The Best New Christmas Movies to Freshen Up Your Holiday Watch List

Welcome back, Lindsay Lohan! The Mean Girls queen makes her return to the screen, and this Netflix hit is the perfect vehicle for her brand of romantic comedy acting. With a comeback this big, the plot is almost irrelevant, but the story follows a young, newly engaged heiress who has a skiing accident just before Christmas. Surprise! She gets amnesia. Luckily a very handsome cabin owner and his daughter are willing to take care of her and teach her the true meaning of the holiday.

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The Claus Family 2 is a sequel to the story of a young boy named Jules Claus who finds out his grandpa, Noël, is THE Santa Claus. In this follow-up, Jules helps his grandpa gear up for the busiest time of the year for their generous family. When Jules gets a letter from a little girl with an unusual Christmas request, he’ll do anything to help get her what she asked for. This is a great family movie about showing love and kindness way past December 25th.

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Just like Lohan, Freddie Prinze Jr. is back with a Christmas movie. This music-filled story follows a pop star named Angelina who has the job of writing a hit Christmas song she couldn’t be less interested in. She hears of a young fan who has made a Christmas wish to meet her, and heads to his small-town. There, she connects with the child’s widowed dad, played by Prinze. She discovers both love and the perfect muse for a Christmas ballad.

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Carlinhos, played by Sérgio Malheiros, discovers his girlfriend has betrayed him just before the holidays. Not wanting to waste a plus one, he takes a stranger to his family’s mansion for Christmas dinner. Graça, played by Brazilian pop star Gkay, turns Carlinhos and his family’s life upside down, but it’s definitely for the best.

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“I am proud of my independence. I don’t need a boyfriend to be happy,” Gianna insists, but her Italian family won’t stop calling her a spinster and suggesting she freeze her eggs. To side-step more criticism, the successful nurse decides she’s not going home for Christmas without a boyfriend. And she has 24 days to find him.

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This animated film is another adaptation of the oft-revisited classic tale by Charles Dickens, in which a miserly old learns the true meaning of Christmas after a series of strategic hauntings. But this version is voiced by some pretty big names, including Luke Evans as Scrooge, as well as Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, and Jonathan Pryce. (That’s at least two people who have appeared on The Crown.)

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An ad executive named Andrea falls into a version of Groundhog Day set during the holidays. Andrea is stuck in a time loop and she has to keep going through Christmas day as she tries to appease her demanding boss and reconnect with her family at the same time. She’ll be doing it again and again until she gets it right.

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This romantic comedy follows, Jacob Turner (Justin Hartley), the best-selling author of The Final Midnight. Turner hasn’t been home since he was a teenager and he didn’t leave under great circumstances. His mother has passed away and he’s there to sell her estate. There he finds her diary and discovers some truths about his family history. Accompanied by his former nanny’s daughter, Rachel, he goes on a quest to heal those family wounds.

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Spirited is also a version of A Christmas Carol, but this one stars Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell. It’s also both a comedy and a musical, with a modern twist. The selling point here is clearly the charms of Reynolds and Ferrell since you already know the story. But keep an eye out for fun cameos amongst the Ghosts of Christmas.

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If you want some action with your gingerbread and a very masculine Santa Claus, this movie has it all. A family is being held hostage by an elite team of mercenaries on Christmas Eve. Who will save them? That’s right: Santa (played by Stranger Things‘ David Harbour). Mr. Klaus is on the compound and he knows who belongs on the naughty list.

In theaters December 2. Get Tickets

This sequel to the classic film A Christmas Story takes place in the 1970s, with the adult Ralphie bringing his family to visit his childhood home. There, Ralphie will see his old friends, deal with the past, and give fans of the original lots of callbacks to enjoy.

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Hayley (Cora Kirk) and James (Sex Education‘s Asa Butterfield) are both dreading the holidays at their parents’ homes as they bid goodbye to one another at the train station. Once aboard, they both decide to visit the other and unwittingly switch trains. By the time they realize the mix up, they’re each snowed in with the other’s family for Christmas. Is there a better way to get to know your partner than visiting their childhood home without them?

Watch on Amazon Prime December 2.