Best Holiday Movies: 10 Films That Actually Earn a Rewatch
- The Finest Reviewer
- Dec 10, 2025
- 6 min read
Holiday movies are comfort food. Snow. Lights. One big emotional choice. They reset the year and your nervous system at the same time.
The problem: there are hundreds of “holiday favorites” and a lot of them are corny background noise.
This list cuts to the point. These are the best holiday movies if you actually want to feel something this season - laugh, cry, or argue about whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie.
What Counts as a “Holiday Movie”?
A holiday movie is not just anything that happens in December.
The strongest ones usually have:
Holiday stakes – family, forgiveness, money, faith, or identity crashing into the end of the year
Seasonal setting that matters – the story breaks if you remove Christmas or the holidays
Annual rewatch power – it improves, or at least still works, on the fifth viewing
The 10 below keep showing up on “best Christmas movies” lists and holiday streaming guides, from It’s a Wonderful Life and Home Alone to Elf, Love Actually, and more.
You know you are in a holiday movie if:
Someone makes a huge decision at midnight or on Christmas Eve
A house looks totally normal, then suddenly has one million lights on it
A single gift, message, or visit rewrites an entire life
1. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Director: Frank Capra
Stars: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore
Runtime: 130 minutes
A small town man on the edge of suicide is shown an alternate reality where he never existed, and discovers how much his ordinary life meant to everyone else.
This is the holiday movie that critics, filmmakers, and audiences keep circling back to. Rotten Tomatoes calls it “the holiday classic to define all holiday classics,” and it holds one of the highest ratings of any Christmas film.
Why it still hits:
It treats financial stress, regret, and depression seriously
The supernatural twist is simple and brutal
The final crowd scene is pure emotional release
If you only watch one holiday movie in your life, it should be this one.
2. Home Alone (1990)
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Director: Chris Columbus
Writer: John Hughes
Stars: Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern
Runtime: 103 minutes
A kid accidentally left behind at Christmas defends his house from two completely unprepared burglars.
This is the modern template for cozy chaos. Every “family Christmas movie” list still points back to Home Alone because it combines slapstick violence, sincere loneliness, and wish-fulfillment independence in one clean package.
Why it works:
Kevin’s isolation feels real before the comedy kicks in
The traps are inventive without needing CGI
The old man subplot delivers the emotional punch
If you want something the whole family can watch without anyone getting bored, this is it.
3. Elf (2003)
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Director: Jon Favreau
Stars: Will Ferrell, Zooey Deschanel, James Caan
Runtime: 97 minutes
A human raised at the North Pole travels to New York to find his real father and forces an entire city to deal with unchecked Christmas cheer.
Elf turned Will Ferrell in yellow tights into a permanent seasonal fixture. It also shows up on lists of “modern Christmas classics” as one of the few newer films that can hold its own next to the older canon.
Why people keep rewatching:
It plays sincerity straight instead of hiding behind irony
The humor hits kids and adults differently but equally well
The “belief in Santa” plotline is handled with surprising restraint
Put it on when the room is drifting toward their phones. It snaps attention back fast.
4. Love Actually (2003)
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
Director: Richard Curtis
Stars: Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant, Keira Knightley, Bill Nighy
Runtime: 135 minutes
Nine intersecting stories track love, grief, lust, and bad decisions in the weeks before Christmas in London.
Critics stay split, but audiences keep returning to it, and it regularly appears in “best Christmas movies” and “best romantic holiday films” roundups.
What it brings:
A full holiday mood board in one film: office parties, airport reunions, carolers, heartbreak
Emma Thompson’s scene with the Joni Mitchell CD, which might be the single most devastating moment in any holiday movie
The balance of cynicism and warmth that feels closer to real adult holidays
If your group wants something messy, romantic, and a little emotionally reckless, this is the one.
5. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
Director: Jeremiah S. Chechik
Writer: John Hughes
Stars: Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo, Randy Quaid
Runtime: 97 minutes
A dad tries to deliver the “perfect” family Christmas. Everything that can fail does, loudly.
This movie is a staple in comedy lists and holiday roundups because it understands the truth: family gatherings are war zones wrapped in tinsel.
Why it holds up:
Every relative archetype is here and still recognizable
The physical comedy is aggressive but never pointless
Underneath the meltdown is a very clear portrait of financial pressure and expectation
Watch it after a stressful day of shopping. It will either calm you down or make you feel seen.
6. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Director: Brian Henson
Stars: Michael Caine, Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy
Runtime: 85 minutes
Charles Dickens’ classic ghost story told with Muppets and one completely serious Scrooge.
This is not a joke pick. It frequently shows up on “best classic Christmas movies” lists right next to It’s a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, and A Christmas Story.
Why it belongs on a “best” list:
Michael Caine plays Scrooge like he is in a straight drama, which makes the emotional turn land
The songs are actually strong musical theater, not filler
It is one of the most faithful and accessible introductions to the original Dickens story
If you want something that works for kids and still feels emotionally serious for adults, this is the cleanest choice.
7. Die Hard (1988)
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Director: John McTiernan
Stars: Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedelia
Runtime: 132 minutes
A New York cop flies to Los Angeles to fix his marriage at a Christmas party. Terrorists show up. Priorities shift.
Whether Die Hard “counts” as a Christmas movie is a yearly argument, but major holiday movie guides group it in with seasonal essentials now, right alongside Elf and A Christmas Story.
Why it keeps winning the debate:
The entire plot is impossible without the Christmas party setting
Themes of family, redemption, and second chances are baked into the action
The holiday needle drops ("Ode to Joy", “Let It Snow”) become part of the joke and the tension
If your living room is split between “festive” and “just put on something good,” this is the truce movie.
8. Klaus (2019)
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
Director: Sergio Pablos
Stars: Jason Schwartzman, J. K. Simmons, Rashida Jones
Runtime: 96 minutes
A selfish mailman is sent to a frozen town as punishment and accidentally helps invent the Santa Claus myth with a reclusive toymaker.
Klaus sits on “modern Christmas classics” lists as one of the few recent animated films that can stand next to older staples.
Why it deserves a spot:
The animation style is distinct and not just another generic CG gloss
It reframes Santa as a legend built through small acts of kindness, which fits the current cultural mood
The structure is tight, and the emotional beats feel earned, not manufactured
If the group is burnt out on the same old specials, this feels new but instantly rewatchable.
9. The Holiday (2006)
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
Director: Nancy Meyers
Stars: Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, Jack Black
Runtime: 138 minutes
Two women on different continents swap houses for the holidays to escape their personal disasters and end up rebuilding their lives.
Romantic Christmas movies lists keep this one in heavy rotation because it doubles as both a cozy holiday film and a fantasy about starting over.
Strengths:
Two complete arcs: heartbreak and recovery for both leads
The English village and Los Angeles settings let you pick your version of “holiday escape”
It treats loneliness seriously without losing the warm, soft-focus Meyers style
Ideal watch for late-night wrapping sessions or anyone stuck between relationships and wondering what comes next.
10. The Christmas Chronicles (2018)
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
Director: Clay Kaytis
Stars: Kurt Russell, Darby Camp, Judah Lewis
Runtime: 104 minutes
Two siblings accidentally crash Santa’s sleigh on Christmas Eve and have to help him save the night.
Streaming guides regularly push this as a new family staple, and it has already spawned a sequel and strong repeat holiday viewing numbers.
Why it works:
Kurt Russell plays Santa as both gruff and deeply kind, which cuts the sugar
The plot is a straight “fix the night before sunrise” quest that moves fast
It mixes grief, family tension, and spectacle without losing kids’ attention
If you want something that feels current without giving up that “classic” energy, this is a solid closer.
Honorable Mentions
These easily belong in any extended “best holiday movies” rotation:
Miracle on 34th Street (1947 or 1994) – the Santa on trial story that still defines belief vs skepticism.
A Christmas Story (1983) – childhood Christmas obsession and humiliation in one long flashback.
Carol (2015) – romantic drama set at Christmas that has quietly become a serious cinephile holiday pick.
Happiest Season (2020) – queer holiday family drama that mixes farce with real emotional pressure.
How To Use This List
Need one perfect holiday movie for a mixed crowd: put on It’s a Wonderful Life or Elf.
Need something family focused that is not ancient: go with Home Alone, Klaus, or The Christmas Chronicles.
Need arguments and chaos: Love Actually and Die Hard will do that immediately.
Rotate a few of these each year and you end up with a small, sharp canon instead of a bloated watchlist that nobody finishes.
