It’s time to stream!

It’s that special time of year – when we celebrate the joy, love and laughter of Christmas in a special way: by streaming Christmas movies.

And with more streaming platforms than ever before, you’ll be spoiled for choice when it comes to festive films.

Technically, Christmas Day is the start of the 12 Days of Christmas and is the perfect time to re-watch a popular Christmas film or one of this year’s new additions to the genre.

So if you’re looking for something to watch — be it with family, friends, a special someone, or your fur baby — pour yourself a cup of cocoa, grab a cozy blanket, and treat yourself to one of these 12 holiday movies (and one). Bonus) while you enjoy your vacation.

“Eleven”

“Mate the elf, what’s your favorite color?”

Will Ferrell’s 2003 screwball Christmas comedy is a long-time favorite with a broad demographic, making it the perfect choice for families. If you somehow haven’t seen it yet, the film is about Buddy the Elf (Ferrell), one of Santa’s elves, who learns that his biological father is a businessman (James Caan) living in New York and sets out to find him makes after him. As Buddy tries to adjust to life in the big city, banter ensues.

Watch “Elf” on Hulu or Disney+.

“Our little secret”

Lindsay Lohan’s second Netflix Christmas film “Our Little Secret” thrilled fans, as did her first “Falling for Christmas” from 2022, in which she played a spoiled hotel heiress who falls in love with a down-on-his-luck innkeeper (Chord Overstreet), after being diagnosed with amnesia following a skiing accident.

In her second holiday film project, Lohan stars alongside Ian Harding (“Pretty Little Liars”), who plays her ex. They are upset with each other and have to spend Christmas under the same roof after learning that their respective significant others are siblings.

Watch Our Little Secret on Netflix.

“The Polar Express”

The animated adaptation of Chris Van Allsburg’s 1985 children’s book of the same name, The Polar Express, seems to find its way into the top 10 streaming rankings every year.

Directed by Robert Zemeckis (“Back to the Future,” “Forrest Gump”) and featuring the voice of Tom Hanks, “The Polar Express” is about a little boy who wonders if Santa Claus is real while in… On Christmas Eve, he travels to the North Pole, where he meets the big man in red himself and learns an invaluable lesson about the true spirit of Christmas.

Watch The Polar Express on Hulu and Max.

“The Merry Gentlemen”

If you’re looking for some heartier holiday food, look no further than The Merry Gentlemen.

Part of Netflix’s 2024 Christmas movie list, “The Merry Gentlemen” takes inspiration from films like “The Full Monty” and “Calendar Girls” to create a crowd-favorite holiday movie that will have you reaching for your candy canes.

When New York dancer Ashley (Britt Robertson) returns to her hometown and finds her parents’ beloved nightclub closing due to unpaid rent, she stages an all-male Christmas dance revue to raise funds to save the club. Ashley recruits local stallions to star in the show. Among them is the handsome handyman Luke (Chad Michael Murray). Keyword: Chad Michael Murray-Aissance.

Watch The Merry Gentlemen on Netflix.

“Hot frosty”

“Hot Frosty,” Netflix’s other entry in the “Christmas Movies About Hot Men” category, is about a young widow (Lacy Chabert) whose magical scarf brings a sexy snowman (Dustin Milligan) to life. Can he help her rediscover romance? After all, he only has a limited amount of time to embody his new sexy self – all snowmen have to melt (or do they?).

This is as light as freshly fallen snow, so don’t expect any serious contemplations on the temporal nature of love. But for “Schitt’s Creek” fans who’ve always longed to see the more affable Mulligan doing more shirtless frolicking (see: the puppy cam; iykyk), this anything-but-cool romp is just the ticket.

Watch Hot Frosty on Netflix.

“National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”

“We’re going to have the happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tap danced with Danny fucking Kaye.”

It’s tempting to just write down every single iconic quote from “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” the raucous 1989 comedy starring Chevy Chase, Randy Quaid, Beverly D’Angelo, Johnny Galecki and Juliette Lewis, because there are so many memorable lines, such as, “Merry Christmas! Sh-tter was full!”

“Christmas Vacation,” the story of the Griswold family’s attempt to have the perfect Christmas and then survive it, is the ideal film for anyone who has ever felt like their family is the most dysfunctional, craziest bunch of weirdos on the planet , because chances are, are the Griswolds you beat?

Stream National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation on Hulu, Max or Disney+.

“Die Hard”

“Yippi-ki-yay, motherfucker!”

The debate over whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie or not is virtually settled as streams of the film increase every holiday season.

When New York City cop John McClane (Bruce Willis) visits his estranged wife (Bonnie Bedelia) at her work holiday party in an LA high-rise on Christmas Eve, the festivities are interrupted by a group of terrorists who take over the building and everyone in it. McClane realizes that it is up to him to save his family, the hostages and the day. The film, which also starred the late Alan Rickman as villain Hans Gruber, launched a franchise that now includes five additional films.

Watch Die Hard on Hulu, Disney+ or Prime Video.

“Miracle on 34th Street” (1994) & “Miracle on 34th Street” (1947)

Okay, that’s two films, but it’s worth streaming as the 1994 remake of the 1947 Christmas classic is one of those rare examples of a fun Hollywood remake.

Both versions of the film are extremely entertaining and follow the same plot: Susan Walker, a six-year-old Santa Claus skeptic raised by her mother Dorey to believe that Santa Claus is not real, must confront her beliefs in the face of a curious man named Kris Kringle, who claims to be Santa Claus, is hired by her mother to be the official Santa Claus at Macy’s department store where she works. The film also chronicles a romance between Susan’s mother and the dashing young lawyer Bryan Bedford, who comes to Kringle’s aid in his darkest hour.

The original film starred young Natalie Portman as Susan. The 1994 revival of “Miracle on 34th Street” starred Mara Wilson as the precocious six-year-old, Dylan McDermott as Bedford, Richard Attenborough as Kringle and Elizabeth Perkins as Dorey.

Watch Miracle on 34th Street (1947) on Hulu, Peacock and Disney+; and “Miracle on 34th Street” (1994) on Peacock, Hulu and Disney+.

“A Bad Moms Christmas”

The sequel to 2016’s “Bad Moms,” “A Bad Moms Christmas,” returns to the lives of three underappreciated and overworked mothers, Amy (Mila Kunis), Kiki (Kristen Bell), and Carla (Kathryn Hahn), as they Coping with the most difficult time of the year for all mothers: Christmas.

And as if it wasn’t hard enough to create the perfect vacation for their families, they also have to do it while hosting and entertaining their respective mothers when they come to visit for the holidays.

Last but not least, watch out for Christine Baranski, who gives a masterclass on passive-aggressive white women, WASP style.

The film also stars Susan Sarandon, Christina Applegate, Cheryl Hines, Peter Gallagher, Justin Hartley, Jay Hernandez and Wanda Sykes.

Watch A Bad Moms Christmas on Netflix.

“The Holiday”

Always remember: you should be the protagonist of your own life.

That’s one of the many lessons to be learned from Nancy Meyers’ heartwarming romantic comedy The Holiday. The 2006 Christmas film is about two women, Amanda Woods (Cameron Diaz) and Iris Simpkins (Kate Winslet), who are both struggling with their love lives.

When filmmaker Amanda leaves her boyfriend for cheating on her and Winslet stops herself from pulling a Sylvia Plath after being surprised by her ex’s engagement, the couple uses a home exchange website to exchange the apartment over the holidays to exchange, and sends them to their side happy ways to find true love.

Starring Jude Law, Jack Black and Eli Wallach, you can also watch The Holiday on Prime Video.

“It’s a wonderful life”

An all-time Christmas classic, Frank Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life” has been popular for so many years for a reason. Although the film has an uplifting ending, its main character, George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart), sets the film in motion when he almost takes his own life. Luckily, his guardian angel Clarence shows up and shows him what his city would have looked like if he hadn’t done all the good things over the years.

The film’s dark beginning makes the heartwarming ending all the more satisfying. No wonder “It’s a Wonderful Live” is so popular.

Stream It’s a Wonderful Life on Prime Video and the Roku Channel.

“The Muppet Christmas Carol”

The Muppets put their own spin on the Dickens classic, making the Christmas story as heartwarming as any other film in the Muppet canon. Kermit the Frog takes on the role of Bob Cratchit, the beleaguered employee of the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, a pitch-perfect Michael Caine doing his best bah-humbug.

The rest of the Muppet gang is here too, including Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Fozzie Bear and Sam the Eagle. In a fun additional conceit, Gonzo plays Charles Dickens himself and tells the story with his buddy Rizzo.

Watch The Muppet Christmas Carol on Disney+.