Where to Stream Love Actually, Elf and Home Alone?

When it comes down to entertainmentAround Christmas time, you can’t go without a stroll down memory lane as you delve into all of your favourite classics, preferably with a drink of something festiveAnd tasty snacksTo hand.

But with a millionAnd one streaming services to contend with these days, we’ll admit that navigating exactly where to find your old faithfuls is a bit of a task.

To help make things easier, we’ve rounded up 26 of the most cherished films of all time, from It’s A Wonderful Life and The Muppet Christmas Carol to Love Actually and Elf, and highlighted exactly where they’re all available to watch on demand this Christmas.

Starting with an oldie but goodie, Christmas films don’t come much more iconic than It’s A Wonderful Life.

James Stewart heads this bona fide classic, which charts a man’s life from childhood, and sees him learning an important lesson when he falls down on his luck and makes the dramatic wish that he’d never been born.

There’s a reason this one has stood the test of time – although we’d recommend preparing yourslef for not just a few sniffles but full on floods of tears at the beautiful final scene.

Another great festive offering from Hollywood’s golden age, centring around a department store Santa Clause who claims he’s the real deal.

The original is still very much loved at this time. A remake, released almost 50 year later, manages to do the rare thing of standing on its own.

And if you can’t decide whether the Edmund Gwenn or Richard Attenborough version is best, it might come as a relief to hear that they’re both streaming this festive season.

This film was actually based upon the Christmas classic, not the other way around.

Set just after World War II, the musical stars Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen as two soldiers-turned-Broadway-stars and a pair of aspiring singers who hit it off while putting on a festive show.

White Christmas is jam-packed with romantic scenes, musical numbers, and romance. It’s a classic offering that the whole family can enjoy.

As we all know, retellings and adaptations of A Christmas Carol can be quite common at this time.).

One that definitely stands out above the hundreds of others is Ronald Neame’s from 1970, which came out shortly after the success of another of his musical Dickens adaptations, Oliver!.

Albert Finney won a Golden Globe for his portrayal as the mean-spirited miser who changes his ways after a visit from three spooky guests – but we’re warning you now that this film’s finale takes a much darker turn than other versions of this classic story. Two words: nightmare fuel.

Stream it on: Amazon Prime

Nothing says “British Christmas” quite like this much-loved TV special – which is actually celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2022.

If the pencil-drawn animation doesn’t hammer home the nostalgia enough, Channel 4 is also airing a one-off documentary about all things The Snowman this year. The follow-up The Snowman And The Snowdog is also available to stream – although let’s face it, there’s no beating the original is there?

Get warming up those pipes now if you’re hoping to dazzle everyone in the annual family sing-a-long of Walking In The Air…

Another of our favourite adaptations, this one might be called Mickey’s Christmas Carol but this Disney offering actually belongs to the criminally-underrated Scrooge McDuck.

In a similar vein to the Muppet’s much-loved take on the story, the heart-warming short recasts Disney favourites as the classic Dickens characters – and it’s always fun to see how many you can spot from films like Pinnochio, Robin Hood and the Aristocats.

Do you still want to see new versions of A Christmas Carol? Good.

Scrooged moves the story to the modern day (well, the late 80s, at least), with Bill Murray taking centre stage as New York executive Frank Cross, who has been put in charge of a new version of – you guessed it! – A Christmas Carol.

Unlike most of our favourite versions of A Christmas Carol, this one isn’t a musical, but it still wins points for its imaginative spin on the source material, and a fabulous cameo from Carol Kane.

Christmas Vacation was originally released in the National Lampoon film series as the third. Many consider it a festive must see.

Written by 80s movie icon John Hughes, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is truly a family Christmas film like no other, with ridiculous fun and slapstick humour throughout.

Boredom-stricken families all over the world get stuck in the annual debate about whether Die Hard should ever be considered a Christmas movie.

Streaming it together will at least settle the dispute for this year.

Truly a pinnacle of the action movie genre, Die Hard is, indeed, set over Christmas, with Bruce Willis’ turn as John McClane making him – in the eyes of many – every bit as much of a festive icon as Michael Caine’s Scrooge or Richard Attenborough’s Kris Kringle.

And once you’re done, Die Hard’s various (brilliantly-titled) sequels are also all available to stream.

This beloved comedy turns Yuletide negligence into laughter for the whole family. It is about Kevin McAllister, a young boy (played in part by Macaulay Culkin), who accidentally gets left behind while his family goes on their annual Christmas vacation.

Kevin is forced to laugh-out-loud hilariously when his family home is burgled. Nowadays, Home Alone also affords you the opportunity to smugly point out to family members, “did you know that’s Moira Rose?” when Catherine O’Hara has her iconic meltdown.

An immediate hit, Home Alone later spawned a string of sequels and spin-offs, which are also available to stream now (although we’d maybe call it a night after watching Home Alone 2).

Not just one of the best festive films ever, but also one the best films ever, full stop, The Muppet Christmas Carol is perfect from those opening shots of Victorian London right through to Scrooge’s Christmas dinner with Kermit and Miss Piggy.

Michael Caine’s take on Scrooge is truly an acting masterclass, as he manages to maintain a steely and stern composure despite his equal parts ridiculous and adorable surroundings. And who doesn’t love those songs?

Speaking of – to mark The Muppet Christmas Carol’s 30th anniversary, this year a deleted musical number has now been reinstated into the film, giving us even more reason to watch (not that we needed one).

What’s this? What’s this?

Well, according to Wikipedia: “The Nightmare Before Christmas is a 1993 American stop-motion animated musical dark fantasy film directed by Henry Selick (in his feature directorial debut) and produced and conceived by Tim Burton. It tells the story of Jack Skellington, the King of ‘Halloween Town’, who stumbles upon ‘Christmas Town’ and schemes to take over the holiday.”

Couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

This is a great way to instill warm nostalgic feelings in your 90s children.

The Santa Clause is a movie starring Tim Allen as a man who accidentally kills Father Christmas . and – to his dismay – begins slowly morphing into the man himself as the next year passes.

Yeah, we know that sounds like a dark premise, but we promise it’s a kids’ film rather than a festive arthouse horror.

Like A Christmas Carol before it, Dr Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas is a festive story that has now been told a hundred different ways, but if you’re looking for the definitive film, this one from the turn of the millennium is probably the best.

Jim Carrey is the star of the show, playing the Grinch. While some dialogue and references have been updated to be more current, this adaptation stays true to the original’s heart (however small that may be).

The Muppets hold the title of best Christmas film for families, but the prize for festive rom-coms goes to Love Actually.

Richard Curtis’ hit film weaves together 10 different stories of love at Christmas, including celebrations of new romance, an observation on the intricacies of a long-held relationship, the difficulties of unrequited feelings or the love between family members.

It also toes the line between comedy and drama, with Hugh Grant’s brilliant moves proving to be just as important to the film as Emma Thompson’s tear-stained realisation that her husband has been buying romantic gifts for someone else…

And there’s no arguing with that soundtrack, is there?

You can stream it here: Amazon Prime

2003 saw two festive favourites that are perhaps even more popular today than they were twenty years ago, and that year was no exception.

Elf hit cinemas around the same time as Love Actually, with Will Ferrel’s wholesome character Buddy stealing our hearts and making us smile every time we watch.

Another Christmas comedy starring Tim Allen, this time he’s joined by Jamie Lee Curtis as his on-screen wife.

The pair play a pair of empty nesters whose kids decide not to visit them for Christmas, meaning they’re finally able to take the trip they’ve always wanted.

But when their daughter announces she’s making an impromptu visit, they’re required to think fast and throw their usual elaborate celebrations together in just a few days.

Stream it on: Amazon Prime

As the great prophet Carly Rae Jepsen once said, “it’s not Christmas ’till somebody cries”, and no film has managed to sum up the dread that many of us feel about an impending dysfunctional Christmas at home quite like The Family Stone.

Sarah Jessica Parker has us cringing throughout this star-studded comedy-drama, playing an uptight woman who tries her best to fit in with her partner’s tight-knit family as they spend the holidays together, but can’t quite stop putting her foot in it over and over and over again.

The Family Stone has a lot more than just cringe. It also has relatable laughs.

Technically speaking, is The Holiday a “good” film? It’s not.

And yet, do we find ourselves tuning in year after year without exception, crying at the emotional bits, coveting Cameron Diaz’s California house and swooning over Mr Napkin Head? Yes, we do.

Stream it on: Amazon Prime

In this sweet family comedy, the titular Arthur (the son of the current Santa Claus, who is facing up to the fact he will one day inherit the title) has to team up with his grandfather on a quest when he notices that one girl’s present has been left behind at the North Pole.

Stars like James McAvoy and Jim Broadbent, Hugh Laurie and Imelda Staunton are part of the voice cast.

Stream it here: Amazon Prime

Another one that’s probably more of a “film set at Christmas” than your regular “Christmas film”, we’ve included Carol on this list quite simply because it’s so good.

Cate Blanchett plays Carol in New York during Christmas time in the 1950s. She is truly captivating and has a passionate affair with a younger woman that she meets in a department shop while shopping for a gift for her daughter.

Beautiful to look at, emotionally-charged and boasting that all-too-rare thing of a happy ending in a queer love story, Carol bagged both of its stars – Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett – Oscar nominations, as well as a deserved nod for director Todd Haynes, too.

You can stream it here: Amazon Prime

Since companies like Disney and Dreamworks made CGI their priority, there’s been a noticeable absence of traditional hand-drawn animation on the big screen, but the Netflix original Klaus proves there’s very much still a place for it.

The film received praise for its unique look and twist on the Santa Clause story upon its release in 2019. And despite being pretty new, it’s already considered among the “best Christmas movies of all time” on review site Rotten Tomatoes (above classics like It’s A Wonderful Life and White Christmas, no less!). If you’ve still not checked it out, it’s time to find out what all the fuss is about.

Remember the first release of Last Christmas in 2019, which was in 2019. all that fuss made about how rubbish it was? It was then revealed that it was fairly standard festive fare. no worse than half of the films we get excited about tuning in to watch year after year?

We believe enough time has passed since then that we should give this movie another chance.

Stream it on: BBC iPlayer

In the last decade, Netflix has garnered a bit of a reputation for its original festive films being a little on the cheap and cheerful side (and given what they’ve put out in the past few years, this doesn’t seem like something they’re in any rush to shake).

They still give us Christmas presents every now and again. Klaus is just one example. Jingle Jangle, which is all-singing, all dancing, is another.

If you’re a fan of a Christmas musical, then this is a must-watch, with John Legend providing songs and Forest Whitaker taking the lead as an inventor and toymaker who believes he’s come up with a creation to change his family’s lives.

Then there are films such as Single All The Way.

As predictable and trope-heavy a Christmas rom-com as you’re ever likely to find, this one does win points for subverting the genre, putting the relationship between a pair of gay pals who begin to wonder whether there might be more to their friendship around the festive season.

While the Britney Spears dance number is something we’re still recovering from, there is a lot of camp fun from Kathy Najimy and the incomparable Jennifer Coolidge to provide a bit of relief.

Yes, it’s only just come out, but we’ve included it on our list of “your favourite Christmas films” because we already know we’ll be coming back to this movie year after year.

Lindsay Lohan, a former teen queen, makes her long-awaited return back to the spotlight in this romantic comedy with Glee’s Chord overstreet, sparking the start of the Lohanaissance.

In what we can only describe as “Christmas cliché bingo”, the Mean Girls star plays a spoilt heiress who goes on a journey of self-discovery when an unfortunate skiing accident leaves her with amnesia, and in the process she grows close to a local hotel owner who, of course, also happens to be a widowed father.

Lindsay was not only the lead, but she also contributed a cover to the soundtrack of Jingle Bell Rock. What’s not to like?