35 Best Christmas Movies to Watch this Holiday Season!

Christmas is finally here again, which means it's time to watch lots and lots of holiday movies!

While there are many great theatrical and made-for-TV movies to choose from this holiday season, Christmas classics to make sure you add to your annual holiday watchlist, including a few that were just released this year.

Let's begin and Merry Christmas!

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35. 'Dear Santa' (2024)

Likeable 6th grader Liam (Jack Black) instead, who shows up at Liam's house, excited to have his first fanboy letter and wanting a little of Liam's soul.

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34. 'Silent Night' (2023)

From legendary director Joel Kinnaman) who witnesses his young son die when caught in a gang’s crossfire on Christmas Eve. While recovering from a wound that costs him his voice, he makes vengeance his life’s mission and embarks on a punishing training regimen in order to avenge his son’s death. Full of Woo’s signature style, Silent Night redefines the action genre with visceral, thrill-a-minute storytelling.

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33. 'Spirited' (2022)

In 'Spirited,' Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.

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32. 'The Polar Express' (2004)

No matter where you come down on the “creepy or cute” debate over this film’s CGI characters, Robert Zemeckis’ first animated holiday film has a surprisingly tender and important message for audiences of all ages as a young boy goes on an odyssey to prove that he can hold onto his Christmas spirit in the face of too many reasons not to believe.

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31. 'The Night Before' (2015)

As quite possibly the only Jewish-themed Christmas movie (at least on this list), Jonathan Levine’s story of three friends (Michael Shannon as the trio’s would-be guardian angel.

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30. 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' (1964)

Sam the snowman (Stan Francis) to help the toys, and he goes back to the North Pole on Christmas Eve. But Santa's sleigh is fogged in. But when Santa looks over Rudolph, he gets a very bright idea...

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29. 'Trading Places' (1983)

A snobbish investor (Dan Aykroyd) and a wily street con-artist (Eddie Murphy) find their positions reversed as part of a bet by two callous millionaires.

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28. 'The Best Christmas Pageant Ever' (2024)

The Herdman kids are undeniably the worst kids in the history of the world. They lie, steal, cheat, bully and overall terrorize their small community. But this Christmas, they're taking over their local church Pageant – and they just might unwittingly teach a shocked little town the true meaning of Christmas.

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27. 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas' (2000)

This Jim Carrey in the title role and was an instant Christmas classic when it was released in 2000.

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26. 'The Santa Clause' (1994)

Tim Allen’s 1990s hot streak continued with this story of a man who inadvertently inherits the mantle of Santa Claus and must adjust - and adjust his wardrobe - to accommodate the demands of one of the world’s most important jobs.

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25. 'Die Hard 2' (1990)

Off-duty cop John McClane (Bruce Willis) is gripped with a feeling of déjà vu when, on a snowy Christmas Eve in the nation’s capital, terrorists seize a major international airport, holding thousands of holiday travelers hostage. Renegade military commandos led by a murderous rogue officer plot to rescue a drug lord from justice and are prepared for every contingency except one: McClane’s smart-mouthed heroics.

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24. 'Arthur Christmas' (2011)

If the movies teach us anything it’s that Santa has a lot of family - but this might be the first time he not only has kids, but a father of his own. In this delightful animated film, Santa’s son and old, OLD Saint Nick team up to deliver a lost gift to a young girl in time for Christmas.

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23. 'Lethal Weapon' (1987)

You may not , but 'Lethal Weapon' is totally a Christmas movie as it takes place over the holiday. On the eve of retirement, veteran LAPD detective Roger Murtaugh (Mel Gibson), a recent widower with suicidal tendencies. After initially bumping heads, the two come together to solve a homicide, bring down a group of heroin smugglers, and rescue Murtaugh's family.

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22. 'Bad Santa' (2003)

Terry Zwigoff’s midnight-black comedy offers a reder to the notion that Christmas stories must be cheerful and bright, as alcoholic safe-cracker Willie Soke (Billy Bob Thornton) eats and drinks his way through the holiday season, holing up in the house of an outcast kid name Thurman who think he’s the real article as his partner Marcus tries to keep him in check (and sober enough to complete their annual Christmas Eve heist).

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21. 'That Christmas' (2024)

It's an unforgettable Christmas for the townsfolk of Wellington-on-Sea when the worst snowstorm in history alters everyone's plans — including Santa's.

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20. 'Miracle on 34th Street' (1947)

The best holiday stories are those that remind you what it was like to be a kid - or at least that there’s some magic in the world - and this one is no exception: when a man dressed as Santa Claus and claiming to be him gets institutionalized, a young lawyer sets out to prove that he’s the real thing.

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19. 'Gremlins' (1984)

Zach Galligan) fails to obey the very simple and strict rules for taking care of him. Featuring a cavalcade of manic, menacing, oddball creatures and plenty of Dante’s own impish creativity, it’s a highly unconventional holiday film that has earned its place in the canon.

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18. 'How The Grinch Stole Christmas!' (1966)

At 26 minutes and using only hand-drawn animation, this television special might lack some of the pizazz of the live-action and computer-animated versions that followed. But its adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ classic children’s book gets all of the details the most right, and features the immortal Boris Karloff as narrator, lending the character’s journey from crank to Christmas superfan a theatrical elegance that’s never been matched.

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17. 'A Christmas Story' (1983)

Peter Billingsley is so good as the kid who wants nothing as much as a Red Ryder BB gun and will engage in any and all subterfuge to obtain one - and protect it even after his parents’ worst fears come true.

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16. 'Candy Cane Lane' (2023)

A man (Jillian Bell) to help him win, the elf casts a spell bringing the 12 days of Christmas to life and unexpectedly bringing chaos to town.

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15. 'The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special' (2022)

Written and directed by 'Kevin Bacon (playing himself), as the ultimate gift for Peter.

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14. 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' (1965)

This would make the list on the strength of Charles Schulz’ magnum opus, as his beleaguered title character tries to find the true meaning of Christmas in a landscape marred by rampant commercialism.

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13. 'The Holiday' (2006)

Two women, one from the United States (Kate Winslet), swap homes at Christmas time after bad breakups with their boyfriends. Each woman finds romance with a local man but realizes that the imminent return home may end the relationship.

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12. 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' (1993)

Danny Elfman), an authority on all things Halloween who decides to turn his macabre creativity loose on Santa’s favorite day of the year.

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11. 'Elf' (2003)

James Caan.

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10. 'Violent Night' (2022)

Asking the age old question: "What would Santa Clause do if he was in 'Die Hard?'" 'Violent Night' stars David Harbour as Father Christmas, who has lost faith in mankind. While delivering gifts to a wealthy family on Christmas Eve, he discovers a group of criminals have taken the family hostage, and its up to Santa to save the day and rescue a little girl and her family, who teaches him that some people still believe in Christmas miracles.

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9. 'Home Alone' (1990)

Chris Columbus’ monster hit film.

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8. 'National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation' (1989)

Beverly D’Angelo come clashing back together as Clark Griswold and his loving, long-suffering wife Ellen, this time trying to survive the holiday season that much like every other Clark family gathering seems destined for disaster.

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7. 'Scrooged' (1988)

There have been a lot of great versions of Charles Dickens’ 'A Christmas Carol,' but Bill Murray makes his version of Scrooge one of the wildest, this time a television executive who loses his way in a cutthroat industry and gets visited by three ghosts unafraid to beat him (literally) into a Christmas morning epiphany.

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6. 'It's a Wonderful Life' (1946)

Jimmy Stewart that utilized both his fragile desperation and scrappy determination.

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5. 'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang' (2005)

A petty thief (Val Kilmer) who's been training him for his role.

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4. 'The Holdovers' (2023)

From acclaimed director Da’Vine Joy Randolph).

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3. 'Love Actually' (2003)

Bill Nighy).

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2. 'The Muppet Christmas Carol' (1992)

This “Christmas Carol” adaptation has largely been reduced by the internet to a meme of its Ebenezer Scrooge (Jim Henson’s human-sized puppets, but the film remains one of the most magical - and emotional - versions of the story ever told, thanks to a Bob Cratchit, played by Kermit the Frog, who irresistibly embodies the everyman everyone loves.

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1. 'Die Hard' (1988)

Before John McClane became a superhero and Bonnie Bedelia).