21 Of Netflix's Best Christmas Films And TV Specials Streaming Now
A selection of Netflix's Christmas offerings for 2022
Nothing gets us in the festive mood quite like revisiting our favourite Christmas films and TV specials, and we’re happy to see that Netflix has a wide array of offerings to help spread some cheer this year.
What’s more, they also have some exciting new originals for 2022, including family comedies, romance and the return of a certain Ms Lohan.
Of course, we all know that scrolling through the streaming platform to find something everyone can agree on can sometimes take forever, so we’ve rounded up the good, the bad and – frankly – the very odd to help make choosing something a little easier...
Falling For Christmas
Undoubtedly Netflix’s most exciting new festive offering for 2022, and with good reason.
Falling For Christmas not only ticks a number of our “Netflix original romantic comedy” boxes (a cute kid? Check. Handsome single dad? Check. Two-dimensional characters and overacting? Check. A whole plot around amnesia? Check), it’s also the comeback vehicle for Lindsay Lohan.
Obviously no one should be looking out for Falling For Christmas come awards season next year, but Lindsay Lohan is so watchable that she actually makes the whole thing worth tuning in for. The Lohanaissance is in full swing, and we’re here for it.
Scrooge: A Christmas Carol
A new animated take on the 1970 movie musical Scrooge (yes the Albert Finney one with the terrifying ending).
We’ll concede that the world probably doesn’t need another adaptation of A Christmas Carol, but Netflix’s animated offerings have actually been pretty decent, and you can’t argue with a voice cast that includes Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley and Luke Evans in the title role, can you?
The Grinch
Nostalgia makes up a huge part of everyone’s Christmas viewing habits, so if you’re looking to stroll down memory lane this festive season, Netfix has a great outlet for that in this absolute classic.
There’s a lot we could say about how The Grinch puts a surprisingly dark twist on one of Dr Seuss’ twist or the way the costumes and sets both perfectly summon up the feeling of Christmas... but everyone knows it’s Jim Carrey’s scene-stealing turn as the miserly title character that keeps us coming back to this every year.
Nativity!
Nativity! made a modest debut in cinemas back in 2008 with little fanfare, but has since gone on to spawn two sequels, a spin-off theatre show and garner a loyal following who love its quintessentially British humour and references.
While we can’t vouch for the quality of what came next, the first Nativity! film is actually a pretty lovely watch, particularly for families, featuring the acting talents of Martin Freeman and Alan Carr.
Deck The Halls
Danny DeVito and Matthew Broderick take the lead in this family comedy, playing two feuding dads in the same neighbourhood who fall out in a row over their expansive Christmas lights.
Also among the cast are Kristen Davis (yes, Charlotte from Sex And The City), Kristen Chenowith and an 11-year-old Nicola Peltz Beckham in her very first big screen role.
Klaus
Listen, we love what Pixar, Disney and Dreamworks have managed to do with CGI over the years… but there’s just something about traditional 2D animation, isn’t there?
Klaus is proof that there’s still a place for this particular kind of visual today, and the film’s completely unique look, and the nostalgia it invokes, make it a perfect family watch for Christmas. Plus, who doesn’t love an alternative Santa story?
The Christmas Chronicles
Another modern family Christmas story, this one sees two precocious children accidentally crashing Santa’s sleigh and having to team up with him to save the big day.
Young fans will enjoy the adventure, festive scenes and Kurt Russell’s take on Father Christmas. Personally, we’ll be tuning in for two reasons: Goldie Hawn… and all of the wigs.
And if you enjoy it, don’t miss The Christmas Chronicles 2, also streaming on Netflix.
Love Hard
A true 21st century Christmas romance, Love Hard tells the story of a dating columnist who travels to her online crush’s hometown over the festive season, only to discover he’s been catfishing her using pictures of his pal.
We probably don’t need to tell you the whole thing ends in a farcical (albeit predictable) love triangle, but Love Hard proved surprisingly popular upon its original release on Netflix in 2021, so it’s definitely worth checking out.
Christmas With You
Netflix Christmas films are truly single dads’ time to shine, as proved with pretty much all of the platform’s new arrivals in 2022.
Christmas With You sees a flagging popstar on a quest to find inspiration for a festive chart-topper, only to find Yuletide romance with – you guessed it! – a fan’s father, played by the always-dreamy Freddie Prinze Jr.
Christmas On Mistletoe Farm
In this new family film, a widowed dad (seriously!) finds himself struggling when he inherits a farm just before Christmas. While he is no fan of his new lifestyle, his kids love it.
Now, we haven’t watched Christmas On Mistletoe Farm yet, but we’re going to go out on a limb here and guess they end up staying, presumably after a woman from the village provides a reminder about the true meaning of Christmas?
There are some cute animals in the Netflix teaser image, so we’re sold.
Single All The Way
Single All The Way arrived on Netfix in 2021 to much fanfare over the way it took the tried-and-tested “will they, won’t they... oh and by the way it’s Christmas” festive formula and applied it to a queer love story.
Obviously, it’s great that Netflix gave such a big push to a film with a same-sex romance at its heart, and we love that Single All The Way showcases queer characters with supportive families. But it’s also a whole lot of fun, helped in no small part by the presence of all-round screen icon Jennifer Coolidge.
A Christmas Prince
Let’s just call a spade a spade here – sometimes what we all really need at Christmas is to sit down in front of a load of brainless tosh while you tuck into the Quality Street. And on that note, we have to say thank you to Netflix for the A Christmas Prince cinematic universe.
Initially dreamed up as a Christmas cash-in on royal fever, the film proved popular enough that it spawned two more sequels. Prestige cinema this is definitely not, but pair it with a tasty mulled wine and smiles are guaranteed all-round.
The Princess Switch
Keeping up with the royal theme is Netflix’s The Princess Switch trilogy (that’s right, there are three of ’em now!).
The original essentially mixes the plots of The Princess Diaries and The Parent Trap, with subsequent sequels throwing an additional third lookalike into the mix, all of whom are played by Vanessa Hudgens.
The High School Musical star and voguing enthusiast has already proved herself to be the queen of Netflix’s thrown-together festive offerings, appearing not just in this series but also 2019’s The Knight Before Christmas, which is probably the most obvious example of “a board meeting coming up with the film’s title and working backwards from there” we’ve ever come across.
Office Christmas Party
Meanwhile, if you’re one of those people who prefers their Christmas films with a bit more snark, Netflix has got you covered, too.
Office Christmas Party boasts an all-star cast, including Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, Kate McKinnon and Olivia Munn, and centres around the disgruntled staff members at a tech company in Chicago who all get roped into the mother of all Christmas dos.
I Hate Christmas
A Netflix original from Italy, this brilliantly-titled comedy series focusses on a young woman who lies to her family about having a boyfriend, and then finds herself with just 24 days to grab someone to take home for Christmas.
“I only need to find someone who’s normal enough to bring home for Christmas at my parents’,” she’s heard declaring in the trailer. Good luck is all we can say.
Krampus
Definitely among the weirdest Christmas films ever made, this comedy-horror centres around a traditional festive creature from European folklore, who (spoiler alert) comes to life and wreaks havoc on an American family.
If that synopsis alone doesn’t pique horror fans’ interest, then we’ve got two words that might: Toni. Colette.
Happy (and hopefully not too terrifying) streaming, folks!
Last Holiday
Originally released in 2006, Last Holiday sees Queen Latifah playing a timid department store worker who changes her ways when she’s told she has just weeks to live, pursuing her long-held crush and booking herself a luxury trip for Christmas.
It might not exactly sound like the stuff of rip-roaring laughs, but trust us when we say this underrated comedy is well worth a stream, if for no other reason than Queen Latifah’s performance.
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
When Jingle Jangle first started streaming in 2020, it was obvious Netflix had something special on their hands, and if you’ve not managed to watch it in the years since, now’s your chance.
Not only is the film a festive adventure with a stellar cast (including Forest Whittaker, Anika Noni Rose and Ricky Martin as the voice of a matador doll who comes to life), it’s also a heartwarming musical with songs by John Legend. Once you’ve blown through the usual suspects, this is definitely worth adding to your go-to Christmas films list.
Friends Christmas specials
But it’s not just festive films that Netflix has on offer. Friends’ continued dominance on the platform means we can still get a big dose of 90s nostalgia this Christmas, with the sitcom’s array of festive episodes.
The One With The Girl From Poughkeepsie sees Phoebe striving to write the perfect Christmas songs for her close-knit pals (if only anything rhymed with “Rachel”), while The One Where Rachel Quits sees Lisa Kudrow’s character trying to rehouse some unappealing brown trees after seeing them going into a chipper.
But the definitive Christmas special is unquestionably The One With The Holiday Armadillo. That one has everything you want from a Friends episode: Ross embarrassing himself, some lovely scenes with Joey and Rachel and the revelation of Monica’s apparent Santa fetish. What’s not to love?
RuPaul’s Drag Race’s Holi-Slay Spectacular
RuPaul's Drag Race
When it was first released in 2018, we brushed off this supposed holiday special as little more than a naff 40-minute advert for RuPaul’s Christmas album and the then-upcoming All Stars 4, complete with impromptu musical numbers and a totally ridiculous “lip sync” between Michelle Visage and RuPaul.
But we have to admit… we’ve still found ourselves coming back to it as the years have passed – and if the sillier and more irreverent moments of Drag Race are what keep you tuning in, then you probably will too.
Dolly Parton’s Christmas On The Square
Who wouldn't want Dolly Parton to be their guardian angel?
And speaking of naff, camp, be-wigged fun at Christmas… you can’t go wrong with a bit of Dolly Parton, can you?
Like the vast majority of Netflix’s original festive content, we can’t say that Dolly Parton’s Christmas On The Square is, by any stretch of the imagination, a “good” film. But that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable
Beginning with Dolly playing the least convincing homeless person ever committed to the screen, and later floating up on a cloud in Christine Baranski’s living room, this film is a real wild ride and great fun. And if the mix of Dolly Parton, Christine Baranski, Jenifer Lewis and a whole lot of fake snow doesn’t make for an irresistible Christmas treat, what does?
