Where to Stream Your Favorite Holiday Shows and Movies

Lisa Milbrand
·5 min read

Lots of the classics are available on demand. You just have to know where to look.

In the old days, we were beholden to the TV holiday-movie-and-special schedulers for watching our favorite Christmas shows, but those days are gone. Every year, streaming services seem to expand their catalog of must-see Christmas classics, allowing us to stream our favorite holiday shows and movies whenever we feel like it.

At the risk of throwing a damper on your Christmas parade, there are still two cartoon classics that have yet to stream freely. For now, our viewing of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman is still at the whims of the CBS schedulers. For just about everything else, here's a guide to the classic holiday movies and specials streaming on the most popular services this season.

Disney+

It's hardly shocking that you'll find a ton of kid-friendly holiday specials and movies on Disney+:

  • Home Alone: Macaulay Culkin protects his house from the most incompetent burglars on the planet. The New York sequel's here too.

  • Miracle on 34th Street: Is Santa real? Disney+ has the classic so you can figure it out.

  • Mickey's Christmas Carol: Start your kids on the classic Dickens tale early with this Disney-fied retelling.

  • The Muppet Christmas Carol: Michael Caine is Scrooge in this irreverent version of the classic tale.

  • Nightmare Before Christmas: Halloween + Christmas = spooky good fun.

  • Prep & Landing: This decade-old special offers a clever take on how Santa gets gifts to all the kids around the world.

  • The Santa Clause: This is the one where Tim Allen becomes the next Santa. You'll also find its sundry sequels here, including the newest, The Santa Clauses.

  • Sound of Music: Not exactly a Christmas movie, but this one was broadcast on Christmas so many times, it feels like it is.

HBO Max

HBO seems to specialize in modern funny holiday movies but has an animated favorite to round it out.

  • A Christmas Story: Follow the travails of youngster Ralphie dreaming of his ideal Christmas gift, and check out the 2022 sequel, A Christmas Story Christmas here, too.

  • Elf: It isn't Christmas if you don't get to see Will Ferrell scream "Santa!"

  • National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation: Join the Griswolds in their chaotic quest for the perfect celebration.

  • The Polar Express: This animated adventure starring Tom Hanks takes you by rail to the North Pole.

Hulu

Hulu is loaded with a bunch of Hallmark-esque movies, and has upped its game by acquiring more classic options this year:

  • A Christmas Carol: Hulu has this 2019 darker miniseries for your viewing pleasure.

  • Deck the Halls: Danny DeVito and Matthew Broderick clash as neighbors in this hilarious Christmastime film.

  • Die Hard: If you're on the Die-Hard-IS-a-Christmas-movie team, watch it here.

  • Elf: Will Farrell's fish-out-of-water comedy is a perennial big hit.

  • George Balanchine's The Nutcracker: This ballet classic from 1993 features Macaulay Culkin as the prince!

  • Home Alone: Watch Kevin foil his nemeses in this heartwarming original (but not the sequel).

  • Miracle on 34th Street: Natalie Wood and Maureen O'Hara determine, once and or all, that Santa is real.

  • The Muppet Christmas Carol: Dicken's novel goes to the puppets in this 1992 musical film adaptation.

  • National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation: Stumbling, bumbling Clark Griswold can't catch a break, even at Christmas.

  • The Polar Express: All aboard for a rollicking animated adventure to the North Pole.

Netflix

Netflix has focused on producing its own new shows and movies with a holiday theme, but you'll find these classic holiday options, too:

  • Klaus: An Academy Award-nominated film where a greedy postman and an isolated toymaker become friends and together bring Christmas to a sad, small town.

  • White Christmas: This Bing Crosby classic is the source of everyone's "white Christmas" dreams.

  • Fireplace for Your Home: Netflix offers three cool options for a crackling fire to blaze in the background.

Peacock

Peacock is producing its own shows but carries a few holiday specials for your streaming pleasure:

  • Love Actually: Britain's best actors falling in and out of love. What's not to love?

  • The Grinch: This 2018 animated, movie-length, remake is a worthy modern take on the classic.

  • How the Grinch Stole Christmas: The original cartoon version with Boris Karloff as the Grinch is the one we consider the best.

Other Streaming Services

These classic Christmas shows are sprinkled among other streaming services:

  • Bad Moms: For when you need a break from the baking, shopping, and merry-making, go to this one on TNT and TBS.

  • Bad Santa: To take a trip to the dark side of the holiday, watch Billy Bob Thornton in the title role on Pluto TV.

  • Charlie Brown Christmas: Apple TV has a monopoly on the Peanuts vault, including this endearing story of Charlie Brown and his sad little tree.

  • A Christmas Carol: If you want the 1984 classic starring George C. Scott, you'll find it on Starz.

  • It's a Wonderful Life: Amazon Prime streams this ultimate holiday movie about a man who gets angelic help remembering how important he is to the people in his life.

  • Scrooged: Watch the Bill Murray modernization of A Christmas Carol on Paramount+.

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