Christmastime is the perfect holiday for watching movies. For starters, Christmas is the holiday with the most movies dedicated to it. You can probably name 10 Christmas movies before you can think of one about Thanksgiving. Something about the season of giving makes for a good movie. Santa Claus is also a popular character that audiences respond to well.
When you want to watch some quality holiday movies, the best streamer for family-friendly Christmas movies is Disney+. Thanks to the vault, Disney+ hosts all of the animated classics plus a wealth of recognizable characters from the 1990s. Disney+ has a terrific selection of Christmas movies. To narrow down the search, try streaming one of our recommendations below.
Need more recommendations? We also have guides for the 10 best TV shows to watch on Christmas, the best Christmas movies on Netflix, the best Christmas movies on Hulu, the best Christmas movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best Christmas movies on Max, and the best Christmas movies on Hallmark Channel.
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
Home Alone is considered a sacred text. Few Christmas movies have reached Home Alone‘s popularity levels and cultural impact. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York has a legitimate case for being the superior Christmas movie. It’s bigger, better, and utilizes the Big Apple to its advantage. After heading to Paris two years prior, the McCallisters have elected to spend their Christmas in rainy Florida.
It’s another race to the airport on the morning of their flight. Thankfully, the family does not forget about 10-year-old Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin). However, a mix-up in the terminals causes Kevin to board a flight to New York City instead of Florida. At first, Kevin enjoys his newfound freedom in New York. His spirits drastically change when he runs into Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern). Instead of saving his house, Kevin must now protect a toy store from being robbed by the Sticky Bandits.
Stream Home Alone 2: Lost in New York on Disney+.
The Santa Clause (1994)
The Santa Clause is an aptly titled movie because of a legal matter involving the North Pole. On Christmas Eve, divorced dad Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) and his young son Charlie (Eric Lloyd) catch Santa Claus on their rooftop. Startled by their presence, Santa falls off the roof and dies. After putting on his suit, Scott and Charlie deliver the rest of the gifts and head to the North Pole.
This is when the legal issue comes into play. By putting on the suit, Scott is subject to the “Santa Clause,” meaning he inherits all of Santa’s duties and responsibilities. Scott wakes up the next morning thinking it was all a dream, but he quickly realizes being Santa Claus is his new reality. The Santa Clause is the type of movie that invokes the Christmas spirit, something we all could use around the holidays.
Stream The Santa Clause on Disney+.
Frozen (2013)
Animated movies always play well over Christmas, especially ones with songs. Look at Mufasa: The Lion King, a Disney movie that will do business at the box office this holiday season. In 2013, Disney released Frozen, an animated musical fantasy film. Little did they know it would win two Oscars and kick off a billion-dollar franchise.
After being accused of witchcraft, Elsa (Wicked‘s Idina Menzel) flees the kingdom of Arendelle to live in solitude on the North Mountain. Elsa possesses magical ice powers and builds her own fortress. However, Elsa unknowingly sends Arendelle into eternal winter. To break the spell, Elsa’s sister Anna (Kristen Bell), mountaineer Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), his reindeer Sven, and a magical snowman named Olaf (Josh Gad) race to find Elsa and save the kingdom. Cue Let It Go.
Stream Frozen on Disney+.
Cool Runnings (1993)
Underdog stories are heartwarming tales that should be watched and appreciated during the holidays. Not only is Cool Runnings an inspirational saga, but it’s one that’s based on a true story. Set in Jamaica in 1987, Derice Bannock (Leon) dreams of qualifying for the Summer Olympics as a sprinter. Due to a freak accident during a qualifying race, Derice falls, ending his Olympic dreams. Well, at least his Summer Olympic dreams.
Derice turns his attention toward the Winter Olympics and the sport of bobsledding. Derice recruits his friend Sanka (Doug E. Doug) and two other sprinters (Rawle D. Lewis and Malik Yoba) to form a four-man team. Now, all they have to do is learn how to bobsled. Luckily, a disgraced former bobsled champion (John Candy) lives on the island, and he reluctantly agrees to train the team.
Stream Cool Runnings on Disney+.
The Ultimate Christmas Present (2000)
From the late 1990s through the early 2000s, Disney Channel consistently released original movies throughout the year, especially around Christmastime. One of the movies was The Ultimate Christmas Present. Allie Thompson (Hallee Hirsh) and Sam Kwan (Brenda Song) are two Los Angeles teenagers who stumble upon a magical weather machine in the woods.
The girls use the machine to make a snowstorm in Los Angeles. The plan works, and the girls get to start their vacation one day early. Little do the teens know that the machine belongs to Santa (John B. Lowe), who sends two elves (John Salley and Bill Fagerbakke). Allie and Sam try to reset the weather, but it’s to no avail. To save Christmas, the girls must work with Santa to fix the weather before a nosy weatherman (Peter Scolari) gets his hands on the machine.
Stream The Ultimate Christmas Present on Disney+.
We also have guides to the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on Max, and the best movies on Disney+.