Say that you’re in the mood to watch something festive this Christmas. Netflix’s frothy best hardly lacks in holiday spirit, but gravitas? That’s another story. So…diving into the canon of classic Christmas movies it is! But before you press play on It’s a Wonderful Life, consider the alternatives. You’re likely well-versed in Frank Capra’s wintertime drama, and filmdom is filled with Christmastime tales for kids from 1 to 92. Why not try something a little different?
Much like Henry Travers’s guardian angel, we won’t lead you astray. Here, some of the best classic Christmas movies ever made—from can’t-miss favorites to more out-of-the-box selections.
The Thin Man (1934)
Should you like a film that’s only subliminally Christmas-y, look to this murder-mystery flick. Starring William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora, The Thin Man follows the married couple on a holiday break that takes them from San Francisco to New York. A retired, booze-soaked detective, Nick can’t help being called back into action when a murder takes place. The killer is revealed in a whodunit-style dinner party—and the costumes worn by Nora throughout the film are just to die for.
A Christmas Carol (1938)
If you’re a little out of touch with the real meaning of Christmas, this adaptation of Charles Dickens’s 1843 novella about crotchety Ebenezer Scrooge’s slow journey to locate his Christmas spirit will be just the thing. God bless us, every one!
Remember the Night (1940)
In Remember the Night, Barbara Stanwyck is arrested for shoplifting, and let out on bail by the New York district attorney (played by Fred MacMurray) to prevent her spending Christmas in jail. He soon takes a liking to her, but his mother does not—so Stanwyck opts to serve out her sentence.
The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
Jimmy Stewart stars opposite Margaret Sullavan in the charming love story that inspired Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks’s AOL-centered rom-com You’ve Got Mail: A man and a woman are at odds with each other, yet find themselves besotted by their respective mystery pen pals. Guess who’s on the other side of that envelope?
Holiday Inn (1942)
Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, and Marjorie Reynolds make holiday magic in this Irving Berlin movie-musical, for which the classic song “White Christmas” was written. The story is anchored by a sharp-edged love triangle, with Crosby, Astaire, and Reynolds playing members of a musical performance group.
Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
Not a Christmas movie exactly, but we have this film to thank for the quietly devastating tune “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” And at the Christmas Ball, Judy Garland (in a turn-of-the-century gigot-sleeve red velvet gown) gives us all a lesson in chic holiday dressing.
Christmas in Connecticut (1945)
This Christmas-y film is white with lies! Barbara Stanwyck stars yet again, now assuming the role of a columnist who chronicles her fictitious life as a housewife at a bucolic Connecticut farm. She’s found out and puts on a charade so as not to disappoint a fan: a celebrated war hero played by Dennis Morgan. Somewhere along the way the two fall in love, of course.
The Bishop’s Wife (1947)
Before we had Whitney Houston and Denzel Washington in The Preacher’s Wife in 1996, there was Loretta Young and Cary Grant’s The Bishop’s Wife. In it, Grant plays a Christmas angel sent to give a bishop’s strained marriage some celestial guidance.
It Happened on Fifth Avenue (1947)
In this film, a drifting war veteran (played by Don DeFore) finds himself squatting in a well-appointed Fifth Avenue townhouse owned by an out-of-town mogul, the world’s second-richest man. His presence goes unnoticed until a charming Gale Storm, playing the daughter of the owner, shows up unannounced. It’s not a B&E if you’re in love!
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
You’ve likely seen the 1994 film of the same name (starring the delightful Mara Wilson as the little girl who believed), but don’t let that deter you from watching the original—in which that faithful child is played by none other than the great Natalie Wood.
Holiday Affair (1949)
Look to this film for another Christmastime tale of a shoplifting damsel in distress—this time, a single mother and war widow played by Janet Leigh. The sales clerk, played by Robert Mitchum, can’t bring himself to turn her in and is ultimately held responsible. Then, because it’s Christmas, the two fall in love.
The Lemon Drop Kid (1951)
While most early holiday classics warm the heart, they are rarely out to get laughs. Enter the screwball comedy The Lemon Drop Kid, starring Bob Hope and Marilyn Maxwell and based on the short story of the same name. Around Christmas time, New York gangsters come to collect a $10,000 IOU from Hope’s character (shocker, he doesn’t have it), and comical mayhem ensues. Somewhere along the way, the Christmas classic “Silver Bells” is performed for the very first time.
White Christmas (1954)
Another can’t-miss Christmas musical with Bing Crosby. The movie also stars Danny Kaye, Vera-Ellen, and Rosemary Clooney (aunt of George!) in a colorful, feather-filled musical extravaganza you could watch for the Edith Head costumes alone.
Babes in Toyland (1961)
This fantastical film strings together Mother Goose’s coterie (Little Bo Peep; Mary, Quite Contrary; Tom, the Piper’s Son) in a theatrical musical based on Victor Herbert’s operetta of the same name. Before Tom and Mary can live happily ever after, seemingly everything goes awry.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
It’s not for nothing that this stop-motion classic is the longest-running Christmas special on television. Partly inspired by the “Ugly Duckling” story, it sees Rudolph bullied by everyone at the North Pole—even Santa!—for his bright-red honker. But when Rudolph gets picked to guide the sleigh—oof, that gets us every time.
A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
A Charlie Brown Christmas may have been made nearly 60 years ago, but it’s still hard to top as one of the best animated Christmas movies of all time. If the adventures of Charlie, Lucy, Snoopy, and the gang aren’t enough of a selling point for you, the music—composed by jazz legend Vince Guaraldi—is holly-jolly enough to get you in the holiday mood.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966)
Sure, there’s a more modern reboot of this story, but there’s nothing like the original. Based on the eponymous Dr. Seuss book, this cartoon can be tricky to locate. But it’s worth the trouble—after all, who among us doesn’t cry when the Grinch’s heart grows three sizes?
The Lion in Winter (1968)
Imagine your typical family reunion at Christmastime, only dad is Henry II, King of England, and mom is his estranged wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, freed from prison for the holidays. Set in the late 12th century, Anthony Harvey’s The Lion in Winter is a tour de force of familial tensions, political drama, and—buried in there somewhere—a great deal of love; just the ticket for this time of year. Peter O’Toole, Katharine Hepburn, and a young Anthony Hopkins star.
Fanny and Alexander (1982)
Ingmar Bergman’s 1982 film—first conceived as a five-part television miniseries, released later—was inspired, in part, by his childhood with his sister, Margareta, and father, Erik Bergman, a strict Lutheran minister. But before the marital strife unfolds and the ghosts appear, the film lingers on a Nativity play and sprawling Christmas feast in 1907, comprising some of the most colorful and joyful moments in Bergman’s oeuvre.
A Christmas Story (1983)
Do you remember that one coveted Christmas gift from your childhood? In my zillennial world, it was all about the Nintendo DS, but for nine-year-old Ralphie Parker (played by Peter Billingsley), it was the “official Red Ryder carbine action, 200-shot, range model air rifle with a compass in the stock and this thing that tells time.” A uniquely unhinged Gen X relic that’s absolutely worth a revisit.
The Dead (1987)
For his final film, released a few months after his death, director John Huston movingly adapted the 1914 short story “The Dead” from James Joyce’s Dubliners. Set at an Epiphany party in early 1904—so, not on Christmas, exactly, but the atmosphere is similar—the drama unfolds over a snowy night in Dublin, where guests recite Old Irish poetry, sing songs, and moodily reflect on times gone by. ’Tis the season, after all!
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
All Clark Griswold wants is a picture-perfect Christmas with his family! This comedy, starring Chevy Chase alongside Beverly D’Angelo, Juliette Lewis, and Johnny Galecki, is a what-else-could-go-wrong journey of holiday chaos.
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
We’re by no means disputing Home Alone’s cult status, but this sequel is no slouch. On the way to Florida with his family, Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) takes an unplanned detour, mistakenly boarding the wrong plane and finding himself in New York City, armed with his dad’s credit card. That sounds sort of fun, right? Well, things soon take a turn when Kevin crosses paths with his forever foes, the Wet Bandits.
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
No roundup of holiday films is complete without a Tim Burton movie, and voila—The Nightmare Before Christmas (directed by Henry Selick) is the festive treat for Halloween lovers. Danny Elfman s score and the hauntingly stylish animation make this a must-watch.
The Santa Clause (1994)
In a holiday twist (or tragedy, depending on how you see it), divorced dad Scott Calvin (played by Tim Allen) unintentionally finds himself filling in for Santa Claus, after the real Kris Kringle takes a tumble from his roof on Christmas Eve. Teaming up with his son Charlie (played by Eric Lloyd), Scott finishes Santa’s deliveries—but even more festive chaos ensues.