Every time the holidays roll around people are quick to watch Christmas movies like The Grinch, Elf, Love Actually, Home Alone and Die Hard. But as you start making your way through collections of Christmas movies on streaming sites like Netflix, Disney+ and Prime Video, you may need some inspiration for what to watch beyond the more obvious choices.
From movies you haven’t seen that are perfect for kids and the whole family, to more adult options that just touch the Christmas genre, there’s something for everyone. Here are eight Christmas movies that may not be on your radar.
Yes, you likely know this movie exists, but it’s really on this list because it is truly one of the best Christmas movies to watch every holiday season, and maybe doesn’t get as much attention as it should. While Tim Allen has done many Christmas films, particularly The Santa Claus movies, I think Christmas with the Kranks is even better.
With Luther (Allen) and Nora’s (Jamie Lee Curtis) daughter away for the holidays, the couple decide to skip Christmas this year and head to the Caribbean instead. But they planned too soon because when their daughter decides she’s actually going to come home for Christmas, they have to rush to get ready.
A Christmas movie with Kiernan Shipka, Liv Hewson, Joan Cusack, Spider-Man star Shameik Moore and Isabela Merced, who will play Hawkgirl in the upcoming Superman film, how could you not want to check this movie out? Based on the novel of the same name, the holiday rom-com is about a group of high school teens in a small town navigating their crushes over the holidays.
I also have to say that in recent years Shipka has become one of my favourite actors (look out for her when The Last Showgirl is released in January), so I’m happy to rewatch anything she’s in over the holidays.
Every year there’s a pretty robust selection of new Christmas movies on Netflix, but I still keep coming back to Love Hard, starring Nina Dobrev, Jimmy O. Yang and Darren Barnet. Dobrev’s character Natalie has been unlucky in love since moving to Los Angeles, California, but decides to have her first in-person meeting with a guy she met on a dating app over the holidays. While she thought she was speaking someone who looks like Barnet’s character Tag, Natalie’s actually been talking to his friend Josh (Yang).
While I appreciate that the premise of this film is different than most holiday films, adding this catfishing element, the real highlight is Yang’s comedy talent that will easily make you laugh throughout the whole film.
Sandra Bullock, Peter Gallagher and Bill Pullman star in the holiday rom-com While You Were Sleeping. Lucy (Bullock), a transit worker in Chicago, is forced to work Christmas Day, but ends up saving her crush Peter (Gallagher) from an oncoming train. Things get complicated when he ends up in a coma and Lucy is mistaken for his fiancée, but then Lucy starts having feelings for Peter’s brother, Jack (Pullman).
I generally think Pullman is a phenomenal actor who’s incredibly underrated, and I’ll always be a fan of The O.C. star Gallagher. Of course, Bullock is consistently a pro when it comes to a rom-com.
It you want to watch something more fantastical, Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey, starring Forest Whitaker, Keegan-Michael Key, Anika Noni Rose, Hugh Bonneville, Phylicia Rashad, Ricky Martin and Madalen Mills is just what you need. Jeronicus (Whitaker) is a toy maker who’s betrayed by his apprentice Gustafson (Key), ruining his business. But things change when Jeronicus’ granddaughter arrives to help.
It’s a sweet film with beautiful costumes and production design that will get you in the holiday spirit.
There is a special place in my heart for Disney Channel Original Movies (DCOMs), so I’ll take any opportunity to put one on. In The Ultimate Christmas Present, Allie (Hallee Hirsh) and Sam (Brenda Song) are best friends who live in Los Angeles, trying to get out of an assignment due just before the winter break from school. When Allie stumbles upon a weather machine, that actually belongs to Santa Claus, and makes snow to get a snow day from school, Santa has to figure out how to get his weather machine back.
Admittedly, this isn’t my favourite DCOM of the whole bunch, but it’s still a sweet watch for the holidays that will make you reminisce about playing in the snow with your friends.
One of our favourite movies from last year, The Holdovers starring Paul Giamatti, Dominic Sessa and Da’Vine Joy Randolph, should become a must-watch every holiday season. It’s about a high school student in New England who has to stay on campus during the holiday break, with his curmudgeonly teacher and the school cook.
Giamatti, Sessa and Randolph give beautifully affecting performances in Alexander Payne’s film, that has all the wit you desire, with an emotionally impactful story.
If you’re on the Anora train this year, you can watch another Sean Baker film to get a little bite of Christmas with your entertainment. Tangerine, Baker’s 2015 indie movie filmed only with iPhones, is about two transgender sex workers, Sin-Dee Rella (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez) and Alexandra (Mya Taylor). Taking place on Christmas Eve, when Sin-Dee finds out her boyfriend cheated on her while she was in jail, these friends try to track him down, and the girl he cheated on her with.
