Sure, movies are fun to watch year-round. But there’s just something about watching holiday movies that is an absolutely unmatched experience. I have no clue how they’re so addicting, but there’s no denying that they are. Show me one person who hasn’t seen and/or at least knows the plot lines of Elf and Home Alone. Funny that you can’t. In short, holiday movies reign supreme.
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our holy grails, if you will.
There’s nothing quite like curling up on the couch with some hot chocolate (or some wine—depending on the vibes, of course) and turning on a film about the most wonderful time of the year. From the timeless OG classics to more recent releases that deserve just as much of the hype, there’s a seemingly endless amount of options to choose from. So, we’ve rounded up the best holiday movies that’ll keep you entertained all season long. It’s time to get comfy and tune in:
1. Falling for Christmas (2022)
The fact that this movie is Lindsay Lohan’s return to acting is really all you need to know about Falling for Christmas. But alas, if that isn’t enough to convince you to watch, LiLo playing a spoiled heiress who gets amnesia and falls for a local ski lodge owner in Aspen definitely should be. It’s a heartfelt story perfect for a good ol’ comfort watch of the season.
2. Four Christmases (2008)
In this violently underrated holiday comedy, couple Brad and Kate must spend Christmas Day trudging around to a quartet of family get-togethers after their exotic vacation plans unexpectedly fall through. While Brad counts the hours until he can escape the wild relatives, Kate starts to wonder about her own choices and considers whether her family members are too much to handle after all.
3. Klaus (2019)
Klaus is a bit of a more recent holiday release that’s perfect for the animated movie kick we all get this time of year. After a postman by the name of Jesper proves himself to be the worst student at the postal academy, he is sent to a frozen town in the North Pole where he discovers a reclusive toymaker named Klaus, and they begin to form an unlikely friendship.
4. Elf (2003)
Truly, what is Christmas time without watching Will Ferrell dressed as an elf? Nothing! In this beloved classic, Buddy was accidentally transported to the North Pole as a toddler and raised to adulthood among Santa’s elves. So, once he becomes an adult, he travels to New York in search of his real father and ends up creating some chaos along the way.
5. Best. Christmas. Ever! (2023)
Jackie sends out a holiday newsletter every year, much to the chagrin of her old college friend, Charlotte, who is insistent that Jackie’s life can’t possibly be as wonderful as she makes it seem. When a twist of fate lands Charlotte on Jackie’s front doorstep during the holidays, she’s desperate to prove that Jackie’s world is flawed—only to realize that their friendship is the holiday gift she never knew she needed.
6. Spirited (2022)
A musical comedy starring Will Ferrel and Ryan Reynolds? Sign us up. The pair retells the story of Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol through the perspective of the Ghost of Christmas Present in this hilarious take on a holiday classic.
7. Krampus (2015)
Even though it’s the holiday season, spooky season doesn’t have to end completely. When a dysfunctional family argument causes their young son, Max, to lose his festive spirit, it unleashes the wrath of a creepy demon from European folklore, Krampus. As Krampus slyly closes in on the Engel home, the whole family must band together to save one another.
8. Family Switch (2023)
Ever wondered what Freaky Friday would be like with a holiday twist? That’s the laugh-out-loud magic that comes together in Netflix’s new film Family Switch, starring Jennifer Garner, Ed Helms, and Emma Myers. The walker family is having some trouble *connecting* to one another, so they go on a little holiday adventure. When they wake up the next morning, all six family members (and one dog) have switched bodies. Hilarity ensues.
9. Last Christmas (2019)
If you’ve ever watched and loved (and cried over, maybe) the TV show Fleabag, this is the holiday movie just for you. Nothing seems to ever go right for Kate, a young, frustrated Londoner who works as an elf in a year-round Christmas shop. But, things take a turn for the better when she meets Tom, a handsome charmer who seems too good to be true… and he just might be.
10. Love Actually (2003)
Truly, what would this world be without the most beloved holiday rom-com movie ever? Love Actually follows nine intertwined stories in the weeks leading up to Christmas examining the complexities of the one emotion that connects us all: love.
11. Dashing Through The Snow (2023)
Social worker Eddie Garrick turned his back on Christmas festivities due to a traumatic childhood event. Now a father himself, Eddie takes his 8-year-old daughter out on Christmas Eve—in spite of her lineage, she loves the holiday. When the two of them meet a mysteriously jolly man in a red suit named Nick, the group ends up on a magical adventure that just might restore Eddie’s faith in Christmas.
12. Something From Tiffany’s (2022)
Imagine your engagement ring ending up in the wrong hands, but it actually ends up being everything you needed. Rachel and Gary are a happy couple, but not quite ready for that big commitment, while picture-perfect couple Ethan and Vanessa are just about to make it official. When a simple mix-up of their gifts causes their paths to cross, it sets off a series of twists and turns that lead them where they’re truly meant to be.
13. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
There’s a reason why there’s literally an entire ride at Disneyland dedicated to this go-to holiday classic. The film follows Jack Skellington, Halloweentown’s beloved pumpkin king, who has become bored with the same annual routine of frightening people in the “real world”—until he stumbles upon Christmastown, which gives him a new outlook on life.
14. A Christmas Story Christmas (2022)
30 years after its original release, A Christmas Story (AKA, one of the most beloved holiday movies ever) is being continued. We see Ralphie completely grown with a family of his own, and he wants to give his kids a magical Christmas like the one he was lucky enough to have as a child.
15. Die Hard (1988)
The two biggest questions of the holiday season are 1. Is Santa real? And 2. Is Die Hard a Christmas movie? Well, I wholeheartedly believe it is (and a really good one for that matter). NYC policeman John McClane is visiting his estranged wife and two daughters on Christmas Eve, but the festivities are interrupted by a group of terrorists who take over the exclusive high-rise where they’re attending his wife’s office holiday party—and John quickly realizes that he’s the only once who can save them all.
16. The Holiday (2006)
No holiday season is complete without watching Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet swap lives and end up living out the romances they never dreamed of having over the course of the holiday season. In this classic Nancy Meyers film, Iris and Amanda both have their hearts broken, so they decide to do a house swap for the holidays: Iris goes to Los Angeles, and Amanda goes to England. Suddenly, they find themselves immersed in new lives they might not be quite ready to leave when the season is over.
17. The Grinch (2018)
No holiday movie round-up is complete without a mention of the Grinch, and this newer version released in 2018 is arguably the best re-make thus far. If you don’t already know, The Grinch and his dog, Max, live a solitary existence inside a cave on Mount Crumpet. He despises Christmas with his whole being, so he decides to scheme as Santa Claus and stop the Who’s and Whoville from celebrating once and for all.
18. White Christmas (1954)
Sometimes, you just want to curl up in front of a classic Christmas movie with one of the most iconic soundtracks of all time. Watching Bob Wallace and Phil Davis team up with sister act Betty and Judy Haynes to attempt to save a rural Vermont inn with their dazzling Christmas show will quite simply never get old. This one is a yearly must-watch (and sing along, of course).
19. Love Hard (2021)
As a girly working in the editorial world myself, this one hit close to home in the best way possible. After meeting her supposed perfect match on a dating app, an L.A. writer named Natalie learns she’s been catfished when she flies 3,000 miles to surprise him for Christmas. But obviously, because of the magic of the holidays, things end up going in quite an unexpected direction.
20. Single All The Way (2021)
Love the fake relationship romantic comedy trope? If yes, this is the movie for you. Peter is perpetually single, and each year when he returns home for the holidays, his family makes sure he knows it. To avoid pesky questions, Peter asks his best friend, Nick, to pretend to be his boyfriend when he returns home for the holidays. However, as the line between pretending and reality starts to blur, things get a little more complicated.
21. The Night Before (2015)
If The Hangover were a Christmas movie, it would be the hilarious bromance story that is The Night Before. For the last 10 years, Ethan, Isaac, and Chris have gathered on Christmas Eve to celebrate the holidays with a bang, but as Isaac prepares to become a first-time father, they realize their tradition must come to an end. So, to make it as memorable as possible, they spend their final Eve searching for the Nutcracka Ball, AKA the best Christmas party in all of NYC.
22. A Christmas Frequency (2023)
Kenzie, a young radio show producer, is desperate to save her boss’s tanking show, which has dropped in the ratings since she started being cynical on-air after her divorce. To spark new interest in the show, Kenzie starts to set her boss up on live, on-air blind dates. However, Kenzie ends up falling for one of the radio show dating contestants, and must choose between her head and her heart before Christmas.
23. Home Alone (1990)
It’s almost criminal to not include Home Alone on pretty much any holiday movie list ever made. After the McCallisters mistakenly leave for the airport without their 8 year old son Kevin, he awakens to an empty house and assumes his Christmas wish to have no family has actually come true. But when he realizes that two con men are planning to rob the residence, he alone must stop them and protect himself and the family home.
24. Better Watch Out (2016)
It’s almost like if Home Alone went the way that you think it’s supposed to actually go. When 17-year-old Ashley babysits the Lerner family’s 12-year-old son Luke for the night during the holidays, Luke attempts to flirt with Ashley by comforting her while watching a scary movie. But, it quickly turns from a calculated plan to reality, and Ashley must defend herself and Luke when unwelcome intruders announce their arrival.
25. Dash & Lily (2020)
Ok, so maybe this is technically a Christmas series and not a movie, but this underrated Netflix special from 2020 is a true slice of wholesome Christmas romance. Starring Austin Abrams and Midori Francis, Dash & Lily follows two high schoolers—one a total Scrooge and the other a Christmas-obsessed nerd—as they correspond through an anonymous journal that they leave in various places throughout New York City.
