During a normal year, it’s common to feel like the holidays sneak up on us too quickly, leaving us unprepared. But in 2020, the holidays—and the end of this hell year—can’t come soon enough.
That means it’s never too early to embrace the magic of those end-of-year celebrations by way of Hollywood entertainment. If you’re ready to get into the holiday spirit, check out some of our favorite holiday-themed movies available to stream right now, any of which will almost certainly offer a cheerier experience than the one you’re likely to “enjoy” yourself.
A holiday classic, A Christmas Story chronicles nine-year-old Ralphie Parker’s quest to get a Red Ryder Carbine Action 200-shot Range Model air rifle—and the mishaps that occur once he does.
Available to rent on Apple TV+, Amazon, Google Play and YouTube, among others.
In Scrooged, Bill Murray plays a modern-day Bob Cratchit named Frank Cross—a heartless TV executive who fires a colleague on Christmas Eve and then gets visits from the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. From that familiar setup, the third act gets decidedly weirder than anything Dickens imagined.
Available free (with ads) on Tubi and to rent on Amazon Video, Google Play, Apple TV+ and YouTube.
An animated film adaptation of the classic children’s book, The Polar Express takes a young boy on a midnight train ride through the uncanny valley to the North Pole to meet Santa. Tom Hanks voices basically every adult character in the film, which would seem weirder if the “lifelike” animation didn’t make the whole affair so creepy already.
Available to rent on Amazon Video, Google Play, Apple TV+ and YouTube.
If you experience family drama over Thanksgiving, you’ll probably relate to Pieces of April. Katie Holmes plays April, who invites her estranged family to dinner at her small NYC apartment. There’s chaos amidst her family’s disapproval and her struggles to actually cook a meal.
Available to stream on Hulu, Epix and Amazon Prime Video and to rent on Amazon Video, Google Play, Apple TV+ and YouTube.
Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square is a movie musical starring Dolly Parton (obviously) and featuring 14 original songs. There’s not much info available about the film yet (let alone a trailer), but the basic plot involves a rich woman who tries to sell the land that makes up her small town during the holiday season.
It’s a Netflix original and it premieres on November 22.
There’s a lot of nostalgia around the original 1947 Miracle on 34th Street. It’s the story of Kris Kringle, who goes from playing Santa (because he is Santa, obviously) at Macy’s to being committed to Bellevue Hospital when non-believing adults believe him to be crazy. Meanwhile, Kris befriends Susan, a young girl who continues to have faith in him.
Available to stream on Disney+ and to rent on Amazon Video, Google Play, Apple TV+ and YouTube.
It wouldn’t be Christmas without some slapstick, gross-out humor courtesy of the Griswold family in this more modern holiday classic. With a screenplay by John Hughes, Christmas Vacation, which stars Chevy Chase, is full of dysfunctional family relationships and holiday plans gone wrong. Also, a sad fate befalling a cat.
Available to stream on Sling and to rent on Amazon Video, Google Play, Apple TV+ and YouTube.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles is another John Hughes holiday misadventure, this time with Steve Martin—a cranky marketing exec—and John Candy, who plays an annoying shower ring salesman. The two end up traveling together trying to get to Chicago for Thanksgiving.
Available to stream on Prime Video, HBO Max and Tubi (free with ads) and to rent on a long list of platforms.
Kevin McCallister probably would have made a good Lifehacker staffer with his booby-trap, bad-guy-catching skills when he gets left behind over Christmas in the original Home Alone. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York is also worth a watch.
Available to stream on HBO Max and to rent on Amazon Video, Google Play, Apple TV+ and YouTube.
If dark holiday horror is your thing, try Black Christmas, a 1974 thriller about a stranger murdering sorority girls over Christmas break.
Available to stream for free (with ads) on Roku, Tubi and PopcornFlix and to rent on Amazon Video and Apple TV+. The full-length feature is also currently on YouTube.
This 1964 stop-motion animated film originally aired as an NBC TV special. It’s the story of Rudolph narrated by Sam the Snowman and features a run-in with the Abominable Snowman, a trip to the Island of Misfit Toys, and the moment Rudolph saves Christmas with his red nose.
Available to stream on IndieFlix.
This one’s pretty silly—it’s a Lifetime movie—but it does feature both Aubrey Plaza and Grumpy Cat (RIP). Plaza voices the cranky cat, who actually makes friends with a girl she meets at a mall pet shop over the holiday.
Available to buy on Amazon Video.
It wouldn’t be a holiday movie list without Elf. Will Ferrell plays Buddy, a human-sized elf on a journey to meet his real dad while spreading Christmas cheer (and singing loud for all to hear).
Available to rent on Amazon Video, Google Play, Apple TV+ and YouTube.
The third Thanksgiving movie on our list, Home for the Holidays is another story of family drama and dysfunction starring Jodie Foster, Robert Downey Jr. and Anne Bancroft.
Available to stream on Starz and Starz Play and to rent on Amazon Video, Google Play, Apple TV+ and YouTube.
This family-friendly Muppet retelling of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, featuring Kermit, Miss Piggy, and Michael Caine as Ebenezer Scrooge, is the best version of the Dickens classic, and we will brook no arguments on that.
Available to stream on Disney+ and to rent on Amazon Video, Google Play, Apple TV+ and YouTube.
It’s a Wonderful Life is another true holiday classic and the oldest film on our list. George Bailey is rescued from jumping off a bridge by his guardian angel, Clarence, on Christmas Eve, after his loan business falls apart. Clarence shows him what would have happened if he’d never been born.
Available to stream on Prime Video and to rent on Amazon Video, Google Play, Apple TV+ and YouTube.
Honor Hanukkah with Adam Sandler’s animated Eight Crazy Nights. The film follows the antics of the Davey Stone, the main character, over the course of the holiday with all the crude humor you’d expect.
Available to stream on Fubo and Showtime Amazon Channel and to rent on Amazon Video, Google Play, Apple TV+ and YouTube.
This Tim Burton stop-motion animated film is the story of Jack Skellington’s trip from Halloween Town, where he’s the Pumpkin King, to Christmas Town and his mission to bring Christmas back home.
Available to stream on Disney+ and to rent on Amazon Video, Google Play, Apple TV+ and YouTube.
In Jingle All the Way, Arnold Schwarzenegger plays an absent dad who’s on a mission to get his son the elusive TurboMan toy for Christmas before his neighbor (played by the late Phil Hartman) can get it first. This so-bad-it’s-good movie also stars Rita Wilson, Sinbad, and a very young Darth Vader (Jake Lloyd).
Available to stream on Cinemax Amazon Channel and to rent on Amazon Video, Google Play, Apple TV+ and YouTube.
The Jim Carrey version of this classic story is longer and cost a lot more money to make, but the original 1966 animated take is much, much better. Follow the Grinch (and his dog Max) as he tries to destroy Christmas in Whoville, only to have his heart grow three sizes.
If you miss the annual live TV airing, it’s available to rent on Amazon Video, Google Play, Apple TV+ and YouTube.
There’s a healthy (and tired) internt debate over whether Die Hard is actually a Christmas movie—but since it takes place on Christmas Eve and has Christmas music, Santa hats and lots of Christmas references, we’ll side with everyone calling it a holiday film.
Available to stream on HBO Max and HBO Amazon Channel and to rent on Amazon Video, Google Play, Apple TV+ and YouTube.
There’s no trailer for this latest installment of the Netflix series that includes The Toys That Made Us and The Movies That Made Us. Wrap up your holiday movie marathon with a behind-the-scenes look at a few of the films on this list: The Nightmare Before Christmas and Elf.
It comes to Netflix on December 1.
Emily Long is a freelance writer based in Salt Lake City.
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