The 6 best Christmas movies Im streaming on Disney Plus, Prime Video and more this December

Date:
Tue, 16 Dec 2025 13:00:00 +0000

Description:
These are the best 6 Christmas movies ever made. Disagree? Have your say in our poll.

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I love Christmas, and thats doubly true for a great Christmas movie. In fact
I love a good festive flick so much then Im in the middle of a 25-day
marathon of watching a different Xmas flick every day from December 1 to December 25. Not to toot my own horn too loudly, but I think this qualifies
me as something of a Christmas movie expert.

So, in the spirit of this season of sharing, Ive got six essential Christmas movie recommendations (as well as details of where you can stream them).
These arent just good movies, or even great ones; these are required watching every festive season, and if you haven't seen them can you even really say youve done Christmas right?

Im no Christmas dictator though. Im willing to accept that there might be
some other excellent options out there, and once youve read my list Im giving you the chance to vote for your favorite Christmas movie of all time including for options not on my list. If you don't see your favorite in the poll below, feel free to comment instead.

I'll then gather up all your answers and publish another article next week, this time featuring the TechRadar audience's top Christmas movies. 1. Elf (2003) (Image credit: Warner Bros.)

No-one embodies unabashed Christmas cheer like Buddy the elf, and this Jon Favreau-directed comedy starring Will Ferrell is a Christmas classic for good reason.

As a human raised by elves in Santas workshop, Buddy has never quite fit in, but has never known why. That is until one Christmas when he finally learns hes adopted, and that his biological father is living in New York city leading to Buddy setting out on a quest to meet his father, and save him from the Naughty list.

What ensues is a hilarious, family-friendly comedy, as fish-out-of-water
Buddy learns about the harsh differences between the North Pole and the real world the hard way.

Despite his eccentricities, its impossible for everyone including the audience to not fall in love with Buddy, and if youre after the perfect Christmas pick-me-up I promise you wont find anything better than Elf .

You can watch Elf on HBO Max in the US (though its leaving after Christmas), Now TV in the UK, or Prime Video and Netflix in Australia. 2. Gremlins (1984) (Image credit: Warner Bros)

Interestingly, Elf was originally set to be a PG-13 movie before Jon Favreau helped to tone it down to PG, which I mention because 80s classic Gremlins
was the movie that led to the creation of the PG-13 rating.

I was surprised to find out that some people dont consider Gremlins to be a Christmas movie, but theyre wrong (and before Die Hard fans @ me, you can
vote for it in my poll). Gizmo the Mogwai protagonist is given as an early Christmas gift to Billy, the movie features a handful of Christmas songs, and the terrorized town of Kingston Falls is coated with snow and various decorations. The gremlins even attack a Santa Claus.

Now this movie isnt quite as family-friendly as Elf its far from the
scariest horror out there, but the violence and peril wrought by the titular antagonists might be too much for younger viewers, and it doesnt burst with Christmas cheer in quite the same way; but it is still so much fun, with its perfect approachable blend of comedy and mild scares.

I watched Gremlins with my parents and fiance this year, and while they'd planned to leave about halfway through because it was getting late, my
parents ended up staying till the very end as we were all having such a great time.

Gremlins is available to watch on Hulu and HBO Max in the US, Now TV in the UK, or Stan and Prime Video in Australia. 3. Miracle on 34th Street (1994) (Image credit: 20th Century Fox )

While Id call every film on this list essential, if asked to pick just one it would be Miracle on 34th Street and specifically my favorite version, the 1994 movie starring Mara Wilson and Richard Attenborough, because thats the one I grew up with.

Kris Kringle believes he is the real Santa Claus, and while he certainly
looks and acts the part, not everyone believes hes the jolly fella he claims to be. Even as a child I adored this movie, but as I got older I realized the real magic of the film is that it never outright tells you if Kringle is actually Santa or not.

He does some very kind and fantastic acts, but nothing we see couldnt have also been performed by a regular (albeit delusional) old man. That said, I personally think he is Santa, and nothing will convince me otherwise.

I always save this film for Christmas Day or Christmas Eve, and every year
its a delight.

Miracle on 34th Street is available on Hulu , Disney Plus , Paramount Plus and Peacock in the US, Disney Plus in the UK, and Disney Plus in Australia.
4. Home Alone (1990) (Image credit: Disney Plus/20th Century Fox)

While Ill admit out of the gate that I actually prefer this movies sequel,
its nothing without the original, and Home Alone is also simply superb.

You almost certainly know the drill: Kevin McCallisters (Macaulay Culkin) family leave for vacation without him, and Kevin is left at home, alone, when a duo of criminals, the Wet Bandits, show up to steal from his neighborhood and ruin Christmas in the process.

The slapstick comedy is as excellently entertaining today as it was back in 1990. I love its pitch-perfect portrayal what it would be like to be a kid left unsupervised from the joy of watching movies youre far too young for
and having ice cream for dinner, to the fear of the boiler, and of more real threats that force you to hide under the bed.

If you watch the first movie, the follow-up Lost in New York is also a must-see in my eyes but then so is every other entry on this list, and I understand theres only so much viewing time in the run-up to Christmas.

Home Alone is available on Hulu and Disney Plus in the US, Disney Plus in
the UK, and Disney Plus in Australia. 5. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) (Image credit: Prime Video)

This rendition of the Charles Dickens story is arguably one of the best ever committed to celluloid, though Ill let you insert your own favorite edition
of A Christmas Carol here if you like. For me, however, nothing can beat the Muppets.

Adapted from the 1843 novella and ignoring the Muppet cast and songs the plot mostly sticks faithfully to Dickens original story. Ebenezer Scrooge played masterfully by Michael Caine is a greedy, cruel man who despises charity and Christmas, and mistreats his employees including Bob Cratchit (played by Kermit the Frog).

While in his bed on Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by five ghostly apparitions his late business partners Jacob and Robert Marley (aka, Statler and Waldorf), as well as the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come.

Theres an inherent darkness and sadness to this story that can prove overbearing, so I like the Muppets version because the puppet cast provides some much needed elements of levity, without detracting from the timeless message from Scrooges journey.

Ive yet to treat myself to The Muppet Christmas Carol this year Im saving it for closer to the big day and I cant wait.

The Muppet Christmas Carol is available on Disney Plus in the US, Disney
Plus in the UK, and Disney Plus in Australia. 6. Violent Night (2022) (Image credit: Universal Pictures)

The most recent entry on this list, and therefore arguably the least of a classic, Violent Night has entered my annual rotation because at its core its an excellent action movie with some superbly violent set pieces that help
make it a more adult Christmas story but still with a healthy sprinkle of inescapable sappiness.

Starring David Harbor ( Stranger Things , Thunderbolts* ) as the big guy in a red suit, Violent Nights Santa is disillusioned with Christmas. While on what could be his last job ever, he finds himself trapped in the home of a wealthy family as it is attacked by home invaders who are a lot more capable and militaristic than the Wet Bandits ever were.

This action flick is a riot, and while the brutality of some of the action might be a little too much for some, I thought this movie was precisely the sort of thing my annual rotation was missing.

Plus, if you watch the film this Christmas youll be all ready for the sequel, which is set to land in 2026.

You can watch Violent Night on Peacock in the US and on Channel 4 in the UK. It's availble to rent digitally in Australia, but not to stream at the time
of writing.

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