The Best Christmas Movies to Watch on Amazon This Holiday Season
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Amazon is your go-to when it comes to picking out Christmas gifts, so it makes sense that it'll be one of the first streamers you look to find a feel-good Christmas movie. And while there are plenty of films on Netflix and even Disney+, if you have a Prime Membership, most of the holiday flicks are free! So, grab a steaming cup of cocoa, some sugar cookies and other snacks, and hunker down with one of these Christmas movies on Amazon that you can stream from site to screen with just the click of a button.
Watch classics like It's a Wonderful Life, White Christmas and Home Alone, or more interesting options like The Nightmare Before Christmas or It's A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie. There are animated ones that kids will absolutely love, as well as nontraditional picks, like holiday horror films that are best watched after the kids are nestled all snug in their beds while visions of sugar-plums dance in their heads. You can also catch favorites from Lifetime and Hallmark if you don't have cable. Those might cost you, but luckily, most films are less than $5.
For more on what to watch this holiday season, look to our other guides:
Best Christmas Rom-Coms | Funny Christmas Movies| Best Christmas Movies for Kids
It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie
What better way to get the kids in the spirit than with this musical comedy that's fun for the whole family? Follow all of your favorite muppets as they fight to keep their coveted theater from being sold when they fall on hard times.
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National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
An oldie and a goodie, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation follows one family's disastrous Christmas vacation. Although our own holiday celebrations are never as bad as theirs, we can relate to bad luck occurring at the worst time during the Christmas season!
RELATED: 75 Best Christmas Movies of All Time, Ranked
Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas
For the folks who love all holidays, not just Christmas, this dark fantasy follows Jack Skellington (Chris Sarandon), one of the leaders of Halloween Town, a place inhabited by monsters and other spooky-themed creatures, as he discovers other holiday-themed worlds.
A Cinderella Christmas
Christmas collides with fairytales in this Cinderella-inspired holiday movie. At a Christmasmasquerade Ball, Angie (Emma Rigby) falls for the handsome and wealthy Nikolaus (Peter Porte), but leaves before she's able to reveal who she really is to him. The only thing he has to find her? A stocking she left behind filled with her favorite things.
Frozen
You might not be able to build your own snowman if your local area doesn't get any snow flurries this Christmas season, but at least with this beloved cartoon movie you can sing about it!
Home Alone
Even though you've grown up and realized that the injury comedy in this 1990 classic is a little extreme, something about Home Alone still feels essential year after year.
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
Although Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) isn't left behind this holiday season, he ends up boarding the wrong plane, finding himself in New York City while the rest of his family is in Miami. The worst part? The two bandits who terrorized him in the first movie have escaped from prison, and they've got their eyes set on Kevin.
Love Actually
This 2003 movie tugs on the heartstrings. The rom-com drama, which stars big names like Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson and Colin Firth, shows 10 different relationships and the different aspects of love within each of them.
Dr. Seuss' The Grinch
Gather the kids around to enjoy this sweet 2018 animated version of The Grinch. If you're looking for nostalgia, you can also rent the live-action version from 2000 starring Jim Carrey.
It's A Wonderful Life
With an iconic performance from Jimmy Stewart and a moving script, there's no It's A Wonderful Life has endured for nearly 80 years — and it's available to stream for free with Prime right now.
The Family Stone
An uptight woman named Meredith (Sarah Jessica Parker) travels home with her boyfriend Everett (Dermot Mulroney) for Christmas only to discover that she couldn't be more different than his outgoing, laid-back family.
The Holiday
Iris (Kate Winslet) and Amanda (Cameron Diaz), plagued by guy problems, switch homes in Los Angeles and England during the holiday season only to unexpectedly find some romance.
Elf
Will Ferrell doesn't miss a beat in this instant holiday classic from 2003 — Elf will always get the whole family laughing.
White Christmas
In this classic starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen, a song-and-dance duo becomes close with a musical sister act. They work together to save a failing Vermont Inn operated by their former commanding officer.
The Polar Express
Tom Hanks plays four distinct characters in this magical Christmas film from 2004. The Polar Express tells the story of a young boy who's losing his faith in Christmas, until he embarks on a wild journey to the North Pole on a mysterious train.
Office Christmas Party
A branch manager (Jason Bateman) throws a massive out-of-control holiday party in an attempt to land a big client and prevent being shut down by his CEO and sister (Jennifer Aniston).
Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas
If you're looking for a Christmas comedy that will put you in a holly, jolly mood, turn on this hilarious flick. It's the seventh film in Tyler Perry's Madea franchise, and follows Madea as she navigates the silly — and sometimes awkward — intricacies of getting the entire family together on Christmas.
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
In Disney's updated take on the classic Christmas story, 14-year-old Clara uses a gift her late mother left her to embark on a magical journey to four different realms.
RELATED: 41 Best Disney+ Christmas Movies to Watch With the Whole Family
Black Christmas
Inspired by the 1974 movie of the same name, this holiday horror follows a group of sorority sisters who find themselves hunted by a masked assailant while staying on campus during Christmas break.
Last Christmas
This Emma Thompson-Paul Feig venture from 2019 mixes a somewhat high-concept script (inspired by the music of George Michael, features a major mystery) with the chemistry of Emilia Clarke and Henry Golding into a fun and original Christmas rom-com.
The Muppet Christmas Carol
Jim Henson's 1992 rendition of the Charles Dickens' classic is one of the very best Muppets movies ever made.
Christmas with the Kranks
After years of overdoing it on Christmas and becoming empty nesters now that their daughter has joined the Peace Corps, the Kranks (led by Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis) decide to skip the holiday season and put the money toward a cruise. The only problem? Their neighbors absolutely won't allow it.
The Best Man Holiday
What happens when eight college friends reunite for Christmas nearly 15 years after graduating? Watch this 2013 rom-com featuring the likes of Taye Diggs and Regina Hall to find out.
The Preacher's Wife
Looking for a '90s throwback? This 1996 film featuring Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston tells the story of a New York City pastor who is visited by an angel. Keep your ears perked, too: the movie was nominated for the Oscar for Best Music.
Die Hard
It wouldn't be Christmas without the annual conversation over whether this classic 1988 Bruce Willis action flick counts as a holiday film. (We think it does.)
Jingle All The Way
Arnold Schwarzenegger shows off his comedy chops in this 1996 family movie about a man desperate to get a sold-out toy for his son for Christmas.
Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas Is You
Based off the hit song "All I Want for Christmas Is You," this 2017 animated film follows a little girl named Mariah who has her heart set on getting a puppy for Christmas.
Christmas Cartoons: 14 Christmas Cartoon Classics
Bring on the nostalgia! This two-hour mashup features all your favorite vintage Christmas cartoons, including Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Jack Frost, Snow Foolin', Toys Will Be Toys, and more. Sit back, relax, and get ready for a walk down memory lane.
RELATED: 45 Animated Christmas Movies That Are Too Cute to Resist
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
This 2008 Hallmark favorite follows single working mom Jennifer (Brooke Burns) as she tries to find some Christmas cheer... and ends up falling in love with the handsome stranger that her uncle (Henry Winkler) brought home for the holidays.
Beyond Christmas
Much like It's a Wonderful Life, this 1940 Christmas flick starring Harry Carey is a little bit dark — but it's also really heartwarming.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
From Home Alone to this '80s buddy comedy starring John Candy and Steve Martin, nobody does holiday movies quite like John Hughes. Planes, Trains and Automobiles is technically a Thanksgiving movie, but the spirit of rushing to get home while someone gets on your nerves is universal.
A Christmas Solo
This 2019 rom-com chronicles two single parents who have remarkable chemistry with each other — until they learn their teenage daughters are both vying for the same solo in their school's Christmas concert.
Last Holiday
Queen Latifah charms in this 2006 Christmas comedy as a woman who takes a huge European vacation after discovering she only has weeks to live.
Christmas Comes to Willow Creek
This 1987 made-for-TV drama stars John Schneider and Tom Wopat as truck driver brothers who must transport a load of Christmas presents from California to Alaska.
One Special Night
James Garner, Julie Andrews, and a magical, snowy holiday — need we say more?
The Man Who Invented Christmas
This 2017 take on Charles Dickens's classic A Christmas Carol stars the one and only Dan Stevens of Downton Abbey fame.
Christmas for a Dollar
This tale of finding Christmas joy during the Great Depression is based on a true story.
Little Women
Greta Gerwig's 2019 adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's classic novel is a gorgeous film, but Gillian Armstrong's 1994 version is also a wonderful treat at Christmas, with a star-studded cast that includes Winona Ryder, Kirsten Dunst and Christian Bale — and it's available to stream for free with Prime.
Mrs. Doubtfire
Although not exclusively a Christmas movie, this free-to-stream heartwarming 1993 comedy captures another stellar performance from the late Robin Williams and can put everyone in the spirit to sit back and relax with family.
Wonder
Although also not technically a "Christmas movie," per se, Wonder — which comes complete with an all-star cast — is an uplifting family film that's certain to put you in the Christmas spirit.
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