12 Best Christmas Movies Streaming On Hulu

Christmas is one of the most festive and atmospherically evocative holidays of the year, with countless movies taking advantage of its yuletide sensibilities. As perennial audience favorites, virtually every major streaming service has their own robust selection of Christmas movies to watch. This, of course, includes Hulu, with its holiday library bolstered by the digital platform's merger with Disney+. For those trying to get into the spirit of the season, this gives the service a particularly extensive list of Christmas movies to choose from, .

Whether it's enduring classics from Hollywood's Golden Age or modern family-favorites, there are plenty of holiday favorites on Hulu. The platform also has maturely subversive comedies skewering cheery expectations and movies that have been embraced as Christmas movies despite their genre bonafides. Simply put, if you're looking to ring in Christmas with quality holiday movies, Hulu definitely has you covered. 

Here are the 12 best Christmas movies currently streaming on Hulu that you should check out this holiday season.

There were several adaptations of Charles Dickens' novella "A Christmas Carol" shortly after it was published in 1843. This inevitably spread to the big screen, starting in 1901, but one of the best cinematic renditions of Dickens' classic story was 1938's "A Christmas Carol." Just like the source material, the movie centers on miserly 19th century businessman Ebenezer Scrooge (Reginald Owen) mistreating his financially struggling employee Bob Cratchit (Gene Lockhart) around Christmas. On the night of Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by ghosts who remind him of his past and warn him of his future if he continues his antisocial ways.

The 1938 "A Christmas Carol" boasts a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score, something that its Muppet-infused 1992 follow-up lacks, even though it's still a holiday treasure. This version gently expands on the supporting cast around Scrooge, giving a wider perspective on the story and how other characters view its miserable protagonist. For those looking for a quick watch, this adaptation is barely over an hour, brisk enough to handle even the most impatient viewers. A beautiful iteration of Charles Dickens' most iconic tale, the 1938 "A Christmas Carol" leans into the text's heartwarming strengths.

When it comes to playing the role of Christmas movie everyman, few actors from Hollywood's golden age did it better than James Stewart. Stewart's perennial holiday favorite, "It's a Wonderful Life," isn't streaming Hulu, but his earlier Christmas movie, "The Shop Around the Corner," is. The 1940 film has Stewart play Alfred Kralik, a salesman at a leather store in Budapest during the Great Depression. Kralik forms a rivalry with his colleague Klara Novak (Margaret Sullavan), with both unaware they're carrying out a flirtatious correspondence as anonymous pen pals.

"The Shop Around the Corner" is a breezy '40s movie that still holds up, with most of the story taking place around the wintry holiday season. Stewart is the standout of the cast, bringing his usual unassuming charm but with surprising bouts of vulnerability as his character's anonymous romance is conflicted by his feud with Klara. The broad premise was modernized for corporate America with 1998's "You've Got Mail," updating the amorous correspondence through email. One of the best movies like "It's a Wonderful Life," "The Shop Around the Corner" provides another strong holiday showcase for Stewart's acting talents.

While '90s kids may understandably prefer the 1994 remake, the original 1947 "Miracle on 34th Street" has held up incredibly well for decades. The movie has a replacement Santa Claus (Edmund Gwenn) hastily hired for the May's Day Thanksgiving Parade when the original actor is discovered drunk. A decided hit with families observing the parade, the replacement Santa is then hired to reprise his role for the Christmas season at the flagship Macy's store in Manhattan. Despite the continued positive publicity, the store Santa faces legal scrutiny when he publicly claims to be the actual Santa Claus.

An enduring Christmas classic, the original "Miracle on 34th Street" is one of the earliest movies to juxtapose contemporary holiday ennui with yuletide magic. Gwenn gives a delightfully earnest performance as Kris Kringle, even as the character is placed in the middle of a public legal hearing. Gwenn is joined by precocious young Natalie Wood as a girl Santa befriends, with Maureen O'Hara and John Payne as the couple Santa inadvertently(?) brings together. A foundational holiday movie setting the template for subsequent Christmas movies, the 1947 "Miracle on 34th Street" revels in spreading that Christmas cheer.

Author Jean Shepherd's semi-autobiographical novel "In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash" was adapted into the 1983 holiday classic "A Christmas Story." The movie has Ralphie Parker (Peter Billingsley) recount his favorite childhood Christmas in the early 1940s with his family in suburban Indiana. As Ralphie asks his parents, and anyone who will listen, for a Red Ryder air rifle for Christmas, he endures the trials and tribulations of growing up in the '40s. Other vignettes include Ralphie's father (Darren McGavin) receiving a racy lamp and Ralphie contending with local bullies after school.

Even with its adult narrator, voiced by Shepherd himself, "A Christmas Story" is a yuletide tale told through the perspective of a child. That adds a wistful innocence to the whole story, even with more mature viewers aware of what's actually taking place at times. But the movie's period piece setting gives the whole movie a timeless quality, aided by its vignette-heavy structure making the individual scenes more memorable. If you're looking for a way to watch "A Christmas Story" this holiday season, Hulu has got you covered.

For those that chafe at the assertion that "Die Hard" is a Christmas movie, the film is included with Hulu's list of holiday movies, seemingly settling that debate. The movie has New York police detective John McClane (Bruce Willis) visit his estranged wife Holly Gennaro (Bonnie Bedelia) in Los Angeles. While attending Holly's Christmas office party at the Nakatomi Towers, the proceedings are interrupted by presumed European terrorists who secretly want to raid the corporate offices' vaults. Evading capture when the terrorists strike, McClane works alone to combat the gunmen and save their hostages, including Holly.

For those that still debate its holiday merits, "Die Hard" itself answers whether it's a Christmas movie in an early scene. The eternal question aside, the movie makes an action hero of Bruce Willis with his wise-cracking performance and set pieces that still hold up. Matching Willis is Alan Rickman delivering one of the most memorable roles of his celebrated career as the heist's sophisticated leader Hans Gruber, providing McClane with his most formidable foe. Still the best "Die Hard" movie, the 1988 original is the best straight-up action flick to watch during the holidays.

Chevy Chase's most enduring on-screen role is starring as hapless patriarch Clark Griswold in the "Vacation" series since its launch in 1983. The franchise's third entry is 1989's "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation," which has Clark and his wife Ellen (Beverly D'Angelo) hosting their extended family for the holidays. True to form, Clark pulls out all the stops to have the best Christmas ever and maintains a cheerful attitude even as he's constantly beset by obstacles. This heightens Clark's tension with his stingy boss Frank Shirley (Brian Doyle-Murray) and his obnoxious neighbors Margo (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and Todd Chester (Nicholas Guest).

"Christmas Vacation" proves that not every entry in the series needs to take its family-based shenanigans on the road, something its sequels never quite recognized. Across each vignette-styled comedic set piece, there is plenty of comical mileage in seeing Clark's people-pleasing facade gradually and relatably erode to a pressure-cooker finish. Audiences responded in kind, making "Christmas Vacation" a big hit at the box office. A rare sequel better than the original movie, "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" has become a timeless holiday classic.

If there was ever an enduring holiday classic for audiences of all ages, it's the original "Home Alone" from 1990. The movie has precocious adolescent Kevin McAllister (Macaulay Culkin) accidentally left behind in his suburban Chicago home by his affluent parents. Kevin learns how to fend for himself while the community is targeted by inept burglars Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern). To defend his home, Kevin installs a system of booby traps to thwart Harry and Marv's attempt to rob his family.

"Home Alone" was a huge hit when it was released in theaters in time for Christmas 1990, a nostalgic movie that helped define the '90s. A lot of that appeal comes from director Chris Columbus and screenwriter John Hughes giving the story a holiday warmth that backs Kevin's personal arc in the movie. But, of course, Kevin's climactic defense of his house is the standout sequence from the film, aided by Pesci and Stern's slapstick performances. Still ranking highly among the "Home Alone" movies effortlessly, it wouldn't feel like Christmas without revisiting this holiday classic.

One of the most surprisingly robust Christmas film franchises is "The Santa Clause," which started with the 1994 original movie. Tim Allen stars as Scott Calvin, a divorced father who works for a toy company in Illinois while sharing custody of his young son Charlie (Eric Lloyd). On Christmas Eve, Scott accidentally surprises Santa Claus, resulting in his death and his holiday duties transferring over to Scott. After traveling to the North Pole, Scott learns he has until Thanksgiving to get his affairs in order as he physically transforms into Santa to take on the job full-time.

Tim Allen's star-making sitcom "Home Improvement" was in full swing when "The Santa Clause" premiered and the movie provided him another avenue to showcase that family-friendly charm. That culminates in Allen's character having to prove the existence of Santa Claus when his changing appearance and behavior threatens his continued shared custody. Allen would reprise his holiday role nearly a decade later in a pair of sequels and continuation television series, but there's no beating the original movie. For millennials, Tim Allen is one of the best movie Santa Clauses, and that association is cemented by his starring turn in "The Santa Clause."

Will Ferrell was fresh off "Saturday Night Live" when he starred in 2003's "Elf," months away from his enormously successful "Anchorman." Directed by Jon Favreau, Ferrell plays Buddy, a man who grew up among the elves working at Santa's workshop after being adopted as an infant. Learning of his true parentage, Buddy reunites with his father Walter Hobbs (James Caan), an affluent book publisher living in New York City. Buddy struggles fitting in with his new family and life among humans, while trying to reignite the Christmas spirit in Manhattan.

"Elf" became a huge box office hit and a modern holiday classic, capturing Ferrell's comedic qualities at their most all-age friendly. Ferrell has no qualms about coming off as energetically silly and does so in several of the most endlessly quotable scenes in holiday movie history. Jon Favreau turned down a darker, PG-13 version of "Elf," and he was right to do so. So much of the movie's appeal comes from the childlike innocence and enthusiasm that the story celebrates and is vibrantly brought to life by Ferrell.

Another 2003 Christmas movie for a decidedly different audience is "Bad Santa," which certainly lives up to its title. Billy Bob Thornton stars as Willie T. Soke, who works as a department store Santa Claus joined by his accomplice Marcus Skidmore (Tony Cox) as an elf. In reality, Willie and Marcus are a pair of thieves, who rob the stores linked to the shopping malls where they work every Christmas Eve. The duo's latest score is threatened by Willie's rampant substance abuse and sex addiction, as well as his burgeoning connection with a lonely boy (Brett Kelly).

With its gleefully vulgar humor and content, "Bad Santa" is the kind of Christmas movie you put on after the kids go to bed – and the more sensitive adults too. Thornton gives the strongest comedic performance of his career as Willie, an absolutely miserable scoundrel who has long since hit rock bottom. And while the movie doesn't give him a sentimental arc, per say, it does provide some yuletide redemption without compromising its ribald tone. If you're looking for an alternative Christmas movie that isn't "Die Hard," "Bad Santa" definitely fits the bill.

Author Chris Van Allsburg's 1985 children's book "The Polar Express," about a boy riding a magical train to meet Santa Claus, is a Christmas literary classic. That meant there was a lot of expectation riding behind filmmaker Robert Zemeckis' motion-capture animated movie adaptation in 2004. The movie follows a boy named Christopher (Daryl Sabara), who boards the Polar Express when it appears by his house the night of Christmas Eve. Christopher befriends other children passengers on the train while embarking on several misadventures during its voyage to the North Pole.

One's appreciation for "The Polar Express" really extends to how much they particularly enjoy the movie's stop-motion animation. There is a warmer quality to the overall art design, while the aesthetics maintain a timelessly Christmas feel reflecting the literary source material. In addition, to get a feature-length runtime, Zemeckis adds set pieces and characters to the story, some of which work markedly better than others. "The Polar Express" is a pleasant enough adaptation as long as one doesn't think too hard about it and, like its characters, goes along for the ride.

In 2006, Queen Latifah starred in a loose remake of the 1950 movie "Last Holiday," retaining the title and broad narrative premise. Latifah plays Georgia Byrd, an introverted salesperson who is diagnosed with a terminal condition and given weeks to live. Deciding to enjoy the time that she has left, Georgia liquidates her assets, quits her job, and relocates to a luxury hotel in the Czech Republic. Georgia meets several high-profile figures enjoying the Christmas holidays at the same establishment who are charmed by her down-to-earth personality as she completes her bucket list items without inhibition.

Just like the guests that her character encounters, Queen Latifah's charm carries a lot of "Last Holiday" and, fortunately, the movie recognizes that key strength. Latifah injects a lot of life into a fairly well-worn formula and giving her character her own Cinderella story pays heartwarming dividends. Latifah is joined by a solid supporting cast, including a pre-"Breaking Bad" Giancarlo Esposito, who plays off of her well. Though "Last Holiday" wasn't a hit during its theatrical run, Queen Latifah's Christmas movie got its second life through streaming, a distinction that continues with its availability on Hulu.