Do you need a little Christmas? Right this very minute? Well, then we recommend you head to Netflix, where an array of holiday movies are present and ready to be unwrapped.
This winter, the streaming service has a festive lineup perfect for whiling away the chilly days and nights at home or picking up your mood if it needs a lift! Whether you’re cuing up a special episode of your favorite TV show or just letting that Fireplace for Your Home crackle away in the background, every Netflix holiday title has its time and place in the Christmas streaming-scape.
But, of course, if you’re looking for specific recommendations of excellence, we’ve made a list and checked it twice. Here are some of the best Christmas movies streaming on Netflix this winter season.
20. A Bad Moms Christmas
Credit: STXfilms
This oft-maligned Christmas rager from co-writers/co-directors Scott Moore and Jon Lucas doesn’t entirely work as a movie, but it is a delightful companion for multitasking. The 2017 sequel to 2016’s Bad Moms features spectacular performances from stars Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, and Kathryn Hahn, as well as Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines, and Susan Sarandon as those bad moms’ bad moms. Come for the promise of Baranski and a gospel choir; stay for Hahn’s killer tank tops. — Alison Foreman, Entertainment Reporter
How to watch: A Bad Moms Christmas is now streaming on Netflix.
19. Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square
Credit: Netflix
True Dolly Parton fans understand the country star to be more than the celebrity, hero, legend, and icon popular cultural has whittled her down to be. Dolly, you see, is a lifestyle — a way of being, an all-encompassing perspective on personhood. In Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square, that high-level plane of existence gets the sparkly holiday treatment in a musical romp as shining as Dolly herself. Sure, the whole thing is ridiculously old-fashioned and not surprising in any way. But it’s also got exquisite pageantry with Christmas spirit to spare. And of course, the songs are fantastic. — A.F.
How to watch: Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square is now streaming on Netflix.
18. The Christmas Chronicles
Credit: Netflix
If you want to see Kurt Russell slap his butt as Santa, then you’ve come to the right place. Writer Matt Lieberman (Free Guy) and director Clay Kaytis reimagine the traditional “Someone’s gotta save Christmas!” narrative in this familiar but still fun holiday outing with Russell as Old Saint Nick. Judah Lewis and Darby Camp star as a brother and sister who, in trying to catch proof of Santa, get more than they bargained for. Should you fall in love with this over-the-top universe, definitely check out The Christmas Chronicles: Part Two, which features Russell’s life partner Goldie Hawn as Mrs. Claus. — A.F.
How to watch: The Christmas Chronicles is now streaming on Netflix.
17. Alien Xmas
Credit: Netflix
Impress and entertain anyone you’re with this holiday season by cuing up Netflix’s hidden gem Alien Xmas. This sci-fi adventure from the team behind Elf‘s iconic stop-motion scenes delivers a charming tale of intergalactic thieves descending upon Earth to steal everything — including Christmas. Part How the Grinch Stole Christmas, part WALL-E, Alien Xmas is an adorable animated adventure that’s great for kids and adults alike, with a timeless message. — A.F.
How to watch: Alien Xmas is now streaming on Netflix.
16. A Christmas Prince
Credit: Netflix
Is A Christmas Prince a movie? Nay, it is a journey. Join our heroine, American journalist Amber Moore (Rose McIver) as she takes on an undercover assignment in the far-off country of Aldovia in this schmaltzy rom-com opposite Ben Lamb as the titular Christmas Prince. This movie is exactly what you think it is, and if that’s what you’re the mood for? Excellent news: Its even more outrageous sequels, A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding and A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby, are streaming now too. God save King Richard Bevan Charlton. Long may he reign. — A.F.
How to watch: A Christmas Prince is now streaming on Netflix.
15. A Very Murray Christmas
Credit: Netflix
Remember simpler times with Netflix’s 2015 Christmas spectacular A Very Murray Christmas. Directed by Sofia Coppola, this magical presentation featuring Bill Murray has a very loose plot that primarily serves as a revolving door for guest appearances and musical numbers. With a runtime of just 56 minutes, the infectious levity of the project and its supporting cast (including Miley Cyrus, Amy Poehler, George Clooney, Chris Rock, and more) is sure to have you smiling fast. — A.F.
How to watch: A Very Murray Christmas is now streaming on Netflix.
14. Let It Snow
Credit: Netflix
Director Luke Snellin’s feature-length debut is without question the right pick for anyone on a YA kick come the holidays. With a stellar cast including Shameik Moore, Kiernan Shipka, Isabela Merced, Joan Cusack, and more, Let It Snow adapts the popular novel of the same name — telling three stories of love, friendship, and magic on Christmas Eve in a single small town. Sure, this movie is another offshoot of Love Actually‘s tremendous influence over the holiday genre catalog. But it’s a good one. — A.F.
How to watch: Let It Snow is now streaming on Netflix.
13. Klaus
Credit: Netflix
Want a different spin on Santa Klaus? Then check out director Sergio Pablos’ utterly enchanting — and sharply funny — Klaus, which was nominated for Best Animated Film at the 2020 Academy Awards. Playing like a festive spin on The Emperor’s New Groove, this inventive animated adventure centers on a self-centered rich boy named Jesper Johansson (voiced by a pitch-perfect Jason Schwartzman), who is pitched out of his life of privilege into a remote village that’s divided by an intense feud. He’s there to deliver the mail, and — in a convoluted but charming way — concocts a plan that involves a reclusive woodworker (J.K. Simmons) with a treasure trove of carved toys and a giddy group of kiddies eager to write letters for gift-getting wishes. How will all of that turn to holiday cheer? Discovering that is just a part of the whimsical magic of Klaus. — Kristy Puchko, Entertainment Editor
‘Klaus’ director Sergio Pablos discusses the challenges of traditional 2D animation
How to watch: Klaus is now streaming on Netflix.
12. Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
Credit: Gareth Gatrell / Netflix
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey is absurd in all the ways you actually want. As Mashable’s Angie Han wrote in her official review of the steampunk musical extravaganza, “It’s all entirely too much, in a way that feels just right — like a Christmas stocking bursting at the seams with too many goodies.” Surprisingly sweet and an important step for Black representation in Christmas films, Jingle Jangle will make you happy this holiday. Pinky promise. — A.F.
‘Jingle Jangle’ stars discuss representation in holiday films
How to watch: Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey is now streaming on Netflix.
11. A Boy Called Christmas
Credit: Netflix
Sure, Christmas technically already has an origin story, but some of us are looking for a more epic, secular, fantastical tale to sink our teeth into. Enter: A Boy Called Christmas, adapted from the 2015 Matt Haig novel of the same name.
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Featuring Henry Lawfull, Sally Hawkins, Kristen Wiig, Stephen Merchant, Jim Broadbent, Toby Jones, and Dame Maggie Smith, A Boy Called Christmas follows a young boy who embarks on an incredible adventure through the ice and snow to find the land of the elves and bring hope to his people. He’s got a trusty mouse sidekick at his side and a can-do attitude. Hold on to your cocoa, folks; this movie is positively radiating with holiday spirit! — Kristina Grosspietsch, Freelance Contributing Writer
How to watch: A Boy Called Christmas is now streaming on Netflix.
10. Single All the Way
Credit: Philippe Bosse / Netflix
After a bad breakup, Peter (Michael Urie) heads home to New Hampshire for the holidays with his best friend Nick (Philemon Chambers) in tow, hatching a foolproof plan to pretend to date Nick so his family won’t harp on his recent heartbreak. As soon as he arrives, however, Peter’s family sets him up with a hunky local spin instructor. And when things go well, Peter begins to wonder if maybe it’s time to move back to New Hampshire for good. Will Nick agree?
Written by Chad Hodge and directed by Michael Mayer — Broadway veterans, both! — 2021’s Single All the Way is an excellent romantic comedy for the holidays. It’s funny, it’s charming, and it’s got the right amount of true human emotion to make this a new feel-good Christmas classic. Oh, and the absolutely stacked cast (which includes Jennifer Coolidge, Kathy Najimy, and Luke Macfarlane) doesn’t hurt! — K.G.
How to watch: Single All the Way is now streaming on Netflix.
9. Falling for Christmas
Credit: Scott Everett White / Netflix
What is a “good movie,” really? Does it need a coherent plot, believable stakes, and characters that act like human beings? Sure. So, by that metric, Falling for Christmas is not a good movie. And yet, it is the movie that ushered in the Lindsay Lohan renaissance of the 2020s, and for that, we are extremely grateful! Yes, it’s silly — but it’s the best kind of silly, mindless fluff.
Lohan is wooden but charming as Sierra Belmont, a wealthy, disconnected heiress about to get engaged to her flighty, absurd influencer BF Tad (George Young). But then she falls off a mountain (seriously) and wakes up in the care of down-to-earth widowed dad Jake (Chord Overstreet), with no memory of what happened! You heard that correctly; this is not a drill! It’s a Christmas-amnesia-rom-com, people!!!! — K.G.
How to watch: Falling for Christmas is now streaming on Netflix.
8. The Princess Switch
Credit: Netflix
In the same fictional Christmas-verse as Netflix’s A Christmas Prince, Stacy (Vanessa Hudgens) is an American chef on her way to the made-up European country of Belgravia for a baking competition. There she runs into Lady Margaret Delacourt (also Hudgens), future wife of Belgravia’s crown prince, who is looking for a break from the country’s rabid media. Her solution? That she and Stacy switch places, of course! What could go wrong? Surely, no one will notice an American nobody pretending to be a duchess! Surely, these two women won’t definitely fall in love with the men in each other’s lives… right? Right?!
Zany, bubbly, and the opposite of subtle, The Princess Switch — along with sequels The Princess Switch: Switched Again and The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star — is a perfect watch for when you’re in the mood for some sugary-sweet nonsense. — K.G.
How to watch: The Princess Switch is now streaming on Netflix.
7. A Castle for Christmas
Credit: Netflix
Brooke Shields is Sophie, an American novelist looking to escape the PR frenzy around her newest book. She absconds to a small town in Scotland where her grandfather once lived, and after feeling a connection to the place, promptly tries to buy the rundown castle. (Sure!) The catch? Current owner Myles (Cary Elwes) refuses to sell unless Sophie can survive both of them living there together for 90 days. It’s like an only-one-bed situation, but with an entire castle. Myles hopes he can scare Sophie off… but as time goes on, does he still want her to go?
So many Christmas romantic comedies feature stiff acting, but Shields and Elwes both abound with energy and charisma. A Castle for Christmas is a no-brainer holiday watch: It’s cheerful, it’s charming, and you’re genuinely rooting for these two to get together! — K.G.
How to watch: A Castle for Christmas is now streaming on Netflix.
6. The Knight Before Christmas
Credit: Brooke Palmer / Netflix
The Knight Before Christmas has all your favorite holiday movie tropes: a precocious little girl, a woman who no longer believes in love, and the man who is going to change her mind. Except the man in question here is Sir Cole (Josh Whitehouse), a medieval knight who has been transported to the present and doesn’t understand a thing about this new world. Good thing the woman, Brooke (Vanessa Hudgens, Netflix Christmas queen!), is there to help him figure it all out. The Knight Before Christmas is just as cheesy as you think it is, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a fun watch! It’s like a Christmas-y Kate & Leopold, but with less gravitas and more hijinks. — K.G.
How to watch: The Knight Before Christmas is now streaming on Netflix.
5. Our Little Secret
Credit: Bob Mahoney / Netflix
Lindsay Lohan is back! The Mean Girls star brings her winsome energy to Our Little Secret, a cute comedy about past loves, big secrets, and the absolute awkwardness of meeting your partner’s family for the first time. Once childhood sweethearts, Avery (Lohan) and Logan (Ian Harding) were everything to each other. After a surprise holiday wedding proposal goes off badly, they lose touch for 10 years, only to turn up at the same family gathering — because they’re dating siblings! With shades of Anyone but You, Our Little Secret has the pair hiding their past relationship to keep things chill and avoid the ire of an intense mother hen (Kristin Chenoweth). Amid holiday hijinks and incredible social pressure, will these old flames re-ignite like a Yule log? — K.P.
How to watch: Our Little Secret begins streaming on Netflix on Nov. 27.
4. The Merry Gentlemen
Credit: Katrina Marcinowski / Netflix
The Full Monty meets holiday rom-com in The Merry Gentleman. When her big-city dreams take a big hit, professional dancer Ashley (Britt Robertson) finds fresh purpose in her small hometown. There, her parents’ performance venue, The Rhythm Room, is at risk of closing. But perhaps one hit show could save the theater? More specifically, an all-male dance review combining Christmas music and strapping hunks ready to strip down from their gay apparel for a whooping audience. While counting down to a Christmas that’ll make or break her family, Ashley gets her groove back, not only by throwing herself into this creative Christmas production but also by falling for a buff — and a bit gruff — handyman (Chad Michael Murray). Heads up: The Merry Gentleman is nowhere near as flashy or smoking hot as Magic Mike. But if you’re seeking to get a bit heated in these chilly months, it’ll go down like a cup of cocoa. — K.P.
How to watch: The Merry Gentlemen begins streaming on Netflix on Nov. 20.
3. That Christmas
Credit: Netflix
There are plenty of Santa stories to choose from each winter. (Heck, there are several on this list!) But only one has a script co-written by Love, Actually‘s Richard Curtis — and a Father Christmas voiced by Succession‘s Brian Cox! Based on Curtis’ adorable children’s book trilogy, That Christmas is an animated adventure that features a debonair Santa Claus and a wise-cracking reindeer sidekick, as well as a mighty blizzard that pitches parents into peril, leaving their kids to band together to save the holiday. And hey, maybe they’ll get a little help from a certain icon of gift-giving and goodwill. — K.P.
How to watch: That Christmas begins streaming on Netflix on Dec. 4.
2. Hot Frosty
Credit: Petr Maur / Netflix
What if Frosty was a hunk? That’s the premise of this cheeky holiday rom-com that’s a mix of festive, funny, and mildly horny. Mean Girls Lacey Chabert and Schitt’s Creek‘s Dustin Milligan star in this tale of Girl Meets Snowman. She’s a small-town diner owner whose heartbreak doesn’t stop her from giving plenty of warmth and joy to others. He is a buff snowman, carved — complete with nipples and rippling abs! — for a winter festival display. But a holiday wish brings him to life, turning him into a flesh-and-blood himbo/Golden Retriever boyfriend… who melts if he gets too hot. (Hm. Well, that’s less than ideal.) Will love find a way? And did screenwriter Russell Hainline mean to reference Terminator with a nude intro that leads into a festive crime spree?
If you’re intrigued, you’ll treasure Hot Frosty. — K.P.
How to watch: Hot Frosty begins streaming on Netflix on Nov. 13.
1. Meet Me Next Christmas
Credit: Marni Grossman / Netflix
A festive tale of fate, love, and music frolics forth in Meet Me Next Christmas. Christina Milian stars as Layla, a gorgeous and generous “miracle worker” whose not-for-profit work secures scholarships for students to attend HBCUs. She deserves a holiday that’s out of the movies… And it will be.
Screenwriters Molly Haldeman and Camilla Rubis cleverly pluck elements from The Holiday, Serendipity, and Sleepless in Seattle to create an NYC-set fairy tale about taking a chance on a new romance. After a meet-cute with a dashing man (Kofi Siriboe) in an airport lounge, lovelorn Layla becomes convinced that tickets to see Pentatonix at a sold-out Christmas Eve show will be all she needs to make a love connection that will last. To get this hot ticket, she’ll need the help of a committed (and cute) broker (Devale Ellis), who will be her guide through the decadent halls, quirky characters, and oddball antics that is Christmas in New York City. — K.P.
How to watch: Meet Me Next Christmas is now streaming on Netflix.
Honorable Mention: Home for Christmas
Not a movie but a two-season series out of Norway, Home for Christmas is a must-watch for the holiday season. The wildly charming Ida Elise Broch stars as Johanne, a 30-year-old single nurse who is tired of being chucked to the kids’ table for the holidays. So, she tells a little lie, claiming she’ll be bringing a beau to her parents’ Christmas Eve dinner. Now, she just needs to find someone before the holiday is upon her!
With episodes under thirty minutes, Home for Christmas is a short-and-sweet treat that explores love and sex while also confronting the frustrating social standards put on women to mate up. While there are doses of sobering drama as Johanne confronts loneliness, family discord, and loss, the series is overwhelmingly warm and funny. And if you’re not into subtitles, the overdub is perfect for watching while gift-wrapping! — K.P.
How to watch: Home for Christmas Seasons 1 and 2 are now streaming on Netflix.
UPDATE: Nov. 6, 2024, 1:39 p.m. EST This list was originally published on Dec. 21, 2020. It has been updated by Kristy Puchko and Kristina Grosspietsch to reflect current Netflix offerings.
