The Ultimate Guide to All the Festive Movies on Netflix This Christmas

Ho ho ho, it’s holiday time on Netflix! With Christmas around the corner, you’re no doubt looking for movies that will get you in the festive spirit and lighten your merry mood. If your goal this month is to down as much Christmas cheer as you can handle, then Netflix is a solid bet. Not only does the service have a few of the Christmas movies you’ve loved for years, it’s also packed with originals and little-known films that may just become a new tradition.
This year’s crop of Christmas movies includes the Kurt Russell action-comedy The Christmas Chronicles as well as the sequel to last year’s smash hit, A Christmas Prince. On the all-time-greats front, you can’t go wrong with the Bing Crosby classic White Christmas. The iconic musical has been an essential part of the season for over 60 years, and it now calls Netflix home. And once you’ve binged all the Netflix originals and holiday classics, there are dozens more straight-to-VOD holiday movies just waiting to be discovered.
Below you’ll find a list of all the holiday movies on Netflix for the 2018 season. Get ready to map out your season’s streaming, because you’ve got a lot to see.

Netflix Originals

The Christmas Chronicles (2018)

Christmas Inheritance (2017)

What with all the hoopla last Christmas surrounding A Christmas Prince, everyone overlooked the other holiday romcom Netflix released a month later. The best thing about Christmas movies, aside from the guaranteed happy ending, is that they’re timeless. If you missed Christmas Inheritance last year, just watch it this year! Eliza Taylor (The 100) stars as an heiress tasked with hand delivering a Christmas card before she can take over her dad’s business. That’s definitely not how actual business deals go down but, you know, just go with it. Jack Lacy (Obvious Child) plays her handsome yet affable romantic interest, and Andie MacDowell (!!!) plays his aunt.
[Stream Christmas Inheritance on Netflix]

A Christmas Prince (2017)
A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding (2018)
El Camino Christmas (2017)
The Holiday Calendar (2018)
The Princess Switch (2018)

Christmas Classics

Bad Santa (2003)
Bad Santa 2 (2016)
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)

Love Actually (2003)

You don’t need to be reminded that Love Actually is on Netflix, because I have a hunch that this was the first movie you searched for once you got into the festive mood. In the 15 years since it was released, Love Actually has become a true holiday classic (there are stats to back that claim up, BTW). The all-star cast, the whirlwind romances, the way this movie plucks your heartstrings like a Christmas banjo (which is a thing, just ask Sufjan Stevens)–this movie is like watching a dozen Christmas romcoms all at once.
[Stream Love Actually on Netflix]
The Star (2017)
White Christmas (1954)

Made for VOD

48 Christmas Wishes (2017)
All-American Christmas Carol (2013)
Angels in the Snow (2015)
Beethoven’s Christmas Adventure (2011)
Believe (2016)
The Christmas Candle (2013)
Christmas Crush (2012)
Christmas in the Smokies (2015)
The Christmas Project (2016)
Christmas Ranch (2016)

A Christmas Star (2015)

This one comes straight from Ireland and it has the cast to prove it. Pierce Brosnan plays a part and Liam Neeson provides a voiceover, and Downton Abbey alum Robert James-Collier plays a greedy developer. Oh man, those are the worst kind of developers! The movie also has a supernatural slant to it, as the lead is a girl named Noelle who was granted superpowers after being born under “the Christmas Star.”
[Stream A Christmas Star on Netflix]

Christmas Wedding Planner (2017)
Christmas with a View (2018)
Da Kath & Kim Code (2005)
Dear Santa (2011)
A Dogwalker’s Christmas Tale (2015)
George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker (1993)
Get Santa (2014)
Hide & Seek (2010)
Holiday Baggage (2008)
Holiday Breakup (2016)
A Holiday Engagement (2011)

How Sarah Got Her Wings (2015)

Of all the movies in this VOD section, How Sarah Got Her Wings is quite possibly the best of the bunch. Lindsey Gort plays Sarah, a woman with unfinished business who returns to Earth as an angel to make things right. The best thing about this one, though, is that it knows exactly what it is (a generic holiday romcom) and leans into that, peppering the script with lighthearted jokes and kooky concepts. This one’s take on Heaven, refashioning it into a kind of Genius Bar for the deceased, is particularly fun.
[Stream How Sarah Got Her Wings on Netflix]

The Magic Snowflake (2013)
Merry Kissmas (2015)
Miss Me This Christmas (2017)
Neseli Hayat (2009)
Pettersson and Findus 2 (2016)
Pottersville (2017)
Puppy Star Christmas (2018)
Red Christmas (2016)
Santa Buddies (2009)
Santa Claws (2014)
Santa Paws 2: The Santa Pups (2012)
Santa’s Apprentice (2010)
The Search for Santa Paws (2010)
The Spirit of Christmas (2015)
Tree Man (2015)
Uncle Nick (2015)
You Can’t Fight Christmas (2017)