickens’ creation of “A Christmas Carol,” a timeless tale that would redefine Christmas.
The Bishop’s Wife: A debonair angel comes to Earth to help an Episcopalian bishop and his wife in their quest to raise money for the new church.
Happiest Season: A holiday romantic comedy that captures the range of emotions tied to wanting your family’s acceptance, being true to yourself, and trying not to ruin Christmas.
Elf: Raised as an oversized elf, a human travels from the North Pole to NYC to meet his biological father who doesn’t know he exists and is in desperate need of some Christmas spirit.
Christmas in Connecticut: A food writer who has lied about being the perfect housewife must try to cover her deception when her boss and a returning war hero invite themselves to her home for a traditional family Christmas.
Remember the Night: Love blooms between a sympathetic attorney and the comely shoplifter he has taken home for the Christmas holiday.
Arthur Christmas: Santa’s clumsy son Arthur sets out on a mission with Grandsanta to give out a present they misplaced to a young girl in less than two hours.
A Charlie Brown Christmas: Depressed at the commercialism he sees around him, Charlie Brown tries to find a deeper meaning to Christmas.
Meet Me in St. Louis: Young love and childish fears highlight a year in the life of a turn-of-the-century family.
The Nightmare Before Christmas: Jack Skellington, king of Halloween Town, discovers Christmas Town, but his attempts to bring Christmas to his home causes confusion.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas: A grumpy hermit hatches a plan to steal Christmas from the Whos of Whoville.
Holiday Inn: At an inn that is open only on holidays, a crooner and a hoofer vie for the affections of a beautiful up-and-coming performer.
It’s a Wonderful Life: An angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed.
A Christmas Story: A young boy named Ralphie attempts to convince his parents, his teacher, and Santa that a Red Ryder BB gun really is the perfect Christmas gift.
Almost Christmas: A dysfunctional family gathers together for their first Christmas since their mom died.
Christmas with the Kranks: With their daughter, Blair, away, Luther, and Nora Krank decide to skip Christmas altogether until she decides to come home, causing an uproar when they have to celebrate it at the last minute.
Jingle Jangle: An imaginary world comes to life in a holiday tale of an eccentric toymaker, his adventurous granddaughter, and a magical invention that has the power to change their lives forever.
The Holiday: Two women troubled with guy-problems swap homes in each other’s countries, where they each meet a local guy and fall in love.
Holiday Affair: A young widow is torn between a boring attorney and a romantic ne’er-do-well.
The Polar Express: On Christmas Eve, a young boy embarks on a magical adventure to the North Pole on the Polar Express, while learning about friendship, bravery, and the spirit of Christmas.
Mixed Nuts: The events focus around a crisis hotline business on one crazy night during the Christmas holidays.
Four Christmases: A couple struggles to visit all four of their divorced parents on Christmas.
Noelle: Santa’s daughter must take over the family business when her father retires and her brother, who is supposed to inherit the Santa role, gets cold feet.
Office Christmas Party: When his uptight CEO sister threatens to shut down his branch, the branch manager throws an epic Christmas party in order to land a big client and save the day, but the party gets way out of hand.
The Shop Around The Corner: Two employees at a gift shop can barely stand each other, without realizing that they are falling in love through the post as each other’s anonymous pen pal.
Fred Claus: Fred Claus, Santa’s bitter older brother, is forced to move to the North Pole to help Santa and the elves prepare for Christmas in exchange for cash.
Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas: Mickey and his friends star in 3 heartwarming stories of Christmas past.
Jingle All the Way: A father vows to get his son a Turbo Man action figure for Christmas. However, every store is sold out of them, and he must travel all over town and compete with everybody else in order to find one.
Eloise at Christmastime: A 6-year-old girl tries to reunite a young woman with a former boyfriend before she marries another.
What are the 4 most popular Christmas movies?
If you don’t have a lot of time for Christmas movies these are the most popular Christmas movies according to Rotten Tomatoes.
- It’s a Wonderful Life
- Miracle on 34th Street (original)
- Holiday Inn
- The Shop Around the Corner
These are great holiday movies to watch with your family this Christmas season. They are true classics that everyone should see at least once.
More Christmas Movies
Christmas is a great time to use Amazon Prime. They have a lot of great Christmas movies, including many of the above, available for streaming. If you don’t have Amazon Prime sign up for a free 30-day trial.
If you like cheesy Christmas movies check out 21 Must Watch Hallmark Style Christmas Movies on Netflix.
You are sure to find some Christmas movies to binge-watch. Even if you don’t have cable you can stream TV and watch all the great Christmas movies that are showing. Check out How to Watch Christmas Movies Online for more information.
Suzy Taylor Oakley
Lisa, you have my fave on the list! No one – I repeat, NO ONE – I talk to has ever heard of Christmas in Connecticut! I watch it every year.
My two favorite animated ones are on the list, too: the Grinch (the original) and Charlie Brown. My hubby’s fave is Rudolph. 🙂
Lisa Sharp
It’s such a classic!
Love
I was going to say “Christmas in Connecticut,” too! Also “While You Were Sleeping,” and “The Family Stone,” and “Sleepless in Seattle,” and “An Affair to Remember,” and my husband’s favourite which we traditionally watch together after the kids are asleep— “Die Hard.”
Lisa Sharp
We watch Die Hard each year as well.