20 Best Christmas Movies Of All Time Families Will Love

🎄🎅 Celebrate the holiday season with the best Christmas movies of all time for families with kids of all ages.

What is Christmas without a fantastic festive film for the whole family to enjoy? For many, it is an annual tradition to have a family-friendly movie playing on Christmas Eve or New Year's Day.

However, it can be tough to find the perfect Christmas film that every member of the family will enjoy.

That's why we compiled a list of the best Christmas movies ever made, with a wide range of genres, like action, classic, holiday, animation, adventure and more. 

Our list includes classic Christmas favourites, new holiday movies, the best animated feature movies ever made, and even a Christmas horror film.

So whether it's a funny Christmas comedy or a heartfelt classic Christmas tale, read on to find the best movies to watch with your kids to make this Christmas special. 

Some of the best Christmas movies of all time for families include:

Elf (2003)

• Genre: Holiday, Comedy, Adventure, Family 

• Age rating: PG

• Run time: 1h 37min

• IMDb score: 7.1

• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 86%

• Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 79%

• Common Sense Media rating: 4 / 5

• Common Sense Media age recommendation: 8+ year olds

Where to watch:

Watch the Elf movie on:

• Netflix,

• Stan,

• Binge,

• Apple TV and

• Amazon Prime Video. 

Home Alone (1990)

• Genre: Holiday, Comedy, Adventure, Family, Crime

• Age rating: PG

• Run time: 1h 43min

• IMDb score: 7.7

• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 66%

• Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 80%

• Common Sense Media rating: 4 / 5

• Common Sense Media age recommendation: 10+ year olds

Where to watch:

Watch Home Alone on:

• Disney+,

• Apple TV,

• YouTube or

• Amazon Prime Video. 

Gremlins (1984)

• Genre: Horror, Comedy, Fantasy

• Age rating: PG

• Run time: 1h 46min

• IMDb score: 7.3

• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 86%

• Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 78%

• Common Sense Media rating: 5 / 5

• Common Sense Media age recommendation: 12+ year olds

Where to watch:

Watch Gremlins on:

• Apple TV,

• Binge, YouTube and

• Amazon Prime Video.

Frozen (2013)

• Genre: Animation, Adventure, Musical, Fantasy

• Age rating: PG

• Run time: 1h 42min

• IMDb score: 7.4

• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 90%

• Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 85%

• Common Sense Media rating: 5 / 5

• Common Sense Media age recommendation: 5+ year olds

Where to watch:

Watch Frozen on:

• Disney+,

• Apple TV, 

• YouTube, or

• Amazon Prime Video. 

A Christmas Story (1983)

• Genre: Holiday, Family, Comedy

• Age rating: PG

• Run time: 1h 33min

• IMDb score: 7.9

• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 89%

• Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 89%

• Common Sense Media rating: 5 / 5

• Common Sense Media age recommendation: 8+ year olds

Where to watch:

Watch A Christmas Story on:

• Apple TV,

• Binge,

• YouTube or 

• Amazon Prime Video.

Anastasia (1997)

• Genre: Animation, Adventure, Musical, Mystery, Fantasy, Romance

• Age rating: PG

• Run time: 1h 34min

• IMDb score: 7.1

• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 84%

• Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 77%

• Common Sense Media rating: 4 / 5

• Common Sense Media age recommendation: 6+ year olds

Where to watch:

Watch Anastasia on:

• Disney+,

• Apple TV or

• Amazon Prime Video. 

It’s A Wonderful Life (1946)

• Genre: Holiday, Family, Drama, Comedy, Supernatural

• Age rating: PG

• Run time: 2h 10min

• IMDb score: 8.6

• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 94%

• Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 95%

• Common Sense Media rating: 5 / 5

• Common Sense Media age recommendation: 9+ year olds

Where to watch:

Watch It’s A Wonderful Life on:

• Stan,

• Apple TV,

• YouTube and

• Amazon Prime Video. 

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)

• Genre: Holiday, Family, Comedy, Adventure

• Age rating: M

• Run time: 1h 37min

• IMDb score: 7.5

• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 70%

• Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 86%

• Common Sense Media rating: 3 / 5

• Common Sense Media age recommendation: 13+ year olds

Where to watch:

Watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation on:

• Stan,

• Binge,

• Apple TV,

• YouTube and 

• Amazon Prime Video. 

Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

• Genre: Holiday, Comedy, Drama, Adventure

• Age rating: G

• Run time: 1h 36min

• IMDb score: 7.9

• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 96%

• Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 87%

• Common Sense Media rating: 4 / 5

• Common Sense Media age recommendation: 5+ year olds

Where to watch:

Watch Miracle on 34th Street on:

• Disney+,

• Apple TV,

• YouTube and

• Amazon Prime Video. 

A Christmas Carol (1984)

• Genre: Holiday, Drama, Supernatural

• Age rating: PG

• Run time: 1h 40min

• IMDb score: 7.8

• Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 75%

• Common Sense Media rating: 5 / 5

• Common Sense Media age recommendation: 9+ year olds

Where to watch:

Watch A Christmas Carol on Apple TV or Amazon Prime Video. 

Scrooge (1970)

• Genre: Holiday, Musical, Adventure, Supernatural

• Age rating: G

• Run time: 2h

• IMDb score: 7.5

• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 75%

• Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 83%

• Common Sense Media rating: 4 / 5

• Common Sense Media age recommendation: 6+ year olds

Where to watch:

Watch Scrooge on Apple TV or Amazon Prime Video. 

Klaus (2019)

• Genre: Holiday, Animation, Adventure, Comedy

• Age rating: PG

• Run time: 1h 36min

• IMDb score: 8.2

• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 95%

• Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 96%

• Common Sense Media rating: 4 / 5

• Common Sense Media age recommendation: 6+ year olds

Where to watch:

Follow this link to watch Klaus on Netflix.

Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town (1970)

• Genre: Holiday, Animation, Adventure

• Age rating: G

• Run time: 48min

• IMDb score: 7.7

• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 93%

• Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 82%

• Common Sense Media rating: 5 / 5

• Common Sense Media age recommendation: 5+ year olds

Where to watch:

You can watch Santa Claus In Comin' To Town on Amazon Prime.

Arthur Christmas (2011)

• Genre: Holiday, Animation, Comedy, Adventure

• Age rating: G

• Run time: 1h 37min

• IMDb score: 7.1

• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 92%

• Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 77%

• Common Sense Media rating: 4 / 5

• Common Sense Media age recommendation: 6+ year olds

Where to watch:

Watch Arthur Christmas on:

• Stan,

• Binge,

• YouTube or

• Amazon Prime Video. 

The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974)

• Genre: Holiday, Animation, Family, Comedy, Adventure

• Age rating: G

• Run time: 51min

• IMDb score: 7.5

• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 90%

• Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 83%

• Common Sense Media rating: 3 / 5

• Common Sense Media age recommendation: 4+ year olds

Where to watch:

Watch The Year Without a Santa Claus on Amazon Prime Video or Apple TV. 

The Christmas Chronicles (2018)

• Genre: Holiday, Comedy, Family, Adventure

• Age rating: PG

• Run time: 1h 44min

• IMDb score: 7.0

• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 68%

• Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 76%

• Common Sense Media rating: 3 / 5

• Common Sense Media age recommendation: 10+ year olds

Where to watch:

Watch The Christmas Chronicles on Netflix today!

The Guardians of the Galaxy: Holiday Special (2022)

• Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy

• Age rating: PG

• Run time: 42min

• IMDb score: 6.9

• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 94%

• Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 80%

• Common Sense Media rating: 4 / 5

• Common Sense Media age recommendation: 12+ year olds

Where to watch:

Watch The Guardians of the Galaxy: Holiday Special on Disney+.

Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas (1999)

• Genre: Holiday, Animation, Family, Comedy, Adventure

• Age rating: G

• Run time: 1h 6min

• IMDb score: 7.0

• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 40%

• Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 66%

• Common Sense Media rating: 3 / 5

• Common Sense Media age recommendation: 3+ year olds

Where to watch:

Watch Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas on:

• Disney+,

• Apple TV or

• Amazon Prime Video.

• You can even get the full movie PLUS bonus features on Amazon Prime Video too. 

A Holiday Spectacular (2022)

• Genre: Holiday, Comedy, Drama, Romance, Historical

• Age rating: PG

• Run time: 1h 25min

• IMDb score: 7.5

• Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 81%

• The recommended age rating for PG-rated movies: 8+ years old. 

Where to watch:

Rent or buy A Holiday Spectacular on Amazon Prime Video today! 

The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)

• Genre: Holiday, Musical

• Age rating: G

• Run time: 1h 25min

• IMDb score: 7.8

• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 77%

• Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 86%

• Common Sense Media rating: 4 / 5

• Common Sense Media age recommendation: 5+ year olds

Where to watch:

Watch The Muppet Christmas Carol on:

• Disney+,

• Apple TV or 

• Amazon Prime Video.

We hope our list of the top holiday films for families has helped you find a great movie to enjoy this Christmas season.

Whether you picked to watch a Christmas classic, a kids-friendly animated musical, or an exciting adventure film, we hope you'll be spending Christmas enjoying that movie. 

Become a Christmas School Holiday Hero by sharing this article with friends and family, so they can also find a fantastic movie to spread the Christmas spirit and holiday cheer!

And don't forget to bookmark this article for next year to avoid a nightmare before Christmas as you struggle to search for a good movie to watch!