Best Christmas Movies | Where to Watch Them on Streaming Services

Published on July 06, 2023

Updated on December 23, 2024

If you're looking for the best Christmas movies to watch throughout the holiday season, JustWatch's streaming guide is here to help. In this guide, you'll find a list of the best Christmas movies and where you can watch them all on streaming services in the United States. This includes all the latest offers from services such as Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV+ and more.

What are the best Christmas movies?

The Christmas movie genre offers a huge variety of films to enjoy, embracing the holiday season with everything from heartwarming family movies to terrifying horror flicks. The 'best' Christmas movie is going to depend on whether you want a heartwarming classic that displays the traditional values of Christmas (Miracle on 34th Street, Meet Me In St Louis) laugh-out-loud comedies (The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, Elf) or the must-watch holiday hits like Home Alone and Die Hard.

If you're specifically looking for animated Christmas movies, some of the best of all time include Klaus, The Grinch, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and The Nightmare Before Christmas. You can also watch movies such as Frozen, which isn't technically a Christmas movie but can contribute a beloved sing-along in the snow to your festivities.

If you found this guide useful, you may also be interested in JustWatch's streaming guides for iconic Christmas franchises such as The Grinch movies in order and Home Alone movies in order. These will show you which services you need to watch the entire film series, in case you and your family are looking for a movie marathon while enjoying post-Christmas leftovers.

Where can I watch the best Christmas movies online?

Browse through the list of Christmas movies below and see every way you can watch them online today. You can also apply filters to only see the Christmas movies that suit your preferences. This includes filters for genre, age rating, IMDb rating, Rotten Tomatoes' score, and by streaming service.

The Muppet Christmas Carol

1992

7.8

A retelling of the classic Dickens tale of Ebenezer Scrooge, miser extraordinaire. He is held accountable for his dastardly ways during night-time visitations by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future.

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Miracle on 34th Street

1994

6.7

Six-year-old Susan Walker has doubts about childhood's most enduring miracle—Santa Claus. Her mother told her the secret about Santa a long time ago, but, after meeting a special department store Santa who's convinced he's the real thing, Susan is given the most precious gift of all—something to believe in.

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Home Alone

1990

7.8

Eight-year-old Kevin McCallister makes the most of the situation after his family unwittingly leaves him behind when they go on Christmas vacation. When thieves try to break into his home, he puts up a fight like no other.

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Elf

2003

7.1

When young Buddy falls into Santa's gift sack on Christmas Eve, he's transported back to the North Pole and raised as a toy-making elf by Santa's helpers. But as he grows into adulthood, he can't shake the nagging feeling that he doesn't belong. Buddy vows to visit Manhattan and find his real dad, a workaholic.

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Father Christmas

1991

7.4

Classic animation based on Raymond Briggs' book. What does Father Christmas do with himself for the other 364 days of the year ?

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It's a Wonderful Life

1946

8.6

George Bailey has spent his entire life giving to the people of Bedford Falls. All that prevents rich skinflint Mr. Potter from taking over the entire town is George's modest building and loan company. But on Christmas Eve the business's $8,000 is lost and George's troubles begin.

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Trading Places

1983

7.5

A snobbish investor and a wily street con-artist find their positions reversed as part of a bet by two callous millionaires.

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Tokyo Godfathers

2003

7.8

On Christmas Eve, three homeless people living on the streets of Tokyo discover a newborn baby among the trash and set out to find its parents.

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Miracle on 34th Street

1947

7.9

Kris Kringle, seemingly the embodiment of Santa Claus, is asked to portray the jolly old fellow at Macy's following his performance in the Thanksgiving Day parade. His portrayal is so complete that many begin to question if he truly is Santa Claus, while others question his sanity.

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Love Actually

2003

7.5

Eight very different couples deal with their love lives in various loosely interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London.

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