If, like us, you are looking forward to equal amounts of partying and resting this Christmas, then you are probably already compiling your list of the best films to watch over the festive break.
While potentially a little hungover with mulled wine in hand, of course.
In a bid to save you from endlessly scrolling through Netflix – and the arguments that come with it – we rounded up some of the best films to watch during the most wonderful time of the year.
Remotes at the ready….
12 of the best Christmas films to add to your watch list
1. A Bad Moms Christmas (2017)
Find the festive season as a parent stressful enough? You’ll relate to this festive follow-up to Bad Moms – Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell and Kathryn Hahn try to find the time to enjoy Christmas as they find out what it’s like having their bad moms on Christmas day.
Streaming now on Amazon Prime (opens in new tab).
2. It’s A Wonderful Life (1946)
Frank Capra’s iconic film is argued to be one of the best Christmas movies of all time. The classic comedy-drama with James Stewart has been nominated for six Academy Awards so it is certainly one to add to the list.
Trigger warning: Suicide.
The plot centers around one man’s contemplations of suicide on Christmas eve after making a business error. But, in true Christmas spirit, an angel’s arrival shows him how much better life is with him in it.
It’s on at the Everyman cinema (opens in new tab) if you want to add it to the list of best things to do in London this Christmas. (opens in new tab)
Streaming now on Amazon Prime (opens in new tab)and on All4 (opens in new tab).
3. Happiest Season (2020)
This is at the top of my watch list this Christmas. The joyous festive rom-com, starring Kristen Stewart and Mackenzie Davis (who make a winning couple) is an inclusive twist on a typical Christmas movie.
Abby (who isn’t Christmas’ number one fan) joins her journalist girlfriend Harper on her journey home for Christmas. There are plans to propose, but Abby soon finds out her girlfriend’s family is completely unaware she is gay. And that’s just the start of it.
Streaming now on Amazon Prime (opens in new tab), Hulu (opens in new tab) and on Sky Store. (opens in new tab)
4. The Holiday (2006)
A true Christmas classic, is it really the holidays without watching – The Holiday? Starring Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet and Jude law, two women on opposite sides of the world are both having their fair share of relationship drama. In a last-minute decision, they decide to swap homes for Christmas. Finding love in their new location, what is going to happen to the romance when they have to return home?
If you really want to get in the festive mood, you can catch it at the Everyman Cinema. (opens in new tab)
Available to steam on Amazon Prime. (opens in new tab)
5. On the Rocks (2020)
Bill Murray plays the father to Rashida Jones (Laura), who fears her husband Dean (Marlon Wayans) may be up to no good. Her retired art dealer father encourages her to find out if her suspicions are true. Although she does feel it is all in her head, together they go through a series of detective-like adventures that end up being pure joy. Much like their beguiling father-daughter relationship.
Available on Apple TV+ (opens in new tab)
6. Little Women (2019)
A spectacular adaptation of 19th-century author Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel. Little Women centres around about four New England sisters living in poverty during the American Civil War. Saorise Ronan plays heroine Jo and Emma Watson (opens in new tab) plays her elder sister Meg.
Florence Pugh has been making headlines this year for her role in Don’t Worry Darling – opening up about the body pressure (opens in new tab) and losing weight before her first role. But in Little Women, she makes the character of the vain and selfish Amy into a much more complex and sympathetic character than in other adaptations. Timothée Chalamet plays the charming next-door neighbour Laurie, and Meryl Streep plays rich Aunt March. It’s a fantastic cast for an absolute classic.
Available to stream on Netflix (opens in new tab), Amazon Prime (opens in new tab) and Apple TV. (opens in new tab)
7. Love Actually (2003)
This one can get you in the festive spirit just thinking about it. It captures the spirit of Christmas in London, as it follows the lives of eight couples as they navigate their romantic lives before Christmas comes. Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson and Colin Firth – it will forever be a classic.
Available to stream on Amazon Prime (opens in new tab)and rent on Google Play. (opens in new tab)
8. Holidate (2020)
I love this film. I’m usually more of a festive classic kind of girl, but I really believe Holidate has that accolade written in its future. Emma Roberts is single for Christmas and her mother is trying to set her up with everyone she meets. So, she decides to ask a stranger to be her pretend boyfriend for Christmas. But in true Christmas spirit, it doesn’t stay that way…
Available to watch on Netflix. (opens in new tab)
9. Falling For Christmas (2022)
It’s Lindsay Lohan’s much-awaited comeback, playing the daughter of a hotel mogul. Her Instagram-obsessed boyfriend takes her skiing in the mountains to propose. But it all goes horribly wrong and in a terrible accident Lohan loses her memory. Luckily, it’s the moment that makes her, as all of a sudden the spoiled heiress is thrown into a new world. Now living in a much more cosy B&B stay run by a widowed husband and his young daughter.
Available to stream on Netflix (opens in new tab) now.
10. Office Christmas Party (2016)
If you thought your office party was wild, this is on a whole other level. Going against the boss’ wishes, an office party to impress a client gets way out of hand and it’s destroyed in the process. Starring Jennifer Aniston, Kate McKinnon and Vanessa Bayer – to name just a few.
Streaming now on Netflix (opens in new tab), Amazon Prime (opens in new tab) and Apple TV. (opens in new tab)
11. Die Hard (1988)
A festive favourite, but the one that also causes the most debate – can it really be called a Christmas film? John McClane takes on a bunch of civilians, doesn’t sound too festive? He writes Ho, Ho, Ho with their blood, so that’s my festive argument.
Available to stream on Amazon Prime (opens in new tab) and Disney Plus. (opens in new tab)
12. Last Christmas
Starring Game of Thrones’ Emilia Clarke and Crazy Rich Asians’ Henry Golding. Clarke plays Kate – a hopeful singer who works as an Elf in Covent Garden. Golding (Tom) shakes up her life in this gorgeously messy rom-com. Kate is sofa-surfing and causing chaos and her friends are losing their patience.
Available on BBC iPlayer (opens in new tab), Amazon Prime (opens in new tab) and Apple TV. (opens in new tab)