20 Christmas Films Worth Watching This Christmas

There are certain films that just have to be watched at Christmas. Some are obvious classics we’ve all seen countless times, some are newer favourites, and a few probably don’t get the attention they deserve.

This isn’t supposed to be a definitive ranking of the greatest Christmas films ever made. It’s simply 20 films we think are worth watching this Christmas, whether you’re looking for something nostalgic, funny, heartwarming or just ridiculously festive.

1. Home Alone

It might be the obvious choice, but I genuinely think Home Alone could be the greatest Christmas film ever made. I must have watched it at least 100 times and could probably repeat most of it line for line.

Obviously the battle between Kevin and the Wet Bandits is what everyone remembers, but there’s so much more to it. The Old Man Marley storyline, the church scene, the family reunion at the end and even John Candy turning up with the polka band all add something.

It’s hilarious, ridiculously nostalgic and basically a time capsule of Christmas in the 90s. Christmas just wouldn’t feel the same without it.

THE COSY CALENDAR RATING

🎄 Christmas Feeling 5/5

🕰️ Nostalgia　5/5

🍿 Rewatchability　5/5

WHERE TO WATCH

Disney+ → Prime Video → Apple TV →

Disney+ subscription • Prime Video & Apple TV rent/buy

2. Four Christmases

Four Christmases is one of those films that’s incredibly easy to stick on every December. Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon spend Christmas Day travelling between their four divorced parents, and pretty much every stop becomes more chaotic than the last.

It doesn’t try to be some deep Christmas story — it’s just genuinely funny, has a great cast and feels properly festive throughout. It’s exactly the sort of film you can put on during a December night in when you want something light and easy to watch.

3. Arthur Christmas

I’ve always thought Arthur Christmas was underrated. The whole idea of the North Pole being this enormous high-tech operation is brilliant, but what makes the film work is the difference between Arthur and everyone around him.

Steve is obsessed with making Christmas as efficient as possible, whereas Arthur understands what it actually means to each individual child.

When one present gets forgotten, Arthur basically decides that one child waking up thinking Santa forgot about her is one too many. It’s funny, properly Christmassy and has much more heart than you might expect from an animated film.

4. Last Christmas

Last Christmas is a much more modern Christmas film, but it’s already become one I’m happy to put on every December.

London at Christmas gives it loads of atmosphere and Emilia Clarke and Henry Golding are great together. It starts off feeling like a fairly straightforward Christmas rom-com, but there’s more to it than that as the story develops.

Add in the George Michael soundtrack and loads of Christmas lights, shops and decorations and it’s a really easy festive watch.

5. The Grinch

This is probably one of my most-watched Christmas films alongside Home Alone. Jim Carrey is absolutely ridiculous as the Grinch, and knowing how much went into the costume and makeup somehow makes the performance even better.

It’s also one of those films that gets funnier when you’re older because you start noticing jokes that completely went over your head as a kid.

Whoville looks incredible, the soundtrack is great and the whole thing is pure Christmas nostalgia. There are newer Grinch films, but this will always be the Grinch for me.

6. The Christmas Chronicles

There have been loads of attempts to create new Christmas classics over the years, but The Christmas Chronicles is one of the better ones.

Kurt Russell as Santa shouldn’t work anywhere near as well as it does, but he completely owns the role. It still has all the things you want from a traditional Christmas film — Santa, elves, presents and Christmas Eve — while feeling modern enough that it doesn’t just seem like another copy of something older.

A really solid family film if you want something newer in the December rotation.

7. Daddy’s Home 2

I genuinely think Daddy’s Home 2 gets overlooked as a Christmas film. The first film isn’t even Christmassy, but the sequel goes completely the other way.

The house they stay in is basically the dream Christmas house, and adding Mel Gibson and John Lithgow to Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg makes the family dynamic even funnier.

It’s obviously more of a comedy than a traditional Christmas film, but there’s enough snow, decorations, family chaos and Christmas music to make it feel properly festive. I wouldn't be surprised if this becomes more appreciated as a Christmas film as it gets older.

8. It’s a Wonderful Life

Of course, most people know It’s a Wonderful Life, but I imagine plenty of younger people have never actually sat down and watched it — probably because it’s in black and white!

For me, that actually adds to the film. It’s not fast-paced and it’s obviously very different from modern Christmas films, but that’s part of what makes it so good.

It’s incredibly heartwarming and leaves you with a reminder to appreciate what you already have and enjoy Christmas with the people around you. There’s a reason people are still watching it nearly 80 years later.

9. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

I only watched Christmas Vacation for the first time a couple of years ago and it quickly became one of my absolute favourites. I even find myself wanting to put it on in October, which is probably too early even for me.

I love the whole 80s feel of it. The house, decorations, clothes and family Christmas all give it that time-capsule feeling that newer films can’t really recreate.

Clark just wants to give everyone the perfect family Christmas, and naturally everything goes wrong. It’s chaotic, hilarious and ridiculously nostalgic.

10. Jingle All the Way

Jingle All the Way is a classic that I used to love watching when I was a kid, so nostalgia probably plays a big part in how much I still like it.

Arnold desperately trying to find a Turbo-Man while competing with the postman is such a ridiculous storyline, but that’s exactly why it works. There are so many funny little moments and it’s one of those films you can put on without having to think too much about it.

Maybe I rate it higher because I grew up watching it, but I definitely think it gets overlooked when people talk about Christmas classics.

11. The Polar Express

The Polar Express might genuinely be the most Christmassy film ever made.

It was always a Christmas Eve film in our house growing up, so there’s definitely some nostalgia involved for me. But even without that, everything about it just feels like Christmas — the train travelling through the snow, the music, the hot chocolate scene and eventually arriving at the North Pole.

The animation has always divided people, but I think it actually adds to the strange dreamlike feeling of the film. If there’s one movie to save specifically for Christmas Eve, this is it.

12. Miracle on 34th Street

Miracle on 34th Street is basically the ultimate traditional Christmas film. It’s proper Christmas magic and really captures that feeling of believing in Santa when you were younger.

It’s much simpler than a lot of modern Christmas films, but that’s part of the appeal. You don’t need loads going on when the story and atmosphere are strong enough on their own.

It’s wholesome, nostalgic and exactly the sort of film that feels right watching with the whole family in December.

13. Bad Santa

Probably don't put this one on with the whole family.

Bad Santa is rude, dark and completely inappropriate, but that’s exactly what makes it stand out from almost every other Christmas film. Billy Bob Thornton is brilliant as Willie, a miserable alcoholic who works as a shopping-centre Santa while planning to rob the place.

It sounds ridiculous because it is, but it’s genuinely one of the funniest Christmas films around. Somehow, underneath everything else, his relationship with Thurman gives the film a surprising amount of heart as well.

14. Klaus

Klaus is a really good family film and feels completely different from most animated Christmas films.

The animation has its own distinctive style and I really like how the story takes things back to an origin of Santa Claus rather than just giving us another film where Santa already exists.

It’s funny, feel-good and has plenty of Christmas atmosphere without feeling like something you’ve already watched ten times before. If your family tends to cycle through the same Christmas films every year, Klaus is a really good one to freshen things up.

15. Elf

There’s not much left to say about Elf that hasn’t already been said, but you can’t really make a Christmas list without it.

Will Ferrell as Buddy is one of those performances where it’s difficult to imagine anybody else playing the character. Put him in New York at Christmas and you’ve basically got the perfect setup.

It’s silly and endlessly quotable, but there’s also enough of a family story underneath everything to give it some heart. There’s a reason people who have already seen it 20 times still put it on again every December.

16. The Holdovers

I really like The Holdovers and somehow didn't even know it existed until last year.

It’s set in 1970 and I love the old-school look of the whole thing. There’s something about films set in an older era that instantly adds nostalgia, and this genuinely feels like a film that could have been made decades ago.

More importantly, it’s funny, different and has a great relationship at the centre of it. It isn’t your traditional Santa-and-Christmas-magic type of film, which makes it a nice change when you've already watched loads of those.

17. A Christmas Carol

I remember being surprised by how scary this was when I first watched it. The 2009 version definitely doesn't shy away from the darker side of the original story.

Jim Carrey is brilliant as Scrooge and the Victorian London setting looks amazing at Christmas. The ghosts give it that darker atmosphere, but obviously the whole point is watching Scrooge slowly realise how badly he’s been living his life.

By the end it becomes one of the most straightforward reminders of what Christmas is actually supposed to be about.

18. Home Alone 3

I’ll always defend Home Alone 3.

Obviously, Macaulay Culkin isn't in it and it isn't anywhere near the level of the first two, but I think people give it more stick than it deserves simply because it has Home Alone in the title.

If you stop comparing it to the original and just watch it for what it is, it’s a really easy Christmas film with plenty of ridiculous traps and comedy. It’s exactly the sort of thing I’d happily stick on during a lazy Sunday afternoon in December.

19. Love Actually

I just love Love Actually.

The fact that it constantly jumps between different stories means there’s always something going on, and the huge cast makes the whole thing feel bigger than a normal Christmas rom-com.

Some storylines are obviously better than others, but seeing everything gradually come together is part of what makes it so rewatchable. Add London at Christmas into the mix and it’s hard for it not to feel festive. It’s one of those films that just seems to get better when December comes around.

20. Die Hard

We’re not getting involved in the argument over whether Die Hard is technically a Christmas film — it’s on the list.

It takes place at Christmas, there’s a Christmas party, Christmas music and plenty of festive references, so that’s good enough for us.

More importantly, after watching endless family films and Christmas rom-coms throughout December, sometimes you want something completely different. Bruce Willis running around Nakatomi Plaza trying to stop Hans Gruber certainly provides that.

What Have We Missed?

Twenty films sounds like a lot until you actually start putting the list together. There are loads that could easily have made it, and everyone has that one Christmas film they think should be on every list.

So if your favourite is missing, let us know.

And if you don’t want to choose what to watch each night, our Christmas Movie Advent Calendar gives you a new Christmas film to reveal every day from 1st December.