I’m at my most content when all my to-do list involves is watching every last one of the best new holiday movies before New Year’s Eve. While everyone else is attending holiday parties, decking the halls, and getting after their Christmas shopping, I’m happily hibernating indoors. You can catch me curled up on the couch of my family’s home covered in blankets and pressing play again and again to the movies that are sure to give me all the warm and fuzzy feels.
Featured image by Michelle Nash.
I’ll paint you an even clearer picture of my ideal Christmas weekend: fuzzy socks, endless cups of hot chocolate, and yes, spending all day in my pajamas. The only thing that can make it even more perfect? This list of the best new holiday movies below. I’ve rounded up everything Netflix, Hulu, and all our favorite streaming platforms have to offer. There are new takes on old classics and (of course) Christmas-themed rom coms that’ll make even the Scrooges among us believe in love. So scroll on for a healthy dose of stay-cozy-indoors inspiration—and let me know if there are any must-sees I need to add to my watch list.
15 of the Best New Holiday Movies To Stream in 2022
Falling For Christmas
In need of a feel-good movie that doesn’t require too much emotional investment? (There’s a time and a place to watch Titanic, and a random Tuesday in December might not be it.) Everyone’s favorite late-90s/early-aughts actress is back with an enemies-to-lovers trope that’s pure Christmas gold. A hotel heiress catches a bad case of memory-sweeping amnesia and ends up in the care of a handsome lodge owner (Chord Overstreet of Glee fame). Can she help him and his adorable daughter save the derelict but charming lodge before Christmas—and maybe fall in love along the way? Watch and find out.
Available on: Netflix
Something from Tiffany’s
You may know him as the easygoing Nathan in Insecure or as the disarmingly sweet Jesse in The Vampire Diaries, but Kendrick Sampson is back and just as handsome as ever in this Reese Witherspoon-produced film. Based on the novel by Melissa Hill, prepare to watch what happens when a simple jewelry swap determines the fate of two couples’ love lives.
Release date: December 9 on Amazon Prime
A Christmas Story Christmas
I’m not sure whether to say I’m proud or horrified that every member of my family knows A Christmas Story by heart. But when you’ve seen it upwards of 25 times, the lines are bound to catch on. Now, nearly 40 years later, Ralphie is all grown up and hosting a holiday of his own. After his father’s passing, Ralphie is tasked with giving his children the magical Christmas he knew as a kid. Is he up to the challenge? Did the famed first film need a follow-up? How do you really pronounce “fragile”? It’s up to you to decide.
Available on: HBO Max
My Christmas Fiancé
The recipe for a perfect Christmas rom-com: Italy + fake-to-real-love + a beautiful restaurant as the backdrop. The magic of the season is very much alive in this romance-driven film. This movie gives major The Wedding Date vibes—and if you’re a fan of Debra Messing and Dermot Mulroney’s on-screen chemistry, I have a feeling you’ll fall for My Christmas Fiancé as well.
Available on: Hulu
Spirited
I’m going to come out and say it: I can’t really get on board with musicals. I know, I know: I should expect a lump of coal in my stocking, but there’s something about the spontaneous cut to a song that always feels a bit… unnecessary. But man oh man, there’s something about Ryan Reynolds, Will Ferrell, and Octavia Spencer getting on stage that makes me want to… sing along? This comedic take on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol does the classic justice. Get ready for all the songs to be stuck in your head.
Available on: Apple TV+
Menorah in the Middle
Is there ever a more appropriate time for a little family drama than the holidays? When Sarah goes home to introduce her fiancé Chad to her parents, chaos ensues. On top of her father having a heart attack, she learns that her family’s bakery might have to close. Will reconnecting with her childhood friend Ben help Sarah save the bakery—and show her the true meaning of Hanukkah? (Hint: Expect to have all your predictions come true.)
Available on: Hulu
Christmas With You
There’s no better way to start this review than by drawing upon The New York Times‘ take: “When watching the dullest, most formulaic Netflix fodder, you may find it necessary to fixate on an odd element simply to stay invested. By far the sturdiest component of Christmas With You is Freddie Prinze Jr.’s hair. Who sculpted it to such a disconcerting spike? Did it time-travel from the late 1990s?”
Yes, Freddie Prinze Jr. is back. But instead of playing a 90s/aughts heartthrob, he’s the music teacher father of Cristina, a teenager who gets the once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet her superstar idol, Angelina. Prinze’s surprisingly good songwriting skills might just be what Angelina needs to save her from irrelevance. Unfortunately, yes—Christmas With You does count as dull “Netflix fodder,” but truthfully, some of the best rom-coms are also the cringiest. Who’s with me?
Available on: Netflix
Hannukah on Rye
Set up by a matchmaker, Molly and Jacob are blissfully enjoying the warm coziness of a new romance. But their budding relationship is threatened when they discover that they’re competing deli owners—yes, really. Can their love survive the test of lox and schmear? It might just take a Hanukkah miracle to save this love story.
Release date: December 18 on Hallmark Channel
A Merry Christmas Wish
Hulu’s doing its due diligence to ensure the selection of holiday offerings runs the gamut of rom-com tropes. Enter: Successful career girl returns to her small hometown following the death of a close relative. In A Merry Christmas Wish, Janie comes home to Woodland Falls after her great-uncle leaves her the family homestead. While she initially plans to sell it, Janie is instead suaded by a childhood friend to organize the annual Winter Wonderland, giving her an opportunity to reconnect with her past. And we all know what happens when a city girl is tasked with organizing a small town festival…
Available on: Hulu
The Noel Diary
Here comes Justin Hartley again, ready to steal our holiday hearts (nothing puts me in my feels quite like an episode of This Is Us). In The Noel Diary, Hartley plays Jake Turner, an author returning home for the holidays who’s tasked with settling his mother’s estate. Discovering a journal may connect Jake to untold parts of his story—and is the perfect introduction to a mysterious love interest. Can piecing together their past unlock the key to their future… together?
Available on: Netflix
Christmas on Repeat
Is it just me, or does it seem that at least half of the protagonists involved in holiday rom-coms are ad executives? Regardless, a workaholic gets the opportunity to change her over-scheduled ways when Santa grants her a Christmas do-over wish. Suddenly, she’s set in a repeating time loop, balancing Christmas day between family and work. Will she learn the true meaning of Christmas—and what’s really important?
Available on: Hulu
Scrooge: A Christmas Carol
There’s something about the holidays that makes me crave a good old animated family film. While there are plenty of remakes of the Ebenezer Scrooge Christmas story (see Spirited above), this is destined to be a favorite. Oh, and for the film buffs out there, the cast is fantastic: Jessie Buckley, Luke Evans, and Olivia Coleman?! All my favorites, all in one soul-satisfying movie.
Release date: December 2 on Netflix
All I Want for Christmas
Apologies for the cynicism, but I’ve always believed that wishing for your parents to get together following a divorce is a little… immature. (I say this as someone whose parents got divorced years ago and they’re both living their best lives.) But in the spirit of embracing holiday magic, I’ll go along with the All I Want for Christmas vibe. Thankfully, I was surprised to discover that a plot where a young girl wishes for her parents to get back together is handled with a healthy dose of realism—and a few laughs along the way.
Available on: Hulu
The Holiday Dating Guide
I won’t lie—a Lifetime moving with “Dating Guide” in the title is my idea of a winning holiday film. Maybe it’s because I’m feeling particularly cozy this time of year or perhaps I’m just in the mood to watch other people fall in love by the warm glow of the tree lights. Whatever the reason, The Holiday Dating Guide fulfills my admittedly not-so-high standards. Abigale Slater finishes her first book: a modern dating guide. But to make her publisher happy, she has to prove her advice’s validity by making someone fall in love with her in 12 days. It gives How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days vibes—and I’m here for it.
Release date: December 17 on Lifetime
Disenchanted
File this under movies to watch when you’re in desperate need of a pick-me-up. I’m not typically one for sequels—and thought Enchanted was a good stand-alone film—but Disenchanted delivers. While it isn’t strictly a holiday film per se, seeing Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden, and Idina Menzel continue their characters’ stories is an absolute holiday season delight. I love that the film asks the question: what comes after happily ever after? It offers a healthy dose of emotion and realism that’s been absent from fantasy films for too long.
Available on: Disney+
This post was originally published on November 19, 2021, and has since been updated.
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