Are you looking for a Christmas movie you can watch with your kids or grandkids that you’ll all enjoy? Look no further than my list of favorite family-friendly Christmas movies!
Watching Christmas movies is one of my favorite December activities. It even made it on my low-key Christmas bucket list! You see, I come from great Christmas movie watching stock. My parents are Hallmark Christmas movie enthusiasts. They watch every single one every year. Multiple times each.
With all these Hallmark Christmas movies under my belt (and mass-market Christmas movies and TV specials), I’ve watched good, bad, and middle-of-the road Christmas movies. I watch some every year, some purely for nostalgia’s sake, and some once and never again. Today, I want to talk about the ones I watch with my kids.
The family-friendly Christmas movies on this list aren’t all fantastic cinema masterpieces. Some are on the list because one of my kids has become obsessed. Others are on the list because I force my kids to watch them. Still more are on the list because I watched them with my mom as a kid and I want the same experiences now that I’m the mom. All of them, though, are great family-friendly Christmas movies that you can have no hesitation watching with kids of all ages – from 1 to 100!
Family-Friendly Christmas Movies
Animated
There are some really great animated family-friendly Christmas movies! In fact, the first movies that came to mind when I started compiling this list were all animated. And don’t think that you won’t enjoy the animated Christmas movies on this list. These are great for all ages!
Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas
When the calendar turns to December, Dr. Seuss’ book How the Grinch Stole Christmas gets tons of playing time in the bedtime story game. It might not get read every night, but every other night is entirely realistic. Because they love the book so much, I wasted no time introducing them to the movie adaptations – 1966’s animated Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas and the 2000 live-action version. They love both of these movies (almost as much as they love the book), but I’m kinda partial to the animated version. It’s what I grew up with, so it’s comforting to me. I haven’t seen the newest movie version of the classic story (2018’s The Grinch), so I can’t offer my two cents. If you’ve seen the most recent version, what do you think of it? Does it hold a candle to the original?
Where to watch
1966 version: Peacock
2000 version: Disney+
2018 version: Peacock
Polar Express
The other book that my kids love to read at Christmas time is The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg. If we aren’t reading How the Grinch Stole Christmas before bed, we are definitely reading The Polar Express. Lucky for us, their other favorite Christmas book was also turned into a movie, 2004’s The Polar Express. Now, the adults in the room will have to get past the weird animation style to fully enjoy this one, but it’s worth overcoming. It’s so fun to watch your kids watch their favorite stories come to life on screen.
Where to watch
Hulu or HBO Max.
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Is this a Halloween movie? A Christmas movie? I’m going to say both. The Nightmare Before Christmas gets some serious airtime in my house from September all the way through Christmas. It’s the perfect movie to bridge the gap between Halloween and Christmas and really take us home for the year.
Where to watch
Disney+
A Charlie Brown Christmas
Seriously, who doesn’t love a Charlie Brown holiday special? The Peanuts gang, a lesson for the young and the old, and a Vince Guaraldi soundtrack – what’s not to love? This year, my son is really into the Peanuts characters thanks to his Kindergarten teacher, so I’m extra excited for him to watch A Charlie Brown Christmas.
I always looked forward to the TV broadcast of A Charlie Brown Christmas every year, but we missed it some years because we had other obligations the one night it aired. Now that Charlie is available on streaming, it’s a little easier to make sure you incorporate A Charlie Brown Christmas into your holiday viewing schedule.
Where to watch
Apple TV
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Anyone of a certain age will remember the TV cart being wheeled into his or her elementary classroom on the last day of school before Christmas break. Odds were good that you were about to watch Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. This 1960s stop-motion animated TV special was a rite of passage. I mean, almost every kid I knew wanted to be a dentist at some point, just like Hermey the elf. If you want to take a trip down memory lane and give your kids a good chuckle at the outdated animation, this should rank high on your list of family-friendly Christmas movies to watch next.
Where to watch
The special will air on NBC on Friday, December 5th at 8:00 pm and Thursday, December 11th at 8:00 pm.
Olaf’s Frozen Adventure
If you have kids or you even know kids, you’re well acquainted with the Frozen franchise. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by most of the installments in the franchise (both feature films and the shorts), but none more so than the Christmas special, Olaf’s Frozen Adventure. This cute 30-minute special follows Olaf and Sven on their journey to find Christmas traditions for Anna and Elsa. Chaos ensues because Olaf is involved. It’s a cute little festive break that my kids love to pieces. I’m a big fan of the music, so everyone wins!
Where to watch
Disney+
Live-action
Family-friendly Christmas movies don’t have to be animated, though. There are plenty of live-action Christmas movies that strike the perfect chord.
The Santa Clause
I am so excited to report that my kids love one of my favorite family-friendly Christmas movies from my childhood: The Santa Clause. They love watching Scott Calvin turn into Santa Claus. There are several sequels (The Santa Clause 2: The Mrs. Clause, The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, and the TV series The Santa Clauses) that are worth watching, but none hold a candle to the original.
Where to watch
Disney+
The Muppet Christmas Carol
Everyone loves the muppets, especially when they’re acting out the Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol alongside the venerable Michael Caine. A Christmas Carol has been adapted many times, but none is better than the muppets’ version. If you haven’t shown your kids The Muppet Christmas Carol, make this year the year!
Where to watch
Disney+
White Christmas
I started watching White Christmas with my mom when I was a young kid. We watched it every year at least once a December when it came on TCM. It was a tradition I looked forward to every year. Now that I don’t live with my mom anymore, I still watch White Christmas every December. And even though it isn’t a “kid movie,” it can still be enjoyed by the whole family. My kids especially like the Sisters reprise. It was my favorite part of the movie as a kid too!
Where to watch
I can’t find where to stream White Christmas this year. It used to be available on Netflix, but it has disappeared and I can’t find where it landed.
Miracle on 34th Street
Don’t discount family-friendly Christmas movies that are in black and white! Especially when talking about Miracle on 34th Street. This movie is pure Christmas magic. I’m partial to the original 1947 version of the movie, but the 1994 remake is good too. The more recent version might be more approachable to your kids if you’re worried about the lack of color in the original.
Where to watch
1947 version: Prime Video
1994 version: Disney+
Elf
Finally, no list of family-friendly Christmas movies would be complete without the modern classic, Elf. You can’t help but love Buddy the Elf, the human who was raised by Santa’s elves. Will Ferrell does a tremendous job playing this charming, earnest elf. You’ll love watching him and your kids will too.
Where to watch
HBO Max
Other posts
Are you looking for other ways to make the most of the festive season? Try out some of the ideas in these posts:
So, tell me, which of these family-friendly Christmas movies will you watch this year? Share in the comments below or over on Instagram @sarainseason.