Netflix’s Christmas movies consistently dominate the holiday season, so what better excuse than cold weather outside to snuggle up on your sofa and watch the seemingly never-ending list of Christmas movies on Netflix?
With new releases on Netflix like Hot Frosty, Our Little Secret and That Christmas (from none other than Richard Curtis), the new season of Christmas movies on Netflix is here to make us enjoy the festive break even more.
Expect unexpected romances, family adventures, emotional reunions and lots of Christmas decorations.
With so much to choose from it can be a bit daunting, and if you’re feeling overwhelmed don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. We’re here to choose the best Christmas movies on Netflix, including originals and other festive classics.
Warm up your mulled wine and mince pies, get your reindeer ears on and sit yourself down in front of this list of crackers.
Our Little Secret (2024)
Our pick of the 2024 Netflix crop of Christmas movies was Our Little Secret (sorry Hot Frosty), but perhaps that’s just because we’re a sucker for a Lindsay Lohan rom-com.
It’s a classic setup as Lohan’s Avery is forced to spend Christmas with her ex Logan (Ian Harding) because their current partners – Cameron (Jon Rudnitsky) and Cassie (Katie Baker) – are siblings. Awkward.
The screwball comedy also features a Mean Girls reunion for Lohan with Tim Meadows and also features the always-brilliant Kristin Chenoweth, so really, what is there to dislike?
Love Hard (2021)
With a superb 90% audience score in Rotten Tomatoes, Love Hard is one of those Netflix’s Christmas romantic comedies we love to enjoy wrapped in blankets on the sofa.
Vampire Diaries star Nina Dobrev plays Natalie, a relationship blogger who writes about the dating scene in Los Angeles, while struggling to find a love match of her own. When a friend encourages her to widen her search area, she meets a guy online and decides to surprise him by travelling to New York during the Christmas break.
However, she’s been catfished — Josh is not the handsome-looking guy he’s seen in pictures (Never Have I Ever‘s Darren Barnet) but a nerdy guy (played by Silicon Valley‘s Jimmy O Yang).
Violent Night (2022)
If you prefer your Christmas movies more like Die Hard, then Violent Night is the best of the recent crop of Die Hard clones.
David Harbour stars as Santa Claus who, when mercenaries take a wealthy family hostage, dusts off his violent Viking skills to protect the family, but especially the sweet little girl who he bonds with over a walkie-talkie.
With several inventive and violent deaths (imagine Home Alone, but brutal), Violent Night is an absolute riot with Harbour on excellent form as a not-so-jolly Santa.
It’s no wonder we’re getting a sequel.
(UK only)
Scrooge: A Christmas Carol (2022)
You know this story, but you’ve never seen it quite like this – Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol gets the musical treatment in this beautifully animated remake of the 1970 movie of the same name.
It might not be the best adaptation of Dickens’ work, but it’s a good way to see the story in a different light, with songs from the two-time Academy Award winner Leslie Bricusse and featuring the voices of Luke Evans, Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Jonathan Pryce, Johnny Flynn and more.
Scrooge follows a grumpy, selfish man who is forced to face the ghosts of past, present and future during Christmas eve.
The Noel Diary (2022)
This Is Us‘ Justin Hartley stars in this enjoyable Christmas rom-com that, despite falling into the many trappings of its genre, oozes heart-warming vibes for the season.
The story focuses on Jacob, a handsome, famous novelist who learns of his mother’s death thanks to a lawyer’s phone call. When he makes his way to her house to put affairs in order, he meets Rachel (played by Barrett Doss), who is looking for her birth mother, Jacob’s ex-nanny. She’s hoping he can help her, and in the meantime, they get to know each other… intimately.
A journey of self-discovery and traumas, The Noel Diary teaches us to embrace life through a cute Christmas-y romance.
The Holiday (2006)
It might not have been a hit with the critics, but few Christmas movies are. Like other classic festive offerings, The Holiday has become a perennial favourite for those who have fallen for its charms.
Written and directed by Nancy Meyers, the movie sees Amanda (Cameron Diaz) and Iris (Kate Winslet) swap homes for the Christmas period after bad break-ups. And wouldn’t you know, both of them end up falling for a new man in the form of Graham (Jude Law) and Miles (Jack Black).
Sure, The Holiday doesn’t win anything for originality, but you’ll be won over all the same.
(UK only)
The Grinch (2018)
There’s no Christmas without The Grinch, one of the most famous characters of the season.
This fabulous animated movie from 2018 is the third time Dr Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! has been adapted onto the screen, following the iconic 2000s live-action film starring Jim Carrey (which is also available on Netflix).
The story follows a green creature known as The Grinch, who grows increasingly annoyed due to the loud and cheerful Christmas celebrations in the village of Whoville. In order to bring back his much-needed peace and quiet, he teams up with his dog to ruin the holidays.
(UK only)
Falling for Christmas (2022)
Falling for Christmas makes us fall all over again for Lindsay Lohan. Her Netflix Christmas movie is as silly and romantic as you want it to be.
Lohan stars as Sierra, a spoiled hotel heiress who, after a skiing accident, is unable to remember who she is or where she belongs.
Luckily for her, she ends up being helped by a humble and handsome ski lodge owner Jake (played by Glee‘s Chord Overstreet) who will not only help her get her memory back, but also turn her beliefs upside down.
Klaus (2019)
Klaus is the best Netflix original Christmas movie and that’s the snow-topped hill we’re going to die on. It tells an alternative origin story for Santa Claus as a spoilt postman who befriends a reclusive toymaker on an isolated island.
With more than a splash of Nightmare Before Christmas-esque quirky, dark humour and gorgeous 2D animation, we’d even go as far as saying Klaus is one of the best Christmas movies this century.
A Castle for Christmas (2021)
Two big movie stars (Brooke Shields and Cary Elwes) star as unexpected lovers in A Castle for Christmas, which is as deliciously corny as any Netflix Christmas rom-com. And it’s set in the Scottish countryside!
Shields plays Sophie Brown, a famous author who is suddenly surrounded by a scandal she needs to get away from. So she goes to Scotland to reconnect with her family roots, which awakens in her the desire to purchase a castle. Of course. However, said castle’s owner is a cranky but handsome Scottish man, who is not so willing to sell.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
An early noughties Christmas classic, How The Grinch Stole Christmas is the perfect nostalgic festive watch. This movie adaptation of Dr Seuss’s famous 1957 book features Jim Carrey doing his thing (that is, being absolutely crazy and hilarious) and many impossible hairdos as a green creature learns about the meaning of Christmas.
Directed by Ron Howard, the movie follows The Grinch as he becomes increasingly angry at the loud Christmas celebrations in Whoville, which he can hear from his solitary home. He decides to ruin the festivities, but a little girl named Cindy Lou might have the power to change his perspective.
(UK only)
Shaun the Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas (2021)
Shaun’s seasonal excitement turns to dismay when a farmhouse raid to get bigger stockings for the Flock inadvertently leads to Timmy going missing.
This instant classic (who doesn’t love Shaun the Sheep?) clocks in at only 30 minutes, so you can have an early night thanks to an eggnog coma and you won’t miss a thing.
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020)
Netflix’s best original Christmas movie from 2020, Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey isn’t just a holiday feast of a movie but also an important step forward for diversity and representation in festive movies.
The tale of a down-on-his-luck former inventor who learns to reawaken the magic within thanks to his spirited granddaughter, it’s a lively and fast-paced Christmas musical that you’ll return to year after year.
A Christmas Prince (2017)
A Christmas Prince became a surprise hit in 2017 as some people loved it so much, they watched it 18 days in a row.
The age-old tale sees a reporter going undercover to get the scoop on a prince, only to fall in love with him in a surprise twist. It proved so popular that there’s been two further movies, The Royal Wedding and The Royal Baby, so there’s a whole trilogy to enjoy.
The Princess Switch trilogy (2018-2021)
Netflix just seems to know what works when it comes to their original Christmas offerings. If A Christmas Prince isn’t for you, then The Princess Switch could be just the ticket with Vanessa Hudgens in a dual role.
It’s your typical undemanding and sweet Prince and the Pauper-style class-swap comedy, with a princess deciding to swap places with a lookalike “commoner”.
The sequel Switched Again provides more of the same joy while the third, Romancing the Star, is a Christmas rom-com and a heist movie all in one. What more could you ask for?
The Christmas Chronicles (2018)
To be honest, we’re just surprised that it’s taken someone this long to cast Kurt Russell as Santa, but we’re thankful that The Christmas Chronicles finally did just that.
Instantly becoming one of the best-ever screen takes on the lovable Santa, the movie follows a well-worn festive plot (kids must help save Christmas), yet does it in an unashamedly cheesy way.
As does the sequel, which is also available to watch right now.
Single All the Way (2021)
One of Netflix’s 2021 Christmas movies, Single All The Way (which we gave four stars) is two hours of love triangles, family therapy sessions and painfully oblivious protagonists – along with several laugh-out-loud moments.
And while there are some cringe moments (what cheesy Christmas film wouldn’t have them?) we’re all for a film that centres queer romance at its heart.
Deputy Movies Editor, Digital Spy
Mireia (she/her) has been working as a movie and TV journalist for over seven years, mostly for the Spanish magazine Fotogramas.
Her work has been published in other outlets such as Esquire and Elle in Spain, and WeLoveCinema in the UK.
She is also a published author, having written the essay Biblioteca Studio Ghibli: Nicky, la aprendiz de bruja about Hayao Miyazaki’s Kiki’s Delivery Service.
During her years as a freelance journalist and film critic, Mireia has covered festivals around the world, and has interviewed high-profile talents such as Kristen Stewart, Ryan Gosling, Jake Gyllenhaal and many more. She’s also taken part in juries such as the FIPRESCI jury at Venice Film Festival and the short film jury at Kingston International Film Festival in London.
Now based in the UK, Mireia joined Digital Spy in June 2023 as Deputy Movies Editor.
Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
Gabriella Geisinger is a freelance journalist and film critic, and was previously Deputy Movies Editor at Digital Spy. She loves Star Wars, coming-of-age stories, thrillers, and true crime. A born and raised New Yorker, she also loves coffee and the colour black, obviously.
