Christmas in spring? Why not! For some of us, the Christmas season never ends. Or, at least, the craving for that Christmas cheer never ends. One of the best ways to satisfy that craving is with Christmas movies and, believe it or not, you don’t have to wait until Thanksgiving to stream your favorites. There’s a small trove of holiday movies streaming on Hulu to help you live the Christmas spirit all year long. We’ve gone ahead and pulled the best goodies out from under the tree. Here are our choices for the best Christmas movies currently streaming on Hulu.
We’ve also put together guides to the best Christmas movies on Netflix and the best Christmas movies on Amazon Prime. After all, Hulu’s holiday selection is only so big.
Dear Santa (2011)
Crystal (Amy Acker) is lonely and just sort of drifting through life. Then one day, she discovers a letter from a little girl asking Santa to send her father a new wife for Christmas. Charmed by the letter, Crystal decides to see who this little girl is for herself. Upon meeting the girl’s father, it seems that Crystal just might make the girl’s Christmas wish come true.
Rotten Tomatoes: 50%
Stars: Amy Acker, Brooklynn Proulx, Gina Holden
Director: Jason Priestley
Rating: PG
Runtime: 92 minutes
The Heart of Christmas (2011)
Candace Cameron Bure stars in this family-friendly drama about a hard-working, career-oriented woman who is forced to reexamine her priorities after she sees people decorating for Christmas in October to help a family celebrate the holiday before their sick son passes away. It’s a tearjerker, but a heartwarming one.
Rotten Tomatoes: 57%
Stars: Candace Cameron Bure, Jeanne Neilson, Eric Beck, Anita Renfroe, Matthew West
Director: Gary Wheeler
Rating: TV-G
Runtime: 90 minutes
So This Is Christmas (2009)
Eric Roberts and Vivica A. Fox star in this soapy, almost melodramatic Christmas movie about a couple’s tumultuous relationship and its impact on their 18-year-old daughter. As she seeks refuge from the chaos at home, she starts to fall in with a bad crowd and her life begins to head in the wrong direction. But at Christmas, everybody gets a shot at redemption.
IMDb: 5.2
Stars: Lexi Ainsworth, Eric Roberts, Vivica A. Fox, Titus Makin Jr., Bryan Massey
Director: Richard Foster
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 114 minutes
Happiest Season (2020)
This holiday season Hulu’s serving up an original Christmas movie that’s funny, star-studded, and featuring a lot of the kinds of characters you don’t often find in holiday fare. Kristen Stewart stars as Abby, who’s so devoted to her girlfriend Harper (Mackenzie Davis) that she’s ready to pop the question. But on the way to Harper’s family home for Christmas, Harper drops a bomb — she hasn’t come out to her conservative family yet, meaning Abby’s going to have to play at being something she’s not. At the same time she bends over backward to hide the truth from Harper’s family, Abby has to struggle with her growing doubts about Harper. With a top-notch comedic cast including Dan Levy (Schitt’s Creek) as Abby’s best friend, Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation) as Harper’s no-nonsense ex-girlfriend, and Alison Brie (Community) as Harper’s older sister, Happiest Season is a perfect holiday rom-com sure to keep you laughing and crying in all the right places.
Rotten Tomatoes: 85%
Stars: Kristen Stewart, Mackenzie Davis, Mary Steenburgen, Dan Levy
Director: Clea DuVall
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 102 minutes
A Christmas Solo (2017)
There are probably few, if any, easy times to be a single parent, but for Nate (Jonathan Scarfe) and Jennifer (Kelli Williams), this latest one promises to be the most challenging yet. Jennifer’s husband died tragically, Nate’s ex-wife left him, and each is raising a daughter on their own. While in a perfect world, their budding romance would only help things, sadly they’re not the only ones with a say in the matter. It turns out their respective daughters, Charlotte (Pippa Mackie) and Melissa (Kayla Wallace), are bitter enemies in school, and their parents’ courtship only fuels their rivalry. A little Christmas spirit will probably be in order for everyone involved to find understanding, forgiveness, and — hopefully — love.
IMDb: 5.9
Stars: Kelli Williams, Jonathan Scarfe
Director: Christie Will Wolf
Rating: TV-G
Runtime: 90 minutes
A Very Brady Christmas (1988)
The Brady Bunch is back for the holidays in this 1988 CBS TV movie. Mike (Robert Reed) and Carol Brady (Florence Henderson) can’t wait to spend the Christmas holiday with their six adult children and family friend, Alice, but a confluence of issues may prevent the holiday get-together from happening at all — every Brady child seems to have a problem going on. When Mike is trapped in a collapsed building, however, they’ll all have to set aside their issues to help make a Christmas miracle happen.
IMDb: 6.0
Stars: Robert Reed, Florence Henderson
Director: Peter Baldwin
Rating: TV-PG
Runtime: 100 minutes
Christmas Perfection (2018)
Ever since she was a child, all Darcy wanted for Christmas was the perfect holiday. When she stumbles across an enchanted figurine, she magically wakes up in a Christmas village in Ireland, where all of her perfect Christmas dreams finally come true. This being a romantic film, that also means finding love.
IMDb: 5.6
Stars: Caitlin Thompson, James Henri-Thomas
Director: David Jackson
Rating: TV-PG
Runtime: 90 minutes
The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017)
Directed by Bharat Nalluri from a script by Susan Coyne, The Man Who Invented Christmas is based on the 2008 book of the same name by Les Standiford. Delving into biopic territory, the film follows Charles Dickens (Dan Stevens), who is down on his luck and reeling from financial hardship as he struggles to find inspiration to begin writing A Christmas Carol, an aspiration that people in his life detest. Trusting his intuition and the advice of his children’s Irish nursemaid Tara (Anna Murphy), Dickens forges ahead with his novella. As notable characters begin to take form, their fictional guises are transplanted to the real world. Chief amongst these realizations is the all-too-iconic Ebenezer Scrooge, brilliantly portrayed by actor Christopher Plummer. The Man Who Invented Christmas is a new and brilliant lens through which to view Dickens’ classic holiday tale, and it’s a great Christmas film to add to your family’s yearly rotation.
Rotten Tomatoes: 79%
Stars: Dan Stevens, Christopher Plummer, Patrick Joseph Byrnes
Director: Bharat Nalluri
Rating: PG
Runtime: 104 minutes
Christmas on Holly Lane (2018)
Sara, Riley, and Cat have been friends for decades. Once more, they gather to celebrate Christmas at Sara’s house on Holly Lane, but this year is different. Sara (Sarah Lancaster) is fresh from a painful divorce, and, unfortunately, it looks like she won’t be able to afford the house on Holly Lane for much longer. With enduring friendships that have withstood the test of time, Riley and Cat come together to help their friend not only save her home but to make sure no breakups or financial woes will dim the warmth of her holiday spirit.
IMDb: 6.2
Stars: Sarah Lancaster, Karen Holness, Gina Holden
Director: Christie Will Wolf
Rating: TV-PG
Runtime: 90 minutes
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