Summary
- Netflix has a wide selection of Christmas movies, ranging from family-friendly flicks to romantic comedies and comedies of errors.
- The best Christmas movies on Netflix offer charm, heart, and cozy comfort, making them perfect for repeat viewings during the holiday season.
- From murder mysteries to princess switcheroos, and even a zombie journalist, Netflix has a variety of unique and entertaining Christmas movies to enjoy.
Netflix offers some of the best original Christmas movies and classic favorites. Even with acclaimed films like Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Netflix hasn't always found success with its original movies. However, the streaming service is a surprising leader in the field of holiday content. It has everything from Christmas-themed family flicks to romantic comedies and comedies of errors. Between a unique spin on Santa, a visually stunning Christmas musical, and a hand-drawn soon-to-be classic, tons of great Christmas movies are waiting to be unearthed on the streaming platform.
Not every Christmas movie is going to win prestigious awards. The best Christmas movies are cozy and comforting, the kind of movies fans can watch repeatedly during every holiday season. Netflix certainly has plenty of those, and the best Christmas movies on Netflix offer great charm and heart.
25 Let It Snow (2019)
Inspired by a young adult novel with three intersecting stories by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle, Let It Snow is Love, Actually for young adults. It’s also set in a small town in the USA instead of in England.
Much of the movie centers around the teens who work at the Waffle Town restaurant and their friends. Each of the different teens has a relationship spotlighted as they make plans for Christmas Eve. Those plans end up being a party at the Waffle Town as other venues and entertainment fall through, allowing all the different stories to link up in the end. Let It Snow features a lot of clichés that holiday movies have become known for, but it’s also a fun watch with a lot of capable young actors who make it entertaining, and it's one of the best Christmas movies on Netflix.
24 Who Killed Santa? A Murderville Murder Mystery (2022)
Unlike the most familiar holiday classics, this particular special isn’t a love story or one about family cheer. Instead, it’s a murder mystery as well as an improv comedy show. Murderville on Netflix is a remake of a British series in which the main cast is given a storyline and a script, but the guest of the week, who is a “trainee detective” solving the mystery has to improv their part of the episode.
Who Killed Santa? A Murderville Murder Mystery is the holiday special for the first season of the show. It involves a dead Santa Claus (played by Sean Hayes) at a holiday gathering and the desire to solve the murder before all the kids are exposed to the tragedy. Jason Bateman and Maya Rudolph are the celebrity trainees while Will Arnett retains his role as Detective Terry Seattle. Part of the fun is just whether the two comedic actors can stay in character or not.
23 The Princess Switch Trilogy (2018, 2020, 2021)
Vanessa Hudgens could probably spend the rest of her career making holiday rom-coms on Netflix and her fan base would love her for it. She’s done several of them, but The Princess Switch and its follow-up movies are probably the best known. Inspired by Mark Twain’s The Prince And The Pauper, the movie sees a baker switch places with a duchess when they realize they could pass for twins.
The follow-up movies introduce a third lookalike into the mix with more switching shenanigans, and Hudgens carries the films, pulling off each of the different personalities with ease. The first Princess Switch is easily one of the best Christmas movies on Netflix from its library of originals. But the entire trilogy makes for a fun binge-watch.
22 The Christmas Chronicles 2 (2020)
After the huge success of the first movie, The Christmas Chronicles 2 brings the magical cheer and Christmas spirit that viewers loved about the original. The movie sees Kate reunite with Santa to help stop Belsnickel, a rogue elf, from canceling Christmas.
Unfortunately, it appears to be a case of diminishing returns, as there was much less fanfare around the sequel and the gags didn't land half as well as those of its predecessor. But Kurt Russell was born to play Santa, as he still brings so much charisma to the character with his warmth, charisma, gravelly voice, and all-around laid-back vibe. The Christmas Chronicles 2 is still one of the best Christmas movies on Netflix.
21 Christmas Inheritance (2017)
Most TV fans will know Eliza Taylor as Clarke Griffin in The 100. After playing a character who was in do-or-die situations for so many seasons, Christmas Inheritance gives her a lighter role as the spoiled heiress tasked with a holiday errand by her father.
Taylor’s Ellen is supposed to take over her father’s company, but he doesn’t trust her to be mature or selfless in her actions, which is why he has her hand-deliver a letter to an old friend in a small town without access to her credit cards or all of the usual amenities of New York City. Christmas Inheritance very much feels like the kind of movie fans could catch in Hallmark’s lineup with the lessons learned, the love interest, and the small town full of memorable characters. It’s not at the top of the Christmas watch list, but it is a sweet holiday treat.
20 Holiday In The Wild (2019)
Holiday in the Wild doesn't exactly have that warm Christmas vibe, as the movie takes place in Africa. But just like other holiday movies like Operation Christmas Drop, the exotic film is still surprisingly festive, and it makes a refreshing change from shots full of reds and greens.
The 2019 film follows Kate, who goes on a second honeymoon of her own after her husband leaves her, and along with meeting a new man, she nurses a baby elephant back to life. The movie is typically schmaltzy, and there isn't much beneath the surface, but there's no denying how irresistible and cute the elephant is, and that alone makes it a must-watch.
19 Dolly Parton’s Christmas On The Square (2020)
When a businesswoman travels to a small town with the intention of selling the land right out from under the townspeople, but has a change of heart at Christmastime, it sounds like something out of a Hallmark movie. Christmas on the Square, however, has the benefit of Dolly Parton’s added sparkle.
The movie is also a musical, and with Parton writing all the songs featured on the movie’s soundtrack, it’s not just one of the best Christmas movies on Netflix, but also one of the best musicals. It even won two Primetime Emmys for Outstanding Television Movie and Outstanding Choreography.
18 A Not So Merry Christmas (2022)
A Not So Merry Christmas is a little like 50 First Dates, but instead of a medical condition halting the main character’s memories, it’s a curse. Though Chuy lives out a full year, his attitude causes a fairy to curse him to only remember the events of Christmas Day, but have to deal with the consequences - for the rest of his life.
What follows is a comedy of errors in this Spanish-language film, but also a heartwarming story about a man learning to appreciate his life just a little bit more.
17 A Christmas Prince Trilogy (2017, 2018, 2019)
Much like Vanessa Hudgens and Eliza Taylor, Rose McIver was known for one very specific role when she starred in this trilogy of holiday movies for Netflix. She played a zombie who used people’s brains to see their last memories and solve their murders in iZombie on the CW. A Christmas Prince is very different.
In it, McIver is a journalist hoping to get her big break by writing about a prince reluctant to become king. She poses as his sister’s tutor to get the inside scoop, but along the way, she falls for him. Unlike other royal-themed holiday movies, A Christmas Prince includes a few surprising twists and puzzles for the audience, and the follow-ups keep the mysteries going as well.
16 Holidate (2020)
Netflix's roster of original holiday films wouldn't be complete without a schmaltzy rom-com, and Holidate is that token movie. The 2020 flick follows two single strangers who agree to be each other's plus-ones to any events they're invited to all year round, only to end up falling for each other.
The movie was overwhelmingly negatively received by critics because it has a Hallmark Christmas movie feel to it. And despite its frosty reception, it's still one of Netflix's biggest successes. According to Variety, it was one of the most-watched straight-to-streaming movies of 2020 and was viewed by 68 million households.
15 Midnight At The Magnolia (2020)
“Fake dating” is a tried and true romantic comedy trope, and it appears in a lot of movies that also feature characters meeting up with family for the holidays. In Midnight At The Magnolia, however, the two friends who fake a relationship don’t just do it to appease family members - it’s for their careers.
The two friends also happen to be co-hosts of a local radio show, and their banter has got them noticed for a potential national syndication deal. Pretending to be a couple only increases their chances, so the two decide to take it, which, naturally, leads to questions about their very real feelings for one another during the holiday season. It’s a fresh take on an old trope that makes for one of the best Christmas movies on Netflix.
14 A Castle For Christmas (2021)
In December of 2020, novelist Ally Carter started working on a screenplay not unlike all the holiday movies on television at the time. She did it to give herself a holiday story she called “fun and just for me,” that she didn’t necessarily think she would sell. The result became A Castle For Christmas after the story was sold to Netflix.
The movie is just as escapist as Carter’s time writing it. Those who enjoy Christmas movies will find it cozy and familiar. In it, an American author escapes the scandal surrounding her latest novel release by traveling to her father’s ancestral home in Scotland. While she’s there, she becomes fascinated by the castle and butts heads with the Duke who lives in it, and the rest is romantic comedy history.
13 Christmas With You (2022)
A pop star burnt out with the pressures of her career finds a little solace in a surprising place - when she meets up with a teenage fan and her family. Aimee Garcia gets to show off her musical talents in the role of the pop star alongside Freddie Prinze Jr. as the single dad of the teenage girl.
The movie has the same cheesy factor that a lot of the holiday films involving someone famous hiding out have, but it also has something a lot of those movies don’t. It highlights Latin traditions and features a new holiday song, making it one of the best of the newer Netflix Christmas movies.
12 Shaun The Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas (2021)
Almost out of nowhere, just like Puss in Boots being more successful than the first Shrek movie, Shaun the Sheep started out as a spin-off of the beloved Wallace & Gromit series, but it grew into its own beast. The quirky sheep got its own theatrical movie, it's a successful TV show, and now, there's a new Christmas special, which is even better than the film.
The claymation sheep is one of the best Aardman characters, so the Christmas-based release is a nice surprise for fans, despite the Netflix exclusive only being 30 minutes. Even though it's more of a short film, as 1982's The Snowman is classed as a classic Christmas movie despite being 25 minutes, thus The Flight Before Christmas fits the bill too.
11 Falling For Christmas (2022)
Lindsay Lohan spent quite a bit of time making movies that didn’t become the hits of those from her childhood. While Falling For Christmas might not become the cult classic that Freaky Friday or Mean Girls have, it still marks a triumphant return to movies for Lohan. She proves that she hasn’t lost her comedic timing or her knack for physical comedy in Falling For Christmas opposite Chord Overstreet.
Falling for Christmas isn’t just one of the best Christmas movies on Netflix, but also one of the most entertaining romantic comedies. Lohan plays a wealthy young woman who doesn’t have all of her memories after an accident at a ski resort, and she finds a place to recover in a small town. Once recovering her memories, she also finds that maybe she likes the small-town life just as much as her old one.
10 Single All The Way (2021)
When it comes to Christmas movies, Netflix has essentially become the new Hallmark, as it's beating the season-loving channel at its own game with schmaltzy, overly sentimental, festive romantic comedies. And while not all of them are memorable, Single All the Way is one of the best Christmas movies Netflix has to offer.
The 2021 release follows Peter, who has his best friend pose as his boyfriend to avoid judgment from his family for being single. While the two might claim that there's nothing romantic between them when the do, that's clearly not the case as Peter's family sees through them. The movie also features the incomparable Jennifer Coolidge in a fantastic supporting role.
9 Love Hard (2021)
Some viewers will deny that Die Hard is a Christmas movie, but it's seemingly enough of a holiday release that Love Hard makes a pun out of its title. However, the two films are completely unlike one another.
Love Hard follows an L.A. writer who gets catfished by a man on a dating app, but it doesn't take her long to fall in love with the real him. The movie doesn't have much star power, but it has a strong cast of actors with great comedy chops, including Jimmy O. Yang, who adds a little bitterness before the movie gets so sweet that it gives audiences toothache.
8 The Holiday Calendar (2018)
Kat Graham and Quincy Jones star as best friends with an interest in photography in one of Netflix’s earliest and best Christmas romantic comedies. In the movie, Graham plays a young woman playing it safe by working as a photographer in her hometown, saving up to open her own studio. When she’s gifted an old advent calendar, she discovers a little holiday magic as the items inside seem to predict the events of her day.
Jones plays her best friend who has been traveling the world and still harbors romantic feelings for her. He watches her fall for someone else in the weeks leading up to Christmas with the aid f the calendar, but it turns out she might be reading the clues from the calendar all wrong. It’s a sweet movie that provides an interesting twist on the Christmas romance.
7 Just Another Christmas (2020)
There aren't many foreign Christmas movies that become popular in the US, but this 2020 Brazilian movie is full of great gags and Christmas cheer.
Just Another Christmas is a little derivative of many other movies, most notably Groundhog Day, as it follows a man who hates Christmas getting stuck in a time loop during the festive season. It's fairly predictable too, as he, of course, learns the true meaning of Christmas while stuck in the loops. But it's hugely entertaining, and the over-the-top slapstick comedy and time loop hijinks never get old.
6 Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Story (2020)
Another Netflix original movie, Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Story is different from most of its contemporaries. Not only is the film a fantasy full of some of the most interesting visual effects in the genre, but it's a musical too. The story follows a toymaker and his granddaughter who are at war with the toymaker's evil apprentice.
Jingle Jangle is full of sentient toys and magical inventions. And where most movies' visual effects are digital these days, there are a surprising amount of mechanical practical effects, which gives off that old-school Christmas movie feeling. It's incredibly unique and one of the best Christmas movies on Netflix.