The Best Christmas Family Films To Watch In 2020

Matt Brown
Dec 12, 2023 By Matt Brown
Originally Published on Nov 11, 2020
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There are many festive Christmas movies to watch during the holiday season.

Looking for a Christmas movie for the whole family? There’s plenty on offer. Netflix alone has about a dozen new releases coming over the next month, with other services providing many of the golden oldies. Here’s our guide to the best films to stream at home or watch at a drive-in. 

Drive-in Cinema

Lockdowns allowing, various drive-in cinemas are planning to screen Christmas classics over the seasonal period. North London’s The Drive-in has an excellent selection, including ‘Muppets Christmas Carol,’ ‘Home Alone,’ ‘Frozen,’ ‘Elf’ and ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas.’ Booking is open now.

Best New Movies To Stream

Netflix is the place to be this Christmas if you’re after new titles. The following are just a selection box of the many festive flix soon to be available.

Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey: This new movie (pictured top) about a toymaker and his daughter screens from November 13. With an all-star cast including Forest Whitaker, Hugh Bonneville, Anika Noni Rose (Disney’s Tiana) and singer Ricky Martin, this one sounds very promising.

The Princess Switch: Switched Again: Vanessa Hudgens plays three lookalike roles in this seasonal sequel of mistaken identity. The first part streamed on Netflix on November 19, 2020. 

Alien Xmas: Not a festive installment of the chest-bursting alien franchise (imagine!), but a kids animation. “When extraterrestrials attempt to steal Earth's gravity, only the gift-giving spirit of Christmas -- and a small Alien named X -- can save the world.” Released on November 20, 2020.

Dolly Parton's Christmas On The Square: A new take on the Dickensian idea of “bah-humbug grump sees the magic of Christmas and reforms”… only this time with bonus Dolly Parton. Streamed on Netflix on November 22, 2020. 

The Christmas Chronicles 2: Screen legends Kurt Russell (as Santa) and Goldie Hawn (as Mrs Santa) are back for more festive giggles. It’s directed by Chris Columbus of ‘Home Alone’ and ‘Harry Potter’ fame. The first part is also available on Netflix. Steamed on November 25, 2020.

Angela’s Christmas Wish: An animated sequel (the first film is also available) written by Frank McCourt sees the titular girl attempting to reunite her family for Christmas. Released on December 1, 2020.

Just Another Christmas: It’s ‘Groundhog Day’ meets ‘I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day’  ‘A Christmas Carol’ in this new comedy. Released on December 3, 2020.

Noelle: Disney Plus recently added this tale about Santa's children. When Santa's eldest goes missing just before Christmas, it's up to daughter Noelle (Anna Kendrick) to see that presents get delivered.

Old Favourites To Stream

Sometimes, you don’t want ‘new’, you want ‘comfortable and familiar’, especially at Christmas. Fortunately, the streaming services have a sleigh-full of classics for you to enjoy all over again. 

Netflix boasts ‘Arthur Christmas,’ ‘A Christmas Prince,’ ‘Let It Snow,’ ‘The Holiday,’ ‘Krampus’ and ‘Klaus,’ among others.

Amazon, meanwhile, has the following old-timers ready to stream as part of subscription: ‘Scrooged,’ ‘Christmas With The Kranks,’ ‘The Holiday,’ ‘Stick Man,’ ‘Deck The Halls,’ plus a long, long tale of lesser known festive titles. You can also watch just about any seasonal film for a rental fee.

The Disney Plus archive contains ‘Home Alone,’ ‘Noelle,’ ‘The Santa Clause’ (and sequels), ‘Mickey’s Christmas Carol’, Disney’s ‘A Christmas Carol’, and the best film (in any category) of all time, ‘The Muppet Christmas Carol.’

See Also

New family films to stream this autumn

The best teen movies to enjoy in lockdown

Best Netflix movies for under-12s

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Written by Matt Brown

Bachelor of Science specializing in Chemistry, Master of Research specializing in Biomolecular Sciences

Matt Brown picture

Matt BrownBachelor of Science specializing in Chemistry, Master of Research specializing in Biomolecular Sciences

With a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry and a Master's in Residency specializing in Biomolecular Sciences and roots in the Midlands, Matt has developed a passion for writing about London. As a former editor and prolific contributor to Londonist.com, he has authored several books exploring the city's hidden gems. In addition to his work, Matt enjoys spending time with his two preschool-aged children.

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