The 16 best Hallmark Christmas movies

Look, I'm going to be straight with you: Hallmark movies are not high cinematic art. But, under the proper circumstances, cheesy Christmas movies are exactly what you need. Whether you want to watch a character fall in love with a generic doll of a person from a small town in Christmas Under Wraps (2014) or see a European prince be smitten with an everyday American woman in A Princess for Christmas (2011), consider these the store-bought sugar cookie dough of entertainment — and indulge whenever the mood strikes.

Here, in no particular order, are our 16 favorite Christmas Hallmark movies.

01 of 16

A Princess for Christmas (2011)

Final Photo Assets — Toni Salabasev/Crown Media

A pre-Outlander Sam Heughan stars as the son of a duke (played by Roger Moore?!) who hates Christmas, and falls in love with an American visiting for the holidays. It's essential for you to know that the exterior shot of their castle is the same castle as 2017's A Christmas Prince on Netflix, and yes, I identified it immediately.

Where to watch A Princess for Christmas: Freevee

02 of 16

A Kiss Before Christmas (2021)

Hallmark Christmas Movies — Ian McCausland/Crown Media

The perfect way for Desperate Housewives costars Teri Hatcher and James Denton to reunite nearly a decade after their series ended is to star in a Christmas film about second chances. In A Kiss Before Christmas, dissatisfied Ethan wishes for a more profitable career and wakes up as CEO of his own company — no longer with a wife and kids — which forces him to figure out if this silk-stocking life is what he really wants. Although this is another Christmas wish-fulfillment flick in the Hallmark universe, Hatcher and Denton's undeniable chemistry is a gift that keeps on giving.

Where to watch A Kiss Before Christmas: Amaazon Prime Video (to rent)

03 of 16

The Christmas Spirit (2013)

TheChristmasSpirit_1244 — Patty Bamber/Crown Media

A journalist (Nicollette Sheridan) is in a car accident, and while she's in a coma, her ghost has to save the town from a greedy developer. Her love interest is played by Bart Johnson, Troy Bolton's dad in High School Musical.

Where to watch The Christmas Spirit: Peacock

04 of 16

The Christmas Train (2017)

A journalist rides a cross-country train and falls in love with a fellow passenger. Yes, that is Dermot Mulroney! Danny Glover and Joan Cusack are also in this movie that's kind of like Murder on the Orient Express (2017) without the murder.

Where to watch The Christmas Train: Peacock

05 of 16

Let It Snow (2013)

Let It Snow Final Photo Assets — Eike Schroter/Crown Media

Former Hallmark standard Candace Cameron Bure plays a businessperson staying at a local inn that her company is going to acquire. Three guesses as to whether she gets into the Christmas spirit?

Where to watch Let It Snow: Hallmark Movies Now

06 of 16

The Sweetest Christmas (2017)

thesweetestchristmas-0514_rt — Ricardo Hubbs/Crown Media

Lacey Chabert (a.k.a. Mean Girls' Gretchen Wieners) plays a struggling baker who enters a gingerbread competition. Bakers and journalists make up 80 percent of the economy of the Hallmark universe.

Where to watch The Sweetest Christmas: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)

07 of 16

Silent Night (2002)

Linda Hamilton stars in this TV movie, which takes place during the Battle of the Bulge, in a small cabin where a platoon of injured American soldiers have to share a cabin with German civilians.

Where to watch Silent Night: Tubi

08 of 16

Crown for Christmas (2015)

Crown For Christmas Final Photo Assets — Gabriel Hennessey/Crown Media

Part Maid in Manhattan (2002), part A Christmas Prince, this one is about a former hotel cleaner (Danica McKellar) who becomes the governess to a young princess (Ellie Botterill) — who happens to have a hunky older brother (Rupert Penry-Jones).

Where to watch A Crown for Christmas: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)

09 of 16

A Timeless Christmas (2020)

Hallmark Holiday Movies 2020 — Bettina Strauss/Crown Media

An affluent man from 1903, Charles Whitley (Ryan Paevey), time travels to 2020 and falls for a 21st-century woman, Megan Turner (Erin Cahill), who's a tour guide of his 1900s mansion–turned–historic landmark.

Where to watch A Timeless Christmas: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)

10 of 16

November Christmas (2010)

Sam Elliott, Emily Lind, John Corbett — Erik Heinila/Hallmark Hall Of Fame

The cast of this movie is John Corbett, Sam Elliott, and *checks notes* SARAH PAULSON.

Where to watch November Christmas: Peacock

11 of 16

Christmas Under Wraps (2014)

Another Candace Cameron Bure joint — this time, about a doctor who takes a position in a remote Alaska town.

Where to watch Christmas Under Wraps: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)

12 of 16

Mingle All the Way (2018)

Mingle All the Way Final Photo Assets — Bettina Strauss/Crown Media

The woman (Jen Lilley) who developed an app that's supposed to be just for networking ends up finding love on it, with a man (Brant Daugherty) who can best be described as "Canada-handsome."

Where to watch Mingle All the Way: Hallmark Movies Now

13 of 16

Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe (2018)

Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe Final Photo Assets — Shane Mahood/Crown Media

Lacey Chabert is back! Now she's a "career woman" named Darcy who's always been too busy for love…until now.

Where to watch Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe: Amazon Prime Video (to purchase)

14 of 16

A Ring by Spring (2014)

The plot of this movie is about a woman (Rachel Boston) who's made it to the age of 30 and still hasn't found a generic brunet husband.

Where to watch A Ring by Spring: Hallmark Movies Now

15 of 16

The Nine Lives of Christmas (2014)

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It's Brandon Routh, and he plays a firefighter. What else do you need to know?

Where to watch The Nine Lives of Christmas: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)

16 of 16

The Holiday Sitter (2022)

Christmas Movies 2022 — Hallmark Media/Craig Minielly

In the first Hallmark film centered on a gay love story, Mean Girls' Jonathan Bennett plays N.Y.C. businessman Sam whose Hawaiian vacation is derailed when he's tasked with babysitting his sister's (Chelsea Hobbs) two kids (Everett Andres, Mila Morgan) over the holidays. Seeking assistance from their neighbor, Jason (George Krissa), Sam finds himself in a sudden romance.

Where to watch The Holiday Sitter: Amazon Prime Video (to purchase)