The 25 Best Christmas Movies on Netflix Right Now
Can we agree that it’s fine to watch Christmas movies in the fall? So what if the holiday is months away? Who cares if there’s no snow on the ground? I have yet to find anything more comforting than curling up on the couch with a holiday movie. Plus, Target already has its Christmas decor out. If you can buy a Santa mug, you can watch a Santa movie. It's only fair.
Anyway, I won't judge if you want to watch a Christmas flick in 60-degree weather. In fact, I have some recommendations. Netflix has a wide assortment to choose from—whether you’re interested in a holiday romance, a nightmare scenario (looking at you, Silent Night), a teary drama, or a fun family comedy, the streamer has you covered.
Below, we’ve rounded up twenty-five Christmas movies that you can watch right now. Seriously. It's okay. Live a little.
A Family Affair
In A Family Affair, Nicole Kidman plays Brooke Harwood, a widow who falls for her daughter’s charming boss (Zac Efron). Their torrid affair causes a rift in Brooke’s family. Come for the drama, and stick it out to hear Kathy Bates say, “What good am I if I can’t convince my granddaughter to let Buzzfeeds hunkiest brunette come for Christmas?”
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Best. Christmas. Ever!
You know how they say you should never judge a book by its cover? The same logic applies to holiday cards. In Best. Christmas. Ever! Charlotte gets her friend's annual Christmas letter and then sets out to prove her life isn’t as great as it seems. I didn’t think I needed a petty holiday movie, but this one proved me wrong.
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Silent Night
Kiera Knightley stars as Nell—a mother who’s trying to host the perfect Christmas party. The house is decorated, the food is prepared, and her guests have all been accounted for. There’s just one issue: the world is going to end.
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The Noel Diary
In The Noel Diary, a hot-shot writer (classic) leaves the big city (sooo classic) to return home for the holidays. Here’s the twist. His mother passed away, and now, he has to clean out his childhood home. While sorting through keepsakes, he finds a diary filled with secrets.
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Who Killed Santa?
If you only have an hour to spare, then turn on Who Killed Santa and watch your favorite comedians solve a whodunnit. The victim? Santa Clause. The perp? Well, you’re about to find out.
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Klaus
Nostalgic for an animated Christmas movie? Klaus is Netflix’s first-ever Academy Award-nominated animated film, offering an alternate backstory behind Santa Claus. (Featuring a reclusive toymaker, no less.)
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Love Actually
Arguably the best Christmas film in Netflix's bag this year, Love Actually features an all-star cast of Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Colin Firth, Liam Neeson, Kiera Knightley, Alan Rickman, Bill Nighy, Laure Linney, and more.
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White Christmas
Bing Crosby sings one of the most famous Christmas songs of all time in White Christmas, a 1954 classic about making a musical with your best friend because fighting in World War II was just so awful.
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Just Another Christmas
Moving Groundhog Day to December 25, Just Another Christmas sends a family man on a time loop where it's Christmas every day. Can this Scrooge learn to love the holiday season?
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Feast of the Seven Fishes
Skyler Gisondo (The Righteous Gemstones) stars in this film about the "Feast of the Seven Fishes" tradition. If you're unfamiliar with the Italian tradition, be sure to watch the insane version from The Bear Season Two.
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Falling for Christmas
A double whammy: Falling for Christmas gives audiences a platform for both the return of Lindsay Lohan and Glee’s Chord Overstreet. What did we do to deserve such a double dose of Christmas stardom? Overstreet plays a bed & breakfast owner who must take care of Lohan after she hits her head during a skiing accident and consequently suffers from amnesia. Big surprise: she’s the wealthy heiress to the massive ski resort located nearby. Crossing my fingers and wishing for a Christmas miracle that Falling for Christmas leads to a Parent Trap or Freaky Friday revival.
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Let It Snow
This one’s for the teens—a rare offering from these kinds of films, but a welcome breath of fresh Christmas air. Starring Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’s Shameik Moore and Dora and the Lost City of Gold’s Isabela Merced, Let It Snow features young romance, comedy, and the perfect amount of clichéd holiday cheer.
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A Castle for Christmas
Enough with all these naïve young couples who are unwise to the spirit of Christmas magic! A Castle for Christmas features Brooke Shields and The Princess Bride’s Cary Elwes as two souls who are searching to learn more about their respective family lineages. Traveling to the ancestral Scottish village of her father, Shields plays an author who comes face-to-face with the castle’s current owner—a thorny Duke (Elwes) who eventually wins her heart.
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Single All the Way
Clearly we, as a society, have landed on the nice list to receive so many Jennifer Coolidge appearances on our screens. Single All the Way might fit into most of the formulas expected from a Netflix holiday rom-com, but, being the first of its kind to focus on a queer couple, it’s a step in the right direction for films depicting joyous queer love.
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Fireplace For Your Home
Sure, many of the naysayers might say things like, “An hour-long video of a fireplace isn’t a movie,” or, “You’re practically just watching a screensaver.” To that I say: Seeing is believing. Sure, Fireplace for Your Home and its groundbreaking sequel “Birchwood Edition” might not be cinema, but it’s arguably one of the greatest additions to the Netflix holiday category. Not only is it festive and ambient, but it’s the perfect middle ground for when your Christmas party is too boisterous for a movie, or when your family has been arguing over what to watch for hours.
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Robin Robin
From Wallace & Gromit to Chicken Run, there’s nothing quite like the magic of the British claymation studio Aardman. Robin Robin is no exception. This Christmas special tells the story of a young robin raised by mice who, desperate to fit in with her family, makes a wish upon a Christmas star. Not only with Aardman’s new felt-adorned animation style make you feel warm and fuzzy, but the 30-minute run time makes this a perfect family watch before bed.
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A Boy Called Christmas
Following in the footsteps of fellow Santa Claus origin stories like Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town, A Boy Called Christmas is a clever reimagination of how a young St. Nicholas came to find his purpose. With a cast including Kristen Wiig, Henry Lawfull, Toby Jones, and Sally Hawkins, and incredible special effects, this is another great fit for a family-friendly holiday movie night.
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Holidate
Holidate has a unique brand of kitsch. But the charm of Emma Roberts pulls off this quirky flick about a duo who, tired of navigating the questions of being single every holiday, decide to couple up. I bet you can't guess what happens to them!
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Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
Keegan Michael Key brings this fantasy Christmas adventure home in Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey, a story about a toymaker played by Forest Whitaker who seeks to pass off some holiday magic to his young granddaughter.
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The Knight Before Christmas
A gorgeous woman disillusioned by the prospect of finding true love meets a gorgeous man who just might change her mind? I’ll be damned. Regardless of how trite the plot might be, this movie does bring a fresh new spin on the classic rom-com trope. Vanessa Hudgens stars as a school teacher who finds herself being courted by a time-traveling knight.
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A Christmas Prince
This 2017 holiday movie proved the point that the people of Netflix appreciate sap this time of year. As soon as it premiered, this one quickly became a favorite (admittedly bad) movie. Even Stephen Colbert hilariously admitted to being obsessed with the story about an ambitious American journalist who goes to a fictional European village to cover the royal family. Shocker: She falls in love with the prince.
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The Christmas Chronicles
There is a confusing fascination in American holiday culture with wanting to either capture Santa, help Santa escape the law, or in the case of 1994’s The Santa Clause, tend to Santa’s mortality. In this 2018 film, Kurt Russell plays Santa Claus, who finds himself in the crosshairs of two kids who want to capture him.
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The Princess Switch
Vanessa Hudgens plays a baker who goes to yet another made-up village in Europe for a baking contest and in the process meets a princess who looks just like her (also played by Vanessa Hudgens). When her royal doppelgänger proposes they switch places, things go awry. Is it terrible? Sure. Is it wonderful? Also, sure.
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Holiday in the Wild
Rob Lowe is a man of many talents, so why wouldn’t a new holiday Netflix movie be one of them? In this one, Lowe is somehow a tour guide in Africa who meets Kristin Davis, who’s there on safari. She agrees to help at an elephant sanctuary alongside Lowe’s character. There’s a lot of the usual “We’re just friends.”
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The Holiday Calendar
A photographer inherits a seemingly magical Advent calendar that predicts her future—right down to her dating life. This one definitely aims for the Hallmark quality of holiday movie, and it gets pretty close. Bring on the corniness.
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