The holiday season is upon us, which means everyone needs to grab their fuzzy socks and Christmas pajamas, and dive into a massive movie marathon. Whether it's in the company of friends or family, or just a humble celebration of a coming new year, these movies will be the perfect way to close this chapter.
People today rely on streaming platforms to enjoy their favorite movies, and Hulu offers some of the best holiday movies from the classics to the newest Hallmark flicks. Here are the top Christmas movies available on Hulu in 2021.
Updated December 14, 2022, by Layann Basileh: Hulu subscribers likely already know far too well that the streaming platform often takes down movies to make room for new additions but that loss is rarely more apparent than when the holidays come around and one’s seasonal favorites are nowhere to be found. Luckily, Hulu has still retained a few of its stellar Christmas films and added several fun titles to its collection for its subscribers to indulge in this winter.
From family flicks to films best enjoyed cozied up under a blanket alone (and maybe some mulled wine), here are the ten best Christmas movies currently available for streaming on Hulu.
10 Happiest Season
In the 2020 movie Happiest Season, a young woman is looking to propose to her partner but finds out that her girlfriend hasn't yet come out to her conservative parents. Director Clea DuVall stated that the movie is loosely based on her experiences with her family as a young adult.
This non-conventional movie is a breath of fresh air for the industry, and a heartwarming story for the entire family. It puts a new spin on Christmas movies, showing a different side of the same story told time and time again. But all is good if the end is good, and it sure does have a happy ending.
9 Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale
A rather unconventional Finnish Christmas movie, Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale puts a new twist on the holiday theme. Pietari and his friend Juuso believe a drilling site of a secret project in the mountains near their home has uncovered the tomb of Santa Clause.
But much to their surprise, the man isn't like Santa at all. Instead, he's a monstrous, evil Santa, and not the cheery, beloved St. Nick as told in the legend. However, after the boy's father captures him, it turns out he could be the key to solving why reindeer are being slaughtered and why children are disappearing. It's very weird, but just intriguing enough that it may work.
8 A Christmas Movie Christmas
For everyone who has seen Teen Beach Movie, here's the Christmas special. Christmas movie fanatic and her cynical sister are suddenly trapped inside a Christmas movie. That's all. The two sisters do everything to find their way back to reality while going through their predictable character development.
While it's somewhat cliche, and all too familiar, we still can't get enough of a movie like this. They're light and fluffy, making them perfect for a late-night holiday special when we can't function anymore anyway because of all the food and the running around.
Mike and Carol Brady plan to spend the holiday season with their six grown children, but things are never simple in this family. Each Brady has their own set of problems in every aspect of their lives, and on top of it all, Mike is also trapped in a collapsed building! If there's ever a good time to pray for a Christmas miracle, it's now.
7 Arthur Christmas
Fun for the whole family, Arthur Christmas has the design and story for children and the humor for adults. When a child is accidentally left out of the Christmas operation, it's up to Arthur to get the present to her before the sun rises so she doesn't lose faith.
Using his grandfather's knowledge and their old-timer sleigh, he embarks on the journey with an elf on his side. The movie is fun to watch, it's exciting, it has amazing new ideas, and fabulous humor, and ultimately is just a great fun time for the entire family.
6 A Christmas Carol (2019)
While this adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol still retains the original work’s messages about the importance of kindness and the ability to change one’s self for the better, don’t expect a feel-good story from this grim reconception of the Christmas classic.
However, those who don’t mind a trip to the dark side of humanity during the holidays will get to enjoy the exceptional acting and cinematography that accompanies the dark retelling. The adaptation originally aired as a three-part miniseries on BBC One but is currently streaming on Hulu as a film.
5 Snowglobe
Christina Milan stars in this fantastical film as Angela, a young woman who is obsessed with experiencing a perfect, picturesque Christmas. In reality, she must settle her family which has little interest in traditional Christmas celebrations and takes it upon themselves to advocate for Angela’s love life, going so far as to constantly rent out the apartment next to her to single men.
Angela gets her chance at the Christmas she’s been dreaming of when she receives a snow globe from an anonymous sender, one that whisks her into the cozy town underneath its dome where every day is a white Christmas.
4 George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker
For those who adore ballet and the holidays, the 1993 film adaptation of The Nutcracker is the perfect thing to pop on and watch curled up on the couch with a cup of hot cocoa and a crackling fireplace. And it has an added bonus for Home Alone fans, featuring Macaulay Culkin in its cast.
The movie takes its cues from the original stage performance, filmed on a series of traditional stage sets and featuring so many intricate ballet sequences that it often feels that one is actually witnessing the ballet live rather than watching a movie.
3 12 Dog Days Till Christmas
If families are looking for a lighthearted film this holiday season with a good message and plenty of endearing, furry faces, add 12 Dog Days Till Christmas to the streaming queue. The family and puppy-friendly film follows a pessimistic teen who finally starts to feel the Christmas spirit when he is sentenced to serve community service at the local animal shelter, and tasked with finding permanent homes for its residents.
12 Dog Days Till Christmas is by no means a masterpiece of filmmaking but it provides an easy, wholesome watch.
2 Paul Blart: Mall Cop
Despite not taking place in December, the main plot of the comedy film takes place on Black Friday, which is usually considered the start of the Christmas season. So it’s the perfect film for those who want to ease into holiday streaming or think it’s too soon to start watching Santa make his deliveries.
A New Jersey mall cop hilariously proves that mall security isn’t just for show or detaining the occasional shoplifter when a gang of criminals seizes the mall, taking the love of his life hostage in the process.
1 Holiday in Santa Fe
Emeraude Toubia and Mario Lopez headline this family-oriented holiday romance. Toubia portrays Belinda, an executive of a major holiday goods retailer who travels to Santa Fe in the hopes of convincing Casa de Milagro, a family-owned holiday store inspired by Mexican American traditions, to sell. Belinda realizes that she might have gotten much more than she bargained for when she meets Tony, played by Lopez, who runs Casa de Milagro with his sister.
Holiday in Santa Fe doesn’t reinvent the rom-com wheel, outside of providing a breath of diversity into the genre, but it’s a fun film for those who enjoy the cliché yet comforting format.