(Credit: Netflix)

The last two months of the year have a way of doing something to people. During this time of the year, even the grumpiest souls soften down a little when fairy lights show up on balconies and someone somewhere starts humming “Tis the season to be jolly”. And if you are a cinema junkie, the season feels incomplete until you pick a movie.

You see, many families have a Christmas movie they watch every year like a tradition. Luckily, Netflix understands this more than anyone, which is why it has a special holiday catalogue. All you have to do is open it and find a new favourite, and you have a new movie to watch.

Whether you are building new rituals this year or returning to the ones that feel like home, a good holiday movie has the power to turn an ordinary evening into something you remember. Maybe you sit with your family, maybe with friends, maybe alone; a good holiday movie has the power to cheer you up.

So consider this your gentle nudge to begin the season. We have got you five Netflix holiday movies that make November and December feel bright and warm.

Five Netflix movies to add to your Christmas traditions

A Boy Called Christmas (2021)

A Boy Called Christmas starts in an unhappy house, yet the film never turns that sadness into a burden. It starts with Nikolas, a young boy who ends up pulled into a snowy world that feels imaginative. But don’t confuse it with anything loud or childish. A talking mouse brings a bit of odd charm to the film; the elves are wary, which actually makes sense, and Blitzen behaves like the only steady presence in the entire journey.

What makes the film work is how it builds emotion. It doesn’t force reactions or try to convince you it’s inspirational. It simply follows Nikolas with honesty, and that approach makes you care before you even realise it. When the story reaches Elfhelm, the entire film settles into a warm December mood. You finish it feeling lighter, like the room gained a bit of winter glow.

The Christmas Chronicles (Clay Kaytis, 2018)

The Christmas Chronicles is the movie Netflix dropped years ago, and people still talk about it because Kurt Russell decided to play Santa like a retired rockstar who still loves to perform. The film starts with Kate and Teddy trying to catch Santa on camera, and within minutes, he crashes his sleigh and drags them into the wildest night Chicago has ever seen. This is not the polite North Pole tour kids imagine. Santa is irritated and dramatic and also fully confident in his own greatness, and it works way better than it should.

What keeps the film entertaining is the energy between Santa and the kids. Kate is wide-eyed but sharp, Teddy is trying too hard to act cool, and Santa keeps calling them out like he has no patience left. It’s messy family bonding disguised as a Christmas adventure. If you want a festive watch with actual personality, this one delivers that very easily.

Klaus (Sergio Pablos, 2019)

The first thing you notice about Klaus is that the town looks like it is totally happiness-deprived. It feels like the rare Christmas film that doesn’t shove holiday spirit in your face. Jesper gets dumped in Smeerensburg, a place so bitter it looks like winter moved in and refused to leave. He’s meant to revive the postal service, but the town is full of people who treat happiness like a threat. Watching him try to function is half the entertainment.

Things shift when he crosses paths with Klaus, a massive, silent woodworker with a house packed with handmade toys. Jesper pushes him into delivering one gift, and that tiny decision sets off a chain reaction across the town. Letters start coming in, families calm down a bit, and the place begins to feel less like punishment and more like a community trying to remember. So if you want a holiday film that earns every warm moment, this one actually pulls it off.

A Christmas Prince (Alex Zamm, 2017)

If you’ve ever watched a holiday rom-com and thought that it is exactly what your comfort holiday watch would look like, please add A Christmas Prince to your list. It is the story of Amber, who heads to Aldovia for a story and ends up pretending to be a tutor because she panics under pressure. Yes, yes, it sounds very unprofessional of her, but friends, that’s how holiday films are made. On the other hand, we have our male protagonist named Richard, who behaves like a man raised with velvet curtains and strict posture rules, which creates the exact awkward chemistry you expect.

And isn’t this a perfect holiday rom-com? The one with a very old-school recipe? To be fair, such movies are ending now or are very rarely made. A Christmas Prince takes you to snowy castle shots, palace whispers and, ooh, formal dinners. Sure, there will always be someone who will overhear the wrong thing, but the film totally rules. It is an easy watch. If you want a December film that won’t fight you or demand brain cells, it looks like a job for this one.

The Princess Switch (Mike Rohl, 2018)

Ever wanted a holiday film that feels like a Diet Coke (sugar rush without the guilt)? The Princess Switch is the one waiting for you. It has Vanessa Hudgens playing two characters, which already tells you the energy level we are dealing with. Stacy flies to Belgravia for a baking competition, meets Lady Margaret, who looks exactly like her, and within minutes, they are swapping lives. Completely unrealistic, but also exactly what a December watch demands.

And the fun part? The film doesn’t even pretend to be subtle. It also has royal balls and identity mix-ups, and everything else you expect from a typical rom-com. Margaret, trying to act normal in Stacy’s world, is unintentionally hilarious, and Stacy, trying to perform royalty, is even better. So if you want a movie that won’t question your choices and won’t complicate your evening, this is the right pick.