I enjoy a sappy or funny holiday movie playing in the background while I work on certain projects, so I made my way through quite a few Netflix offerings in 2018, more in 2019, & am now digging into the 2020 options & thought I’d share my best & worst picks!

Here’s my quick rundown on what I think is worth watching; please pop your thoughts in the comments and let me know what’s on your holiday watch list. (I’m slowly updating the older titles from 2019 & 2018; some movies have of course left the Netflix platform, while new ones are appearing!)

PS: Did you know you can search a title that’s coming out and add it to your watch list?! My ‘Christmas’ persona on Netflix is very happy!

2020 Christmas Movies on Netflix

Holidate is a fun concept: finding a ‘friend without benefits’ to be your go-to date to holiday functions … which of course leads to true love! I thoroughly enjoyed this one! Great for a laugh & an obvious love story, though you might not want to watch this one with the whole family.

I’ve only watched the trailer of Operation Christmas Drop so far, but it looks like a front runner for the sappiest, most well-produced Netflix option for Christmas 2020. I predict this will be a favourite for many!

12 Gifts of Christmas is a great watch for everyone who loves to search out the perfect gift.

Broadcasting Christmas pairs Dean Cain & Melissa Joan Hart as former colleagues turned romantic interests who are pitted against each other for a job co-hosting a network morning show.

A Perfect Christmas List is less than perfect, despite having a few notable actors & a premise that should speak to my interests.

Did you know Netflix has a deal with the folks behind Elf on the Shelf?! Yup, expect some new live-action & animated specials to come, including a few old favourites on the streaming service. You can watch Elf Pets: Santa’s Reindeer Rescue & Elf Pets: A Fox Cub’s Christmas Tale now!

Movies I haven’t made it to yet (many only arrive in mid to late November; I’ll add in my thoughts as I watch them!):

The Princess Switch: Switched Again is taking the storyline a little far, but I’ve been a fan of this series so you know I’ll be watching!

Another sure hit will be The Christmas Chronicles, Part Two – the continuation of the story in which Kurt Russell plays Santa.

Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square is also sure to be a much-watch for many, many folks.

A Belle for Christmas sounds like a must-watch for my daughter: an adopted puppy stolen on Christmas Eve, family hijinks, and more.

Elliot the Littlest Reindeer also looks like a lovely watch for the family.

Sex and the City’s Kristin Davis is a divocée who finds love again with Rob Lowe on an elephant sanctuary in Zambia in Holiday in the Wild. Kristin and Rob and elephants. Yup, gonna watch this one first … and likely more than once! (Okay, maybe not more than once. Not nearly as good as I’d hoped, though still very watchable.)

There’s an impressive cast lined up for Let It Snow, which revolves around a group of young adults during a snowstorm in a small town on Christmas Eve. You’ll recognize lots of the cast, especially if you’re a regular Netflix binge watcher. 🙂 I quite enjoyed this one, though it wasn’t a warm & fuzzy Christmas vibe.

The young adult vibe is also happening in Dash & Lily, all about a whirlwind Christmas romance in New York.

I’m also pretty keen on The Knight before Christmas. Vanessa Hudgens (The Princess Switch) falls in love during the holidays again, only this time it involved a time-travelling Medieval knight. There were some truly cute moments in this film.

A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby is also of course happening, with the mama-to-be searching for a stolen Aldovian artefact before Christmas Eve (and perhaps an heir to the throne?) arrives.

Klaus was a lovely little family movie, sharing an animated take on Santa’s origin, from the minds that brought us Despicable Me. The voices include awesome talent Rashida Jones, Jason Schwartzman and JK Simmons! My favourite of the 2019 titles by far!

Home for Christmas shares the 24-day journey of single, 30-year-old Johanne who is in search of a date for holidays.

Santa Girl is the story of Santa’s daughter, trying to find herself and make her own way in life. I haven’t watched it yet; have you? Drop a note below if you have a review!

Christmas with a View focuses on the budding romance between a failed restaurateur and a celebrity chef. Patrick Duffy in a side role was interesting, but mostly this one falls a little flat for me. Watchable, but nothing that really tugged on my heartstrings or drew me in.

Christmas in the Heartland is your typical identity switching feel good tale, in the spirit of Parent Trap, set in Oklahoma with teen girls and complicated families. You might recognize the grandparents, portrayed by Shelley Long, Bo Derek, and Christopher Rich. This one isn’t making my ‘watch again’ list.

Christmas Break-In is a family-friendly movie about a young girl whose parents miss picking her up on the last day of school before the holidays, which also happens to be a snowstorm – and the day she has to help her school janitor, Danny Glover, who has been kidnapped. We watched this one with the kids and it was pretty well received. Not a new classic, but watchable.

More from my Netflix Holiday Watch List

Romantic Comedy / True Sappy Christmas Stuff

Once Upon a Holiday was a sleeper hit for me. Perfectly sappy. Lots of Santas. The fabulously Canadian Paul Campbell as the lead love interest. I honestly enjoyed this one way more than I should admit!

Christmas Inheritance was another predictable Christmas romance that I enjoyed watching.

The Princess Switch is perfect for watching with a pre-teen girl who loves a little romance – and my Nashville-loving self enjoyed Sam Palladio as royalty.

A Christmas Prince and the sequel, A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding are also on that list of movies that are not going to win any writing awards but tick all the boxes of sappy holiday romance, with castles, royalty, and elaborate parties and decorations to admire. (The sequel was not as romantic and sappy as I was hoping, unfortunately, so I’m a little unsure about the third installment coming November 2019, but you know I’ll watch it anyway!)

Pet lovers will likely enjoy A Dogwalker’s Christmas Tale.

Comedies (some family-friendly, some not)

The Night Before was our sleeper hit last year; lots of laughs, but not for the whole family! The cast alone is worth giving this a shot: Seth Rogen, Mindy Kaling, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Franco, and so many more.

Pottersville surprised me; it kept me laughing along and was much more Christmasy than I expected. A quirky bit of fun!

Bad(der) Santa makes Papa Pickle’s list of funny holiday movies.

Christmas with the Kranks is always a fun watch!

Almost Christmas showcases Danny Glover in a dysfunctional family drama, where his four adult children return home for their first Christmas since his wife passed away. I haven’t watched this yet, but I’ll update when I do!

Two more I haven’t watched yet from last year’s list are Kiss Me This Christmas and You Can’t Fight Christmas.

Dark Comedies and other Odd Choices

El Camino Christmas boasts a star-studded cast that had me expecting a lot. It wasn’t the traditional comedy I was expecting, but there were still a few times I couldn’t stop laughing. Might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but this was a hit for us this year.

A Very Murray Christmas is great when you’re looking for something a little different; again, not what I was expecting, but I’m not sorry I watched it. (And trust me, there are lots of holiday movies I’ve watched or started to watch and have regretted!)

There’s also Uncle Nick and the Trailer Park Boys Christmas specials, too!

Fun Kid-Friendly Options

Bob’s Broken Sleigh is a family favourite for us; super cute and well done!

Arthur Christmas is a fun animated story about Santa’s son and an important Christmas mission. Hugh Laurie (House) is one of the voices!

Happy Holidays from Madagascar gets watched multiple times every Christmas season and it’s funny every time; our kids pretend to be the penguins and go on missions around the house now!

The kids enjoyed Santa Claws and I did end up laughing so much at how bad it was that I cried.

We also watched Beethoven’s Christmas Adventure together and it was pretty cute. (Seems like animals are to kids’ Christmas movies what made-up European royalty are to holiday rom-coms!)

You might also want to check out Benji’s Very Own Christmas Story; another hit with the littlest Pickles.

The Christmas Chronicles was on everyone’s list as a top pick last year (many moms seem to appreciate Kurt Russell as the jolly old man!); I enjoyed it, but the kids weren’t crazy for it.

Nailed It! Holiday! has played multiples times in our house and I’m sure this year’s episode will, too! Looks like there’ll be a Sugar Rush holiday special, too!

Angela’s Christmas got a lot of love last year; I still haven’t watched it, because the kids kept saying no and I kept hoping they’d change their minds!

A Christmas Moose Miracle is technically a TV episode of Prince of Peoria; we all enjoyed it a lot!

There’s a Wiggles Christmas episode, as well as Shrek the Halls, Trolls Holiday, Kung Fu Panda Holiday, and I’m sure more kids’ TV shows with holiday episodes.

My NO list

I’d suggest you steer clear of Dear Santa, Holiday Break Up, and Christmas Wedding Planner. I couldn’t even finish the first two and kind of wish I hadn’t bothered finishing the third! I also couldn’t get through The Christmas Project.

In the ‘meh, if you really want to watch something where two people fall for each other at Christmas but the writing and acting isn’t important to you’ category, Angel of Christmas, Merry Kissmas (though I am a sucker for the ‘love in an elevator’ plot), and How Sarah Got Her Wings did all get played in their entirety here. So did The Holiday Calendar, which also wasn’t a hit for me.

Netflix TV Holiday Episode Guide

I LOVE that Netflix has been sharing lists of the holiday episodes of some of the best TV shows it has; here are a few of my favourites! (These take a little work, as you need to go in & out of the seasons to watch them, but it’s worth it for so many. Maybe next year Netflix will put them together for us to binge.)

The Office Christmas episodes:

Season 2, Episode 10
Season 3, Episodes 10 & 11
Season 5, Episode 11
Season 6, Episode 13
Season 7, Episodes 11 & 12
Season 8, Episode 10
Season 9, episode 9

Brooklyn Nine-Nine Christmas episodes:

Season 1, Episode 11
Season 2, Episode 10
Season 3, Episode 10
Season 4, Episode 10
Season 5, Episode 10

How I Met Your Mother Christmas episodes:

Season 2, Episode 11
Season 4, Episode 11
Season 6, Episode 12
Season 7, Episode 12
Season 8, Episode 10
Season 8, Episode 11
Season 8, Episode 12

Gilmore Girls Christmas episodes:

Season 1, Episode 10
Season 2, Episode 10
Season 3, Episode 10
Season 4, Episode 11
Season 5, Episode 11
Season 6, Episode 12
Season 7, Episode 11
Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life, Winter

Friends Christmas episodes:

Season 2, Episode 9
Season 3, Episode 10
Season 4, Episode 10
Season 5, Episode 10
Season 6, Episode 10
Season 7, Episode 10
Season 8, Episode 11
Season 9, Episode 10

So, there you have it. Hours and hours of holiday binge watching.

Happy Holidays!