Best Christmas movies and TV shows to watch on Netflix
It's time for a little more holiday joy in our lives.
- Best New Journalist 2019 Australian IT Journalism Awards
A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby
With many of us cooped up in our homes and separated from our friends and family, it can be a very bleak time. Lucky for us, there's plenty of holiday magic to be found this Christmas. Netflix released a ton of delightful Christmas original films and series. So if you haven't yet watched the the long awaited conclusion to the The Christmas Prince trilogy, A Royal Baby, here's your chance.
Read more: The 10 best movies to watch on Disney Plus for Christmas
Netflix original films
Holiday in the Wild
Holiday in the Wild
Kristin Davis plays a mother who plans a romantic trip to Africa with her husband after their son heads away to college. Unfortunately for her, her husband opts for a divorce instead. Obviously Davis decides to go to Africa anyway, presumably to Eat Pray Love her impending divorce blues away. And given that it's a holiday movie, the odds seem astronomically high that she's going to fall in love with Rob Lowe, who plays her pilot on her leg to Zambia. Also Netflix assures us there are baby elephants.
Let It Snow
Snowstorm on Christmas Eve? Check. High school seniors? Check. An important party to attend and a stolen keg? Check. If this isn't Christmas Superbad meets every John Hughes film ever, I'll be highly disappointed. Kiernan Shipka will hopefully be playing some sort of blonde Molly Ringwald.
Klaus
This animated original comes from Despicable Me co-creator Sergio Pablos and features a fantastic cast of voice actors including Jason Schwartzman, Rashida Jones and J.K. Simmons. It's also about a postal employee, but I'm going to give it the benefit of the doubt that it's jam-packed with Christmas magic.
The Knight Before Christmas
Vanessa Hudgens becomes friends with a medieval knight who ends up in present-day Ohio. I'm assuming this is going to be a Christmas-version of Kate & Leopold, which I'm totally OK with. Plus Emmanuelle Chriqui co-stars and the tween girl in me is very excited to see if she's still as beautiful as she was in Snow Day.
The Knight Before Christmas brings Vanessa Hudgens back to the streaming service.
Holiday Rush
A radio DJ widower and father of four loses his job right before Christmas, because apparently they live in a world full of heartless monster humans. Odds are high this is going to be the biggest tearjerker on the list.
A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby
If you haven't seen A Christmas Prince or the sequel A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding, stop what you're doing and immediately go watch them. The films focus on Amber, a journalist who openly lies to the foreign leaders of the fictional country Aldovia (which I'm pretty sure would be illegal? But Netflix doesn't seem too concerned with how laws work in Aldovia) and winds up marrying their prince. In the second movie, they get married. This time they're having a baby. Sorry for the spoilers.
The Princess Switch
Vanessa Hudgens stars as not one but two characters -- and yes, one of them is a princess. Taking inspiration from Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper, The Princess Switch sees talented baker Stacy take the place of Lady Margaret Delacourt, Duchess of Montenaro, who's desperate for time out of the spotlight. But things get complicated (as well as sweet, charming and all that good stuff), when she discovers a normal life might be a permanent dream. If you like it, check out The Princess Switch: Switched Again.
Netflix original series
The Great British Baking Show: Holidays
The politest, loveliest and most delightfully British show in the competitive cooking scene is blessing us with another holiday season. It's hard to say what I'm most excited about, but it'll probably be co-host Noel Fielding's amazing outfits. (The rainbow sweater in the promo image is everything.) Can't wait till Nov. 8 for your British Baking fix? Don't sweat. The current season is still streaming new episodes every Friday.
Noel and his fashion sense will return for holiday cheer.
Nailed It! Holiday!
What a beautiful "disaster" of a show. I cannot wait for Nicole Byer's Christmas themed jokes and all the nightmarish looking Santas in store for us. Plus this season has a slew of hilarious celebrity judges, from Maya Rudolph to Jason Mantzoukas.
Prepare for the holidays with the baking skills of Paul Scheer and more.
Merry Happy Whatever
Dennis Quaid is playing a character named Don Quinn. I'm not even going to tell you what the plot's about. I just want you to spend the rest of your day wondering if he was offered the role because it's so similar to his own name, if Quaid had Netflix change the character's name to one more similar to his, or if it's a total coincidence. When I finally get a chance to see Merry Happy Whatever, I expect to spend the entire duration of the movie debating this very important question. Netflix also claims the character strongly believes "there's the Quinn way... and the wrong way." What does it all mean? Please feel free to tweet me your conspiracy theories now.
Sugar Rush Christmas
A Christmas-themed season of Sugar Rush? Yes please! Netflix has made sure we'll have plenty of cooking shows to watch this holiday season, and I'm here for it. This season features a number of guest judges, including Tiffani Thiessen and Olympic gold medalist Meryl Davis.
Magic for Humans
A show about magic featuring an episode on Santa Claus? Apparently Justin Willman is going to teach kids about the magic of giving. I'm all for gently tricking children into being better human beings.
Lost in Space
Netflix claims this is Christmas related. Maybe there's a Christmas episode? Apparently the show starts off on Christmas Day. (Assuming they celebrate Christmas in space. Please tell me Santa will be in a spaceship.) On the upside, fans of the first season will get to binge-watch the new season on Christmas Eve.
Home for Christmas
This Norwegian series tackles a painful thing for some returning home for Christmas: Facing personal questions about why you don't have a significant other. One Christmas, Johanne, a nurse in her 30s, refuses to repeat the experience. Over two seasons of romantic twists and turns, she attempts to find herself a boyfriend before the holidays.
Dash & Lily
A young adult rom-com, this series is all about Christmas -- well, hating it. Seventeen-year-old Dash is cynical about the holiday, until through messages left in a notebook, he gets to know the optimistic Lily. It's cute as can be and, despite Dash's initial attitude, filled with holiday cheer.
Netflix Family
- Super Monsters Save Christmas
- True: Winter Wishes
- Team Kaylie: Part 2 (Holiday Episode)
- Spirit Riding Free: The Spirit of Christmas
- A Family Reunion Christmas
- Alexa & Katie: Season 3 (Holiday Episode)
