The best Christmas movies on Netflix right now are Klaus, The Christmas Chronicles and Jingle Jangle for the whole couch, plus The Best Christmas Pageant Ever for a warm laugh. Love Hard and Single All the Way are for after bedtime. Below is who each one suits and when to put it on.
Published November 12, 2026.
I grew up on Blockbuster Friday nights, so picking a movie still feels like a sport to me. These days December means a family movie night with three kids, and the hard part is finding one film that nobody vetoes in the first ten minutes. Anyone who has scrolled a streaming app until the popcorn got cold knows that pain.
Here is the honest part. Netflix makes its own Christmas movies, and those are the safe bet, because originals tend to stay on the service. The famous licensed ones come and go. The big studio classics usually live on other services. So this list leans on Netflix originals, plus one big licensed film I flag clearly. For the dates of brand-new 2026 releases, our Christmas movies streaming in 2026 guide has them.
Christmas movies on Netflix at a glance
| Title | Year | Rating | Run time | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Klaus | 2019 | PG | 98 min | Everyone, art lovers |
| The Christmas Chronicles | 2018 | TV-PG | 105 min | Families, Kurt Russell fans |
| Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey | 2020 | PG | 124 min | Musical fans, big screens |
| The Best Christmas Pageant Ever | 2024 | PG | 99 min | Families who like a laugh |
| A Boy Called Christmas | 2021 | PG | 106 min | Fantasy fans |
| Single All the Way | 2021 | TV-PG | 101 min | Rom-com fans, grown-ups |
| Let It Snow | 2019 | PG-13 | 93 min | Teens and young adults |
| The Princess Switch | 2018 | TV-G | 102 min | Cozy, easy nights |
| Love Hard | 2021 | TV-MA | 106 min | Grown-ups after bedtime |
Netflix’s catalog changes all the time, so look for a title in the app before you make the popcorn.
Family movie night picks
1. Klaus (2019)
If I could only keep one Netflix Christmas movie, this would be it. Klaus is a Santa origin story that starts out grumpy and slowly turns into the sweetest thing on the list. Jesper (voiced by Jason Schwartzman) is a lazy postal-school student whose father ships him to a frozen town called Smeerensburg to run a post office, and the locals come from two families who refuse to speak to each other.
J.K. Simmons voices the reclusive toymaker, and Rashida Jones voices the town teacher. Critics and viewers keep praising the lighting and art direction, and I agree, because every frame looks like a Christmas card from a very moody uncle. It was nominated for the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. Put it on when you want everyone to tear up a little together. Skip it only if you need nonstop jokes, since the laughs come in between the feelings.
2. The Christmas Chronicles (2018)
Kurt Russell as Santa Claus is the best casting decision any holiday movie has made, and I will not hear otherwise. Two siblings, Kate and Teddy, try to catch Santa on camera on Christmas Eve. They startle him, his sleigh crashes in Chicago, and he loses his presents, his reindeer and the hat his magic depends on. Now the three of them have one night to fix it.
This is an action comedy more than a cozy cartoon, and it is rated TV-PG. Santa ends up in a jail cell and sings “Santa Claus Is Back in Town” with the other inmates, which is the moment people remember. It has the energy of a whole family squeezing into one car. Put it on for a loud, fun night. Skip it if you want a quiet, cozy movie. A sequel brings in Goldie Hawn as Mrs. Claus if you want a double feature.
3. Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020)
Pick this when you want Christmas to feel like a full stage show. It is a musical fantasy about a toymaker named Jeronicus Jangle, played by Forest Whitaker, whose apprentice (Keegan-Michael Key) stole his book of inventions and ruined his shop. Years later his granddaughter Journey, played by Madalen Mills, turns up and shakes the dust off everything. The costumes and sets are as bright as a toy aisle.
At 2 hours and 4 minutes, it is the longest film here, so start it before the yawns do. It has more songs than I have snacks, and that is saying something. Put it on when the whole family wants to sing along. Skip it if you want something short.
4. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (2024)
Every town has one family that ruins the holiday play, and this movie hands the whole stage to them. The Herdman siblings are famously terrible, and they take over a small town’s Christmas pageant. If you have ever helped with a church Christmas pageant, you know exactly which kids I mean. Judy Greer, Pete Holmes and Lauren Graham star, and Dallas Jenkins directs this version of Barbara Robinson’s novel.
It is the one licensed film on my list, and the only one you should check the date on. It arrived on Netflix on November 1. It is rated PG and runs 99 minutes, critics loved it, and it made about $40 million in US theaters. Put it on for a funny, sweet night with a surprisingly big heart. Skip it only if your crew hates chaos.
5. A Boy Called Christmas (2021)
This one is for anyone who wants Santa’s backstory with a little danger and a lot of wonder. A boy named Nikolas, played by Henry Lawfull, sets off into the snowy north to find a lost city of elves after the king (Jim Broadbent) promises a reward to anyone who can bring back a symbol of hope. Michiel Huisman plays his father, and the director is Gil Kenan.
It is rated PG, runs 106 minutes and plays like a storybook with sharper edges, and Nikolas has a hard start in life, so a few scenes are heavier than the cover suggests. Fantasy-quest fans will fall for it. He hikes through the snow with more cheer than I manage in a December parking lot. Put it on for Christmas Eve, when everyone is cozy and a little sleepy. Skip it if you need your holiday movies light.
Rom-coms and teen picks
6. Single All the Way (2021)
This is the rom-com I put on when I want to feel like Christmas is being kind to me. Peter, played by Michael Urie, is single and dreading his family’s questions, so his best friend Nick (Philemon Chambers) comes home with him for the holidays. His mom, played by Kathy Najimy, immediately sets Peter up with her fitness trainer, and sparks fly in the wrong direction.
The big laugh is Jennifer Coolidge playing every part in a nativity play during a meltdown. Add a choreographed dance to a Britney Spears Christmas song, and you have a winner. It won a GLAAD Media Award in 2022 for Outstanding TV Movie. It is rated TV-PG, but I would call it a grown-ups’ pick. Put it on for a warm girls’ night or a date night. Skip it if you want a big action plot.
7. Let It Snow (2019)
Teens and young adults will want this one on a night when the weather is awful outside. A snowstorm traps a whole group of high schoolers in one town on Christmas Eve, and everyone’s love life gets complicated. It is based on a book by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle, and it features Kiernan Shipka, Isabela Merced and Shameik Moore as a pop star passing through.
I have mixed feelings about this one. It is a bit scattered, but nothing says Christmas like a waffle shop as the main set. It is rated PG-13 and runs 93 minutes. Put it on when a teen has the remote. Skip it if you like a single, tidy storyline, because this one juggles several.
8. The Princess Switch (2018)
Sometimes you want a Christmas movie that asks nothing of you, and this is the one. Vanessa Hudgens plays an American baker who enters a baking contest in the made-up country of Belgravia. There she meets the prince’s fiancée, who looks exactly like her, and the two decide to swap lives. It is rated TV-G and runs 102 minutes.
The plot is easy to guess, and that is the whole charm. If a lookalike ever offers to trade places, say yes and ask where the cookies are. It also starts a trilogy, with Switched Again and Romancing the Star following. Put it on for a lazy Sunday with a blanket. Skip it if you want surprises.
For after the kids are asleep
9. Love Hard (2021)
Save this one for the grown-ups, and keep the remote high. Natalie, played by Nina Dobrev, flies across the country to surprise Josh (Jimmy O. Yang), the man she met on a dating app and has only talked to on the phone. She quickly learns he used someone else’s photos. Josh then introduces her to the friend in those photos, played by Darren Barnet, and Christmas gets very awkward.
The movie is rated TV-MA and runs 106 minutes. Its comedy is sharper than most holiday rom-coms, and Jimmy O. Yang gets the best lines. After this one, every online photo should come with a warning label. Put it on after bedtime with a glass of something warm. Skip it for family night.
A simple Netflix Christmas movie plan
If you only have a few nights, start small. Pick Klaus for the first family night, then The Christmas Chronicles for the second, when everyone needs to laugh. Save Jingle Jangle for a weekend when you have two hours to spare. Keep Single All the Way or Love Hard for a quiet night once the house is asleep. If you are short on nights, Let It Snow is the one I would skip. If you want older favorites that live on other services, our 10 classic Christmas films list is a good start, and the best holiday movies of all time has more.
Frequently asked questions about Christmas movies on Netflix
What is the best Christmas movie on Netflix right now?
Klaus. It is a Netflix original, so it is the safest bet to stay put, it earned an Oscar nomination, and it works for kids and grown-ups on the same couch. If you want something louder, The Christmas Chronicles is the better party pick.
Which Christmas movies on Netflix are good for families?
Start with Klaus, The Christmas Chronicles and Jingle Jangle, and add The Best Christmas Pageant Ever if you want a laugh. The Princess Switch is rated TV-G if you want the gentlest option. Check each film’s rating first, since A Boy Called Christmas has a few darker moments.
Are Netflix’s Christmas movies original or licensed?
Most of the picks here are Netflix originals, which tend to stay on the service. The licensed ones, like The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, come and go with contracts. I would watch a licensed favorite early in the season instead of saving it for Christmas Eve.
Which Christmas movies on Netflix are for adults?
Love Hard is rated TV-MA, and Single All the Way is a rom-com that grown-ups will enjoy most. I would keep both for after the kids are asleep, with a cozy blanket and a snack close by.
Now it is your turn. Which Netflix Christmas movie does your family put on every year? Tell me in the comments, and if you think I ranked Klaus too high, come argue with me.