Not every holiday movie needs sleigh bells. Some are about families circling each other across the dinner table, some are about Santa snapping necks, and the best of them are worth rewatching in July. These are the Christmas, holiday, and Thanksgiving movies I’ve seen and stand behind, all streaming right now, with where to find each one and a link to the full review where I’ve written one.
Last updated: November 12, 2026
Holiday Favorites
HAPPY CHRISTMAS (2014)
Joe Swanberg’s mumblecore holiday hangout drops Anna Kendrick’s messy, newly single younger sister into her brother’s Chicago home for the season, with Melanie Lynskey and Lena Dunham along for the ride. Loose, improvised, and lived-in, it’s a Christmas movie for people who’d rather watch a family figure each other out than a sleigh land on the roof.▶︎ Watch on Kanopy and Hoopla · Read the full review
TANGERINE (2015)
Sean Baker shot this Christmas Eve odyssey on iPhones, following a trans sex worker fresh out of jail as she tears across Hollywood hunting down the pimp boyfriend who cheated on her. Profane, hilarious, and unexpectedly tender, it’s the anti-Hallmark holiday movie and a perfect double bill with Happy Christmas.▶︎ Watch on Kanopy and Tubi
THE HOLDOVERS (2023)
Paul Giamatti’s prickly prep-school teacher gets stuck minding the boys with nowhere to go over Christmas break in 1970. A testament to the simple power of an outstanding script, strong direction, and standout performances, it’s a delightfully bittersweet return to form for Alexander Payne and an instant holiday perennial.▶︎ Watch on Peacock · Read the full review
KLAUS (2019)
A spoiled postman exiled to a frozen, feuding island town accidentally invents Santa Claus in this gorgeous hand-drawn-style origin story. Genuinely funny and unexpectedly moving, it’s the rare modern animated Christmas movie that already feels like a classic.▶︎ Watch on Netflix
LADY BIRD (2017)
Saoirse Ronan’s Sacramento senior spends her last year of Catholic school butting heads with her mother, and the holidays bring out the best and worst in both of them. Greta Gerwig guides her through a rebellious phase of teenagedom with stinging humor and a good dose of pathos.▶︎ Watch on HBO Max · Read the full review
LITTLE WOMEN (2019)
As excellent a PG-rated familial holiday film as anyone could dream up, Greta Gerwig’s take on the March sisters is supremely well-acted and sumptuously realized. Christmas mornings at Orchard House have never looked warmer.▶︎ Watch on Hulu · Read the full review
CAROL (2015)
Todd Haynes’ swooning 1950s romance between a department-store clerk (Rooney Mara) and an elegant, unhappily married woman (Cate Blanchett) begins with a Christmas gift. Shot on gorgeous 16mm and achingly restrained, it’s one of the great love stories of the century so far.▶︎ Watch on Prime Video and Kanopy
SPENCER (2021)
Kristen Stewart’s Princess Diana endures three suffocating days of royal Christmas at Sandringham in Pablo Larraín’s fever-dream biopic. A handsomely mounted portrait of strained poise under royal expectation, it’s the holiday movie for anyone who dreads the family gathering.▶︎ Watch on Kanopy · Read the full review
RIDERS OF JUSTICE (2020)
A Christmas wish goes catastrophically wrong, setting off an absurd and violent Danish revenge saga. Darkly humorous, deadly serious, and led by yet another commanding turn from the great Mads Mikkelsen.▶︎ Watch on Kanopy and Hoopla · Read the full review
BEN IS BACK (2018)
Julia Roberts’ mother has 24 hours to keep her addict son (Lucas Hedges) safe when he turns up unannounced on Christmas Eve. It takes a different approach to a story of addiction and deception, using a suspense-driven framework that keeps you on edge.▶︎ Watch on Tubi and Kanopy · Read the full review
HAPPIEST SEASON (2020)
Kristen Stewart plans to propose to her girlfriend (Mackenzie Davis) over Christmas, only to learn the family doesn’t know she’s gay. A warm, funny holiday rom-com with scene-stealing support from Daniel Levy and Aubrey Plaza.▶︎ Watch on Hulu
IRON MAN 3 (2013)
Shane Black’s Christmas-set Marvel entry strands Tony Stark in snowy Tennessee with a kid sidekick and a case of panic attacks. It’s the sneakiest Christmas movie in the MCU, and Black’s quippy holiday-season action instincts are all over it.▶︎ Watch on Disney+ · Read the full review · Every MCU Movie, Ranked
THE GRINCH (2018)
This 2018 update to Dr. Seuss’ holiday classic is more colorful and snappy than ever, losing a bit of the Grinch’s evil edge along the way. An easy, cheerful watch with little ones.▶︎ Watch on Peacock · Read the full review
Holiday Horror
VIOLENT NIGHT (2022)
David Harbour shines as a beat-down Santa Claus who returns to his brutal ways when mercenaries take a rich family hostage on Christmas Eve. A bit overly self-aware in spots, but it delivers the gory goods.▶︎ Watch on Netflix · Read the full review
BETTER WATCH OUT (2016)
A babysitter’s quiet Christmas night with a 12-year-old turns into a home invasion that takes a hard, nasty left turn. Mean, funny, and best gone into blind.▶︎ Watch on Prime Video and Peacock
THE LODGE (2019)
A soon-to-be stepmother (Riley Keough) gets snowed in with her fiancé’s grieving kids at a remote lodge over Christmas, and things go very, very wrong. A frostbitten, unrelenting psychological chiller.▶︎ Watch on Tubi and Kanopy · Read the full review
TERRIFIER 3 (2024)
Art the Clown dons a Santa suit for a Christmas killing spree. Combining malicious, vaudeville goofball humor with line-crossing brutality, it’s strictly for the strong of stomach.▶︎ Watch on Prime Video and Hoopla · Read the full review
KRAMPUS (2015)
Michael Dougherty sends Santa’s horned, shadowy counterpart after a bickering family that’s lost its Christmas spirit. Not every gag lands, but as counterprogramming to the usual holiday fare, killer gingerbread men and a demonic jack-in-the-box make for a lot of fun.▶︎ Watch on Prime Video and Peacock
For Thanksgiving
Notably absent: Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Everyone already knows that one, has already seen it, and is probably watching it again this year anyway. Here are three more worth adding to the rotation.
KRISHA (2015)
Trey Edward Shults’ debut drops a recovering addict into a family Thanksgiving she’s desperate not to ruin. Shot almost entirely in a single house with Shults’ own relatives, it’s a nerve-shredding portrait of a holiday coming apart.Rent or buy on Amazon · Read the full review
THE HUMANS (2021)
Stephen Karam adapts his own Tony-winning play about a family’s Thanksgiving dinner in a creaky, half-empty Manhattan duplex, where every bang from upstairs lands like a jump scare. Richard Jenkins, Jayne Houdyshell, Amy Schumer, and Beanie Feldstein anchor a holiday drama that plays like a slow-burn horror movie about money, aging, and dread.Rent or buy on Amazon
THANKSGIVING (2023)
Eli Roth finally turns his fake Grindhouse trailer into a real slasher, as a pilgrim-masked killer carves up Plymouth, Massachusetts, a year after a deadly Black Friday stampede. Gleefully nasty and genuinely funny, it’s the holiday’s definitive horror movie.▶︎ Watch on HBO Max and Hulu
FAQ
What are the best Christmas movies streaming right now?
Top picks include The Holdovers (Peacock), Klaus (Netflix), Little Women (Hulu), Lady Bird (HBO Max), and Spencer (Kanopy).
What are the best Christmas horror movies to stream?
For holiday horror, try Violent Night on Netflix, Better Watch Out, The Lodge, and Terrifier 3.
What is a good Thanksgiving movie to stream?
Try Krisha, Trey Edward Shults’ debut about a family Thanksgiving coming apart; The Humans, a dread-soaked family dinner; or Eli Roth’s slasher Thanksgiving.
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By: Matt Oakes
Started blogging about film in college when the university paper wouldn’t have him. Dislikes your consensus film Twitter favorites. Devotee of horror movies that make him die a little inside. Catches films at festivals when he can. Proud SFCS and OFCS member and Tomatometer-approved critic. Editor-in-chief of Silver Screen Riot.
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