Best Christmas movies on Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, Crave that you probably forgot about

Every time the holidays roll around, people are quick to watch Christmas movies like The Grinch, Elf, Love Actually, Home Alone and Die Hard. While they're all great picks, as you start making your way through collections of Christmas movies on streaming sites like Netflix, Disney+, Crave and Prime Video, you may need some inspiration for what to watch beyond the more obvious choices.

From the movies you haven't seen that are perfect for kids and the whole family, to more adult options that just touch the Christmas theme, there's something for everyone. Here are nine Christmas movies that may not be on your radar, and how to watch them in Canada.

Christmas with the Kranks

Yes, you likely know this movie exists, but it's really on this list because it is truly one of the best Christmas movies to watch every holiday season, and maybe doesn't get as much attention as it should. While Tim Allen has starred in numerous Christmas films, particularly the Santa Claus movies, I think "hristmas with the Kranks is even better.

With Luther (Allen) and Nora's (Jamie Lee Curtis) daughter away for the holidays, the couple decide to skip Christmas this year and head to the Caribbean instead. But they planned too soon because when their daughter decides she's actually going to come home for Christmas, they have to rush to get ready.

Watch Christmas with the Kranks on Crave

The Baltimorons

One of the best, yet most underrated, films of the year happens to be a holiday movie. The Baltimorons, directed by Jay Duplass and co-written by Duplass and Michael Strassner, has the makings of a new Christmas classic.

Strassner plays Cliff, a struggling comedian who has reached six months of sobriety on Christmas Eve. But when he breaks his tooth, Cliff ends up meeting dentist Didi, played by Liz Larsen, whose holiday plans were ruined by her ex-husband. That's when Didi and Cliff set off on a Christmas Eve adventure of mischief.

Watch The Baltimorons on Prime Video

Let It Snow

A Christmas movie with Kiernan Shipka, Liv Hewson, Joan Cusack, Shameik Moore and Isabela Merced, how could you not want to check this movie out? Based on the novel of the same name, the holiday rom-com is about a group of high school teens in a small town navigating their crushes over the holidays.

I also have to say that in recent years Shipka has become one of my favourite actors, so I'm happy to rewatch anything she's in over the holidays.

Watch Let It Snow on Netflix

Love Hard

Every year, there's a pretty robust selection of new Christmas movies on Netflix, but I still keep coming back to Love Hard, starring Nina Dobrev, Jimmy O. Yang and Darren Barnet. Dobrev's character Natalie has been unlucky in love since moving to Los Angeles, California, but decides to have her first in-person meeting with a guy she met on a dating app over the holidays. While she thought she was speaking to someone who looks like Barnet's character Tag, Natalie's actually been talking to his friend Josh (Yang).

While I appreciate that the premise of this film is different from most holiday films, adding the catfishing element, the real highlight is Yang's comedic talent, which will easily make you laugh throughout the entire film.

Watch Love Hard on Netflix

While You Were Sleeping

Sandra Bullock, Peter Gallagher and Bill Pullman star in the holiday rom-com While You Were Sleeping. Lucy (Bullock), a transit worker in Chicago, is forced to work Christmas Day, but ends up saving her crush, Peter (Gallagher), from an oncoming train. Things get complicated when he ends up in a coma, and Lucy is mistaken for his fiancée. But then Lucy starts having feelings for Peter's brother, Jack (Pullman).

Pullman is an absolutely phenomenal actor, and I'll always be a fan of The O.C. star Gallagher. Of course, Bullock is consistently a pro when it comes to a rom-com.

Watch While You Were Sleeping on Disney+

Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey

If you want to watch something more fantastical, Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey, starring Forest Whitaker, Keegan-Michael Key, Anika Noni Rose, Hugh Bonneville, Phylicia Rashad, Ricky Martin and Madalen Mills is just what you need. Jeronicus (Whitaker) is a toy maker who's betrayed by his apprentice Gustafson (Key), ruining his business. But things change when Jeronicus' granddaughter arrives to help.

It's a sweet film with beautiful costumes and production design that will get you in the holiday spirit.

Watch Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey on Netflix

The Ultimate Christmas Present

There is a special place in my heart for Disney Channel Original Movies (DCOMs), so I'll take any opportunity to watch one. In The Ultimate Christmas Present, Allie (Hallee Hirsh) and Sam (Brenda Song) are best friends who live in Los Angeles, trying to get out of an assignment that's due just before the winter break from school. When Allie stumbles upon a weather machine that actually belongs to Santa Claus, she uses it to create snow, thereby securing a snow day from school, leaving Santa to figure out how to retrieve his own weather machine.

Admittedly, this isn't my favourite DCOM of the whole bunch, but it's still a sweet watch for the holidays that will make you reminisce about playing in the snow with your friends.

Watch The Ultimate Christmas Present on Disney+

The Holdovers

One of our favourite recent releases is The Holdovers, starring Paul Giamatti, Dominic Sessa and Da'Vine Joy Randolph, and this should become a must-watch film every holiday season. It's about a high school student in New England who has to stay on campus during the holiday break, with his curmudgeonly teacher and the school cook.

Giamatti, Sessa and Randolph give beautifully affecting performances in Alexander Payne's film, which has all the wit you desire, with an emotionally impactful story.

Watch The Holdovers on Netflix

Tangerine

If you were on the Anora train last year, you can watch another Sean Baker film to get a little bite of Christmas with your entertainment. Tangerine, Baker's 2015 indie movie filmed only with iPhones, is about two transgender sex workers, Sin-Dee Rella (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez) and Alexandra (Mya Taylor). Taking place on Christmas Eve, when Sin-Dee finds out her boyfriend cheated on her while she was in jail, these friends try to track him down, and the girl he cheated on her with.

Watch Tangerine for free on Tubi