The 20 Best Christmas Movies of All Time (and Where to Stream Them)

The short answer

The best Christmas movie of all time is It's a Wonderful Life (1946). If you want something the whole family will sit through, put on Home Alone (1990) or Elf (2003). For grown-ups, Die Hard (1988) and The Holdovers (2023) are the picks. Most of the list below streams in the US on a service you may already pay for: Home Alone is on Disney+, Elf is on HBO Max and Prime Video, and Klaus is on Netflix, according to JustWatch (checked November 4, 2026).

We ranked these on one question: would we still put it on in ten years? That rules out a lot of films that are fun once. It keeps the ones people go back to every December, and a few newer ones that have earned a spot.

The best Christmas movies at a glance

Streaming details are for the US, from JustWatch on November 4, 2026. Holiday catalogs move a lot in December, so check before movie night.

The classics

It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

James Stewart plays George Bailey, a man who has spent his life putting other people first and, one Christmas Eve, decides it wasn't worth it. An angel shows him what his town would look like without him. People remember the warm ending, but the film gets there through some genuinely bleak scenes, and that is why the ending lands. It flopped on release and became a holiday staple through TV reruns, according to Wikipedia.

Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

A man hired as a department-store Santa insists he really is Santa Claus, and it ends up in court. It's gentle, funny and smarter about commerce at Christmas than you'd expect from a 1947 family film. Skip the remakes and watch this one.

White Christmas (1954)

Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye play two army buddies turned entertainers who put on a show to save their old general's struggling Vermont inn. It's a musical first and a Christmas film second, and the title song still does the job.

A Christmas Story (1983)

Ralphie wants a Red Ryder BB gun, and every adult tells him he'll shoot his eye out. Bob Clark, who made the horror classic Black Christmas nine years earlier, turned a set of Jean Shepherd's stories into the most quotable Christmas movie there is.

The family favourites

Home Alone (1990)

An eight-year-old gets left behind when his family flies to Paris for Christmas, then defends the house against two burglars. Macaulay Culkin is great, John Williams' score is better than it had to be, and the traps still get laughs. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) is also on Disney+.

Elf (2003)

Will Ferrell plays Buddy, a human raised by elves at the North Pole, who goes to New York to find his real father. Jon Favreau keeps it sweet without getting syrupy. It's the safest pick on this list for a mixed-age group.

The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)

Michael Caine plays Scrooge completely straight, which is the joke and also why it works. Gonzo narrates as Charles Dickens. Many people think it's the best version of A Christmas Carol, and it's hard to argue.

The Polar Express (2004) and The Santa Clause (1994)

Two good choices for younger children. The Polar Express is a train ride to the North Pole in motion-capture animation. The Santa Clause has Tim Allen accidentally taking over Santa's job. Both are gentle and short on scares.

Klaus (2019)

A spoiled postman is sent to a frozen island town and teams up with a reclusive toymaker. Sergio Pablos' hand-drawn film was Netflix's first animated feature to be nominated for the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. It's beautiful to look at, and it's the best Christmas film Netflix has made.

For grown-ups

Die Hard (1988)

Yes, it counts. It's set at an office Christmas party, it ends with snow (well, paper) falling, and it's about a man trying to get home to his family for the holidays. Bruce Willis is great, and so is Alan Rickman as one of the best villains in action movies.

The Holdovers (2023)

A grumpy teacher (Paul Giamatti) is stuck minding a few students who can't go home over the 1970 Christmas break. Da'Vine Joy Randolph won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role as the school's cook. It's funny and sad, and it's the best Christmas film of the last ten years.

Love Actually (2003) and The Holiday (2006)

Two rom-coms people argue about every year. Love Actually is a set of linked London love stories, some great and some awkward. The Holiday has Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet swapping houses over Christmas. Both work well with a blanket and low expectations.

Scrooged (1988)

Bill Murray plays a cruel TV executive visited by three ghosts. It's the meanest take on A Christmas Carol and the funniest.

Newer picks

Carry-On (2024) is a thriller set at an airport on Christmas Eve, with Taron Egerton as a TSA officer blackmailed into letting a dangerous package through. It became one of Netflix's most-watched films, according to Wikipedia). Red One (2024), with Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans, is on Prime Video if you want a loud family action movie.

If you want scares with your snow, see our best Christmas horror movies. For the week before, see our best Thanksgiving movies. And if you just want to know what's on your service, our Christmas movies streaming guide sorts them by Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu and Prime Video.

How we picked

We started with films that show up on lists of the most-watched and best-reviewed Christmas movies, then kept the ones that hold up on a rewatch. We checked US streaming on JustWatch on November 4, 2026. Directors and years come from each film's Wikipedia page.