EVERYONE has their festive viewing favourites, those time-honoured classics that are enjoyed year after year, from It’s A Wonderful Life and White Christmas to Love Actually, The Grinch, Elf, Home Alone and Die Hard.
If you are looking for something new to add to your watch list, we have compiled a round-up of the best offerings from the streaming platforms, with Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ and Apple TV+ all releasing a clutch of Christmas films and TV specials for 2023.
So, whether you love a romcom, are a fan of dark comedy, a sucker for a big musical extravaganza or hanker after family-friendly fun, there should be something to suit most tastes. All you need to do is grab the popcorn and head for the sofa.
Family Switch
Jennifer Garner and Ed Helms lead the cast as Jess and Bill Walker, a couple desperate to keep their family unit connected as their precocious teenage offspring CC and Wyatt (played by Emma Myers and Brady Noon) grow ever-more independent and dream of flying the nest.
In the run-up to Christmas, Jess and Bill are determined they should all spend more time together, along with their toddler and pet dog. A trip to witness a rare planetary alignment, coupled with an encounter with a mysterious astrological reader, swiftly turns their lives inside out and upside down.
If you are familiar with the body-swap genre - think Freaky Friday, Big, Vice Versa and The Change-Up - you will have an inkling of what comes next (Garner is certainly no stranger to the concept having previously appeared in 13 Going On 30).
Watch on Netflix
Hannah Waddingham: Home For Christmas
Recorded live at the London Coliseum, this one-hour special features Ted Lasso and Sex Education star Hannah Waddingham performing classic songs, such as Please Come Home For Christmas, Run Rudolph Run and Winter Wonderland.
Waddington - who was a hit as co-host of Eurovision 2023 - is joined by guests including singer-songwriter Sam Ryder, West End regular Luke Evans and Broadway luminary Leslie Odom Jr.
Also getting in on the action is her Ted Lasso castmate Phil Dunster, who many viewers will know for his role as Jamie Tartt in the football-set comedy series. Keep your eyes peeled for joy-filled cameos from a host of other famous faces.
Watch on Apple TV+
It’s A Wonderful Knife
This comedy-slasher horror is - as the name suggests - a contemporary twist on It’s A Wonderful Life. A year after saving the town of Angel Falls from a serial killer during the Christmas season, Winnie Carruthers is wracked with grief and wishing she’d never been born.
Winnie - played by Jane Widdop from Yellowjackets - finds herself transported to a bizarre parallel universe and is given a chilling insight into how events might have unfolded if she hadn’t been around that fateful day. The cast also includes Joel McHale and Justin Long.
Available to watch on Shudder; buy or rent on Prime Video
Dashing Through The Snow
Eddie Garrick has fallen out of love with the festive season. He isn’t a fan of Santa Claus either. But after he and his daughter meet and befriend an enigmatic chap called Nick in a red suit, that is all set to change.
First, though, Eddie (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges) must find and reacquaint himself with something he lost a long time ago: the ability to trust in the magic of Christmas.
Watch on Disney+
Best. Christmas. Ever!
Austin Powers star Heather Graham and singer-turned-actor Brandy Norwood play frenemies who are unexpectedly thrown together at Christmas.
The boastful annual newsletter penned by Jackie (Norwood) is a long-running bone of contention for Charlotte (Graham) and she sets about proving that her old college classmate’s life is far from perfect.
Jason Biggs and Matt Cedeno round out the cast in this slightly daft and tongue-firmly-in-cheek comedy directed by Mary Lambert (yes, she of Pet Sematary fame) and written by Charles Shyer (whose prolific CV includes Private Benjamin, Father of the Bride, Baby Boom and The Parent Trap).
Watch on Netflix
Merry Little Batman
This animated caper puts Batman’s son Damian Wayne in the spotlight. With Batman called away by the Justice League, the Joker channels his inner Grinch to steal Christmas from Gotham City.
Not on Damian’s watch. He vows to step up and emulate his superhero father and attempt to save the day. Luke Wilson, David Hornsby, Brian George and Reid Scott all lend their voices to the film, with upcoming actor Yonas Kibreab as the bold Damian.
Watch on Prime Video
Your Christmas Or Mine 2
Asa Butterfield (Sex Education) and Cora Kirk (Prey for the Devil) reprise their roles as loved-up couple James and Hayley for this sequel.
The first instalment saw the pair unwittingly switch trains and end up at each other’s family homes. While James is thrust into the bosom of Hayley’s rambunctious kin, Hayley finds that James’s clan aren’t big fans of seasonal merriment.
This time around James’s father Lord Humphrey (The Crown’s Alex Jennings) invites Hayley and her loved ones to join them for Christmas at a luxury ski resort in the French Alps.
Cue an airport dash, a mix up with the accommodation and the much-welcome addition of Jane Krakowski, who played self-centred socialite Jacqueline White in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, to the cast.
Watch on Prime Video
Genie
Richard Curtis is synonymous with Christmas as the writer/director of Love Actually and 20 years on from that big-name movie, he has penned another festive comedy romp.
Genie is a remake of the 1991 British television film Bernard and the Genie, also written by Curtis. This incarnation stars Paapa Essiedu - known for his roles in The Lazarus Project and I May Destroy You - as Bernard Bottle, a man in the doldrums after his wife leaves him and he loses his job.
When Bernard chances upon an antique jewellery box, he gives it a quick genie in the lamp-style rub. Flora - played by Melissa McCarthy from Bridesmaids - pops out. She’s been stuck inside the box for more than 2,000 years and promises to grant an unlimited number of wishes.
Bernard hopes this may be a way to reunite his family before Christmas, seeing a thrilling adventure ensue. The cast also features Denee Benton, Marc Maron, Luis Guzman, Jordyn McIntosh and Alan Cumming (a nice nod to the Scots actor who starred in the original version).
Watch on Sky Cinema and NOW
The Naughty Nine
When a troublemaking youngster realises that he is on Santa’s naughty list, he assembles a crack team of other kids who have also found themselves similarly afflicted. They set off for the North Pole to steal the confiscated presents that the gang believe they truly deserve.
A wholesome family-friendly heist adventure that delivers all the requisite life lessons and plenty of Christmas cheer. Oh, and Lethal Weapon alumni Danny Glover makes an excellent Mr Claus.
Watch on Disney+
Candy Cane Lane
This comedy adventure stars Eddie Murphy as a man with his eyes on the prize: winning his local neighbourhood’s annual Christmas decorating contest.
For years Chris Carver (Murphy) has painstakingly crafted his own hand-carved decorations yet has never won, unlike his neighbour who repeatedly scoops top spot.
As he picks up materials for his entry, Chris stumbles across a curious Christmas shop where he accidentally makes a pact with an evil elf called Pepper (Jillian Bell). She, in turn, casts a spell that brings the 12 Days of Christmas to life and sparks mayhem.
Watch on Prime Video
Christmas as Usual
Thea and Jashan meet and fall in love in the Californian sunshine. When the couple get engaged, she decides to take him home for a snowy Norwegian Christmas to meet her family whose strict Jul traditions soon clash with his Indian roots in eye-wateringly chaotic fashion.
Jashan (Kanan Gill) discovers that Thea’s (Ida Ursin-Holm) nearest and dearest have a long list of odd customs, from the mandatory wearing of matching jumpers to cross-country skiing picnics and celebrating events such as “teeny tiny Christmas”, that they insist on following with ritualistic vigour.
Watch on Netflix
EXmas
Nothing says Christmas like simmering tensions between ex-partners, right? When a man makes a surprise trip home to visit his family, he is disgruntled to learn that a guest of honour is also in attendance: his erstwhile fiancee.
Former couple Graham and Ali - played by Robbie Amell and Leighton Meester - find themselves battling it out to triumph in a tension-filled and hilarious vendetta.
Watch on Amazon Freevee
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