I love Christmas, and that’s doubly true for a great Christmas movie. In fact I love a good festive flick so much then I’m in the middle of a 25-day marathon of watching a different Xmas flick every day from December 1 to December 25. Not to toot my own horn too loudly, but I think this qualifies me as something of a Christmas movie expert.
So, in the spirit of this season of sharing, I’ve got six essential Christmas movie recommendations (as well as details of where you can stream them). These aren’t just good movies, or even great ones; these are required watching every festive season, and if you haven’t seen them can you even really say you’ve done Christmas right?
I’m no Christmas dictator though. I’m willing to accept that there might be some other excellent options out there, and once you’ve read my list I’m giving you the chance to vote for your favorite Christmas movie of all time – including for options not on my list. If you don’t see your favorite in the poll below, feel free to comment instead.
I’ll then gather up all your answers and publish another article next week, this time featuring the TechRadar audience’s top Christmas movies.
1. Elf (2003)
No-one embodies unabashed Christmas cheer like Buddy the elf, and this Jon Favreau-directed comedy starring Will Ferrell is a Christmas classic for good reason.
As a human raised by elves in Santa’s workshop, Buddy has never quite fit in, but has never known why. That is until one Christmas when he finally learns he’s adopted, and that his biological father is living in New York city – leading to Buddy setting out on a quest to meet his father, and save him from the Naughty list.
What ensues is a hilarious, family-friendly comedy, as fish-out-of-water Buddy learns about the harsh differences between the North Pole and the real world the hard way.
Despite his eccentricities, it’s impossible for everyone – including the audience – to not fall in love with Buddy, and if you’re after the perfect Christmas pick-me-up I promise you won’t find anything better than Elf.
You can watch Elf on HBO Max in the US (though it’s leaving after Christmas), Now TV in the UK, or Prime Video and Netflix in Australia.
2. Gremlins (1984)
Interestingly, Elf was originally set to be a PG-13 movie before Jon Favreau helped to tone it down to PG, which I mention because 80’s classic Gremlins was the movie that led to the creation of the PG-13 rating.
I was surprised to find out that some people don’t consider Gremlins to be a Christmas movie, but they’re wrong (and before Die Hard fans @ me, you can vote for it in my poll). Gizmo – the Mogwai protagonist – is given as an early Christmas gift to Billy, the movie features a handful of Christmas songs, and the terrorized town of Kingston Falls is coated with snow and various decorations. The gremlins even attack a Santa Claus.
Now this movie isn’t quite as family-friendly as Elf – it’s far from the scariest horror out there, but the violence and peril wrought by the titular antagonists might be too much for younger viewers, and it doesn’t burst with Christmas cheer in quite the same way; but it is still so much fun, with its perfect approachable blend of comedy and mild scares.
I watched Gremlins with my parents and fiancée this year, and while they’d planned to leave about halfway through because it was getting late, my parents ended up staying till the very end as we were all having such a great time.
Gremlins is available to watch on Hulu and HBO Max in the US, Now TV in the UK, or Stan and Prime Video in Australia.
3. Miracle on 34th Street (1994)
While I’d call every film on this list ‘essential’, if asked to pick just one it would beMiracle on 34th Street – and specifically my favorite version, the 1994 movie starring Mara Wilson and Richard Attenborough, because that’s the one I grew up with.
Kris Kringle believes he is the real Santa Claus, and while he certainly looks and acts the part, not everyone believes he’s the jolly fella he claims to be. Even as a child I adored this movie, but as I got older I realized the real magic of the film is that it never outright tells you if Kringle is actually Santa or not.
He does some very kind and fantastic acts, but nothing we see couldn’t have also been performed by a regular (albeit delusional) old man. That said, I personally think he is Santa, and nothing will convince me otherwise.
I always save this film for Christmas Day or Christmas Eve, and every year it’s a delight.
Miracle on 34th Street is available on Hulu, Disney Plus, Paramount Plus and Peacock in the US, Disney Plus in the UK, and Disney Plus in Australia.
4. Home Alone (1990)
While I’ll admit out of the gate that I actually prefer this movie’s sequel, it’s nothing without the original, and Home Alone is also simply superb.
You almost certainly know the drill: Kevin McCallister’s (Macaulay Culkin) family leave for vacation without him, and Kevin is left at home, alone, when a duo of criminals, the Wet Bandits, show up to steal from his neighborhood and ruin Christmas in the process.
The slapstick comedy is as excellently entertaining today as it was back in 1990. I love its pitch-perfect portrayal what it would be like to be a kid left unsupervised – from the joy of watching movies you’re far too young for and having ice cream for dinner, to the fear of the boiler, and of more real threats that force you to hide under the bed.
If you watch the first movie, the follow-up – Lost in New York – is also a must-see in my eyes – but then so is every other entry on this list, and I understand there’s only so much viewing time in the run-up to Christmas.
Home Alone is available on Hulu and Disney Plus in the US, Disney Plus in the UK, and Disney Plus in Australia.
5. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
This rendition of the Charles Dickens story is arguably one of the best ever committed to celluloid, though I’ll let you insert your own favorite edition of A Christmas Carol here if you like. For me, however, nothing can beat the Muppets.
Adapted from the 1843 novella – and ignoring the Muppet cast and songs – the plot mostly sticks faithfully to Dickens’ original story. Ebenezer Scrooge – played masterfully by Michael Caine – is a greedy, cruel man who despises charity and Christmas, and mistreats his employees including Bob Cratchit (played by Kermit the Frog).
While in his bed on Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by five ghostly apparitions – his late business partners Jacob and Robert Marley (aka, Statler and Waldorf), as well as the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come.
There’s an inherent darkness and sadness to this story that can prove overbearing, so I like the Muppets version because the puppet cast provides some much needed elements of levity, without detracting from the timeless message from Scrooge’s journey.
I’ve yet to treat myself to The Muppet Christmas Carol this year – I’m saving it for closer to the big day and I can’t wait.
The Muppet Christmas Carol is available on Disney Plus in the US, Disney Plus in the UK, and Disney Plus in Australia.
6. Violent Night (2022)
The most recent entry on this list, and therefore arguably the least of a classic, Violent Night has entered my annual rotation because at its core it’s an excellent action movie with some superbly violent set pieces that help make it a more adult Christmas story – but still with a healthy sprinkle of inescapable sappiness.
Starring David Harbor (Stranger Things, Thunderbolts*) as the big guy in a red suit, Violent Night’s Santa is disillusioned with Christmas. While on what could be his last job ever, he finds himself trapped in the home of a wealthy family as it is attacked by home invaders – who are a lot more capable and militaristic than the Wet Bandits ever were.
This action flick is a riot, and while the brutality of some of the action might be a little too much for some, I thought this movie was precisely the sort of thing my annual rotation was missing.
Plus, if you watch the film this Christmas you’ll be all ready for the sequel, which is set to land in 2026.
You can watch Violent Night on Peacock in the US and on Channel 4 in the UK. It’s availble to rent digitally in Australia, but not to stream at the time of writing.
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