The best Christmas movies are Home Alone, Elf, A Christmas Story, The Muppet Christmas Carol, A Charlie Brown Christmas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, The Polar Express, Klaus, It's a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, White Christmas, and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. They cover family comedies, animated specials, and old Hollywood favorites.
Everyone has a Christmas movie they watch every year. These are the ones most people come back to. They're grouped by who's watching.
Christmas movies for the whole family
Home Alone (1990)
Eight-year-old Kevin, played by Macaulay Culkin, gets left behind when his family leaves for Christmas, and he has to defend the house from two burglars. Chris Columbus directed it, and John Hughes wrote it. The traps at the end are why kids ask for it every year.
Elf (2003)
A human raised by Santa's elves, played by Will Ferrell, heads to New York City to find the father who doesn't know he exists. Jon Favreau directed it, with James Caan and Zooey Deschanel. It's rated PG, and it's the one kids and parents both quote.
A Christmas Story (1983)
A boy and his family stumble through Christmastime in 1940. Bob Clark directed it, with Peter Billingsley, Melinda Dillon, and Darren McGavin. It's based on Jean Shepherd's book In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash, if you want to read the stories first.
The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
The Muppets tell Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, and Brian Henson directed it in his feature debut. It's a musical with plenty of jokes, and it still tells Dickens's story. It's an easy way to introduce kids to Scrooge.
Animated Christmas classics
A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
Charlie Brown can't find the Christmas spirit, even with his friends all around him. It's a 1965 TV special, the first one based on Charles M. Schulz's Peanuts. It's short, so it fits before bed.
The Grinch plans to steal Christmas from the town below his mountain. Chuck Jones directed this 1966 TV special from Dr. Seuss's book, and Boris Karloff narrates and voices the Grinch. It's short enough to watch with the book in your lap.
The Polar Express (2004)
A boy boards a magic train headed to the North Pole, where one child will get the first gift of Christmas from Santa. Robert Zemeckis directed it, and Tom Hanks plays several roles. It's based on Chris Van Allsburg's 1985 picture book. It's a big adventure for younger kids.
Klaus (2019)
A spoiled postman is sent to a remote island town in the far north, where he befriends a reclusive toymaker named Klaus. Sergio Pablos directed this traditionally animated film as a Santa Claus origin story. It looks like nothing else on the list.
Save these Christmas movies to your Watchlist
Add every movie here to your Limelight Watchlist and see where each movie is streaming in your country. Can't decide? Take the What to watch quiz.
Old Hollywood and grown-up classics
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
On Christmas Eve 1945, George Bailey, played by James Stewart, is ready to give up, and a guardian angel is sent to help him. Frank Capra directed it. Bring tissues.
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
A department store Santa at Macy's in New York says he's the real Santa Claus, and a lot of people start to believe him. Edmund Gwenn plays him, with Maureen O'Hara and a young Natalie Wood. It won three Oscars, including one for Gwenn.
White Christmas (1954)
Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye star in this 1954 musical with Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen. Michael Curtiz directed it, and the songs are Irving Berlin's, including the title song. Put it on while you wrap gifts.
Clark Griswold, played by Chevy Chase, wants a good old-fashioned family Christmas, and it all goes wrong. John Hughes wrote it, and Beverly D'Angelo and Randy Quaid co-star. It's rated PG-13, and it's the one grown-ups quote all December.
Where to start
With young kids, start with How the Grinch Stole Christmas! or A Charlie Brown Christmas. For the whole family, it's Home Alone or Elf. For a quiet night with the old classics, put on It's a Wonderful Life.
Limelight keeps your Watchlist in sync across iPhone, iPad, and Mac, and it shows where each movie is streaming in your country. It also shows which movies started as books, like A Christmas Story and The Polar Express. With Limelight+, you can compare ratings from Rotten Tomatoes, IMDb, Metacritic, and TMDB to find the one everyone agrees on. With Limelight+, you can also see what's in the Netflix or HBO Max Top 10 today.
Find where each of these movies are streaming and keep track of what you've watched
Limelight shows where each movie is streaming in your country and keeps your Watchlist in sync. Free to download on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
Frequently asked questions
Home Alone, Elf, It's a Wonderful Life, and Miracle on 34th Street are the classics most people come back to. For animated picks, try A Charlie Brown Christmas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, or Klaus.
A Charlie Brown Christmas and How the Grinch Stole Christmas! are short TV specials, so they're easy for young kids. The Polar Express and The Muppet Christmas Carol are good next steps.
A Christmas Story comes from Jean Shepherd's book, and The Polar Express comes from Chris Van Allsburg's picture book. How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is from Dr. Seuss, and The Muppet Christmas Carol is from Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol.
Christmas Vacation and It's a Wonderful Life work well for grown-ups. For more, try Die Hard, Trading Places, or The Holdovers. All three are rated R, and they're on our list of Christmas movies for adults.
Each title links to a page showing where it's streaming right now. Availability changes by country and by month. Limelight shows what's streaming in your country right now.
