The Best Christmas Movies to Watch in 2023

Four Christmases

What's better than ONE Christmas? Two Christmases! This 2008 romantic-comedy holiday movie doubles that. Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn play a couple who must visit their divorced parents' houses for Christmas (hence the four) after their tropical Christmas vacation gets canceled. Expect it to be silly and emotional, and expect an all-star cast that includes Robert Duvall, Mary Steenburgen, Tim McGraw, Sissy Spacek, and more. Just don't expect it to be great. -Tim Surette [Trailer] 

The Holiday

Nancy Meyers' 2006 rom-com is more popular than ever as it finally gets the cultural resurgence it deserves, with praise rolling in for Cameron Diaz's wardrobe and the memeification of Jude Law's Mr. Napkin Head. But the film itself, centering on two women (played by Diaz and Kate Winslet) who house-swap for the holidays in order to escape their unfulfilling romantic lives, is also worth watching. It's ridiculous and it rules. [Trailer] 

The Polar Express

Since computer animation has advanced so much in the years since this was released, the visual style of this movie is pretty outdated now, but at the time of its release, it was a huge deal that Tom Hanks, who plays the train conductor, did the motion capture for his character. The movie itself is still sweet, following a young boy's journey on a train to the North Pole on Christmas Eve. [Trailer] 

A Christmas Story

You could wait for the annual 24-hour TBS marathon of this classic on Christmas, or you could just stream it whenever you want. A Christmas Story is one of culture's most inescapable movies, centering on a young boy who wants nothing more than to be gifted a BB gun. Do you own one of those leg lamps? If you don't, you probably know someone who does. [Trailer] 

More Christmas movies:

• Hallmark Christmas movie schedule
• Lifetime Christmas movie calendar
• Great American Family Christmas movie schedule

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

Easily the most memorable of the Vacation films, this is a movie about a bunch of things going wrong for the Griswold family — but at Christmas! Chevy Chase plays the beleaguered patriarch who's determined to have a good holiday despite the presence of his wife's crazy cousin, his thankless job, and malfunctioning string lights. [Trailer] 

Home Alone

It doesn't get more quintessentially Christmas than Home Alone, the movie about Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin), a kid who gets accidentally left behind when the rest of his family goes on vacation for the holidays. It's all fun and games until a pair of bumbling burglars, played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern, end up involved in a dangerous feud with Kevin. [Trailer] 

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York

When you're done watching Home Alone, why not check out its sequel? There's a convincing argument to be made that Lost in New York, which finds Kevin (Culkin) getting separated from his family at the airport and ending up on a plane to New York City, is even better than the original. [Trailer] 

Elf

This modern classic stars Will Ferrell as Buddy, a human raised by elves in the North Pole, who travels all the way to New York one Christmas to find his biological father. [Trailer] 

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Jim Carrey plays Dr. Seuss' classic Christmas-hating character, who emerges from his hovel one fateful year to ruin the holiday for the residents of Whoville. Carrey is at his Carrey-est here, hamming it up under all the green fur. [Trailer]      

Die Hard

Every year, we're burdened with many, many discussions about how Die Hard is actually a Christmas movie (is anyone really disputing that at this point?), but even that doesn't take away from how great this action film is. Bruce Willis plays John McClane, a cop trying to save his wife and other hostages at a holiday party that gets taken over by German terrorists. [Trailer]         

Love Actually

This rom-com, about a bunch of interconnected love stories during the Christmas season, is great because of how over the top it is. Every famous British person who's ever lived has a role in the madness, but the Bill Nighy story is secretly the most moving one. [Trailer]   

The Family Stone

The Family Stone stars Sarah Jessica Parker as an uptight New York City business lady who goes to spend Christmas with her boyfriend's (Dermot Mulroney) family. And then they're all really nice and there is absolutely no conflict whatsoever... just kidding! His family, including Diane Keaton as his mom, Rachel McAdams as his sister, and Luke Wilson as his brother, are pretty judgmental — so much that SJP asks her sister (played by Claire Danes) to come act as her backup. I won't reveal what happens from there, but the movie is a ticking time bomb of weird family dynamics, all set against the backdrop of the holidays. [Trailer]

A Charlie Brown Christmas

A Charlie Brown Christmas is great because it's about being depressed about commercialism during the most wonderful time of the year. There are so many reasons why this cartoon has been such a reliable classic for so many years, from the soundtrack to the dancing to Linus' sweet little speech about the true meaning of Christmas. It just never gets old. [Trailer] 

White Christmas

Two sisters with a song-and-dance act become involved with two singers, both professionally and romantically, and the four set out to save an inn from going out of business. This is just a nice, wholesome musical, if that's your thing. [Trailer] 

The Muppet Christmas Carol

This is not only the greatest Christmas Carol adaptation ever made, but it's also one of the greatest Christmas movies ever made, period. You already know the story of Ebenezer Scrooge (played here by Michael Caine), but it's instantly made better by the presence of Kermit, Miss Piggy, and Gonzo, who acts as narrator. [Trailer] 

It's a Wonderful Life

What did we say about Christmas movies about depressed people? This classic follows George Bailey (James Stewart), a man considering ending his life on Christmas Eve. He's visited by a guardian angel who shows him what life in his town would have been like had he not been there. This is a solid watch if you want to feel good about humanity. [Trailer]

The Santa Clause

After accidentally causing the death of Santa Claus (can you believe that's how this movie starts?), a divorced dad (Tim Allen) is tasked with taking on the Santa mantle. This movie spawned two sequel films and a series, all of which are also available to watch on Disney+. [Trailer]