Here are the best Netflix Christmas movies

Netflix Christmas movies are becoming more and more of a tradition for people who love to binge-watch holiday films. Indeed, the streaming service has a ton of original and exclusive Christmas movies to stream, and more are being added for the 2022 season. But which of the Netflix Christmas movies are the best? We will pick our favorites to watch, which also include some non-Netflix exclusive classic films as well. You can sign up for the service at the link below:

Editor’s note: We will be updating this list as new Christmas movies are added, and older ones leave Netflix.

Kurt Russell plays the role of Santa Claus himself in this Netflix original movie. Santa is doing his usual Christmas Eve toy delivery with his flying reindeer and sleigh. However, two kids in Chicago accidentally cause Santa’s sleigh to crash. Now it’s a race against time to get Santa back on his route before Christmas Eve turns into Christmas Day. The production values and visuals look great, and we love Russell’s performance as a somewhat tougher and street-smart Santa. You can also watch the sequel, The Christmas Chronicles 2, on Netflix right now.

This nominee for Best Animated Movie at the 2019 Academy Awards tells the origin of Santa Claus, or at least the latest version of it. A postman and a toymaker team up to present toys to local kids, and that begins the legend of how these two basically merge into Santa Claus. The story and the animations are both very charming.

This sequel to the surprise hit film Bad Moms reunites Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, and Kathryn Hahn as three suburban mothers who, in their first movie, definitely broke a few rules. In this sequel, the three moms get an unexpected visit during Christmas from their own mothers, played by Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines, and Susan Sarandon. Naturally, their holiday season goes by the wayside. This is an R-rated movie, so keep this Christmas film away from the kids, but it’s still funny, if a bit raunchy as well.

This Netflix Christmas movie is also about catfishing. A young woman falls in love with a man on a dating app. However, when the couple finally meet face to face, she discovers that the guy is not the same as the pictures that he used in the app. To make matters more complicated, the guy in the pictures does actually exist. Will  the woman fall for the man in the photo or the real person behind the app?

One of this year’s new Netflix Christmas movies is this romantic drama. Justin Hartley plays a writer who has come back home for Christmas. It’s not a merry event, as he is back to settle his late mother’s estate. However, at his old house, he discovers a diary that has some information on his past. He also encounters an old flame who is looking for her birth mother, and who happens to be  his old nanny. The movie is all about how learning about your hidden past could help you discover love in the present.

This is the latest adaptation of Charles Dickens’s classic story of redemption at Christmas. This CGI animated movie sticks to the original story and setting, but with some nice animation and character designs, especially for the three Christmas ghosts that take mean old Scrooge down memory lane, and into the future, to show him the real meaning of Christmas. The film’s voice cast includes Luke Evans, Olivia Coleman, and Jessie Buckley.

Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye star in this truly classic Christmas musical from 1954. Two former World War II US Army soldiers are trying to help their former general, who has bought a country inn but faces its iminiate shutdown. The big pull here is the musical numbers, which of course includes the title song of the movie (originally created for the 1942 film Holiday Inn).

This Netflix Christmas movie has an unusual setting. Kristen Davis plays a woman who was planning on taking a second honeymoon trip with her husband to Africa. However, her husband decided to leave her at the last minute, so she heads to the country of Zambia alone. She encounters a friendly bush pilot, played by Rob Lowe, and both of them spend the Christmas holiday at an elephant sanctuary. Yes, it’s Christmas, but in the hot and sandy wilderness rather than the cold and snowy forest.

The Prince and the Pauper story is updated in this Netflix Christmas movie classic. Vanessa Hudgens stars as Stacy, a baker from Chicago who travels to the European country of Belgravia to participate in a Christmas baking competition. However, while in the country, she runs into her exact physical double, Duchess Margaret Delacourt (also played by Hudgens). The Duchess wants to find out what it’s like to live like a normal person before she marries the Prince of Belgravia, so these two women switch identities to find out how the other half lives. 

A Christmas Prince stars Rose McIver, who is currently starring on CBS’s show Ghosts. She plays an American journalist who gets assigned to cover a press conference for the Prince of Aldovia. However, she’s soon mistaken for the new tutor of a young princess of the country. Her character thinks this mixup could be good for her career as she could get some secrets from the royal family. Things get a bit more complicated when she starts having romantic feelings for the Prince.

Netflix Christmas movies – Honorable mentions

There are lots more Christmas films on Netflix to binge watch. Here are some more that didn’t make the top 10 list:

• Falling for Christmas – Fans of the movie Overboard will know the plot of this Netflix original, as a spoiled heiress, played by Lindsey Lohan, loses her memory in a skiing accident during Christmas.
• Holidate – Two single people agree to be each other’s “Plus One” during their family’s holiday events, but they soon start to have real feelings for each other.
• Father Christmas is Back –  This comedy is all about four sisters who gather for the holidays at their family home, only to run into their long lost father.
• Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square – A woman who literally owns a small town wants to sell the land and evict the residents. Can she change her mind with the help of Dolly Parton and Christmas?
• Pottersville – A man in an economically struggling small town puts on a Bigfoot costume during Christmas. He’s mistaken for a “real” Bigfoot and soon the town is full of new tourists.

These are our picks for the best Netflix Christmas movies that are currently available on the service.