FAVORITE CHRISTMAS MOVIES TO WATCH YEAR AFTER YEAR

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Prior to 2020, this type of list has been published around this space. That said, it’s been a few years since I’ve published a list of favorite Christmas movies to watch, and so this year seems as good a year as any to take a trip down Christmas movie lane as well as gush over a few newer additions.

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FAVORITE CHRISTMAS MOVIES TO WATCH YEAR AFTER YEAR. Sharing a few favorite Christmas movies & some additional titles to watch! #ChristmasMovies #Movies #Christmas #ItsaWonderfulLifetime #FavoriteMovies #FavoriteThings Share on X

Some of these may not be considered Christmas movies in the strict or proper sense, but there’s Christmas to be had, and so we include them. The titles that will be excluded (almost! I had to add a couple) are Hallmark Channel originals since we all know I already discuss those quite enough as it is. I do include some other TV or streaming titles because when one likes something you can never talk too much about it. (At least I’m hoping this is true!) There’s some repeats from the lists of prior years as well, because when ya’ like something, you like it. With all of the pre-list details out of the way, let’s get to look at the films that made the list, shall we?

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FAVORITE CHRISTMAS MOVIES TO WATCH

note; this list was updated on November 29 and December 24, 2025

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12 Men of Christmas

For some reason this film makes me laugh every time. It features Broadway star (and award-winner!) Kristin Chenoweth in a romantic-comedy that takes a few cues from Pride and Prejudice. It all just fits. The film is TV-14 for some sexual content/innuendo, minor profanity

Synopsis: Based on the novel decent exposure by Phillipa Ashley, the romantic comedy tells the story of a down-On-Her-Luck public relations executive who uses her media savvy to generate some sizzle in a small Montana town. – Prime Video

Digitally purchase this film on places like Prime Video

Christmas in Connecticut

Classic movies are not my jam, but this is one I try to make time for each year. What can I say, it may be an unrealistic premise (a woman who has created an entirely fake family and lifestyle must host a soldier and impress her boss), but Barbara Stanwyck and the cast just infuse it with so much charm that it’s just that fun. This film is not rated

Synopsis: When a magazine writer invites a rescued sailor to spend Christmas with her, he ends up falling in love with her. – Prime Video

Digitally purchase this film on places like Prime Video

Christmas on the Bayou

Like a few others on this list, this isn’t one I religiously watch each year, but I have seen it more than once and think it’s quite fun. The only bit I don’t love is the whole Santa Claus (not because of an issue with the figure, but rather just this specific plot) story. That said, Hilary Burton, who I do like, leads the cast. The film is TV-PG

Synopsis: A divorced workaholic executive goes back to her hometown to spend Christmas with her son and mother. Through a rekindled romance and a small miracle, she discovers where her heart truly belongs. – Prime Video

Stream on places like Prime Video; Plex or Tubi TV

Christmas with the Kranks

We saw this film “by accident” the year it opened when we were together with family. We were meant to see something else (I think National Treasure), but my cousin called about the wrong movie time, and so this is what we could see. Since then, my immediate family watches it each year. It’s ridiculous, but funny! The film is PG for some crude humor

Synopsis: Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis star in this Christmas comedy as a marriage who decides to skip Christmas since her daughter is in Peru. But when she decides to come home at the last minute, they must rush to get Christmas set up for her. – Prime Video

Stream with HBO Max; or digitally purchase on Prime Video

Christmas with Holly

To be honest, I don’t watch this one every year, but I’d like to. It’s fun and sweet, and the cast is fantastic. The plot follows three men who end up taking in their young niece. The film is TV-PG

Synopsis: When 6 year old Holly is orphaned, her three uncles step in to raise her. – Prime Video

Stream with Hallmark+; or digitally purchase the film on places like Prime Video

Eloise at Christmastime

Ok, I’ll admit adding this one may be unusual but I first watched this as a kid on TV (a Disney movie night), and thought it was darling. It’s got a little bit of Broadway-esque music, a darling titular character, and of course, Julie Andrews. What more does any Christmas enthusiast need? This film is TV-G

Synopsis: It is Christmas at The Plaza and Eloise is up to her usual mischief. This adventure sees her “helping” in respect of the marriage of the hotel owner’s marriage. What could go wrong with Eloise involved! – Prime Video

Stream with Prime Video

Fallen Angel

Another touching and bittersweet film that still ends well. Gary Sinse features in this film about a man who reconnects with a woman he knew in childhood, and the mysterious circumstance that connects them. The film is TV-PG

Synopsis: A high-powered Los Angeles lawyer returns to his deceased father’s home. – Prime Video

Stream with Hallmark+ or find on Plex

FAVORITE CHRISTMAS MOVIES TO WATCH YEAR AFTER YEAR. Sharing a few favorite Christmas movies & some additional titles to watch! #ChristmasMovies #Movies #Christmas #ItsaWonderfulLifetime #FavoriteMovies #FavoriteThings Share on X

The Holiday

Pretty sure this one makes the list every time I publish this sort of curated collection, but let’s be honest, it’s a gem. I adore the cast, and there’s a sequence in this film that will melt your heart. Plus, Kate Winslet’s whole neighbor story is all kinds of sweet. This film is PG-13 for language, and adult content (sexual innuendo, content)

Synopsis: A woman plagued by man trouble finds her fortune improves when she befriends an Englishwoman while on vacation. – Prime Video

Digitally purchase on places like Prime Video

Miracle on 34^th Street (1994)

We used to watch this EVERY Thanksgiving night after we got home from a day with family. These past few years I haven’t, but the story of believing in the impossible remains a favorite. The film is PG

Synopsis: A retail-war lawyer (Dylan McDermott) goes to court to prove a department-store Santa Claus (Richard Attenborough) is for real. – Roku

Stream with Disney+ or Hulu; find streaming with Roku

The Most Wonderful Time of Year

This one is one of those sappy (but CUTE!) films that makes you question the heroine in a “um, have you lost your mind” kind of scenarios. That said, I’ve seen it multiple times, and it still makes me smile. The film is TV-G, PG

Synopsis: Corporate analyst and single mom, Jen, tackles Christmas with a business-like approach until her uncle arrives with a handsome stranger in tow. – Prime Video

Stream with Hallmark+

A Princess for Christmas

This one has its production flaws, but it’s the first royal Hallmark I saw (and they produced… I think), and so it has a nostalgic factor for me. I don’t get it re-watched each year, but I could. The film is TV-G

Synopsis: A young woman travels to a European castle with her niece and nephew for Christmas, where she unwittingly falls in love with a dashing prince. – Tubi TV

Stream, at publication, with Prime Video; Roku or Tubi TV

The Princess Switch

I know this is a “controversial” film (in the way a Christmas movie can be so), and very few people actually like it, but it’s 100% one of my and my mother’s favorites. Is it silly? Sure. Do we care? Nope. It’s fun and that’s what matters. We also need to remember to watch Christmas movies with this mindset (just go in and let it do its job, which is to entertain) and I think we’d like things more. The film is PG-13

Synopsis: When a down-to-earth Chicago baker and a soon-to-be princess discover they look like twins, they hatch a Christmastime plan to trade places. – Netflix

Steam exclusively with Netflix

Undercover Christmas aka UNDERCOVER LOVER

I have to include this film because it’s one of my mother’s TV film favorites. We saw it years ago on television and each year we re-watch it. She loves that it has a tiny hint of mystery (because she like a little mystery in stories) and the connection between the lead couple. Plus, Tyne Daly co-stars, too. This film is TV-PG

Synopsis: In this unlikely love story, an uptight FBI agent is assigned to protect a cocktail waitress after she turns her billionaire boyfriend in to the authorities for tax fraud. – Prime Video

Stream with Prime Video; or find free on Plex, Roku or Tubi

While you were Sleeping

Last time I created this kind of list someone reminded me of this 90s rom-com. I don’t tend to lump this one in with Christmas films, but it does take place over Christmas and then the New Year, so it feels like a nice fit. Plus, who doesn’t love the always cute Sandra Bullock in a romantic-comedy? This film is PG

Synopsis: Lucy, a lonely subway worker, becomes smitten with a handsome stranger (Peter Gallagher). But when she saves his life after he’s been mugged and fallen into a coma, his hilariously offbeat family mistakes her for his fiancée! – Prime Video

Stream with Disney+; or digitally purchase on places like Prime Video

White Christmas

An additional classic piece of cinema that I enjoy a re-watch of each year. I know this one quite well, and most of the time I even fast-forward through the musical numbers (they’re just so long!), but when it’s the classic strains of White Christmas, one tends to like to relive this story. This film is not rated

Synopsis: Two talented song-and-dance men (Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye) team up after the war to become one of the hottest acts in show business. – Prime Video

Stream with Prime Video; or digitally purchase on places like Prime Video

MORE CHRISTMAS MOVIES to ENJOY!

These aren’t personal year-after-year re-watch favorites, but I finally watched them this year, and they’re sweet (and some are on Amazon Prime!)

Christmas Catch

On Prime, this is a funny little Christmas film about a cop who just happens to fall in love with the subject of her surveillance. This one has cringy moments, but if you like Shannon Dohretey’s caper Christmas film, you’ll like enjoy this one. The film is TV-PG

The Christmas Contract

Everyone but me loves this film. It’s not bad, I just don’t “feel” the spark everyone raves about. Hilary Burton (who I do like!) and several of her One Tree Hill co-stars feature in this film. The film is TV-PG

A Christmas Mystery

This is another “on the whim” watch, but it’s fun. There’s a mystery (obviously) that made me doubt a character, but of course, this could be because I watched something just prior to this that made the good guy a bad one! The film is TV-13

Christmas with a Prince

Like anything about royals, this one goes over-the-top in its romantics, but again, it’s cute. Also the main dude reminds me of Carlos PenaVega. The film is TV-G/PG

Coming Home for Christmas

Saw this one several years ago, and thought it was interesting. It has plenty of Christmas cheer, but opts for a more complicated plot about a family who isn’t exactly “one big happy.” The film is TV-PG

Falling for Christmas

Saw this one on a whim a year or more ago, and it’s a sweet one about skating. Plus Niall Matter co-stars! The film is TV-PG

Love at the Christmas Table

I’m probably the only one on planet Christmas movie who doesn’t love this one. It’s a favorite of so many viewers and features Danica McKellar as a familiar face leading lady. The film is TV-G/PG

The Spirit of Christmas

This is another one everyone loves. I like it fine, but it’s not a swoony must-rewatch favorite of mine. Jen Lilley co-stars about a woman who falls for, you guessed it, a spirit. The film is TV-PG

A Very Country Christmas

Haven’t seen this one, but it sounds cute, and has Bea Santos in the female lead, a name you might recognize from the Canadian show Murdoch Mysteries. The film is TV-PG

Photos: Alamy Stock Photos | Hallmark (Crown) Media (x1)

Have you seen any of these? Which ones do you re-watch time and again? Share all of your favorite Christmas movie thoughts below! Let’s talk.

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