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My SZN Watch Guide · Christmas · ❄️ Winter

The best Christmas films to watch this year

The ones that earn their place every December — plus the right week to put each of them on.

12 picks · 8 min read

A lit Christmas tree in the corner of a dark living room with presents underneath

A Christmas film isn't really judged on plot. It's judged on whether the room goes quiet, whether somebody cries at the bit they always cry at, and whether anyone minds that you've all seen it eleven times.

This is My SZN's own shortlist, and it's deliberately mixed: the daft ones, the sincere ones and the two or three that are secretly quite sad. Each has a note on when in December it tends to land best, because Christmas Eve and the first weekend of Advent want completely different films.

The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)

The rare adaptation that's funnier and sadder than the straight versions. Under ninety minutes, word-perfect on Dickens where it matters, and the one film almost every UK household can agree on.

Mood
Warm, silly, quietly moving
Perfect for
The first properly festive evening of December
Runtime
About 1h 25m
UK rating
U

Lumi says: Lumi's note: this is the one to start the season with. Everything after it is easier.

🤎 Keep this film for later

It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

Long, black and white, and still the most emotionally direct film on this list. It's about the quiet worth of an ordinary life, which is a lot to take on a Tuesday — save it for when you've the time.

Mood
Sincere and overwhelming
Perfect for
A late evening when the house has gone still
Runtime
About 2h 10m
UK rating
U
🤎 Keep this film for later

Elf (2003)

Relentlessly cheerful and completely uncynical, which is harder to pull off than it looks. It works best early, before you're tired of tinsel and while the joke about syrup on spaghetti is still funny.

Mood
Bright and daft
Perfect for
The weekend the decorations go up
Runtime
About 1h 37m
UK rating
PG
🤎 Keep this film for later

Home Alone (1990)

Half slapstick, half a genuinely lonely film about a house in December. The church scene is why it lasts, not the paint tins — though the paint tins help.

Mood
Chaotic with a soft middle
Perfect for
A Saturday afternoon with children in the room
Runtime
About 1h 43m
UK rating
PG
🤎 Keep this film for later

Die Hard (1988)

The argument is settled: it's set at a Christmas party, it's about a man trying to get home to his family, and it's the only film here that suits the strange flat evening of the 27th.

Mood
Loud and oddly festive
Perfect for
The lull between Christmas and New Year
Runtime
About 2h 12m
UK rating
15
🤎 Keep this film for later

Love Actually (2003)

Uneven, very British, and impossible to switch off once it's on. Watch it for the Emma Thompson scene, which is better than the rest of the film put together.

Mood
Sentimental and slightly messy
Perfect for
A wine-and-wrapping evening with friends
Runtime
About 2h 15m
UK rating
15
🤎 Keep this film for later

Arthur Christmas (2011)

A British animation about family competence and being overlooked, disguised as a film about Santa's logistics. Genuinely clever, and it holds up for adults watching over the top of a phone.

Mood
Quick, funny, surprisingly tender
Perfect for
A school-holiday afternoon
Runtime
About 1h 37m
UK rating
U
🤎 Keep this film for later

Miracle on 34th Street (1994)

The gentlest film on this list. Nothing frightening happens, the courtroom ending is pure comfort, and it's the right shape for an evening when everyone is too tired to concentrate.

Mood
Soft and old-fashioned
Perfect for
A tired mid-December evening
Runtime
About 1h 54m
UK rating
U
🤎 Keep this film for later

Klaus (2019)

Beautiful to look at and much sharper than it first appears — a story about kindness as something you do rather than something you feel. Newer than the rest, and it deserves to stay.

Mood
Snowy and big-hearted
Perfect for
A family night that wants something they haven't seen
Runtime
About 1h 36m
UK rating
U

Lumi says: Lumi's note: the bit with the letters. That's the whole season, really.

🤎 Keep this film for later

Scrooged (1988)

Mean-spirited for an hour and then unexpectedly sincere, which is roughly how December goes for most of us. Good for anyone allergic to the sweeter end of the shelf.

Mood
Sharp then soft
Perfect for
An evening when you're not feeling it yet
Runtime
About 1h 41m
UK rating
PG
🤎 Keep this film for later

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)

The most accurate film ever made about hosting: the lights that won't work, the relatives who won't leave, the slow unravelling of a man who only wanted a nice day.

Mood
Frayed and very funny
Perfect for
After a long day of family logistics
Runtime
About 1h 37m
UK rating
12
🤎 Keep this film for later

The Snowman (1982)

Twenty-six minutes, almost no dialogue, and it still undoes people in their forties. Not really a film so much as a ritual — put it on while the tea's brewing.

Mood
Wordless and aching
Perfect for
Early evening, before the main film
Runtime
About 26m
UK rating
U
🤎 Keep this film for later

Make a night of it

  • Tree lights on, big light off, and one lamp in the corner. That's the whole look.
  • Something warm in a mug — mulled apple, proper cocoa, or tea you actually let brew.
  • A tin of something to hand round, so nobody has to get up in the good bit.
  • Start earlier than you think. The best December evenings end before eleven.

If nothing here fits, pick the mood before the film: a family afternoon, a Christmas Eve hush, a romance, or something with no tinsel in it at all. The rest of these guides are sorted exactly that way.

Runtimes are approximate and UK age ratings can differ between cuts and re-releases — worth a quick check on the BBFC website before a family night, and before you press play on anything with younger ones in the room.

Questions people ask

When should you start watching Christmas films?
Whenever it makes the evening better. Most people in the UK start once the clocks have gone back and the dark comes early — the first weekend of December is the usual tipping point, and the sillier films land best then.
Are these on a streaming service in the UK?
We don't say, because it changes constantly. My SZN has no rights-checked availability data, so rather than guess we leave it to you to check your own services, the library or local cinema listings — plenty of UK cinemas run festive screenings through December.

My SZN editorial. We don't list where films are streaming — availability changes constantly in the UK and we have no rights-checked source for it.

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