There's no movie season like the holiday movie season! And if you’ve got an HBO Max subscription, you’re in luck. This holiday season, the streaming service is home to an array of festive Christmas movies you can watch with the kids while putting up the Christmas tree, baking cookies, drinking hot cocoa, or really whenever the mood strikes.
From popular and quotable hits like Will Ferrell's Elf to classics such as Miracle On 34th Street and A Christmas Story, there’s a ton to choose from this holiday season. Indeed, there is no Christmas without the Griswalds' light display or a talking snowman who also happens to be your dad. Plus, Christmas isn’t complete without the magical train from Polar Express that takes kids to the North Pole to meet the one and only Santa Claus (and Tom Hanks as a train conductor is a fun perk, too).
Whatever your delight might be, there is a holiday movie for everyone in the family to watch this year. Below is our list of the top kid-friendly Christmas movies you can stream on HBO Max right now. And if you don’t have a subscription, HBO Max costs $14.99 a month. Or, you can purchase HBO Max as an add-on through your Hulu subscription.
Elf
Just a super cute Christmas story about an oversized elf named Buddy who lives in the North Pole. Well, actually he’s just a human baby who crawls into Santa's toy bag, is raised as an elf in the North Pole, and goes to New York City to find his real family. Will Ferrell is hilarious in this 2003 holiday comedy. But don’t let the kids get any ideas about getting on the elves’ four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corn, and syrup. And this includes the spaghetti topped with strawberry, coconut, chocolate, and raspberry sauce, marshmallows, and s’mores pop tarts.
Watch Elf, rated PG.
A Christmas Story
“Don't forget to drink your Ovaltine,” watching this 1983 comedy based on writings by author Jean Shepherd. All little Ralphie Parker, played by Peter Billingsley, wants for Christmas is a Red Ryder range-model BB gun. But can he convince his parents, teachers, and Santa to get him one? There’s a lot of nostalgic laughs in this movie from licking a pole and calling an entire fire department to get it off to Ralphie’s gift from Aunt Clara who is convinced he's a 4-year-old girl and gives him a handmade pink bunny onesie. And although Ralphie throws the “f bomb” you won’t hear it in this family comedy and the word gets censored to “fudge.” But the look on his dad’s face says it all.
Watch A Christmas Story, rated PG.
A Christmas Story 2
Despite the almost 30-year gap, the 2012 flick is a follow-up to the 1983 original. Ralphie is a teenager now and this time, all he wants for Christmas is a car (convertible to be exact), which he gets and wrecks before he can drive it off the lot. Now with the help of his friends, Flick and Schwartz, he must earn enough money to get it fixed and avoid jail time. There’s a fight with a department store Santa and a plastic reindeer takes a fall through the top of the convertible. In the end, Ralphie gets his dream car and dream girl.
Watch A Christmas Story 2, rated PG.
Miracle On 34th Street
"Now wait a minute, Susie. Just because every child can't get his wish that doesn't mean there isn't a Santa Claus." What if the actual Macy's Santa Claus was the real deal after all? The original 1947 film starring the late Natalie Wood is a bonafide Christmas must-watch. Wood is adorable as the little girl, Susie, whose divorced mother raised her not to believe in Santa. But turns out, miracles do happen! The Oscars called it “a modern twist on the story of Santa Claus.”
After indulging in the Academy Award-winning film, follow up with the 1994 movie starring Matilda's Mara Wilson and Richard Attenborough. Both are on HBO Max!
Watch Miracle On 34th Street, rated G.
A Christmas Carol
Don't be a humbug about this one! Experience the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and yet to come in this Charles Dickens' tale. The 1938 classic with Reginald Owen as Ebenezer Scrooge is currently streaming on HBO Max. It’s the oldest and first full-length feature film version of Dickens' story.
The ghost of Jacob Marley is transparent in this one, showing off the cinematic technology over 80 years ago! But one thing that never gets old is, “I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.” Or is it, “If they would rather die, they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.” I suppose it depends on who you are talking to.
Watch A Christmas Carol, rated G.
A Dennis The Menace Christmas
As HBO Max describes in its synopsis, “Dennis tries to give the Scrooge-like Mr. Wilson the Christmas spirit but causes havoc during his attempt as he tries to deal with a bully.” Pretty much seems it up!
The 2007 movie is a spinoff of the Dickens’ tale, with Mr. Wilson, played by Robert Wagner, acting like a Scrooge and Dennis, played by Maxwell Perry Cotton, is the one trying to give him the Christmas spirit. But what’s a Dennis The Menace flick without some havoc; from letting loose a pageant turkey to house fires. And let’s not forget giving Mr. Wilson food poisoning. Now that we talk about it, we can see why Mr. Wilson was ‘bah humbug about the holidays!
Watch A Dennis The Menace Christmas, rated G.
Jack Frost
Imagine losing a loved one and that person comes back as a snowman. That’s exactly what happens in this lovely, family flick starring Michael Keaton. The Morbius star plays Jack Frost, not to be confused with the mischievous, magical frost being who freezes parents and steals magic snowballs to change time and become Santa Claus (Santa Clause 3 spoiler). Nope. This version of Frost is a family man and musician who died on Christmas Eve and returns to his family in the form of a snowman. Not only is this a great movie about grief and coping but also about love. And...playing ice hockey with a snowman is pretty cool, too!
Watch Jack Frost, rated PG.
Fred Claus
Did you know Santa Claus has a brother? Well in this 2007 family comedy he does! Vince Vaughn plays Fred Clause, Saint Nick’s younger, troublemaker brother and the two could not be more opposite from one another. While Santa, played by Jungle Cruise’s Paul Giamatti, is doing the Santa thing in the North Pole, Fred is a repossession agent in Chicago. When Fred gets busted for impersonating a Salvation Army employee, his jolly big brother comes to the rescue and bails him out. To pay off his debt, Fred goes to the North Pole to work in the toy factory. This is a great movie to teach kids about overcoming sibling jealousy and rivalry and the value of family togetherness.
Watch Fred Claus, rated PG.
Alpha and Omega 2: A Howl-iday Adventure
Finally, this is a cute one for doggie lovers! Well, actually they’re wolves, but the same family! In this 2013 animated movie, wolves Kate and Humphrey, and their cubs, Stinky Claudette and Runt, have an “exciting holiday winter adventure” that includes reuniting a lost grizzly cub with its family, defeating some not-so-friendly, ‘rogue wolves in a cave, and sleeping under a Christmas tree. The Howl-iday Aventure is a sequel to 2010’s Alpha and Omega, starring Danny Glover, Christina Ricci, and Justin Long. Alpha and Omega are not on HBO Max but can be streamed on the Hulu app.
Watch Alpha and Omega 2: A Howl-iday Adventure, rated TV-Y7.
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
There’s no family Christmas movie night with the Griswalds. Where do we start? The cat (who was wrapped in a box) in the Christmas tree; city-wide power outage, Christmas light display; carving the driest turkey you will ever see in your life, the rabid squirrel and Cousin Eddie. And to think, all Clark wanted was to have the perfect Christmas with his family. This is the only movie on the list where some parental discretion is advised, specifically around Clark’s rants and daydreams of the salesgirl at the counter. Nonetheless, National Lampoon is a reminder to appreciate the dysfunction during the holidays.
Watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, rated PG-13.
Polar Express
You have to really believe to appreciate this magical, holiday adventure. Tom Hanks makes the story based on the children's book by Chris Van Allsburg his own in this 2004 animated masterpiece. The movie is about a young boy who has doubts about the existence of Saint Nick joins a few kids on a train ride on the Polar Express. Together they travel to the North Pole on Christmas Eve to meet the jolly man in red and his elves as he takes off to deliver gifts around the world. This is a great movie for kids about self-discovery, faith, friendship, bravery, and the power of believing in yourself.
Fun fact: There’s also a real opportunity to take The Polar Express in Colorado.
Watch The Polar Express, rated G.
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