What is the number one Christmas movie of all time?

It's a Wonderful Life (1946) and A Christmas Story (1983) trade the top spot depending on who's asking. It's a Wonderful Life is the critical and cultural pick, the film most often called the greatest Christmas movie ever made. A Christmas Story is the popular pick in the US, where it runs on a 24-hour loop every Christmas Eve. For most-watched modern favorite, Elf (2003) and Home Alone (1990) lead by a wide margin.

Is Die Hard a Christmas movie?

Yes, with an asterisk that fuels an annual argument. Die Hard (1988) is set at a Christmas Eve office party, its plot turns on the holiday, and 'Let It Snow' plays over the end. By the test of 'could you swap the setting without changing the story,' it qualifies, because the Christmas party is the whole reason everyone's trapped in the building. Director John McTiernan has called it a Christmas movie; star Bruce Willis has joked it isn't. Watch it in December and decide for yourself.

What's the best Christmas movie for families with young kids?

Arthur Christmas (2011) is the strongest all-ages pick: genuinely funny for adults, warm for kids, and free of anything scary. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) is the other top choice and the best Christmas Carol adaptation for children. For animation, Klaus (2019) is gorgeous and works from about age five up. Home Alone (1990) is a family staple but plays best for ages seven and older.

What are the best Christmas movies on Netflix?

Klaus (2019) is the standout, an original animated film that earned an Oscar nomination and is one of the best Christmas movies of the last decade. Streaming lineups shift every year and titles rotate between services, so check what's currently available rather than trusting last year's list. A reliable approach: pick the movie first from a list like this one, then look up where it's streaming this season.

What is the funniest Christmas movie?

Elf (2003) is the broad, all-ages funniest, carried entirely by Will Ferrell's commitment. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989) is the funniest for adults and the definitive disastrous-family-Christmas movie. For darker comedy, Scrooged (1988) and the genuinely R-rated Bad Santa (2003) deliver, though Bad Santa is strictly for grown-ups.

What's a good underrated Christmas movie most people haven't seen?

Tokyo Godfathers (2003), a Japanese animated film about three homeless people who find an abandoned baby on Christmas Eve, is a moving, beautifully made movie almost no one outside anime circles has seen. The Family Stone (2005) is an underrated ensemble dramedy, and Arthur Christmas is criminally overlooked for how good it is. Klaus was a sleeper hit that many still haven't gotten to.

The Best Christmas Movies of All Time (27 Picks, Sorted by Mood)

There is no shortage of "best Christmas movies" lists. Most are either a thin ranking of the same ten films or a sprawling dump of every holiday title ever made, sorted by nothing. This one is built differently: organized by the mood you're actually in, with an honest line on each pick about what it is and who it's for, so you can find the right movie for tonight instead of scrolling.

A few ground rules. A film earns a spot here by being genuinely good and genuinely about Christmas (or set so firmly within it that the holiday is part of the story, not just the backdrop). Quality matters more than nostalgia, so a few beloved titles get gentle honesty about how they actually hold up. And if you'd rather answer three quick questions and be told what to watch, the Christmas movie picker does exactly that.

The undisputed classics

The films that defined the genre. If you've never seen these, start here.

It's a Wonderful Life (1946). Frank Capra's story of a man shown what the world would look like without him. The one most critics and filmmakers call the greatest Christmas movie ever made, and it earns it. Slower than modern films, and worth every minute.
Miracle on 34th Street (1947). A department-store Santa insists he's the real thing. Warm, sharp, and the original "believe" movie. The black-and-white 1947 version is the one to watch.
A Christmas Story (1983). Ralphie wants a BB gun. In the US it runs on a 24-hour loop every Christmas, and the episodic, narrated structure is exactly why it rewards repeat viewing.
White Christmas (1954). The Bing Crosby musical that gave the season its most-recorded song. Pure, glossy, old-Hollywood comfort viewing.

The animated and TV classics

Short, perfect, and woven into the season for generations.

A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965). Twenty-five minutes, a jazz soundtrack, and the most quietly anti-commercial message in any Christmas special. Untouchable.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966). The Chuck Jones animated original, narrated by Boris Karloff. Twenty-six minutes and far better than either feature-length remake.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964). The Rankin/Bass stop-motion special that's been on TV every year since. Charming, slightly strange, deeply nostalgic.

Modern classics

The post-1980s films that have already earned permanent rotation.

Home Alone (1990). Kevin defends the house. A genuinely well-built family comedy with a surprisingly warm core, and the rare blockbuster that holds up. Best for ages seven and up.
Elf (2003). Will Ferrell as a human raised by Santa's elves. The funniest broad, all-ages Christmas movie of the modern era, and it works entirely because Ferrell commits completely.
The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992). The best Christmas Carol adaptation, full stop, and the best for kids. Michael Caine plays it completely straight against the Muppets, which is why it works.
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989). The definitive disastrous-family-Christmas movie and the funniest for adults. Endlessly quotable.
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993). Halloween meets Christmas in Tim Burton's stop-motion musical. Watchable in either October or December, which is part of its charm.
Love Actually (2003). Nine interlocking London love stories at Christmas. Divisive, undeniably festive, and the comfort watch for a particular kind of viewer.

For families and younger kids

Warm, funny, and safe for the whole couch.

Arthur Christmas (2011). The best all-ages pick on this list. Genuinely funny for adults, warm for kids, beautifully made, and somehow still underseen.
Klaus (2019). A gorgeous hand-drawn Netflix original about how the Santa legend began. Oscar-nominated, and one of the best Christmas films of the last decade. Works from about age five.
The Santa Clause (1994). Tim Allen accidentally becomes Santa. A solid, gentle family comedy with a clever premise.
The Polar Express (2004). A divisive one. The animation has aged unevenly and the look bothers some viewers, but it lands for kids aged five to eight who don't already know it by heart.

The funny and the irreverent

For when you want comedy over sentiment.

Scrooged (1988). Bill Murray as a cynical TV executive in a modern Christmas Carol. Sharper and darker than its reputation suggests.
Gremlins (1984). A Christmas creature feature that's equal parts comedy and horror. Festive, mean, and a lot of fun. Not for young kids.
Bad Santa (2003). Billy Bob Thornton as a degenerate mall Santa. Genuinely funny and genuinely R-rated, so strictly for adults. The anti-Christmas Christmas movie.

The romantic ones

For a quiet night in.

The Holiday (2006). Two women swap houses for the holidays. The definitive Christmas rom-com comfort watch.
While You Were Sleeping (1995). Sandra Bullock falls for the family of a man in a coma. Lower-key than its premise sounds, and quietly one of the warmest in the genre.
Carol (2015). A restrained, beautifully shot 1950s love story set at Christmas. The grown-up, awards-caliber pick when you want something with weight.

Underrated and a little different

Worth seeking out once you've done the classics.

Tokyo Godfathers (2003). Satoshi Kon's Japanese animated film about three homeless people who find an abandoned baby on Christmas Eve. Funny, moving, and almost unknown outside anime circles. A genuine hidden gem.
The Family Stone (2005). A prickly, funny, sad ensemble about bringing a partner home for the holidays. More honest about family Christmas than most.
Last Christmas (2019). Built around the Wham! song, with a twist that divides people. Lightweight but charming, and very London-at-Christmas.

The eternal question: Die Hard (1988)

Yes, it counts. It's set at a Christmas Eve party, the holiday drives the plot (the party is why everyone's in the building), and "Let It Snow" closes it out. The director calls it a Christmas movie; the star jokes it isn't. Settle it the only honest way, by watching it in December.

How to pick one tonight

If this is a lot of choice, narrow it fast. Want funny with the whole family? Elf or Arthur Christmas. Something for grown-ups after the kids are down? Christmas Vacation or Bad Santa. A quiet romantic night? The Holiday. A genuine classic you've somehow never seen? It's a Wonderful Life.

Or let the Christmas movie picker choose for you from three quick questions about mood, audience, and runtime. Make it a proper night with the Christmas dinner timing calculator so the food lands before the opening credits, and if there are kids who'd rather read, the best Christmas books for kids covers the page version.