40 Christmas Movies That'll Make You Less Miserable This Holiday Season

Nothing gets us into the “holiday spirit” more than boozy Santas, hitmen banter, and Chevy Chase fa-la-la-la-la-la-ing. Save the saccharine and sentimental seasonal fare for another time and queue up one of these side-splitting comedies instead—spiked eggnog not necessary but definitely encouraged.

The official unofficial king of Christmas, Tim Allen, dons the big man’s belly to play Scott Calvin, a workaholic toy salesman who’s about to take his work to the North Pole. After Santa falls off his roof one Christmas Eve, Scott is magically tasked with the man in red’s seasonal duties, and thus the adventure—and cookie binging—begins. Watch Now

If Arnold Schwarzenegger listing all seven of Santa’s reindeer while running through snowy streets and dodging his rival Turbo Man enthusiast, played by Sinbad, isn’t funny, then give us coal for Christmas. It’s a little bit silly, but the slapstick humor, quality Phil Hartman comedy, and twist ending in this delightful holiday flick are worth every smirk and giggle. Watch Now

A holiday movie you may have missed but should definitely seek out is the 2014 British fugitive comedy Get Santa. It stars Jim Broadbent as the bearded one who’s jailed after crashing his sleigh and trying to get his reindeer back, with Rafe Spall and Kit Connor playing the father and son duo trying to reunite Santa with his myth and—obviously—save Christmas. Watch Now

They did it again. The McCallisters slept in and almost missed their flight to spend Christmas vacation somewhere other than snowy Chicago. This go round, however, the family is headed to Miami and Kevin isn’t left at home; he’s shuffled onto a different flight and barreling to the hijinks—and Wet Bandit cat burglars—awaiting him in New York City. Watch Now

It may be a bit dated, but the laughs Jim Varney delivers in this 1988 gem as the titular franchise character, Ernest P. Worrell, are the gift of nostalgia. The movie follows a familiar storyline—Ernest must help Santa find his successor and in turn save Christmas for everyone—but you may just be surprised at how much joy you get out of it. Watch Now

If you’ve ever seen a razor-sharp Whit Stillman film (Damsels in Distress, Love & Friendship), then you’re probably familiar with the filmmaker’s fancy for banter and comedies of manners. This offbeat '90s cult classic about a group of bougie Manhattanites gossiping their way through the holidays is no different. Watch Now

Though Shane Black’s crime comedy centers around a crook pretending to be an actor, there are still enough Santa hats and Christmas trees scattered throughout to qualify the film as a seasonal watch. The cheeky laughs come courtesy of everyone’s favorite comeback kid: Robert Downey Jr. Watch Now

If the premise—a woman pretending to be the perfect housewife is put to the test over the course of one Christmas—sounds a bit dated, that’s because it is. Peter Godfrey’s classic starring Barbara Stanwyck was made in 1945. But throw in a romance and babies, and you’ll forget about the word “housewife.” Watch Now

It should be called A Christmas Staple, as no holiday is complete be without Bob Clark’s 1940s-set family comedy. A festive story about a kid who spends the season rattling off to anyone who will listen that he wants a Red Ryder BB gun from Santa, it’s the gift that keeps on giving laughs. Watch Now

Surprisingly, this one’s based on a John Grisham novel. Not surprisingly? Tim Allen delivers on the comedy front. More slapstick than biting wit, this adaptation with a Chris Columbus script gets silly when a ba-humbug couple (Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis) swear off Christmas and everything the holiday entails to go on a cruise. Watch Now

Yes, Richard Curtis’s British ensemble film (documenting the love, loss, and loved ones of eight couples across London a month before Christmas) is one of the sincerest displays of holiday spirit. But it’s also actually one of the funniest. Case in point: Bill Nighy as a loose-lipped aging rocker. Watch Now

It’s been almost 30 years since the McCallisters left their eight-year-old son home alone on Christmas, but the funhouse hijinks between Macaulay Culkin's Kevin and a pair of bumbling burglars (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern) make us laugh harder with every passing holiday. Watch Now

Jason Bateman, Olivia Munn, Jennifer Aniston, Kate McKinnon, and many, many more familiar faces have a merry lowbrow Christmas in this wild ride from the Blades of Glory directors. Josh Gordon and Will Speck’s comedy about an office-place holiday rager that gets out of hand includes drinking, drugs, and DJ Kool. Watch Now

A lot of the dialogue in Michael Dougherty’s fantasy fits into the "It’s funny because it’s true" category. Yes, technically Krampus is rooted in Central European folklore about a horned demon who punishes bad behavior, but the family dysfunction and general disdain for those one is related to? Well, that’s a universal theme. Watch Now

Perhaps we’re reaching; to call Mean Girls a Christmas movie is like calling Regina George a contender for Miss Congeniality. But what can’t be denied: “Jingle Bell Rock” is an iconic moment in Christmas-related cinema. And you never need an excuse to watch this Tina Fey/Mark Waters mash-up. Watch Now

Jon Favreau’s holiday hit, about a man-child elf who’s sweet on warm hugs, maple syrup, and ABC gum, achieved insta-classic the second it was released. If you’re not laughing out loud from Will Farrell’s antics, then you just might just be a cotton-headed ninny muggins. Watch Now

Real-life comrades Ryan Reynolds and Anna Faris are the nonexistent comedy troupe we wish would go on tour. Her timing and his slapstick go together like Dusty Dinkleman and a crap tune. Watch Now

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the TV studio, not a creature was getting anything but a towel. Bill Murray humbugs his way through three supernatural visits in Richard Donner’s ‘80s holiday essential that does the classic Dickens tale a solid. Watch Now

Everyone has some version of Aunt Bethany, bless her. Watch her and the oodles of zany Griswolds who come out of the woodwork—and driveway-parked recreational vehicle—to celebrate the holidays and just try to retain your composure. Watch Now

Isn’t every man in a Santa suit a con man on some level? Terry Zwigoff’s Golden Globe-nominated raunch-com takes that sentiment to another level as it follows a criminal posing as the big man to rob department stores. It’s funny, it’s naughty, and it’s literally in the holiday spirit—which is vodka. Watch Now

When you wanna cry, you watch The Dodo’s animal videos. When you wanna laugh, you find Eddie Murphy—especially 1980s Eddie Murphy. Here, he plays Billy Ray Valentine, the broke street hustler who switches places with Dan Akroyd’s privileged yuppie for social satire that gets better with age. Watch Now

Meeting the boyfriend: it’s enough to get any parent’s tinsel in a tangle. Especially when that boyfriend—played by James Franco—is a tech billionaire fluent in the art of “no filter.” That’s the impetus for John Hamburg’s modern comedy—its absurdity knows no bounds. Watch Now

A sleeper hit of 2015, Jonathan Levine’s holiday fantasy traverses the debauchery of NYC on a quest to find the Nutcracka Ball and stars a trio of guys—Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, and Anthony Mackie—who make ugly sweaters look good. Bonus: Ilana Glazer as Rebecca Grinch. Watch Now

Check the PC manners at the door. This stupid-funny stoner comedy sends its titular characters on another foggy adventure and is as offensive, over the top, and inappropriate as the dinner conversation you’re inevitably going to have to excuse yourself from come Christmas day. Watch Now

One holiday is stressful enough. Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn’s Kate and Brad endure four—each filled with kooky relatives and parent-inflicted humiliation—in Seth Gordon’s merry little cringe fest, which steals belly laughs despite a seriously flawed script. Watch Now

Bridget Jones—alone on the holidays, watching syndicated television, chugging red wine, impersonating Celine Dion, wearing red jammies—is all of us at some point. And the laughs don't stop ‘til the credits roll. Watch Now

Christmas isn’t the focus of Martin McDonagh’s tragicomic gem, but it is an excuse for a pair of hitmen (Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell) to lay low after a job gone wrong. The city’s enchantment, the actors’ deadpan, and especially the humorous banter—it’s all such a gift. Watch Now

It was the chambermaid in the library with the lead pipe. Or was it? Francois Ozon takes viewers on a Clue-esque ride through a remote mansion in 1950s France during the holidays, when a patriarch is murdered and the eight women closest to him all have a motive. Oh, it’s also a musical. Buy the DVD

Often overshadowed by that other 1940s holiday masterpiece, this Preston Sturges wartime laugh riot follows a small-town girl who’s newly married and pregnant—with no clue who her husband is. It goes under-watched and under-laughed at every year. Watch Now

Kenneth Branagh’s hilarious preface to his full-length Hamlet follows a struggling actor who assembles a cast for a Christmas production of Shakespeare’s tragedy, which he hopes will save his sister’s church. Watch Now