Best Christmas movies on Netflix UK in 2023 – from Falling for Christmas to The Noel Diary
It's the most wonderful time of the year - especially for fans of Lindsay Lohan and, well, Christmas!
We're approaching the midway point in December – which means you might already have worked your way through several of the classic Christmas films, from Elf to Love Actually.
Luckily, if you're after a few more festive films to enjoy in the run-up to the big day, Netflix has a vast selection box to tuck into – and while the quality might be extremely variable, there are a couple of genuine greats alongside the more cheesy offerings.
Nancy Meyers's 2006 romcom The Holiday – with its all-star cast featuring Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Jude Law and Jack Black – has more than earned its place in the Christmas canon over the years, while there's even an Oscar-nominated option in the shape of 2019 animation Klaus.
And when it comes to the aforementioned cheesy options, there is a seemingly endless supply – from last year's Falling for Christmas starring Lindsay Lohan to heartwarming romcom Single All the Way and Vanessa Hudgens's festive franchise The Princess Switch.
RadioTimes.com has put together our selection of the best festive films to watch on the streaming giant as you hunker down with your nearest and dearest.
So, without further ado, read on for the best Christmas movies to watch and stream on Netflix UK in 2023 to spread a little bit of festive cheer.
Best Netflix Christmas movies to watch in 2023
The Holiday
Love Actually is probably still the most beloved star-studded mid-2000s Christmas romcom – but Nancy Meyers's 2006 film can give it a good run for its money, and is now firmly established as a festive favourite.
The film sees Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz star as two women living in England and the US respectively who swap homes for the festive period in a bid to cast aside their relationship woes – only to each find themselves falling for local guys played by Jack Black and Jude Law.
Watch The Holiday now on Netflix
Klaus
The first Netflix original film to be nominated for the Best Animated Feature award at the Oscars, Klaus is a charming, heartwarming film that serves as an alternative origin story for Santa Claus, who is voiced by JK Simmons as part of a star-studded voice cast that also includes Jason Schwartzman, Rashida Jones and Joan Cusack.
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Schwartzman plays Jesper, a hapless student postman who is stationed in the miserable, selfish Arctic town of Smeerensburg as a punishment for being the worst person at his Academy, with his life changing when he comes across a brilliant but reclusive toymaker known as Klaus.
The Christmas Chronicles
There have been a lot of great on-screen Santas over the years – from Richard Attenborough to Tim Allen – and the idea to cast Kurt Russell as Jolly Old Saint Nick (alongside Goldie Hawn as Mrs Claus) was a stroke of genius from the creative team behind this Netflix original family flick from 2018.
It follows a pair of siblings whose plan to capture Santa Claus on camera one Christmas Eve goes horribly awry – leading them to form an alliance with the big man and his elves in order to save Christmas. It was followed by a sequel on 2020, which is also worth a watch.
Watch The Christmas Chronicles now on Netflix
Robin Robin
Aardman Animations currently has a new Chicken Run film on the way to Netflix – but if you're looking for something more explicitly festive, you can check out the studio's 2021 musical short Robin Robin, which also follows a stop-motion bird attempting a heist.
The robin in question has been raised by a family of mice, and has only recently become aware that she is rather different from her relatives, so she sets out on a daring adventure to steal a star and prove that she, too, can be a good mouse. The impressive voice cast includes Richard E Grant, Gillian Anderson and Adeel Akhtar.
Watch Robin Robin now on Netflix
Single All the Way
When it comes to Christmas movies generally, you can somewhat guess the plotline and unfortunately, the genre lacks diversity in all areas. But this recent Netflix movie seeks to rectify some gaping representation holes and is the streaming giant's first gay festive romcom.
Single All the Way follows bachelor Peter (Michael Urie), whose plans to bring his boyfriend home for Christmas are derailed when he discovers that his new man is actually someone else’s husband.
When Peter convinces his best friend Nick (Philemon Chambers) to accompany him instead, his family soon hatch a plan to make a real relationship happen between the pair. But, of course, like any good romantic film, the pair are left to contemplate their own relationship and ask themselves how much they really mean to each other.
Watch Single All the Way now on Netflix
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Falling for Christmas
If there's one thing you can be certain of when it comes to Yuletide watching, it's the fact that emotional romcoms are never far from the TV schedule. In Falling for Christmas, Lindsay Lohan returns to the big screen as Sierra Belmont, a newly engaged heiress who has a skiing accident in the days leading up to Christmas.
After she is diagnosed with amnesia, she finds herself in the care of handsome cabin owner Jake (Chord Overstreet) and his daughter. Queue a will-they-won't-they storyline to keep you guessing and a fair share of heartwarming romance.
While the premise is far from ordinary, the film has quickly ticked many viewers' boxes on what they want in a festive film: an easy watch, quietly comedic and somewhat predictable.
Watch Falling for Christmas now on Netflix
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
If you're looking for the kind of festive musical that has an important life message at it's centre, look no further than this 2020 film.
In Jingle Jangle: A Christmas journey, we follow the story of Jeronicus Jangle, an eccentric inventor who loses his passion for life after a personal tragedy. It takes a visit from his granddaughter, a creative young girl called Journey, to once again spark his enthusiasm - but it might be too late to thwart a dastardly scheme by his former apprentice-turned-rival.
Watch Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey now on Netflix
Love Hard
There's just something about romcoms and Christmas that seem to go hand in hand, and this 2021 Netflix release fits the bill perfectly. Starring The Vampire Diaries' Nina Dobrev, this film takes everything we know and love about the genre and upends it with a modern twist.
Dating apps and catfishing plague this LA writer's fledging romance and when Natalie (Dobrev) finds out that she's been speaking to an entirely different person than she thought – after having travelled 3,000 miles to surprise him for the holidays – hope is almost lost.
She soon finds out that actually, she's been catfished by her dream man's childhood friend Josh (Jimmy O Yang) who is equally as unlucky in love. Essentially, this is a lighthearted romantic comedy that chronicles Natalie's attempts to reel in love, all with varying results.
Watch Love Hard now on Netflix
The Noel Diary
The best kinds of Christmas films are those that somehow end up in a whirlwind of events that you least expect. With The Noel Diary, we follow Justin Hartley as Jacob Turner, a best-selling author who returns home at Christmas to settle his mother's estate upon her death.
Instead, he discovers a diary that holds secrets to the past and also to Rachel (Barrett Doss) – an intriguing young woman on a mission of her own. Together, they embark on a journey to confront their pasts and discover a future that's totally unexpected.
Watch The Noel Diary now on Netflix
The Princess Switch
A Netflix Christmas film list can't be complete without a mention of The Princess Switch. Now onto its third movie, the franchise has won over viewers with how charming it is, not to mention the sheer amount of joyful escapism the three films provide.
The identity swapping premise is rather simple but it doesn't mean it gets any less interesting to watch. In the first film, we follow Margaret, Duchess of Montenaro, who, one week prior to Christmas, switches places with Stacy, a Chicago 'commoner' who looks exactly like her.
With the assistance of a magical Santa's helper, Margaret falls in love with Stacy's handsome co-worker while Stacy falls in love with Margaret's fiancé, the dashing Prince.
As for the other two movies, there's ascensions to the throne, romance and fun in store, which is the perfect kind of film trilogy to get stuck into at Christmas time.
Watch The Princess Switch now on Netflix
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Every year, almost like clockwork, this 2000 film slowly creeps its way back into Netflix's top 10 rankings. It's a classic and not only stars Jim Carrey, Taylor Momsen and Christine Baranski, it's also a hilarious tale about the meaning behind everyone's favourite holiday.
Based on the well-known Dr Seuss children's story, this live-action feature film follows Cindy Lou, a six-year-old girl who believes in the spirit of Christmas and sets out to reform the Grinch, who lives in solitude just outside Whoville, hates the townsfolk and despises Christmas.
Watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas now on Netflix
Christmas with You
Pair any good Christmas film with a catchy (yet melodic) soundtrack and you basically have a festive hit.
In this recently released movie, pop star Angelina (Aimee Garcia) escapes to grant a young fan's wish in small town New York even though she's suffering with career burn out. She not only finds the inspiration to revitalise her career, but also a shot at true love.
Watch Christmas with You now on Netflix
I Believe in Santa
If you're looking for the kind of film that will most likely leave you with a smile on your face and believing a little more in the magic of Christmas, look no further than this upcoming Netflix release.
The new film, which will land on the streamer on Wednesday 14th December, follows Lisa (Christina Moore) and her new romantic flame Tom (John Ducey). All is going well in their blissful five months of dating until Lisa learns that Tom is actually obsessed with her least favourite holiday of the year.
The big question of the film is, though: is it time to give Christmas another chance?
Watch I Believe in Santa now on Netflix
Scrooge: A Christmas Carol
Netflix has taken to adapting a Charles Dickens classic and this new film, which was just released last month, is a glorious animation. A Christmas Carol has seen iterations as a Muppet-filled affair, a 1901 silent film and a 2009 computer animated feature film, also.
This time round, though, this newly released Netflix film updates the famous 1970 Leslie Bricusse-composed musical with reimagined songs.
And when we tell you that this is a star-studded voicing affair, we mean it. Not only do we have Luke Evans as Adult Scrooge, we also have Olivia Colman as 'Past', the Ghost of Christmas Past, Jessie Buckley as Isabel Fezziwig and Johnny Flynn as Bob Cratchit.
Rounding out the cast is Fra Fee as Harry Huffam, Giles Terera as Tom Jenkins, Trevor Dion Nicholas as 'Present', James Cosmo as Mr Fezziwig and Jonathan Pryce as Jacob Marley.
Watch Scrooge: A Christmas Carol now on Netflix
Holidate
'Feel-good' is the term that springs to mind when describing this festive number, and it's clear to see why. Holidate follows two strangers who, fed up with being single over the holidays, agree to be one another's dates to their respective holiday gatherings while they remain single.
We follow them as they go from being platonic plus-ones to fighting their very real (and growing) feelings towards each other. Not only does it have a touch of raunch to it, the film also includes a good slate of festive songs that will leave you humming along long after watching.
A Castle for Christmas
This movie may be a little bit silly, but it's all part of the festive charm that makes it such an easy watch.
To escape a scandal, a best-selling author journeys to Scotland where she falls in love with a castle – and faces off with the grumpy duke who owns it.
A Castle for Christmas stars Brooke Shields as protagonist Sophie Brown, while Cary Elwes plays Duke Myles. There's also even a cameo from Drew Barrymore.
Watch A Castle for Christmas now on Netflix
Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker
This documentary film is a welcome change from the usual comedic fayre that populates Netflix's Christmas movie lists usually.
In this Shonda Rhimes docufilm, we learn more about Debbie Allen's (Grey's Anatomy) career and follow her group of dance students as they prepare for Allen's annual Hot Chocolate Nutcracker.
It's a behind-the-scenes look at Allen's own dancing school, but also provides crucial insight into a career and dance style that is usually vastly underrepresented.
Watch Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker now on Netflix
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Looking for something else to watch? Check out the best Netflix series and best Netflix movies to keep you entertained, or visit our TV Guide or Streaming Guide for more to watch.
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