It used to be that you had to wait and see what Christmas movies would be shown on TV but with more streaming services than you can count now, there’s a lot of Christmas movies available to watch this festive season.
Old classics, corny popcorn flicks, schmaltzy romcoms – they’ve got something for whatever mood you’re in. With Christmas Day just two weeks away, we though we’d compile a selection of the best – and worst – Christmas movies to stream this month.
And we’re not going to break it down for you and reveal what ones are the best and worst – that’s for you to decide. Although the trailers for the movies should help you with that task…
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A Castle for Christmas (Netflix)
As a Scot, I really should be on board with this one, but that trailer is just – there are no words. Cheese and cringe galore. Brooke Shields is phoning it in as a bestselling American author who escapes to Scotland where she buys a castle.
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What is it about Netflix – see Emily in Paris – misrepresenting places? You can’t all just come and buy our castles, rest of the world. I know you’re jealous but they’re ours. Still, A Castle for Christmas has already found a big audience, and is in Netflix’s top ten most-watched list.
Love Hard (Netflix)
Putting a modern spin on the Christmas movie, Love Hard follows a young woman who travels to her online paramour’s hometown for the holidays, only to discover she’s been catfished.
Don’t you just hate it when that happens? A decent cast headed by Nina Dobrev and Jimmy O. Yang should make this one watchable enough.
The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star (Netflix)
Christmas movies really are their own little cottage industry. How are there 3 Princess Switch movies? Who’s paying for them? Who’s watching them?
Perfect for a popcorn watch, the story follows Margaret Delacourt, Queen of Montenaro, Stacy Juliette De Novo Wyndham, Princess of Belgravia and Lady Fiona Pembroke, Margaret’s cousin. When a priceless Christmas relic is stolen, the trio must work together to track down the mysterious jewel thief.
And spare a thought for Vanessa Hudgens – while Zac Efron is out making thrilling original movies for Stan in Adelaide, she’s stuck in this sequel mire. She deserves better.
Elf (Amazon Prime)
Not much has to be written here. An absolute modern Christmas classic, Elf is perhaps the most rewatchable festive movie – certainly in my house. Will Ferrell is never better as Buddy, a human raised by elves in the North Pole.
After he travels to New York City to find his birth father, mayhem ensues. Gloriously goofy and subtly sweet, whip Elf on if you’re feeling the December blues.
Home Alone (Disney+)
Home Alone has been in the news a lot recently. The McAllister family’s enormous house from the movies was being offered as an Airbnb to lucky fans. A sixth film in the franchise, Home Sweet Home Alone, was released last month to, um, less than great reviews. So avoid going to the cinema to see that and watch the OG one instead.
Macaulay Culkin became the biggest child star in the world after starring as Kevin McAllister, the poor boy left behind as his entire family head to Paris on vacation. Joe Pesci is hilarious as one half of the terrible two trying to get Kevin; Catherine O’Hara – long before she become the iconic Moira Rose – is wonderful as Kevin’s worried mum.
A Bad Moms Christmas (Stan)
A commercial comedy with a great cast, Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, and Kathryn Hahn are a hilarious trio in this sequel to 2016’s Bad Moms. When they’re own mums come to visit for the holidays – Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines, and Susan Sarandon – sparks soon fly.
Seriously, just look at that cast – it doesn’t matter how good the plot is with a cast like that. Another sequel is also planned so catch this one before that arrives.
Love Actually (Stan)
Much like Elf, you know what you’re getting with this one. Schmaltzy to the core, Christmassy as they come. Richard Curtis only knows how to people-please and so many scenes are designed to put you in a gooey festive mood.
Let’s just skip that scene with the cards outside Kiera Knightley’s door, yeah? Love Actually is very Christmas Day-appropriate, with something to enjoy for the whole family.
Single All the Way (Netflix)
A classic Christmas romcom with a same-sex twist, ignore that awful title and you might find something fun in this movie. A man convinces his friend to pretend to be his boyfriend in order to stop his family teasing him about forever being single – we’ve all been there.
The movie received plaudits for focusing on gay men in an everyday setting, but it was criticised for having too many Christmas tropes.
The Holiday (Stan)
This one’s the perfect romcom if you’re having a date night this month. When Cameron Diaz trades places with Kate Winslet for the holidays, two handsome strangers – Jude Law and Jack Black – soon make things interesting for the pair.
For Jack Black to follow up School of Rock with this movie just a few years later – that’s acting, ladies and gentlemen. The plodding plot might be predictable but this is light and easy viewing.
The Knight Before Christmas (Netflix)
Ugh, that title. You can just imagine how smug the guy that came up with it was in the pitch meeting: “Remember The Night Before Christmas? Well what if we got a 14th century knight to fall in love with a modern-day woman and replace ‘Night’ with ‘Knight’? It’s a home run!”
And did Vanessa Hudgens make a pact with Santa because there’s no reason she should be making this many Christmas movies. This time she plays a high school teacher who falls in love with a medieval knight transported to the present day. He might say “valour and virtue” in a crummy English accent but he’s hot, and that’s all that matters.
