45 Best Kids' Christmas Movies on Netflix to Watch When You Want to Be Jolly
With so many on this "nice" list, you're sure to find the perfect family-friendly holiday film.
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The best Christmas movies for kids used to be hard to catch. There were only a handful of nights when you could watch A Charlie Brown Christmas or How the Grinch Stole Christmas on TV — and if you missed it, that was it for a whole year. (Unless you owned it on cassette tape, and then you could watch it until the tape wore out.)
That's not the case any longer. Now, you can stream Christmas movies for kids whenever you want — even in July, if the mood strikes. So the problem is not when or how, but what to watch. These are the best kids' Christmas movies to watch on Netflix in 2023. Some of them have been around long enough to start their own franchises and trilogies. Others are under an hour, so you can pop them on for preschoolers whenever you need a minute to wrap gifts or take care of some other to-do. And some are new favorites that might work their ways up into the lists of the best Christmas movies of all-time. With so many options, you're bound to find something to please everyone on your list, whenever you have the time.
Looking for more great Christmas movies? Check out these Good Housekeeping guides:
The Best Animated Christmas Movies | The Best Funny Christmas Movies | The Best Christmas Movies on Disney+
Coming Soon — The Bad Guys: A Very Bad Holiday
In 2022's The Bad Guys, a wolf, a shark, a snake, a tarantula and a barracuda wrestled with their bad reputations. For this holiday special, they have to reconcile their "bad" histories with their inner goodness once again. Whereas once they used the holiday as an excuse to pull heists, now they have to figure out whether it's truly better to give than to receive. It comes to Netflix on November 30.
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020)
Like many good Christmas stories, this one is a musical, with original songs courtesy of John Legend, Philip Lawrence and Davy Nathan. It also has an all-star cast, following the adventures of Jeronicus Jangle, played by Oscar-winner Forest Whitaker, a toymaker who is betrayed by an apprentice, played by Keegan Michael-Key. When things get out of control, Jangle must call on his granddaughter (Madalen Mills) for help.
The Christmas Chronicles (2018)
The Christmas Chronicles is a seasonal franchise starter for Netflix, wherein Kurt Russell takes on the role of the big man himself. To kick off the adventure, a brother and sister accidentally crash Santa's sleigh and have to figure out how to save Christmas.
The Christmas Chronicles: Part Two (2020)
If The Christmas Chronicles is a hit in your household, you can roll right into its sequel. Taking place two years later, the same kids from the first film are a little older and more jaded about spending the holidays with their family. That is, until a mysterious troublemaker named Belsnickel threatens to destroy the North Pole, pulling them into another adventure to help Santa — and now Mrs. Claus!
Klaus (2019)
When this one came out in 2019, in came from seemingly out of nowhere to earn an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards, alongside movies from big studios like Pixar and DreamWorks. A Christmas miracle! In it, Jason Schwartzman stars as Jesper, the Postal Academy's worst student. He gets stationed in the Arctic circle in a town of feuding locals, which seems dire until he befriends a teacher named Alva (Rashida Jones) and Klaus (J.K. Simmons), a carpenter who hand-makes wooden toys in a cabin. Wonder who that could be ...
Scrooge: A Christmas Carol (2022)
There are so, so many adaptations of A Christmas Carol, so of course Netflix has one of its own. This one is a musical, featuring songs by composer Leslie Bricusse, who has received Oscar nominations for her songs from Home Alone ("Somewhere in My Memory"), Hook ("When You're Alone") and Dr. Doolittle ("Talk to the Animals," which brought home the award).
A Boy Called Christmas (2021)
At the start of this movie, Santa does not exist. Then, a young boy named Nikolas goes on a quest to find his father, encountering reindeer, elves and other magical creatures along the way in a search for a legendary city of Elfheim. Does his story sound familiar? It's based on the best-selling novel by Matt Haig.
White Christmas (1954)
Netflix isn't known for hosting a lot of old classics — it mostly favors more recent fare and its own original content — but the classic, all-ages favorite White Christmas has somehow stuck around on the site. It's worth a re-watch just to hear the song "White Christmas" — still the best-selling single of all time — alone.
A Christmas Special: Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir (2016)
This confusingly named and punctuated half-hour special follows everyone's favorite love-quadrangle-with-only-two-people, who are both superheroes and don't know each other's secret identities. For the holiday special, Adrien runs away from home, so Marinette — excuse me, Ladybug — goes after him. It was made way before this year's Ladybug & Cat Noir: The Movie, also on Netflix, but should still appeal to fans.
Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker (2020)
For older ones and dance fans, this feature-length documentary goes behind the scenes of Debbie Allen's production of her Hot Chocolate Nutcracker. You can see stars like dancer Savion Glover pop in and out as they train and prepare for the performance.
Robin Robin (2021)
Christmas is always for those who feel like they don't belong — remember the misfit toys? — and this half-hour special is no exception. It's about a bird who is raised by mice, and has a Christmas wish to become a mouse. It's from Aardman Animations, the studio best known for doing the Wallace and Gromit shorts, and it was nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Short.
The Boss Baby: Christmas Bonus (2022)
The Boss Baby is not known for being holly and jolly, or giving in any way. Things get turned upside-down in this 45-minute specials, which sees the Boss Baby switching places with one of Santa's Elves
The Claus Family (2021)
Another Netflix holiday franchise, The Claus Family is about Jules, a kid who hates the holidays ... until he discovers a secret about his family that just might change his mind. This movie, which was originally Dutch (but is available dubbed), is for any kid feeling the bah humbugs this year.
The Claus Family 2 (2021)
If the kids in your life take to Jules, he returns in The Claus Family 2. This time, as he prepares to take over for his Grandpa Noël, he receives a letter from a young girl with a special Christmas wish. But can he deliver?
Coming Soon: The Claus Family 3
Think the story of Jules and his family is over? Ha! On November 8, we get another chapter, The Claus Family 3, on Netflix. This time, Grandpa Noël messes up the delivery of presents, and it's up to Jules & Co. to set things right.
Shaun the Sheep: The Flight Before Christmas (2021)
Fans of Shaun the Sheep and Shaun the Sheep: Farmageddon will thrill to another half-hour farmhouse adventure from Aardman Animations, the studio that made Wallace and Gromit. This time, everyone goes in search of a little sheep named Timmy, who is in danger of being gifted as someone's pet.
Holiday Rush (2019)
This is a movie about rediscovering what's truly important on Christmas. It's about a hip-hop radio DJ, Rashon "Rush" Williams, who spoils his four kids. After he loses his job when his station changes formats, he has to move his whole family back home to live with his relatives and try to put his life back together.
Trolls Holiday (2017)
This one is perfect for families that can't get enough of Poppy and Branch in the wake of this year's Trolls Band Together. It's unique in that the trolls and their friends, the Bergens, aren't exactly celebrating Christmas. When Poppy realizes that the Bergens don't celebrate any holidays after the elimination of Trollstice, she goes on a mission to create a new tradition — and, in the process, they figure out why festive days are necessary and what it means to celebrate with people you love.
David and the Elves (2021)
Originally titled Dawid i elfy, this Netflix import follows an overworked elf who decides to run off to the "real world" and experience Christmas the way regular people do. He's followed by his parents, and also by Santa, who gets confused as to how the non-magical world works.
A StoryBots Christmas (2017)
In this half-hour show, one of the StoryBots goes to seek gift-giving advice from Santa, only to learn that Christmas isn't just about presents. The positive message — and short running time — make this appropriate for the littlest viewers.
Marisa (she/her) has covered all things parenting, from the postpartum period through the empty nest, for Good Housekeeping since 2018; previously, she wrote about parents and families at Parents and Working Mother. She lives with her toy-collecting husband and daughter in Brooklyn, where she can be found helping out her team at bar trivia or posting about movies on Twitter and Bluesky.
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