The halls are decked, the season is jolly, and there are Jingle Jangles everywhere — Christmastime is officially upon us, which means it’s time to get in the spirit with all your favorite holiday films. There’s no shortage of ways to find Christmas movies for your viewing pleasure — streaming services are stocked up on Christmas fare, and you can always count on Freeform for their 25 Days of Christmas, but Netflix remains the king of the streaming game, so we’ve put together a list of the best Christmas movies you can watch right now.
Whether you’re looking for Old Hollywood, animation, horror, or a nostalgic classic, Netflix has a little bit of everything this year. Check out our rundown of the best Christmas movies on Netflix below. For more recommendations, check out our list of the best movies on Netflix.
Editor’s note: This article was updated December 22nd to include I Believe in Santa.
Falling For Christmas (2022)
Run Time: 1 hr 33 min | Director: Janeen Damian
Cast: Lindsay Lohan, Chord Overstreet, Jack Wagner, Aliana Lohan, and George Young
A newly engaged heiress has a skiing accident mere days before Christmas. After being diagnosed with amnesia, Sierra (Lindsay Lohan) finds herself in the care of the handsome cabin owner (Chord Overstreet) and his daughter.
Falling For Christmas is full of Christmas campiness, and Lohan delivers an outstanding performance. The film is precisely what you expect it to be, but it always feels energized and inspired. It’s a holiday romantic comedy that understands why viewers enjoy Christmas romance.
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I Believe in Santa (2022)
Run Time: 1 hr 29 min | Director: Alex Ranarivelo
Cast: Christina Moore, John Ducey, Violet McGraw, Matthew Glave
I Believe in Santa reunites director Alex Ranarivelo with writer and actor John Ducey, as well as Violet McGraw (M3gan), for a charming romantic comedy bursting with holiday cheer. I Believe in Santa is the story of how Lisa (Christina Moore), a holiday grinch who prefers not to participate in the joys of Christmas, meets Tom (Ducey), a Christmas-obsessed adult man who believes in Santa. Starring a real-life married couple, Moore and Ducey’s chemistry is undeniably sweet. With all the hallmarks of a cheesy romance, I Believe in Santa explores all the glee and traditions the season has to offer. – Yael Tygiel
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A Castle For Christmas (2021)
Run Time: 1 hr 38 min | Director: Mary Lambert
Cast: Brooke Shields, Cary Elwes, Drew Barrymore, Lee Ross, and Vanessa Grasse
Sophie (Brooke Shields), a bestselling author, travels to Scotland to escape a scandal. While in the new country, Sophie discovers her love for a beautiful castle and faces off with the grumpy duke (Cary Elwes) who owns it.
A Castle For Christmas is charming and can easily be a comfort film with its warm feelings and romance. Brooke Shields and Cary Elwes deliver strong performances in the movie, making it that much more memorable.
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A California Christmas (2020)
Run Time: 1 hr 46 min | Director: Shaun Paul Piccinino
Cast: Lauren Swickard, Josh Swickard, Amanda Detmer, Montana Gillis
A California Christmas is a story we’ve seen before, but the film manages to hit the right mix of fresh and new ideas. As his carefree life hangs in the balance, Joseph (Josh Swickard) poses as a ranch hand to get a hardworking farmer (Lauren Swickard) to sell her family’s land. The farm setting starkly contrasts the usual snow globe aesthetic seen in holiday rom-coms.
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Operation Christmas Drop (2020)
Run Time: 1 hr 35 min | Director: Martin Wood
Cast: Kat Graham, Alexander Ludwig, Trezzo Mahoro, Bethany Brown, Rohan Campbell, and Virginia Madsen
Congressional aide Erica Miller (Kat Graham) lands at a beachside Air Force base, where she clashes with Capt. Andrew Jantz (Alexander Ludwig) over his pet project — Operation: Christmas Drop.
Kat Graham and Alexander Ludwig both deliver solid performances in this film. Operation Christmas Drop is a holiday rom-com with a good message, touching moments, and a unique premise that helps it stand out among the rest.
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White Christmas (1954)
Run Time: 2 hr | Director: Michael Curtiz
Cast: Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen, Dean Jagger, and Mary Wickes
Singers Bob Wallace (Bing Crosby) and Phil Davis (Danny Kaye) join the sister duo of Betty (Rosemary Clooney) and Judy Haynes (Vera-Ellen) as they perform a Christmas show in Vermont. The four performers discover that Wallace and Davis’ former commander in World War II is suffering from financial trouble. To help out their old friend, the four attempt a Christmas miracle and set out to make a musical production for the ages!
White Christmas is a bona fide holiday classic. The music is phenomenal, the story is full of laughs, and it evokes the heartwarming feelings we associate with the Christmas spirit. Crosby and Kaye deliver great performances, but Clooney and Ellen elevate this film to new heights.
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Scrooge: A Christmas Carol (2022)
Run Time: 1 hr 44 min | Director: Stephen Donnelly
Cast: Luke Evans, Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley
The iconic Charles Dickens novel, A Christmas Carol, has been adapted hundreds of times, and Scrooge: A Christmas Carol is the latest film to bring the classic story to life. This animated tale sees the selfish businessman Ebenezer Scrooge (Luke Evans) visited by three spirits as they show him the true meaning of Christmas and how to live a more fulfilling life.
Director Stephen Donnelly gives us an inspired look at the life of Ebenezer Scrooge. The slick animation and fantastic voice cast make this a great watch for all ages. You won’t be left saying, “bah humbug.”
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Shaun The Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas (2021)
Run Time: 30 min | Director: Steve Cox
Cast: Justin Fletcher, John Sparkes, Laura Aikman, Marcus Bridstocke, and Kate Harbour
Shaun The Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas is a Netflix Original special and takes us back to the farm after the events of the film Shaun The Sheep. This 30-minute Christmas special sees the entire farm set out on a holiday adventure as Shaun quests to find a stocking.
Shaun The Sheep is a delightful franchise because of its simplicity. The Flight Before Christmas only highlights why we love this series in the first place. Whether you’ve seen the film or not, Shaun the Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas is a great watch.
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Single All The Way (2021)
Run Time: 1 hr 41 min | Director: Michael Mayer
Cast: Luke MacFarlane, Philemon Chambers, Jennifer Coolidge, Kathy Najimy, Michael Urie, and Jennifer Robertson
To avoid his family’s judgment about being single, Peter (Michael Urie) persuades his best friend Nick (Philemon Chambers) to pose as his boyfriend on a holiday trip home. Single All The Way won the GLAAD Media Award For Outstanding TV Movie and is a fun rom-com with some fantastic moments. If you’re looking for a movie that will make you laugh and cry, Single All The Way is the film for you.
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The Knight Before Christmas (2019)
Run Time: 1 hr 32 min | Director: Monika Mitchell
Cast: Josh Whitehouse, Vanessa Hudgens, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Kat Graham, Rob Lowe, and Harr Jarvis
The Knight Before Christmasis definitely one of the more bizarre entries on this list. A medieval knight (Josh Whitehouse) is magically transported to the present day, where he falls in love with a high school teacher (Vanessa Hudgens) who’s given up on love. The Knight Before Christmas is a quirky romantic comedy that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The classic tropes are there but through the enchanted lenses of a fairytale. The film isn’t groundbreaking by any stretch, but it’s an enjoyable time.
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Dreamworks Holiday Classics (2011)
Run Time: 1 hr 10 min | Director: Walt Dohrn, Raman Hui, Gary Trousdale, David Soren, and Tom Owens
Cast: Michael Myers, Eddie Murphy, Ben Stiller, Antonio Banderas, Cameron Diaz
Dreamworks Holiday Classics is a one-hour special that takes us back to the worlds of Shrek, Madagascar, and How To Train Your Dragon. Whether you want to spend time with Shrek and Fiona or return to Burk with Hiccup and Toothless, Dreamworks Holiday Classics is fun for fans of these properties. Netflix has the shorts available in individual segments or as an hour-long event.
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Holiday Rush (2019)
Run Time: 1 hr 32 min | Director: Leslie Small
Cast: Sonequa Martin-Green, Amarr M. Wooten, Romany Malco, Darlene Love, Deysha Nelson, and Stormi Maya
When a widowed DJ is fired, he and his four entitled children must leave their lives of luxury behind and move in with his aunt right before Christmas. Holiday Rush is an energetic family romp. Romany Malco, Stormi Maya, Deon Cole, and Sonequa Martin-Green are fun to watch, even if the story is pretty basic. It’s another Christmas romance, but the 92-minute runtime makes it an easy watch.
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The Christmas Chronicles 2 (2020)Run Time: 1 hr 55 min | Director: Chris Columbus
Cast: Kurt Russell, Julian Dennison, Darby Camp, Goldie Hawn, Judah Lewis, and Sunny Suljic
The Christmas Chronicles was a surprisingly good film, and the sequel is no different. Kate Pierce (Darby Camp) is reunited with Santa Claus (Kurt Russell) as they try to stop a troublemaker from canceling Christmas. While the film might not live up to the first, The Christmas Chronicles 2 is still delightful and reaffirms that Kurt Russell is a great Santa Claus.
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Alien Xmas (2020)
Run Time: 42 min | Director: Stephen Chiodo
Cast: Keythe Farley, Dee Bradley Baker, Kaliayh Rhambo, Michelle Deco
A kids’ Christmas movie from the filmmakers of Killer Klowns from Outerspace? Say no more, I’m in. Adapting from the 2014 book of the same name, co-written by director Stephen Chiodo, the Chiodo brothers put their stop-motion sorcery to work in a sub-hour Christmas special that updates the charms of the classic Rankin & Bass stop-motion Christmas specials for a new generation. With powerhouse producers like John Favreau and Karen Gilchrist on board, Netflix’s Alien Xmas had all the right WTF factors to ensure I tuned in as soon as it was available, and happy to report, it’s a charming Christmas treat that’s a bit thin, but thanks to the 40-minute runtime, never stretches its charms beyond their payoff.
Imagine The Grinch, except its little kleptomaniac aliens coming to steal your Christmas spirit and you’ve pretty much got the gist of it. If you’re not familiar, the Chiodo Bros are some of the most spectacular stop-motion craftsmen in the biz, having provided the enduringly disturbing puppets for Team America: World Police and the North Pole segments of Elf, and in keeping, Alien Xmas features some pretty stunning animation. — Haleigh Foutch
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Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square (2020)
Run Time: 1 hr 38 min | Director: Debbie Allen
Cast: Dolly Parton, Christine Baranski, Josh Segarra, Jenifer Lewis, Jeanine Mason
Do ya want to spend Christmas with Dolly Parton? Yeah, of course you do. It’s not that Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Squareis a good movie. It’s definitely not. But it knows that and it’s okay with it, and so am I because that’s not what either of us showed up for. There are, however, two very good reasons to show up for this one. Obviously, Dolly, who’s singing all original songs she wrote for the film. They’re not her best work, but when Dolly sings, I listen. Second is the wonderful Christine Baranski, who makes a meal of every line delivery as a Scrooge-y owner of a small town that learns to embrace the Christmas spirit with some help from a Dolly Parton angel. It’s all very campy, a Christmas pageant with a Netflix budget – and yes, it’s all very Godly, but when the message of faith and kindness comes from a bonafide samaritan and a track record of good deeds as long as Dolly Parton’s, you know its earnest. And that’s the real trick to Christmas on the Square, it’s such a product of genuine Good Will Towards Men, overflowing with Parton’s pure spirit (and some squee-worthy sequined angel costumes, while we’re at it) that you can’t help but feel a little cheerier when it’s over. — Haleigh Foutch
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Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020)
Run Time: 1 hr 59 min | Director: David E. Talbert
Cast: Forest Whitaker, Keegan-Michael Key, Hugh Bonneville, Anika Noni Rose
I’m just gonna say it: Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey is a new holiday classic; an instant addition to the canon; the most recent family-friendly Christmas film to so thoroughly capture its audience’s heart and soul since Elf. But unlike Elf, which is rife with childlike glee and slapstick set pieces, Jingle Jangle has another, more unorthodox fuel powering its steampunk-flavored sleigh: Melancholy. Jingle Jangle is a story of loss, of betrayal, of casting aside dreams, of keeping the house standing when the lights have long dimmed, and only eventually of regained hope. Yes there are catchy pop-MT bangers lensed and choreographed with panache, yes the production design is eye-poppingly gorgeous, and yes, every child performer in the film is unstoppingly adorable, optimistic, and joyful. But the center of Jingle Jangle, its silly name and all, is Forest Whitaker’s courageous, unexpected, and frankly bizarre performance. As our central inventor whose greatest products were stolen by a vengeful Keegan Michael-Key (wonderful; he should play villains more often!), Whitaker is a shell of a man, a human reduced to a ghost. He plays this character with a sense of false strength that betrays his inner flimsiness, and gives us no lifeline to the potentially fantastical world around him. It’s astonishing work, one that will no doubt affect kids in unexpected ways – and when he finally let’s go of his traumas to sing, dance, and love his way to a brighter future again, the tears welling in my eyes throughout Jingle Jangle can hold no longer. Put in on the boards, it’s a new Christmas classic. – Gregory Lawrence
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Let It Snow (2019)
Run Time: 1 hr 33 min | Director: Luke Snellin
Cast: Isabela Merced, Shameik Moore, Liv Hewson, Odeya Rush, Jacob Batalon, Kiernan Shipka, Joan Cusack
If you’re in the mood for some seasonal romance, Netflix delivered a bit of a Love Actually for the teen set with Let It Snow, a breezy holiday rom-com that finds a series of overlapping love stories on one fateful Christmas-season snow day. It’s a sweet film from top-to-tail, as interested in the dramas of teen friendship and domestic struggles as it the blossoming romances, and it’s filled with delightful performances from a knockout cast of young up-and-comers. A lot of the Netflix Christmas romances follow in the Hallmark channel vein, and absolutely no judgment if that’s your preferred thing, but for those who want an old-fashioned feel-good holiday romance, Let It Snow is just the ticket.– Haleigh Foutch
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The Christmas Chronicles (2018)
Run Time: 1 hr 45 min | Director: Clay Kaytis
Cast: Kurt Russell, Darby Camp, Judah Lewis, Oliver Husdson, Lamorne Morris
Easily one of the best Netflix Christmas movies to date, The Christmas Chronicles rides on the charisma of Kurt Russell like magic and delivers a jolly dose of holiday cheer for the whole family. The film focuses on siblings Kate (Darby Camp) and Teddy (Judah Lewis), who have grown apart after their father’s death. With Teddy firmly on the track to juvenile delinquency and Kate one misplaced video tape away from getting some snitch-stiches, the brother and sister are at each other’s throats… until Kate catches a glimpse of Santa on her camcorder and the two get swept up in adventure to save Christmas. But that’s all secondary. What really matters is Kurt Russell plays Santa Clause, which is just way too much fun to behold. He even gets his own Elvis-inspired Christmas musical number! The Christmas Chronicles, or “the sexy Santa movie”, is perfect holiday cheese, elevated by Russell’s movie star charm on full blast. — Haleigh Foutch
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Klaus (2019)
Run Time: 1 hr 39 min | Director: Sergio Pablos
Cast: Jason Schwartzman, J.K. Simmons, Rashida Jones, Will Sasso, Neda Margrethe Labba
With Klaus, Netflix made a bona fide original Christmas classic without a single holiday switch (incredible, I know). Co-written and directed by Sergio Pablos, a Spanish animation master who began working for Disney in the Paris outpost before moving to America and contributing incredible performances and designs for characters as varied and unrelated as Frollo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Dr. Doppler in Treasure Planet before becoming a one-man idea farm, coming up with the initial concepts that gave way to Despicable Me and Smallfoot. With Klaus, which tells the origin story of Santa Claus (J.K. Simmons) via his relationship between a small-town mailman (Jason Schwartzman), Pablos cannily mixed traditional, 2D hand-drawn animation with cutting edge computer animation. The resulting film is unlike anything you’ve ever seen before; it’s like watching a magic trick and being unsure how it was accomplished but being transfixed just the same. (It was nominated for the Best Animated Feature and had a good shot at winning, too.) And the story, with warring villagers and a commitment to giving a grounded, emotionally resonant portrayal of the beginnings of the legend (call it Santa Claus Begins) means that it never tips into gooey sentimentality. This is the rare Christmas classic that can be watched any time of year and will still fill you with that singular holiday magic. – Drew Taylor
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A Christmas Prince (2017)
Run Time: 1 hr 32 min | Director: Alex Zamm
Cast: Rose McIver, Ben Lamb, Alice Krige, Emma Louise Saunders, Sarah Douglas
Cheesy Christmas romances have become a thing and A Christmas Prince is sort of the Netflix godfather of this suddenly robust genre. Not that they didn’t exist before — Lifetime and Hallmark are old pros at this game — it’s just that holiday romances were never quite so unilaterally popular before Netflix got in the game. Let Rose McIver‘s oh-so-relatable everywoman wash over you, and transport yourself to the kingdom of Aldovia for the holidays, where fanciful romance and royal drama reign supreme. And settle in for the sequel, which arrives on Netflix soon. — Haleigh Foutch
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