20 Best Christmas Movies of All Time (Ranked)

Some Christmas movies are entertaining for a season. Others become part of Christmas itself.

They are the films we quote while decorating the tree, put on while wrapping presents, watch with the same people every December, and somehow enjoy even though we already know every scene.

But which Christmas movies truly deserve to be called the best of all time?

For this ranking, we considered more than popularity. The strongest Christmas movies combine memorable characters, great storytelling, rewatchability, holiday atmosphere, cultural staying power, and that hard-to-define feeling that makes a movie seem especially magical in December.

From black-and-white Hollywood classics to modern animation, here are our 20 best Christmas movies of all time — ranked from #20 all the way to #1.

If 20 movies aren’t nearly enough for your December watchlist, explore our enormous collection of 100 Christmas Movies to Brighten Your Holiday Season.

🎬 20 Best Christmas Movies at a Glance

Rank	Movie	Year	Best For
1	It’s a Wonderful Life	1946	Heart and Christmas spirit
2	Miracle on 34th Street	1947	Santa magic
3	Home Alone	1990	Family comedy
4	A Christmas Story	1983	Christmas nostalgia
5	White Christmas	1954	Music and old-fashioned charm
6	Elf	2003	Modern Christmas comedy
7	The Muppet Christmas Carol	1992	Dickens for the whole family
8	National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation	1989	Holiday chaos
9	The Shop Around the Corner	1940	Classic Christmas romance
10	Klaus	2019	Modern animation
11	The Nightmare Before Christmas	1993	Unconventional holiday magic
12	Love Actually	2003	Christmas romance
13	The Santa Clause	1994	North Pole fun
14	Scrooged	1988	Dark Christmas comedy
15	How the Grinch Stole Christmas	2000	Whoville spectacle
16	Arthur Christmas	2011	Family animation
17	The Polar Express	2004	Christmas Eve wonder
18	The Bishop’s Wife	1947	Old Hollywood warmth
19	Christmas in Connecticut	1945	Vintage Christmas comedy
20	The Holiday	2006	Cozy Christmas romance

⭐ How We Ranked the Best Christmas Movies

There is no scientific formula for choosing the greatest Christmas movie.

And that’s part of the fun.

A movie that means Christmas to one family might barely make another family’s December watchlist. Still, several qualities helped determine our rankings:

Christmas atmosphere — Does it actually feel like Christmas?
Storytelling — Would the movie still be good without the decorations and snow?
Memorable characters — Are there characters we look forward to seeing again?
Rewatchability — Can you happily watch it every December?
Cultural impact — Has it influenced how Christmas appears in popular culture?
Emotional impact — Does it make us laugh, cry, believe, or appreciate the people around us?
Longevity — Has the movie survived changing tastes and generations?

Most importantly, we asked one simple question:

Does Christmas feel a little more like Christmas after watching it?

Now, on with the countdown.

🎄 20. The Holiday (2006)

Few modern Christmas romances deliver coziness quite as effectively as The Holiday.

Two women living on opposite sides of the Atlantic decide to swap homes over Christmas after disappointing romantic experiences. Amanda travels from Los Angeles to an idyllic English cottage, while Iris finds herself in a glamorous California home.

Naturally, neither holiday goes according to plan.

There are snowy lanes, roaring fireplaces, Christmas parties, unexpected friendships, and plenty of romance.

It may not revolve around Santa Claus or saving Christmas, but The Holiday has become a December comfort movie for viewers who want something warm, romantic, and wonderfully cozy.

Best for: Christmas date night.

🎁 19. Christmas in Connecticut (1945)

Long before Christmas romantic comedies became a genre of their own, there was Christmas in Connecticut.

Barbara Stanwyck plays Elizabeth Lane, a successful magazine writer famous for describing her supposedly perfect domestic life on a Connecticut farm.

There is just one problem.

Almost everything she writes is fictional.

When her publisher decides she should host a returning war hero for Christmas at her imaginary country home, Elizabeth must somehow transform herself into the woman her readers believe she is.

The resulting deception produces romance, comedy, Christmas dinner disasters, and delightful old-Hollywood holiday atmosphere.

Best for: Vintage Christmas comedy fans.

👼 18. The Bishop’s Wife (1947)

Cary Grant as a charming angel at Christmastime?

That is already a promising beginning.

In The Bishop’s Wife, an overworked bishop becomes consumed with raising money for a new cathedral. After praying for guidance, he receives help from an angel named Dudley — although Dudley doesn’t necessarily help in the way anyone expects.

The movie is gentle, funny, romantic, and surprisingly thoughtful about what really deserves our time and attention.

Its message about relationships, kindness, and remembering what matters fits Christmas beautifully.

Best for: A quiet evening with an old Hollywood classic.

🚂 17. The Polar Express (2004)

A mysterious train appears outside a boy’s house late on Christmas Eve.

Its destination?

The North Pole.

Based on Chris Van Allsburg’s beloved children’s book, The Polar Express turns the journey to Santa’s home into a sweeping animated Christmas adventure filled with snowy landscapes, spectacular train rides, elves, hot chocolate, and the mysterious sound of a silver sleigh bell.

Its animation style has always divided viewers, but its sense of Christmas Eve wonder is undeniable.

For children captivated by the question of whether Santa is real, few movies embrace the magic of believing quite so completely.

Best for: Christmas Eve with children.

🎅 16. Arthur Christmas (2011)

How does Santa Claus possibly deliver billions of presents in a single night?

Arthur Christmas has an answer.

Behind the familiar sleigh-and-reindeer legend is an enormous high-tech Christmas operation capable of reaching children all around the world.

But when one child’s present is accidentally left behind, Santa’s enthusiastic and somewhat clumsy son Arthur refuses to accept that a single missed gift doesn’t matter.

His mission to deliver it before Christmas morning becomes the heart of the story.

Funny, imaginative, and unexpectedly touching, Arthur Christmas understands something essential about Santa Claus: every child matters.

You can discover more animated favorites in our guide to 12 Magical Christmas Cartoon Movies for All Ages.

Best for: A modern family Christmas movie night.

💚 15. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)

Jim Carrey’s Grinch doesn’t simply dislike Christmas.

He absolutely, spectacularly, theatrically despises it.

Ron Howard’s live-action adaptation transforms Whoville into an enormous candy-colored Christmas wonderland overflowing with decorations, presents, hairstyles, costumes, and wonderfully bizarre details.

Carrey throws himself completely into the role, turning the Grinch into one of modern Christmas cinema’s most recognizable characters.

Underneath all the silliness is Dr. Seuss’s enduring idea that Christmas cannot be reduced to shopping, decorations, or presents.

The Grinch discovers that the holiday means something more.

Best for: Big, colorful Christmas fun.

👻 14. Scrooged (1988)

Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol has inspired an extraordinary number of Christmas movies.

Scrooged transports the story into the television business of the 1980s.

Bill Murray plays Frank Cross, a cynical network executive who has become so consumed by ratings and success that he has forgotten almost everything that makes life worthwhile.

Then the ghosts arrive.

Darkly funny and occasionally surprisingly strange, Scrooged puts a sharp modern spin on Dickens while preserving the story’s essential message about generosity, compassion, and second chances.

Best for: Adults who like their Christmas movies slightly cynical.

🎅 13. The Santa Clause (1994)

Scott Calvin wasn’t planning on becoming Santa Claus.

Then Santa falls off his roof.

Scott puts on the famous red suit, climbs into the sleigh, and finishes the Christmas Eve deliveries. Only afterward does he discover that by putting on the suit, he apparently accepted the responsibilities of Santa himself.

Soon he is growing a beard, gaining weight, craving milk and cookies, and discovering that the North Pole is very real.

Tim Allen’s transformation from skeptical suburban dad to Father Christmas helped turn The Santa Clause into one of the defining family Christmas movies of the 1990s.

Find it alongside other festive favorites in 10 Magical Christmas Movies on Disney for All Ages.

Best for: Families who want plenty of Santa magic.

❤️ 12. Love Actually (2003)

Few modern romantic movies are as closely associated with December as Love Actually.

Set in London during the weeks leading up to Christmas, the movie follows a sprawling collection of interconnected stories about romance, marriage, friendship, heartbreak, family, and loneliness.

Not every storyline is equally cheerful — and this is definitely a Christmas movie aimed at adults rather than young children.

But Christmas is woven through almost every corner of the film, from school concerts and office parties to airports, presents, decorations, and last-minute declarations of love.

Its mixture of humor, sentimentality, romance, and melancholy has made it a December staple.

For more romantic choices, visit our Top 10 Romantic Christmas Movies to Cozy Up With This Holiday Season.

Best for: A grown-up Christmas movie night.

🎃 11. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Is it a Halloween movie?

Is it a Christmas movie?

Why choose?

The Nightmare Before Christmas follows Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, who becomes fascinated after accidentally discovering Christmas Town.

Jack decides that he and the residents of Halloween Town should take over Christmas.

Predictably, their understanding of festive cheer is a little unusual.

The stop-motion animation, unforgettable character designs, Danny Elfman’s songs, snowy Christmas imagery, and wonderfully strange premise have given the movie a holiday identity entirely its own.

It also makes a perfect bridge between Halloween and Christmas.

Stop-motion fans can find more festive favorites in 12 Magical Christmas Claymation Movies.

Best for: Anyone who likes their Christmas with a little Halloween mixed in.

✉️ 10. Klaus (2019)

It is extraordinarily difficult for a new Christmas movie to feel like it has always existed.

Klaus somehow manages it.

A spoiled postal academy student named Jesper is sent to the miserable northern town of Smeerensburg, where two feuding families have spent generations making one another miserable.

There he encounters Klaus, a reclusive woodsman with a house full of handmade toys.

A simple act of kindness begins spreading through the town.

What follows is an imaginative reworking of the Santa Claus legend that explores how generosity can inspire more generosity.

Beautiful animation, humor, memorable characters, and a genuinely emotional conclusion make Klaus one of the strongest Christmas movies of the modern era.

Best for: Families looking for a newer Christmas classic.

💌 9. The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

Before email, dating apps, and online messaging, two people could fall in love through anonymous letters.

That’s exactly what happens in The Shop Around the Corner.

James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan play coworkers in a Budapest shop who constantly irritate one another, completely unaware that they are also the anonymous pen pals who have been falling in love.

The story unfolds toward Christmas, giving the film a lovely mixture of romance, shop-window nostalgia, humor, loneliness, and holiday warmth.

Decades later, the basic premise would inspire You’ve Got Mail.

But for Christmas atmosphere and old-Hollywood charm, the original remains difficult to beat.

Best for: Classic movie lovers and hopeless romantics.

💡 8. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)

Clark Griswold wants the perfect family Christmas.

That is his first mistake.

He wants the lights to work. He wants his Christmas bonus. He wants a beautiful tree. He wants the relatives to behave.

Christmas has other plans.

From the enormous Christmas tree to the disastrously ambitious light display and Cousin Eddie’s unforgettable arrival, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation turns holiday stress into comedy.

Perhaps the secret to its longevity is that underneath the exaggerated disasters is something very recognizable: the enormous expectations people place on Christmas.

Sometimes everything goes wrong.

And somehow, it is still Christmas.

If laughter is the main goal of your movie night, browse our 10 Funny Christmas Movies to Sleigh Your Holiday Blues.

Best for: Adults and older families who enjoy chaotic Christmas comedy.

🕯️ 7. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)

There have been countless adaptations of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

Only one has Gonzo playing Charles Dickens.

Michael Caine stars as Ebenezer Scrooge and — crucially — plays the role completely seriously. Around him, Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, Rizzo, Statler, Waldorf, and the rest of the Muppets bring humor and music to Victorian London.

The combination should be ridiculous.

Instead, it is wonderful.

The comedy never overwhelms the sadness and humanity of Scrooge’s journey, making this one of the rare versions that children and adults can enjoy equally.

Best for: A family-friendly Dickens Christmas.

🧝 6. Elf (2003)

Buddy has spent his entire life believing he is an elf.

There are some clues that this might not be true.

For one thing, he is considerably taller than everyone else at the North Pole.

After learning that he is human, Buddy travels to New York City in search of his biological father.

Will Ferrell’s completely sincere performance is what makes Elf work. Buddy doesn’t wink at the absurdity around him. He genuinely loves Christmas, smiling, singing, decorating, gift-giving, and spreading cheer wherever he goes.

New York provides the perfect contrast to his relentless enthusiasm.

Funny enough for a Christmas comedy and sweet enough for a family movie, Elf has earned its place among the modern holiday classics.

Best for: Almost any Christmas movie night.

❄️ 5. White Christmas (1954)

If your idea of Christmas involves snow, old-fashioned glamour, elaborate musical numbers, gorgeous costumes, and Bing Crosby singing Irving Berlin songs, White Christmas delivers all of it.

Crosby and Danny Kaye play successful entertainers who become involved with a singing sister act played by Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen.

Their travels eventually bring everyone to a Vermont inn owned by their former commanding officer.

Romance, friendship, music, and Christmas nostalgia follow.

The movie is glossy, sentimental, unapologetically old-fashioned, and almost impossible to separate from the image of a picture-perfect mid-century Christmas.

Best for: Christmas music lovers.

🎁 4. A Christmas Story (1983)

All Ralphie Parker wants for Christmas is a Red Ryder BB gun.

Unfortunately, nearly every adult he encounters seems convinced this will end badly.

A Christmas Story captures childhood Christmas with an unusually specific mixture of anticipation, embarrassment, family chaos, disappointment, imagination, and joy.

The leg lamp. The pink bunny suit. The frozen flagpole. The department-store Santa.

Scene after scene has become part of Christmas popular culture.

But the movie’s greatest strength may be its understanding of childhood memory. Christmases from long ago rarely survive in our minds exactly as they happened. They become larger, funnier, warmer, and stranger.

A Christmas Story feels like one of those memories brought to life.

Best for: Nostalgia and family comedy.

🏠 3. Home Alone (1990)

Eight-year-old Kevin McCallister makes a Christmas wish that his family would disappear.

The next morning, they are gone.

Not because of Christmas magic, exactly. They accidentally left for Paris without him.

Kevin initially loves his freedom. He eats junk food, watches forbidden movies, jumps on the bed, and enjoys having an enormous house to himself.

Then two burglars decide the apparently empty McCallister home would make an ideal target.

What follows is one of the most famous slapstick showdowns in family-movie history.

Yet Home Alone works because it isn’t merely about elaborate booby traps. Underneath the comedy is a surprisingly heartfelt story about loneliness, forgiveness, family, and discovering that getting exactly what you wished for isn’t always what you wanted.

More than three decades after its release, the McCallister house, John Williams’ music, snowy Chicago streets, church scenes, Christmas lights, and frantic airport sprint still feel inseparable from Christmas movie season.

Best for: The ultimate family Christmas comedy.

🎅 2. Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

What if the department-store Santa really were Santa Claus?

That’s the beautifully simple idea behind Miracle on 34th Street.

Edmund Gwenn plays Kris Kringle, who becomes Macy’s Santa Claus and calmly insists that he is the real thing.

Young Susan has been raised to approach life practically. Fairy tales and make-believe don’t have much room in her world.

Kris would like to change that.

Soon the question of his identity becomes much bigger than a department-store promotion, eventually reaching a courtroom.

Miracle on 34th Street works because it never asks viewers to choose completely between skepticism and belief. Instead, it leaves just enough room for Christmas magic to slip through.

The movie was selected for preservation in the Library of Congress National Film Registry, reflecting its lasting importance in American film history.

More than 75 years after its release, Kris Kringle still makes believing feel wonderfully reasonable.

Best for: Pure Santa Claus magic.

🏆 1. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

There could only be one movie at the top.

Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life isn’t simply a great Christmas movie.

It is a great movie that happens to reach its emotional climax at Christmas.

James Stewart plays George Bailey, a man who has repeatedly sacrificed his own ambitions to help his family and the people of Bedford Falls.

When circumstances leave George convinced that everyone would be better off without him, an angel named Clarence gives him the chance to see what the world would have looked like if George Bailey had never existed.

What he discovers changes everything.

The movie can be surprisingly dark before reaching its famous Christmas conclusion. That darkness is important. The joy of the ending matters because George has traveled through genuine despair to reach it.

The final celebration isn’t really about money.

It is about community.

It’s about family.

It’s about friendship.

It’s about discovering that the small acts of kindness we barely remember may have shaped other people’s lives in ways we never understood.

The American Film Institute has repeatedly recognized It’s a Wonderful Life among the most important and inspiring American films, while the Library of Congress added it to the National Film Registry in 1990.

But statistics and accolades aren’t really why it belongs at #1.

It belongs here because when the people of Bedford Falls crowd into George Bailey’s home on Christmas Eve, the movie captures something almost every great Christmas story is trying to say:

A good life is measured by the love we give and the people whose lives we touch.

That’s Christmas.

And that’s why It’s a Wonderful Life is our best Christmas movie of all time.

🏅 Best Christmas Movies by Category

If choosing from 20 still feels impossible, start with the mood you’re in.

Best Christmas movie overall: It’s a Wonderful Life

Best Santa movie: Miracle on 34th Street

Best family Christmas comedy: Home Alone

Best nostalgic Christmas movie: A Christmas Story

Best Christmas musical: White Christmas

Best modern Christmas comedy: Elf

Best Dickens adaptation: The Muppet Christmas Carol

Best animated Christmas movie: Klaus

Best Christmas romance: The Shop Around the Corner

Best modern Christmas romance: The Holiday

Best unconventional Christmas movie: The Nightmare Before Christmas

Best Christmas Eve movie for kids: The Polar Express

🍿 What Christmas Movie Should I Watch Tonight?

Still can’t decide?

Try this:

Want to cry happy tears?
Watch It’s a Wonderful Life.

Want Santa magic?
Choose Miracle on 34th Street.

Watching with the family?
Put on Home Alone or The Muppet Christmas Carol.

Want to laugh?
Try Elf or Christmas Vacation.

Want old-fashioned Christmas atmosphere?
Watch White Christmas.

Want romance?
Choose The Holiday.

Want beautiful animation?
Watch Klaus.

Want something a little strange?
Choose The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Want a huge selection instead?
Browse our Christmas Movies hub or start working through our 100 Christmas Movies watchlist.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

What is considered the best Christmas movie of all time?

There is no universally agreed-upon winner, but It’s a Wonderful Life remains one of the most celebrated Christmas films ever made and takes the #1 position on our list.

Its combination of excellent filmmaking, emotional depth, memorable performances, and an unforgettable Christmas Eve conclusion has helped it endure across generations.

What is the best Christmas movie for families?

Home Alone is difficult to beat for an energetic family movie night, while The Muppet Christmas Carol, Arthur Christmas, Klaus, and The Santa Clause are excellent alternatives.

For more choices, see our 20 Heartwarming Family Christmas Movies for All Ages.

What is the funniest Christmas movie?

Our pick for the best broadly appealing Christmas comedy is Elf.

For adults and older viewers, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation remains one of the funniest portrayals of a family Christmas going spectacularly wrong.

What is the best classic Christmas movie?

It’s a Wonderful Life and Miracle on 34th Street are our top two, but White Christmas, The Shop Around the Corner, The Bishop’s Wife, and Christmas in Connecticut are all wonderful choices.

You can discover even more in our 20 Classic Christmas Movies to Warm Your Heart This Holiday Season.

What is the best animated Christmas movie?

Klaus takes our top spot among animated feature films.

Other excellent choices include Arthur Christmas, The Polar Express, and The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Is Die Hard a Christmas movie?

And so we arrive at the annual Christmas movie debate.

Die Hard takes place during a Christmas party on Christmas Eve, and Christmas imagery and music appear throughout the film. Plenty of viewers therefore consider it part of their holiday movie tradition.

Others argue that Christmas merely provides the setting for what is fundamentally an action movie.

Our solution?

If watching Die Hard makes it feel like Christmas to you, put it on the Christmas watchlist.

We left it outside our main top 20 because this particular ranking favors movies in which Christmas itself is more central to the story and emotional themes.

Do TV Christmas specials count as Christmas movies?

Sometimes lists combine movies and television specials, which is why titles such as A Charlie Brown Christmas, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and the 1966 How the Grinch Stole Christmas! frequently appear on Christmas movie rankings.

For this list, we concentrated primarily on feature-length films.

That doesn’t make the great television specials any less essential to Christmas.

✨ What Makes a Great Christmas Movie?

The interesting thing about this list is how different the movies are.

It’s a Wonderful Life is nothing like Elf.

Klaus is nothing like White Christmas.

Home Alone is certainly nothing like The Bishop’s Wife.

Yet underneath the snow, Santa suits, Christmas trees, department stores, presents, carols, and twinkling lights, many of them return to the same ideas.

Family matters.

Kindness matters.

People can change.

Lonely people can find somewhere to belong.

Broken relationships can be repaired.

Generosity can spread.

And sometimes the person who believes Christmas has been completely ruined discovers that the things that matter most were there all along.

Perhaps that’s the real reason the best Christmas movies survive.

We don’t watch them every year because we’ve forgotten how they end.

We watch them because we know exactly how they end — and we want to feel that way again.

Turn on the tree lights, make the hot chocolate, grab a blanket, and enjoy the show. 🎄🍿