Entertainment
The Best Christmas Movies Of All Time
List Rules
Vote up your favorite films about or set during Christmas time.
One of the most telling signs that the holiday season is upon us is when classic Christmas movies begin to flood our TV screens and newer ones hit the big screen. Many of the best Christmas movies feature heartwarming tales that families can watch together. And even the weirdest Christmas movies have some redeeming features.
A lot of these movies are dramas or romantic comedies, and feature some of the best known stories in cinematic history. Who can forget James Stewart's portrayal of George Bailey in It's A Wonderful Life? The movie may not have done so well at the box office, but its themes of caring, thoughtfulness, and sacrifice, along with the presence of George's guardian angel, has resonated with many, and it's long been considered the best Christmas movie of all time. This doesn't mean there's not a fair share of funny Christmas movies as well. Home Alone, The Santa Clause, and Elf are three examples of hilarious Christmas movies that people have grown to love over the years. They are also great Christmas movies for kids too – like the Rankin/Bass classics or the animated masterpiece The Nightmare Before Christmas. In between laughs, the constant within all of these top movies is family, which is what attracts people to these holiday comedies. You will also find some of these films on this list of the best Christmas dinner scenes.
Vote here on this Ultimate List for what you think is the best Christmas movie of all time. There are some great movies to choose from so vote for the movies you think are the greatest Christmas movie ever!
Ranked by
- 1Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Randy Quaid
- Released: 1989
- Directed by: Jeremiah S. Chechik
As the holidays approach, Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) wants to have a perfect family Christmas, so he pesters his wife, Ellen (Beverly D'Angelo), and children, as he tries to make sure everything is ...more - 2Janis Orenstein
- Released: 1964
- Directed by: Larry Roemer, Kizo Nagashima
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a Christmas television special produced in stop motion animation by Rankin/Bass Productions and currently distributed by DreamWorks Classics. It first aired Sunday, ...more - 3Boris Karloff, June Foray, Hal Smith
- Released: 1966
- Directed by: Chuck Jones, Ben Washam
This special is a 1966 American animated television film special directed by Chuck Jones. It is based on the eponymous children's book by Dr. Seuss, the story of The Grinch trying to take away ...more - 4Bill Melendez, Peter Robbins, Geoffrey Ornstein
- Released: 1965
- Directed by: Bill Melendez
A Charlie Brown Christmas is a musical animated television film based on the comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. Produced by Lee Mendelson and directed by Bill Melendez, the program made its ...more - 5Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern
- Released: 1990
- Directed by: Chris Columbus
When bratty 8-year-old Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) acts out the night before a family trip to Paris, his mother (Catherine O'Hara) makes him sleep in the attic. After the McCallisters ...more - 6Peter Billingsley, Darren McGavin, Melinda Dillon
- Released: 1983
- Directed by: Bob Clark
Based on the humorous writings of author Jean Shepherd, this beloved holiday movie follows the wintry exploits of youngster Ralphie Parker (Peter Billingsley), who spends most of his time dodging a ...more - 7Will Ferrell, James Caan, Bob Newhart
- Released: 2003
- Directed by: Jon Favreau
Buddy (Will Ferrell) was accidentally transported to the North Pole as a toddler and raised to adulthood among Santa's elves. Unable to shake the feeling that he doesn't fit in, the adult Buddy ...more - 8Tim Allen, Judge Reinhold, Wendy Crewson
- Released: 1994
- Directed by: John Pasquin
Divorced dad Scott (Tim Allen) has custody of his son (Eric Lloyd) on Christmas Eve. After he accidentally kills a man in a Santa suit, they are magically transported to the North Pole, where an elf ...more - 9James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore
- Released: 1946
- Directed by: Frank Capra
After George Bailey (James Stewart) wishes he had never been born, an angel (Henry Travers) is sent to earth to make George's wish come true. George starts to realize how many lives he has changed ...more - 10June Foray, Paul Frees, Billy De Wolfe
- Released: 1969
- Directed by: Arthur Rankin, Jr., Jules Bass
Frosty the Snowman is an American animated Christmas family television special based on the song "Frosty the Snowman". The program, which first aired on December 7, 1969 on CBS, was produced for ...more - 11Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedelia
- Released: 1988
- Directed by: John McTiernan
New York City policeman John McClane (Bruce Willis) is visiting his estranged wife (Bonnie Bedelia) and two daughters on Christmas Eve. He joins her at a holiday party in the headquarters of the ...more - 12Tom Hanks, Michael Jeter, Nona Gaye
- Released: 2004
- Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
Tom Hanks and director Robert Zemeckis ("Forrest Gump"; "Cast Away") reunite for "Polar Express," an inspiring adventure based on the beloved children's book by Chris Van Allsburg. When a doubting ...more - 13Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Edmund Gwenn
- Released: 1947
- Directed by: George Seaton
In this Christmas classic, an old man going by the name of Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn) fills in for an intoxicated Santa in Macy's annual Thanksgiving Day parade. Kringle proves to be such a hit that ...more - 14George C. Scott, Susannah York, David Warner
- Released: 1984
- Directed by: Clive Donner
A Christmas Carol is a 1984 television film adaptation of Charles Dickens' famous 1843 holiday novella of the same name. The film is directed by Clive Donner who had been an editor of the 1951 film ...more - 15Jim Carrey, Jeffrey Tambor, Christine Baranski
- Released: 2000
- Directed by: Ron Howard
In this live-action adaptation of the beloved children's tale by Dr. Seuss, the reclusive green Grinch (Jim Carrey) decides to ruin Christmas for the cheery citizens of Whoville. Reluctantly joined ...more - 16Michael Caine, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire
- Released: 1992
- Directed by: Brian Henson
The Muppets perform the classic Dickens holiday tale, with Kermit the Frog playing Bob Cratchit, the put-upon clerk of stingy Ebenezer Scrooge (Michael Caine). Other Muppets -- Miss Piggy, Gonzo, ...more - 17Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern
- Released: 1992
- Directed by: Chris Columbus
After snarky youth Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) loses track of his father at the airport, he mistakenly gets on a plane headed for New York City -- while the rest of the McCallisters fly to ...more - 18Mickey Rooney, Fred Astaire, Keenan Wynn
- Released: 1970
- Directed by: Arthur Rankin, Jr., Jules Bass
Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town is a 1970 stop motion television special, made by Rankin-Bass. The film stars actor Fred Astaire as the narrator S.D. Kluger, Mickey Rooney as Kris Kringle/Santa Claus, ...more - 19Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney
- Released: 1954
- Directed by: Michael Curtiz
Singers Bob Wallace (Bing Crosby) and Phil Davis (Danny Kaye) join sister act Betty (Rosemary Clooney) and Judy Haynes (Vera-Ellen) to perform a Christmas show in rural Vermont. There, they run into ...more - 20Bill Murray, Karen Allen, John Forsythe
- Released: 1988
- Directed by: Richard Donner
In this modern take on Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," Frank Cross (Bill Murray) is a wildly successful television executive whose cold ambition and curmudgeonly nature has driven away the love ...more - 21Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara
- Released: 1993
- Directed by: Henry Selick
The film follows the misadventures of Jack Skellington, Halloweentown's beloved pumpkin king, who has become bored with the same annual routine of frightening people in the "real world." When Jack ...more - 22Tim Allen, Elizabeth Mitchell, David Krumholtz
- Released: 2002
- Directed by: Michael Lembeck
Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) has been in the role of Santa for the past eight years, and his loyal elves consider him the best one ever. But the world of the "Merry Old Soul" turns upside down when he's ...more - 23Gene Kelly, Ethel Merman, Victor Borge
- Released: 1983
- Directed by: Burny Mattinson
Mickey's Christmas Carol is a 1983 American animated fantasy short film produced by Walt Disney Pictures and released by Buena Vista Distribution. It was directed and produced by Burny Mattinson. The ...more - 24Kurt Russell, Darby Camp, Judah Lewis
- Released: 2018
- Directed by: Clay Kaytis
Siblings Kate and Teddy Pierce hatch a scheme to capture Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. When the plan goes awry, the kids join forces with a somewhat jolly Saint Nick and his loyal elves to save the ...more - 25Richard Attenborough, Elizabeth Perkins, Dylan McDermott
- Released: 1994
- Directed by: Les Mayfield
Six-year-old Susan Walker (Mara Wilson) is skeptical of the Christmas myth surrounding Santa Claus, a trait she perhaps learned from her mother, Dorey (Elizabeth Perkins). When tasked with hiring the ...more
