There is little better in this world than sitting down to watch a perfect holiday movie with your family. The festive season is about a lot of things, but almost every bit of tinsel, every candle and every shared celebration can be traced back to one thing: spending time with your loved ones. Sometimes, amid the chaos of the season, the only way to gather that calm is to press play on a movie and sit down on the couch. This year, Netflix has you covered.
For anyone who is truly a lover of “the most wonderful time of the year”, the Christmas movie should be a staple of your festive celebrations, bringing warmth to your heart and tears of joy to your eyes.
Defying generations, beliefs and creeds, the greatest Holiday movies are those that have the heart of the holiday season at their very core and inspire hope and happiness no matter the decade.
For many, the sheer definition of a Holiday movie is, in itself, a contentious topic, after all, what makes a movie truly ‘Christmassy’? By our definition, a Holiday movie must be set in the month of December, be concerned with a festive story, and crucially must have a moral tale at its very core.
Five perfect Holiday movies to watch this weekend:
The Christmas Chronicles (Clay Kaytis, 2018)
After their father’s death, Kate and Teddy constantly trouble their mother. On Christmas Eve, their antics cause Santa to lose his bag of presents, sleigh, and reindeer, as well as his hat, without which he is practically powerless. On top of that, Santa even gets arrested, and it becomes the kids’ responsibility to help finish Santa’s job to prevent the spirit of Christmas from being lost forever.
This Netflix flick explores the trope of troublemakers-turned-angelic children in a quite thrilling and rejuvenating manner. With Kurt Russell as a showstopper Santa, this Yuletide film is suitable for children and adults alike in its laughter and madness.
Falling For Christmas (2022)
What many are calling Lindsay Lohan’s walk back into the world of Christmas movies. The story revolves around a young and freshly engaged heiress. She suddenly meets with a skiing accident and gets diagnosed with amnesia.
This is when she finds herself being taken care of by a handsome cabin owner and his daughter. Heiress Sierra Belmont gets a chance to find herself all over again with a fresh start that turns into a beautiful Christmas. Give this heartwarming film a watch sheerly for the joy of Christmas that it brings into our hearts.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Ron Howard, 2000)
The grumpy Grinch is the lone resident of Mount Crumpit, where the consumerism ushered in by Christmas brings him disillusionment and anger. He wants to punish Whoville by stealing presents and trying to prevent Christmas. However, a strange encounter with a little girl helps him confront his past trauma, changing him forever.
Jim Carrey is spectacular as the cynical and mean-spirited Grinch, who is a green and furry version of Scrooge. His transformation from being a party-pooper to a believer also shows how he finally rages out against his bullies. Hilarious yet dark, Anthony Hopkins’ superb narration adds an extra dimension to this beloved holiday classic.
Klaus (Sergio Pablos, 2019)
Being the first Netflix animated film to have ever received an Oscar nomination, Klaus is phenomenal. With wonderfully hand-drawn animation and a heartwarming and hilarious tale, Klaus revolves around an incompetent postman who gets transferred to the freezing Smeerensberg, which, he discovers, is Santa’s hideout.
With its series of unexpected twists and turns, the film is a brilliant exploration of Santa’s past. Without indulging in meaningless Christmas cliches, the film echoes the sentiments of Dr Seuss’ Grinch as it explores and exposes the true meaning of generosity. A force to be reckoned with, this film is a spectacular Yuletide watch that might ruin every other Christmas film for you!
Shaun The Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas (2021)
There aren’t many characters that can be both completely devoid of Christmas cheer and yet embody everything we love about the festive period better than Shaun the Sheep. Having long outgrown its original home of Wallace & Gromit projects, Shaun is now a star in his own right.
After a feature film and a subsequent television show, Shaun the Sheep has now branched into a Christmas special too. It may well be right o the edge of what you’d class as a film — it’s only 30 minutes long — but it delivers Christmas cheer by the bucketload.
