The best Christmas movies for every mood

[December 20, 2024]  By LINDSEY BAHR and JAKE COYLE

‘Tis the season for spirited and winless debates about what the best Christmas movie is. No one needs us to remind you about the obvious holiday movies playing on repeat on cable, whether it's "It's a Wonderful Life", “Home Alone" or “Love, Actually," or even those holiday adjacent classics like “Eyes Wide Shut” and “The Godfather.” But perhaps you are looking to go beyond the obvious this year (sorry, “Christmas Story," “White Christmas” etc, etc).

Associated Press Film Writers Jake Coyle and Lindsey Bahr have you covered with the best Christmas films for every mood.

A movie that feels like a Christmas movie but isn’t, really

“Grand Budapest Hotel”: Truthfully, there’s nothing outside of a little snow to make Wes Anderson’s 2014 delight a Christmas movie. But I don’t think there’s another movie that better resembles the experience of opening a present than “Grand Budapest Hotel.” Unwrap Anderson’s intricate designs and the movie’s Russian doll-like narratives, and smile. (Available for digital rental) — Coyle

Best movie for feeling fancy

“Metropolitan” (1990): Who among us hasn’t dreamt of doing debutante season in New York? Maybe don’t answer that, but Whit Stillman’s “Metropolitan,” about a few privileged youths on the Upper East Side, is the ideal film to turn on when you’re craving something that feels like an elegant evening on the town but doesn't require breaking out the white tie and ball gowns. (Streaming on Criterion, MAX, Hulu and Prime Video) —Bahr

Best performance next to felt

“A Muppets Christmas Carol” (1992): It’s one thing to do Dickens with, you know, other humans. But Michael Caine gives an Oscar-worthy performance as Ebenezer Scrooge while sharing the screen with the likes of Beaker and Dr. Bunsen Honeydew. To be fair, though, Gonzo the Great and Rizzo the Rat are also really good in this. (Streaming on Disney+) — Coyle

Best Christmas cry

“The Umbrellas of Cherbourg” (1964): Jacques Demy’s technicolor musical isn’t exclusively set at Christmas, but its final tearjerker scene at that snowy gas station is enough for me. The whole candy-colored experience, from Catherine Deneuve’s whimsical bows to Michel Legrand’s sweeping, melancholy score just feels right around the holidays. (Streaming on The Criterion Channel) —Bahr

The best L.A. Christmas movie

“Kiss Kiss Bang Bang”: Yuletide traditions don’t normally include a motormouth Robert Downey Jr., but Shane Black’s 2005 neo-noir black comedy is worth revisiting perennially whether or not it technically qualifies as a Christmas movie. In “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,” about a thief-turned-actor in Los Angeles, Christmas is more of a decorative ornament set ironically against all the deliciously unwholesome seediness. (Available for digital rental) — Coyle

Best house swapping fantasy

“The Holiday” (2006): Ok, so the cozy English cottage isn’t real, but what is? The premise? The romances? Cameron Diaz’s sprint through snowy fields and country roads in stilettos? Mr. Napkin Head? (Actually, maybe Mr. Napkin Head). The thing is it doesn’t really matter, does it? Nancy Meyers’ romantic fantasy is never trying to be anything other than a delightful movie, a little too earnest, a little too glossy and an unabashed ode to the classic movies Meyers loves right down to Eli Wallach teaching a new generation about the “meet cute.” (Streaming on Hulu and Prime Video) —Bahr

A great Christmas thriller not named “Die Hard”

“Three Days of the Condor”: I’ll take any excuse to rewatch Sydney Pollack’s 1975 spy thriller with Robert Redford and Faye Dunaway. But, like in “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,” the Christmas backdrop isn’t accidental. If the holidays are the ultimate time of togetherness, “Three Days of the Condor” questions what that means in a post-Watergate world. (Streaming on Paramount+) — Coyle

Best recent kids Christmas movie

“Klaus”: There’s such a steady stream of mediocre or worse holiday movies that it can be easy to miss when a gem arrives. Sergio Pablos’ 2019 animated Netflix film was basically an origin story for Santa Claus by way of a desperate postman stationed in a remote northern village. Further proof, along with “Miracle on 34th Street,” that the best Christmas movies hinge on the postal service. (Streaming on Netflix) — Coyle

This image released by Criterion shows Bill Murray in a scene from the 2014 film "The Grand Budapest Hotel." (Criterion via AP)

For the under-five set

“Shaun the Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas” (2021): Clocking in at only 30 minutes, this is the perfect film for the littlest ones in the house. It’s sweet, funny and adventurous and not even a little bit scary (unless you fear flying sleighs and botched recipes). (Streaming on Netflix) —Bahr

Best general holiday-period movie

“Nobody’s Fool”: Robert Benton’s 1994 Richard Russo adaptation, with Paul Newman, spans Thanksgiving through New Year’s Eve. And while that covers Christmas, the richness of “Nobody’s Fool” exceeds its vaguely holiday setting. It’s a movie more about daily smalltown struggles and long-term regrets, yet its warmth could match that any of any more traditional Christmas movie, and then some. That’s much owed to Newman, but there are countless great performances here, including Jessica Tandy (in her final film), a never better Bruce Willis and a young Phillip Seymour Hoffman as a sniveling police officer. It makes me happy just thinking about it. (Streaming on Kanopy, available for digital rental) — Coyle

For midcentury style and heartbreak

“Carol” (2015): Even if Rooney Mara didn’t catch Cate Blanchett’s eye while wearing a Santa hat behind the counter of a Manhattan department store, Todd Haynes’ “Carol” would still be one of the loveliest, most achingly tender Christmas movies around. Romance, heartbreak, plaids and martinis, “Carol” is truly flung out of space. (Streaming on Netflix, Paramount+ and MUBI) —Bahr

The ultimate TCM Christmas movie

“Christmas in Connecticut” (1945): You don’t have to watch it on TCM but it’s certainly a fitting place to catch this 1945 screwball classic, with Barbara Stanwyck. She plays a popular homemaking column writer whose false persona as a family woman with a Connecticut farm is challenged when her boss (Sydney Greenstreet) comes for Christmas dinner. As a rule, it’s good to watch everything with Greenstreet. But the central conceit of “Christmas in Connecticut” – that the perfect Christmas is a lie, and isn’t that fun – has proved remarkably durable. (Streaming on WatchTCM) — Coyle

For 19th century New England vibes

“Little Women” (1994 and 2019): Gillian Armstrong’s “Little Women” just feels like Christmas. Maybe part of that is because it came out around the holidays 30 years ago or that its DVD cover leans into it. But then you remember Beth’s piano, the girls stomping through the snow with their Christmas feast, the caroling, the return of their father, the fireplaces and nightcaps and it makes sense. Those wanting all of this with a side of dancing Chalamet, Greta Gerwig’s version is there for the taking too. (1994 version available for digital rental; 2019 streaming on Hulu) — Bahr

The very best Christmas movie

“The Shop Around the Corner” (1940): You can make a strong case for that other Jimmy Stewart Christmas movie. But in the knock-down, drag-out battle for the Christmas movie title, there’s no greater delight than Ernst Lubitsch’s timeless love story. One of the most charming movies ever made, partly because it doesn't shy away from real darkness, too. It also makes for a very effective drinking game if you sip something every time someone says “Mr. Matuschek.” (Streaming on WatchTCM and Max) — Coyle

“Miracle on 34th Street” (1947): It’s not even a remotely out of the box choice, but George Seaton’s “Miracle on 34th Street” endures as the platonic ideal of a Christmas movie. It’s strikingly modern for something that came out 77 years ago with Maureen O’Hara’s single working mom, Natalie Wood’s prematurely cynical New York kid and the litigious and capitalistic culture and yet it’s all full of hope and holiday spirit (and a healthy amount of glossy capitalism), taking us from the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade through Christmas Day. (Streaming on Disney+, Hulu and Prime Video) — Bahr

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