Christmas CRACKERS!
Tis the season to tuck into festive films — and to help you choose, we have all the best ones and where to watch them… By Keeley Ryan
’Tis the season for mince pies, decking the halls, belting out Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas — and curling up on the couch and watching a Christmas movie. And there are a whole lot of them to choose from this year, from the classic festive flicks to the newer hits sprinkling a bit of Christmas magic on the streaming services.
From A Charlie Brown Christmas to The Princess Switch, there’s something that everyone will enjoy.
This week, we’re breaking down the top 20 Christmas movies that you can stream now — and where to find them…
1 Home Alone, DISNEY+
Kevin Mccallister (played by Macaulay Culkin) and his efforts to protect his family’s home from the bumbling Wet Bandits after mistakenly being left home alone for the holidays became an instant staple of the big screen — and broke records when it was released in 1990.
All these years later, it’s still one of those Christmas movies that we can watch again and again (and again). After all, it just doesn’t feel like the holiday season until ‘Merry Christmas Ya Filthy Animal’ sends Marv scrambling.
2 DIE HARD, DISNEY+
The action film is one of those movies that has sparked plenty of ‘is it or isn’t it a Christmas movie?’ debates — and it most definitely is. Bruce Willis plays Newyork cop John Mcclane, who heads to California to see his estranged wife, Holly Gennaro Mcclane. Instead, he ends up entangled in possibly the worst Christmas office party out there — and going toe-to-toe with Hans Gruber, who leads a gang of terrorists who crash the party.yippie ki-yay indeed.
3 THE HOLIDAY, PRIME VIDEO
Nancy Meyers’ festive romantic comedy follows two women — one in Los Angeles (Cameron Diaz’s Amanda) and one in London (Kate Winslet’s Iris) — who decide to swap homes over the holidays in an effort
to escape their romantic woes. While they’re away for the holidays, they each meet a local guy whom they fall head over heels for.
4 The Polar express, NOW TV
Tom Hanks leads the cast of Robert Zemeckis’ animated adaptation of Chris Van Allsburg’s 1985 children’s book. It follows a young boy who finds himself on a journey of self-discovery — and the magic of the holidays — after he boards a magical train headed towards the North Pole.
5 scrooged, NOW TV
Bill Murray plays Frank Cross, a selfish and cynical telly executive who gets a whole lot more than he bargained for one Christmas Eve in this take on the Charles Dickens tale.
All while planning to stage his own live version of A Christmas Carol, too.
Over the course of the evening, Frank is visited by three ghosts — each of whom is set on helping him get back his Christmas spirit and to embrace the magic of the holidays once again.
6 National lampoon’s christmas Vacation, NOW TV
The Griswold family have had many misadventures on the big screen over the years — from their European Vacation in 1985 to their initial trip to Walley World. But National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation takes things to a whole new level.
Chevy Chase leads the cast of this Christmas classic as Clark Griswold, who is determined to deliver“the most fun-filled old-fashioned family Christmas ever”.
And as the family members begin to arrive, Clark becomes more and more determined to make sure that everything goes right. But it wouldn’t be the holidays on the big screen without a couple of bumps in the road, would it?
7 The muppet christmas carol, disney+
There have been many, many takes on the Charles Dickens classic over the years — but nobody does it quite like Kermit and Co.
The festive film puts a spin on the tale of that infamous Christmas Eve, where the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge is paid a visit by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future. And with the help of Bob Cratchit — aka, Kermit the Frog — and his family members, the spirits show Scrooge the meaning of the holiday season.
8 love actually, Prime Video
The star-studded Christmas film follows a series of very, very different couples in the lead-up to Christmas — as they deal with love, loss and everything in-between.
And it is all but guaranteed to have All I Want For Christmas stuck in your head for ages afterwards.
9 The christmas chronicles, Netflix
The holiday adventure film became an instant favourite amongst Netflix viewers when it soared onto the streamer in 2018.
Brother and sister Teddy and Kate Pierce come up with a plan one Christmas Eve: they’re going to catch Santa Claus (Kurt Russell) on camera. Things don’t quite go to plan — because, really, it wouldn’t be a Christmas movie if they did — and the kids end up sneaking into his sleigh and nearly cause it to crash.
After nearly derailing Santa’s Christmas Eve, they all work together (along with Santa’s loyal elves) to try and make things right before it is too late.
10 The santa clause, disney+
Scott Calvin’s time as jolly ol’ St. Nick has spanned nearly three decades — and three movies, as well as a Disney+ TV series. But there’s nothing quite like the original film.
The 1994 festive film follows a man who, after accidentally causing Santa to fall from his roof on Christmas Eve, finds himself magically recruited to take his place. And things get even more complicated when he starts to transform into Santa — and he has to keep his new gig a secret from his disbelieving family.
11 elf, NOW TV
The Will Ferrell-starring Christmas film quickly became a classic after it was released in 2003 — and it’s easy to see why.
The heartwarming tale follows Buddy, a human who was raised as an oversized elf at the North Pole, as he heads to Newyork City to meet his father.
The problem is that his dad, Walter Hobbs, doesn’t know that he exists. But Buddy quickly makes an impression on the Hobbs family — and brings a bit of Christmas spirit into their day-to-day lives.
12 arthur christmas, Prime Video
Santa’s clumsy but wellmeaning son Arthur discovers on Christmas Eve that his dad’s high-tech present delivery system has missed a young girl. Joined by his free-spirited Grandsanta — as well as an elf obsessed with wrapping gifts for kids — Arthur sets out on a race against the clock to make sure that the present is delivered in time.
13 how The grinch stole christmas, Netflix
The Grinch has been brought to the screen many times before — including Jim Carrey’s take on the revenge-seeking, green Grinch. The 2000 film saw the character brought to life in a live-action adaption — and followed the Grinch’s efforts to ruin the holidays for the residents of Whoville.
14 Jingle all The Way, disney+
Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a dad who, after continuously letting his young son down over the years, vows to get him the must-have Christmas toy of the year: the Turbo-man action figure. But he’s left it a little too late, heading to the shops on Christmas Eve.
And it turns out he’s not the only one who made promises about what would be waiting under the tree this year — leading him to go toe-to-toe with another dad (Sinbad) to try and get the coveted action figure.
15 four christmases, Prime Video
Christmastime has a way of bringing everyone together — sometimes in ways that you didn’t expect.
The 2008 Christmas comedy follows Brad and Kate — played by Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon — who have to visit all four of their divorced parents’ homes in new day after their usual Christmas plans are disrupted, leading to plenty of secrets and life-changing revelations coming to light. Sissy Spacek, Robert Duvall,
Mary Steenbergen and Jonvoight also star in the film.
16 Jack frost, Netflix
Michael
Keaton plays an ageing rockstar named Jack Frost — yes, really — who returns to his family one year after a tragic car accident. Only this time, he’s back as a snowman after being brought back via a magical harmonica.
He uses the second chance to try and make things right with his son, Charlie — and to make up for all the time that they’ve lost.
17 last christmas, Prime Video
Emilia Clarke and Henry Golding lead the cast of the festive film inspired by the music of George Michael and Wham!. The Game Of Thrones actress plays Kate, a disillusioned young woman who works as an elf in a year-round Christmas store — although she really wants to be a singer. One day, she meets the mysterious Tom — and it seems like her life is turning around, just in time for Christmas.
While the twist towards the end of the film divided viewers, Last Christmas has definitely got all of the hallmarks of a cosy Christmas classic.
18 Noelle, disney+
When her brother Nick is due to take over the family business of being Santa Claus — and struggling with the pressure that comes with it — Noelle suggests he take a break and get away for a little bit.
There’s just one problem: he doesn’t return.
Noelle then has to find her brother and convince him to return him, all in time to save the holiday season.
19 holidate, Netflix
Sloane and Jackson — played by Emma Roberts and Luke Bracey — are two strangers who are totally and completely fed up with being single on the holidays, and so they come up with a plan: they’re going to be each other’s platonic plus-ones all year long. Or, rather, they’ll be each other’s Holidates. There’s just one problem, as they begin to catch real feelings along the way. Technically it covers many, many holidays — but given the fact that Christmas pops up twice.
20 The Nightmare Before christmas, disney+/prime Video
There’s been a lot of debate over the years as to whether the stop-motion musical is a spooktacular Halloween movie or a Yuletide classic — but even tunes like This Is Halloween can’t cancel out the film’s festive cheer. Factor in Jack Skellington’s efforts to save the holidays, and it’s easy to see why it’s a Christmas classic. ■