No April foolin’, Netflix packs a holiday punch all year long! If you’re one of those people who crave the Christmas cheer in spring and summer, you’ll love Netflix’s extensive collection of Christmas movies. But not all are worth going under the mistletoe with. Fortunately, we’ve done the searching for you. Here are some of the best Christmas movies you can stream on Netflix now, from animated delights and clichéd romantic comedies to nontraditional Santa stories and full-on holiday classics.
Looking to get your holiday fix on a different streaming service? We’ve also written guides to the best Christmas movies on Amazon Prime and the best Christmas movies on Hulu.
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) wants to have the perfect Christmas with his family just once, so he pesters his wife, Ellen (Beverly D’Angelo), and children to make sure everything is just so. Of course, the more you try to make things perfect, the less perfect they become. Out of nowhere, his hick cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid) and his family arrive for the holidays, content to spend Christmas in their camper on the Griswolds’ lawn. A classic Christmas comedy starring everybody’s favorite vacationing family, Christmas Vacation is just one of those movies everyone should watch during the holiday season.
Rotten Tomatoes: 68%
Stars: Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo, Randy Quaid
Director: Jeremiah S. Chechik
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 97 minutes
The Polar Express (2004)
While the CGI is a little dated at this point, The Polar Express is nonetheless a heartwarming ride for the whole family. Tom Hanks leads a talented voice cast in this adaptation of the beloved children’s book that expands the story a fair bit further. A young boy is beginning to doubt the existence of Santa and the North Pole until he takes an extraordinary ride right to Santa’s workshop on “The Polar Express.”
Rotten Tomatoes: 56%
Stars: Tom Hanks, Leslie Zemeckis, Eddie Deezen
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Rating: G
Runtime: 88 minutes
Four Christmases (2008)
Brad and Kate are an unmarried couple, still thriving in the selfish primes of their lives. But when their plans for an exotic Christmas vacation fall apart (planned very specifically for Christmas), they’re suddenly on the rope to attend a quartet of Christmas Day family get-togethers. While Brad just can’t wait for it all to end, Kate starts wondering whether her family members are as crazy as she once thought, and whether or not it really is time to settle down.
Rotten Tomatoes: 25%
Stars: Vince Vaughn, Reese Witherspoon, Robert Duvall
Director: Seth Gordon
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 88 minutes
Holidate (2020)
The holidays are full of awkward gatherings with friends and family that are only more awkward when you’re single. Fed up with being the odd ones out, two strangers agree to be each other’s platonic plus-ones for the entire year. As you might expect, however, they start catching feelings.
Rotten Tomatoes: 44%
Stars: Emma Roberts, Luke Bracey, Kristin Chenoweth
Director: John Whitesell
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: 103 minutes
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020)
Jingle Jangle is a Christmas musical for the ages. Featuring original compositions by John Legend and Philip Lawrence, the story follows Jeronicus Jangle (Forest Whitaker), a toymaker and shop owner who falls on hard times when his trusted assistant, Gustafsan (Keegan-Michael Key), runs off with the inventor’s latest miracle, a sentient matador doll named Don Juan Diego that doesn’t want to be mass-produced. Together, Diego and Gustafsan rob Jeronicus of his hard work. Years later, after the death of his wife and estrangement from his daughter, Jangle is visited by a local banker, Mr. Delacroix (Hugh Bonneville), who tells Jangle that if he doesn’t produce a new successful invention by Christmas, he will lose his now floundering shop. When all hope seems lost, the reemergence of Jangle’s daughter and aspiring inventor granddaughter may finally set things straight for the down-on-his-luck tinkerer. Lovingly filmed and grandiose in every way, this is a holiday extravaganza you won’t soon forget.
Rotten Tomatoes: 92%
Stars: Forest Whitaker, Keegan-Michael Key, Hugh Bonneville
Director: David E. Talbert
Rating: PG
Runtime: 120 minutes
White Christmas (1954)
A famous Technicolor marvel, Michael Curtiz’ White Christmas stars Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye as Captain Bob Wallace and Private First Class Phil Davis, a Broadway savant and aspiring entertainer who launch a successful career in showbiz after their World War II enlistment. Hot off the success of their latest Broadway hit, Playing Around, the duo is contacted by a former mess sergeant, asking Bob and Phil to consider his sisters, Betty (Rosemary Clooney) and Judy (Vera-Ellen), for their traveling show. En route to Pine Tree Inn, a failing lodge run by Bob and Phil’s former general, it’s up to the showmen to bring life and business to their former commander’s establishment while dealing with budding romances for the smitten sister act. A holiday classic with a medley of notable songs, White Christmas rings true over 70 years later.
Rotten Tomatoes: 77%
Stars: Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney
Director: Michael Curtiz
Rating: PG
Runtime: 120 minutes
The Christmas Chronicles (2018)
What screams Christmas more than ’80s action star Kurt Russell manning an enchanted sleigh? That’s right, in director Clay Kaytis’ The Christmas Chronicles, Russell plays the man himself, jolly Saint Nick, and he’s got some holiday troubles to deal with. When Teddy and Kate (Judah Lewis and Darby Camp) put a trip wire and camera in place to prove Santa’s existence on Christmas Eve, they catch the gift-giver in their living room. Darby follows him to the roof and hides in his sleigh, along with Ted. When they reveal themselves, a startled Santa teleports to Chicago, where his sleigh breaks down. On top of no flying gear, Santa’s magic hat and bag of Christmas gifts are gone. It’s up to Russell and his two ride-alongs, Kate and Ted, to retrieve the artifacts before Christmas spirit disappears.
Admittedly, the film’s plot plays a bit like an extended third act of Jon Favreau’s Elf, another Christmas classic, but screenwriter Matt Lieberman’s The Christmas Chronicles is packed with enough laughs, action, and heartwarming holiday cheer to stand proudly on its own two legs.
Rotten Tomatoes: 67%
Stars: Kurt Russell, Darby Camp, Judah Lewis
Director: Clay Kaytis
Rating: PG
Runtime: 104 minutes
The Christmas Chronicles 2 (2020)
Santa Kurt is back in this follow-up to Netflix’s 2018 The Christmas Chronicles. On vacation with her mother, stepfather, and stepbrother Jack in Mexico, teenage Kate Pierce (Darby Camp) is sick of the holidays and decides to run away from her nightmare of a trip. Jack decides to follow after her, but soon after their getaway, the duo is transported to the North Pole, where Kate is reunited with Mr. and Mrs. Claus (Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn). Things aren’t so pleasant in the Arctic though, as an evil elf named Belsnickel (Julian Dennison) has plans to end Christmas once and for all. It’s up to Kate, her bro, and the Claus clan to put an end to the angry elf’s reign of terror. Chris Columbus of Home Alone fame picks up directing duties for this Netflix sequel. While it’s not as mesmerizing and original as the first in the series, it’s a high-quality sequel that makes for a more than welcome addition to your holiday lineup this year.
Rotten Tomatoes: 71%
Stars: Kurt Russell, Goldie Hawn, Darby Camp
Director: Chris Columbus
Rating: PG
Runtime: 115 minutes
Klaus (2019)
Receiving rave reviews, this traditionally animated adventure comedy film tells an alternate story of how Santa Claus came to be. Set in the 19th century, Jesper is a spoiled and lazy postman’s son whose father sends him on a mission in a distant northern town as a last resort to help him change his ways. While there, he meets a reclusive toymaker named Klaus. With a top-notch voice-acting cast that includes Jason Schwartzman as Jesper and J.K. Simmons as Klaus along with Rashida Jones, Will Sasso, Norm MacDonald, and Joan Cusack in supporting roles, the movie earned Netflix its first Academy Award nomination for an animated film.
Rotten Tomatoes: 94%
Stars: Jason Schwartzman, J.K. Simmons, Rashida Jones
Director: Sergio Pablos
Rating: PG
Runtime: 98 minutes
Get Santa (2014)
This cute British comedy is about Steve, a former getaway driver who, after being paroled, discovers a man claiming to be Santa in his shed. Desperate to find his missing reindeer, Santa, after being sent to prison himself due to a misunderstanding, pleads with Steve to help him. Steve is reluctant, but his young son Tom urges him to help the man he truly believes is Santa. If Steve misses his parole hearing, however, he’ll be sent right back to the slammer alongside St. Nick. What’s a guy to do? It’s a nontraditional Christmas film, but if you’re looking for something a bit different, it might be worth a watch. It has its criticisms, mostly due to the cheap reindeer flatulence jokes that will undoubtedly have the kids giggling. But at its core, the cast headed up by Jim Broadbent as Santa and Rafe Spall as Steve makes it a worthwhile watch for some real belly laughs.
Rotten Tomatoes: 79%
Stars: Jim Broadbent, Rafe Spall, Warwick Davis
Director: Christopher Smith (VIII)
Rating: PG
Runtime: 102 minutes
A Christmas Prince (2017)
If you’re tired of the same old Hallmark Christmas movies but want a good romantic comedy, check out this one that has already spawned two sequels: A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding and A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby from 2018 and 2019, respectively. The story is about an aspiring young journalist named Amber who is sent to cover a press conference about a prince who is about to take the throne following the death of his father. She is told he’s an irresponsible playboy, but after being mistaken for his sister’s tutor, she gets to know the real him and, surprise, surprise, she falls for him after discovering that he’s not at all who people think. It’s totally predictable, but sometimes that’s just what you want from a Christmas film.
Rotten Tomatoes: 73%
Stars: Rose McIver, Sarah Douglas, Ben Lamb
Director: Alex Zamm
Rating: PG
Runtime: 92 minutes
Let It Snow (2019)
This romantic comedy was oddly better viewed by critics than audiences. Based on the young adult novel of the same name by Maureen Johnson, John Green, and Lauren Myracle, the movie has a star-studded cast that includes Kiernan Shipka, Joan Cusack, and Isabela Merced. It’s Christmas Eve, and as Julie struggles with earning a scholarship to a prestigious university and the need to care for her ill mother, she happens to meet a rising pop star named Stuart on a train. They strike up a friendship with a clear romantic interest in one another. The movie is described as being “comfortably cliché” with its influences worn right “on its sleeve.” But that’s kind of what you want from a Christmas-themed film, right?
Rotten Tomatoes: 81%
Stars: Isabela Merced, Shameik Moore, Kiernan Shipka
Director: Luke Snellin
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 92 minutes
A Very Murray Christmas (2015)
‘Tis always the season for the low-key comedy genius of Bill Murray. This 2015 Christmas musical, directed and co-written by Sofia Coppola, follows the titular Murray through a star-studded Christmas Eve of celebrity duets and bountiful drinking. Bill’s holiday odyssey kicks into gear when a live TV special he was due to host is sabotaged by a power outage. Relieved, Murray flees to the Carlyle bar, where the film’s major slew of Hollywood cameos start filtering in, including Maya Rudolph, Rashida Jones, Jason Schwartzman, Michael Cera, and more. In terms of plot, it’s not the most emotionally dense Christmas movie, but A Very Murray Christmas is sure to grab a chuckle or two from you while filling your ears and heart with various Murray-led carols. Plus, at under an hour, it’s a quick watch. Not a bad bet, if you ask us.
Rotten Tomatoes: 68%
Stars: Bill Murray, Rashida Jones, George Clooney
Director: Sofia Coppola
Rating: TV-14
Runtime: 56 minutes
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