Here is the other question I meant to ask sooner: We are trying to build up our supply of Christmas movies/shows, so that we can watch them all December if we want to. We don’t have very many so far. Here’s what we have, of what I can remember off the top of my head, so I will probably add to this list if people mention ones we already have:
• Love Actually. I used to watch it on my own because it was too naked and problematic for the children, but the last two years the kids have watched it with me (Paul absents himself). I realize it’s chock-full of problematic stuff. I fast-forward through the parts I really hate. I make loud remarks over the parts I don’t fast-forward: “THIS IS WILDLY INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR.” (x100) “SERIOUSLY SHE SHOULD NOT BE APOLOGIZING MULTIPLE TIMES WHEN SHE DID LITERALLY NOTHING WRONG AND ONLY THE MEN IN THIS SITUATION BEHAVED BADLY; ALSO THIS IS WHY SOME MEN SHOULD NOT HAVE POLITICAL POWER.” “LOVE DOES NOT MEAN SACRIFICING LITERALLY YOUR ENTIRE LIFE TO BE NOTHING BUT AN ACCESSORY TO ANOTHER PERSON’S LIFE.” “THIS IS TOXIC MASCULINITY BUT WE ARE SUPPOSED TO UNDERSTAND SHE MEANS IT TONGUE-IN-CHEEK, AND IT DOES SEEM TO MAKE HIM FEEL BETTER.” “THIS IS GROSS AND FAT-PHOBIC.” (x100) I do a fair amount of loud talking. But I love that movie, I just do. (You really don’t need to tell me if you don’t: I see so much of that every year, and it is disheartening to keep hearing people say how much they hate something you love, even if you get why they hate it.)
• Bing Crosby’s White Christmas. This is the first year we’ve watched it, and it’s just the sort of thing I was looking for (not to the exclusion of other things I might be looking for). Some dancing! Some singing! Some plot! Good costumes! A little silly! A little sentimental! Might have been nice if everyone hadn’t been white, but I guess it’s literally in the title so we can’t say we weren’t warned!
• The Muppet Christmas Carol.
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
• A Charlie Brown Christmas.
• Scrooged.
• Elf. This is the first year we’ve watched it. I’d thought there would be a lot more gross-out and stress-based humor than there was. We liked it and have added it to the annual batch.
• A Christmas Story.
• Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square. I will never be able to watch it again (SO CRINGEY AND EARNEST, like a play written by a Christian-school-attending eighth grader—and I say that as someone who, as a Christian-school-attending eighth grader, wrote plays and stories far better than anything I could write now), but it was good for watching once, and Dolly Parton is an angel and also plays one in the movie.
I don’t like movies where the plot is basically a stress dream. This is why I have not tried that Chevy Chase Christmas movie, or Home Alone, or Jingle All the Way.
I think people who grew up with It’s a Wonderful Life can love it, but it is too late for me.
I know a lot of people love the stop-motion Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, but we have tried it and it does not click.
I wish I liked Hallmark Christmas movies, because I can see how much happiness they bring, and there is such a good supply of them. But I watched two in a row once as part of a job (the elderly woman I was visiting wanted us to watch them together), and if my sample size of two was accurate, they’re absolutely out.
If you tell me to watch that movie with Tim the Tool Man Taylor turning into Santa, I might consider it, but from the outside it looks like one extended fat joke.
Okay I LOVED Bad Moms Christmas even though I cringed so many times and it was TRULY TERRIBLE IN MANY MANY WAYS, but you should not take it as representative of my usual tastes, and also it’s not one I can watch with the family.
We love When Santa Fell to Earth. It’s so
European and delightful. Not cringy, no fat phobia, no gender stereotyping. Just sweet.
National Lampoons Christmas Vacation is, surprisingly, NOT a stress dream! It’s goofy and light and we watch it every year. And I’m usually one to hate the stressy movies.
I like The Holiday. Kate Winslet trades her English cottage for Cameron Diaz’s LA home. Jude Law, Jack Black, and a charming old Hollywood screenwriter neighbor. Highly recommend!
Arthur Christmas. It is funny and really sweet. My new favourite.
I also came to recommend Arthur Christmas. So lovely.
I also came to recommend Arthur Christmas! My family – full of teenagers – tried to decide what is our absolutely favorite Christmas movie, and this one was the winner, which kind of surprised us all, but we watched it again last night and all agreed that we’d made the right choice. It’s so sweet and funny, and it really gets better with re-watches, because there is SO much awesomeness that you miss the first time or two.
Add me to the list for Arthur Christmas. We’re Jewish, but when Arthur Christmas came out my then 6 year old asked to see it, so we went to a matinee, and I thought it was so good! Very clever, sweet plot, plenty to enjoy as an adult, loved the characters and premise.
My list of Christmas movies that I do not hate:
Noelle
Love Actually
Family Stone
The Holiday
Christmas Eve on SesameStreet (it starts slowly but if you have any love for the old characters, it’s worth an hour I promise!)
That is it. I also liked Bad Moms Christmas more than expected bc i did not like Bad Moms at all.
While You Were Sleeping is SO charming.
The Family Stone. Funny, poignant, great cast, and surprisingly good/inclusive for the time it was made! Not the Best Move Ever but definitely the best Christmassy film I’ve ever seen.
The Family Stone is WONDERFUL.
And the Tim the Tool Man movie is quite good. I haven’t watched it in a lot of years so I don’t know how it holds up but it was enjoyable when I watched it as a teen.
My family watched The Night They Saved Christmas every single year while I was growing up so I am bound by law to recommend it except that maybe it doesn’t exist except on a VHS that my dad recorded off the TV in the early eighties.
We are at this very moment watching Holiday Inn. It has one problematic song/dance to forward through (blackface) and suspension of disbelief as to agricultural realities, but glorious Fred Astaire dancing and much silliness. Of course, I could watch Christmas Story on a loop. Boy#1 was a dead ringer for Ralphie when he was growing up and I love it beyond reason.
We always watch The Family Stone (can be stressful if you try to empathize with SJP’s character, don’t do that) and While You Were Sleeping in addition to Elf (love!) and Love Actually (so problematic and I love it). We also like The Holiday, Serendipity, Four Christmases, and this year we threw in the new Little Women.
Arthur Christmas is our family favorite that we watch every Christmas Eve. So well done, funny, great cast, sweet story. I don’t understand why more people don’t love it.
Just watched Godmothered on Disney+ last night and it will be a new favorite. Highly recommend. First half you will wonder why I recommended as a Christmas movie but it will become clear in the second half. Stay with it – twists all the fairy tale tropes on their head in a sweet, silly way.
As a family we chose We Bought a Zoo tonight (Christmas Eve) which is not technically, if at all, a Christmas movie, but we love it and it has such a good family *big hugs* sentiment, I think it works.
Merry Christmas to you and yours. Thank you for continuing to write even as so many others have faded away or gone to Instagram or whatever. I enjoy your blog very much.
I was in a grumpyish mood when my family watched Godmothered, and I found the beginning to be A Lot, but it was very sweet and I did enjoy it.
This list from Emily Henderson’s blog was helpful to me, we’ll be watching Jingle Jingle tonight:
https://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/blog/netflix-holiday-originals-reviewed
Here’s some that we watch that haven’t been mentioned yet:
Christmas in Connecticut
Desk set
Meet me in St. Louis
Olaf’s frozen adventure
The bishop’s wife
Santa buddies
The Christmas movies I always watch (or want to watch) that have already been mentioned are White Christmas, While You Were Sleeping, The Family Stone, Holiday Inn, and It’s a Wonderful Life.
The ones no one has mentioned yet are Christmas in Connecticut (very silly plot devices, but Barbara Stanwyck is super charming) and Holiday Affair (starring Janet Leigh as a widowed secret shopper).
Yes, I would recommend The Santa Clause, unless maybe you waited too long to watch it? I have fond memories of it, and it still holds up for my kids. Also Noelle on Disney+ is a newer favorite!
Jingle Jangle on Netflix was a new one for us this year. Loved that it was a musical! Loved the diverse cast! Could forgive any flaws because it was beautiful and fun.
The Holiday is one of my favorite movies, even outside of Christmas. The characters are charming. It’s not overly problematic, and it’s so darn comforting. The sets feel like both a cozy Christmas and pure escapism, which I kind of need this year.
Miracle on 34th Street (I like the remake a lot but the original is still good)
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
A Christmas Carol (George C Scott version)
The Gathering ( Ed Asner)
Of all 3 Santa Clause series, the first one holds up
Controversial choices:
Sleepless in Seattle (opens on Christmas Eve and just feels like a Christmas movie to me)
Die Hard (happens at a Christmas Party)
Stepmom (ends at Christmas)
Agree on Die Hard (if you like action movies, and/or Bruce Willis) and the George C Scott Christmas Carol. I would like to have the big, swarthy Ghost of Christmas Present explain some things to certain current political officials.
Scrooge: “It’s such a small goose”
GoCP, in Scrooge’s face: “IT’S ALL BOB CRATCHIT CAN AFFORD.”
I prefer Home Alone 2 over Home Alone, and I wonder if you’ll find it less stressy? The element of this kid having already been left to fend for himself means that by the second movie Kevin is fully just the most competent one in the family. Plus you get the added New York City at Christmastime aesthetic which gets bonus points from me.
A woman on tiktok was rating different fat suits across TV/Film, and she actually rated The Santa Clause pretty favorably in that regard. In the scene where he goes to his doctor about the sudden weight gain, his doctor basically tells him that since his heart, blood sugar, etc is all fine, being heavier really isn’t a health concern, which won points from the reviewer. It’s also always been one of my favorites, so I would recommend.
My whole extended family fell in love with Noelle on Disney + last year, and we quickly added it to our rotation. My mom likes The Christmas Chronicles on Netflix, but I didn’t love it. My nieces got me to watch Christmas Chronicles 2 with them and I found I liked that one better. The Christmas Prince trilogy on Netflix is ridiculous but I love it.
I know I’m in the minority but I can’t stand Love Actually for all those issues mentioned!
I recently asked friends for recommendations on Xmas movies for kids and I got a few mentions for Klaus and The Polar Express which I’m going to check out now!
Yes to The Holiday and Jingle Jangle (both mentioned previously). Also our new-ish favorite is Rise of the Guardians, which kind of celebrates all the holidays, but it is so HOPEful. Really good.
I loved the Dolly movie. It was fun, sweet, but also kind of hokie. Not sure I’d watch it again, but once was fun!
The Santa Clause does have some of the fat jokes but I think it is mostly pretty charming. I rewatched While You Were Sleeping the other day for the first time since it came out and it was adorable despite the plot being full on ridiculous. Like I can believe The Santa Clause plot more than this one. But so cute.
I also love the first two Home Alones, although there is a slight stress element.
Merry Christmas, Swistle!
All the Lord of the Rings, National Lampoon, and The Sound of Music are additions to what you already have. We liked Jingle Jangle, but I’m not sure it’ll be a regular. We watch Elf and A Christmas Story every year, but Love Actually is too problematic for me. A Nightmare Before Christmas is good if you didn’t watch it at Halloween.
Miracle on 34th St is a great antidote to It’s A Wonderful Life, in my view, because everyone in it is so cynical (including Natalie Woods.) No one believes in Santa or the spirit of Christmas. It’s all about profit. It has to be proved by EVIDENCE, in COURT. I appreciate that, in our days of fake news. It’s charming and refreshing and funny.
If you like those Muppet Christmas movies, you’ll probably also like Emmett Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas.
I realize I’m the 4th person to offer this one but plus 1 million votes for Arthur Christmas- just the sweetest, silliest, most quotable Christmas movie in years!!
The Man Who Invented Christmas (about Dickens writing A Christmas Carol)
The Preacher’s Wife (remake of The Bishop’s Wife, starring Whitney Houston and Denzel Washington)
Oh oh oh!! I have an answer! From my perspective, I have THE answer! Prep and Landing!! Super short. All about elves that prep the landing site (house) for Santa. Truly hysterical (and I have a high bar for what I consider funny in movies).
Please, please watch it immediately. Do not wait until
Next year.
SO GOOD.
Yes!! Prep and Landing is fantastic!! It came out when my son was younger and immediately became a family favorite.
Noelle on Disney+ and The Holiday.
Ooh, I have one that nobody has recommended yet: Klaus. I think it was a direct-to-Netflix release, but it is SO well done and charming, different and traditional all at once. Highly recommend.
I have a small list of favorites, too, mostly overlapping with yours: Love Actually (despite everything), The Muppet Christmas Carol, Elf. I also like the Santa Clause, the original Miracle on 34th St, and The Holiday.
And now that I’ve seen all these recommendations, I’m definitely going to watch Arthur Christmas!
Triple/quadruple Jingle Jangle. Double Miracle on 34th and Noelle and Prep & Landing. I think y’all might like While You Were Sleeping if your kiddos are down with a little romcom if it’s truly funny like Love Actually.
Happiest Season!! There’s some stress, due to deceit and the family being a bit meaner than I would like (Mary Steenburgen and Allison Brie are not allowed to be so snide). But it’s pretty darn sweet and has Dan Levy being so funny and we were really overdue to have a great queer xmas romcom.
I just watched The Happiest Season last week and loved it. Yes, sweet and funny. Considering watching it again tonight and I usually don’t like to watch any movies twice.
Klaus
Olive, the Other Reindeer
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (original animated)
The Snowman
I love, love, love White Christmas.
Christmas with the Kranks is really good.
It’s not a Christmas film per se (but it does have a snowy interlude), but we always watch Seven Brides for Seven Brothers during the Christmas break. Absolutely the best musical film!
Last Holiday with Queen Latifah, While You Were Sleeping, Little Lord Fauntleroy.
The newest cartoon Grinch is our family’s favorite. Pharrell narrates and Benedict Cumberbatch voices Grinch. It’s very cute and he treats the dog nicely in this one!
How about The Wiz ?
Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, and Lena Horne ! So, so, so good. Brace yourself for Diana’s rendition of Home. GAH ALL THE FEELS !!!!!
I love:
– Klaus (animated movie, Netflix),
– Last Holiday (used to be on Netflix here in Germany, when it suddenly wasn’t anymore i liked it enough to buy it on DVD),
– Little Lord Fauntleroy (childhood classic)
– Three wishes for Cinderella (should be on English-speaking Netflix, too, as I saw it advertised with an English title this year – another childhood classic: a German-Czech co-production from the late eighties or so, and just a really sweet movie with strong, plucky Cinderella who upstages the prince at every turn in riding and hunting when they first encounter each other in the woods. I still watch it every year while wrapping presents)
Another personal tradition is to watch the Pride & Prejudice mini-series (Elie, Firth) some time in December leading up to Christmas.
“Love actually” kept making me more angry each time I watched it, and now I just can’t anymore. The very few redeeming or funny story lines just don’t make up for all the weight-shaming and women-punitive arcs. It actually grosses me out now, and when I can’t avoid it – my mom loves it and sometimes puts it on while I’m visiting for Christmas – I usually end up just leaving the room to do something else.
I’m so glad someone else feels this way about Love Actually. My mom and I went to the theater to see it when it first came out and I was so shocked at how offensive and awful it was. I was so disappointed. I couldn’t understand how so many women loved it so much. I still can’t. I literally want to hug people when they say they dislike it because it felt like I was the only one and the world had gone mad.
Eloise at Christmastime is and always will be my favorite Christmas movie. I guess it’s not super widely known because no one has mentioned it so far! But it is sweet, all about love and the Christmas Spirit, and has fun little-kid hijinks and nothing problematic at all. The young actress who plays Eloise is so perfect and hilarious. And the movie is available for free on youtube! Go watch!
Little Women with Winona Ryder is my personal favorite Christmas movie, at least I consider it a Christmas movie :) My kids and I watched Klaus last year which we all agreed was surprisingly delightful. We’re looking forward to watching Jingle Jangle maybe today. The director grew up in our area so there’s a lot of hype locally.
Miracle on 34th Street (the 1947 original) is my favorite Christmas movie and definitely worth a watch! I also think the Santa Clause holds up and is very watchable, as is the Santa Clause 2. (The third movie didn’t need to be made.)
A British classic is The Snowman, based on the Raymond Briggs book – very sweet and magical. We watched Jingle Jangle today and it was good fun. And another vote for Arthur Christmas!
Maybe it’s because I fell in love with Home Alone as a kid but I do not find it stressy despite my normal anxiety. For surprise Christmas films I’d like to add Gremlins- didn’t watch as a kid but saw on TV as an adult and was like “Oh! This is a Christmas movie.” With added 80s nostalgia.
We really like The Christmas Chronicles on Netflix. The second one is cute, too, but not quite as good as the first one of course!
I’ve already seen it mentioned a couple times, but had to put my vote in for Christmas in Connecticut as well! My all-time favourite to watch at this time of year is the Sound of Music…I have no reason for why I consider this to be a Christmas movie, other than during childhood it was often on TV in December.
Came in to add my vote for Klaus! Although unfortunately it is not available on DVD, only Netflix. I remember enjoying the santa clause in earlier years, and its still good but there are some moments that did not age well for me.
I don’t think anyone had mentioned it, but Carol is an absolute favorite of mine throughout the year. It doesn’t get any better than Cate Blanchett.
Family Stone, Christmas Vacation, Elf, Grinch, and Home Alone are all family favorites.
We’ll have to try Arthur Christmas.
If you have a subscription to Disney Plus, Noelle is charming. We watched it both this year and last year, and I liked it just as much both times. A little too cute for your older kids, perhaps, but I think the jokes in the movie may capture them anyway.
Last Christmas! Written by Emma Thompson! Starring Khaleesi/Amelia whatshername!
We watched “The Christmas Chronicles” and part 2 and really enjoyed them. Also Klaus, and Jingle Jangle. I totally forgot that “While You Were Sleeping” was Xmas-y! I find everyone in that movie at their most charming.
The Grinch (original) is my long standing family tradition, and Love Actually is a friend tradition. We watched the new cgi Grinch on Netflix this year and it was quite cute. Better than the Jim Carey version.
We watched Jingle Jangle and I thought it was cute, and just happened to occur at Christmas. Home alone and the Holiday are other favourites, but all of these have been mentioned. Just have to add my votes
I watched Klaus last night, I did like it though I can’t see myself watching it again. Also, I think my young kids would find it quite dark.
We love Nativity! It’s very funny. I also count Sleepless in Seattle and While you were Sleeping as Christmas movies :)
This is the IMDB for Nativity! if that helps :)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1242447/
I haven’t read the comments, because I would just get lost in them. So apologies if I am repeating movies! I love classic movies, and have gone to numerous Turner Classic Movie Festivals-and I’m always happily surprised by how many teenagers are attending. So a few classics….
Remember the Night-Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray-I discovered this gem a few years ago, and it has become one of my favorite Christmas Movies.
Christmas in Connecticut-Barbara Stanwyck again, with Dennis Morgan. The house it is set in is my dream house-love this movie!
The Holly and the Ivy-another fairly new to me movie, Ralph Richardson and Celia Johnson-a lovely movie that has that British humor, but is very heartfelt.
White Christmas-we watch every Christmas day, and recite the dialogue-we love it all!
I just watched the Christmas Chronicles last night, and I really enjoyed it! Only Kurt Russell could make Santa Claus seem sexy :)
I know it’s way after Christmas, but I’m just now catching up. My favorite Christmas movie is The Family Stone…it makes me cry, and also laugh until my stomach hurts.
Things we had seen before that we liked enough to rewatch this year:
El Camino Christmas (good for family members that don’t like sentimental movies)
Die Hard (ditto)
The Holiday (a gentle, easy watch, though too much time devoted to the “pretty couple” and not enough devoted to the “interesting” couple)
Bad Mom’s Christmas (more raunchy than my normal taste, and not as good as the original, but kind of fun)
Let it Snow (a cute YA story)
These might be too Hallmark-y (not sure as I don’t think I’ve seen a Hallmark Christmas movie), but in the right mood, I enjoy selections from the Netflix Christmas Cinematic Universe: https://screenrant.com/netflix-holiday-movie-universe-connections-references-explained/
The Christmas Prince trilogy is my favorite, but there are weird cameos/crossovers all over the place.
I also loved Jingle Jangle this year, which has plenty of singing and dancing.
Somewhat relatedly, I enjoyed Death to 2020 (also on Netflix), which is a silly/slightly obscene mockumentary about the Dumpster fire that was 2020.
As others have said, The Family Stone and While You Were Sleeping are lovely and my very favorites. I really want you to watch them and then hear your thoughts. We watch White Christmas every year and love it so much! It’s an often quoted movie around my house, all year round. “Noelle” on Disney+ with Anna Kendrick is delightful.