The Best Christmas Movies on Hulu Right Now (September 2021)

While fall is just around the corner, all that means is that Christmas is inching ever-closer. If you’re itching to unleash your yuletide spirit, Hulu is a fantastic place to get the holidays started off the right way. Featuring recognizable merry entries, lesser-known Christmas titles, and Hulu exclusives, there’s plenty to inspire your early autumn stocking-stuffing. Here’s a roundup of the best Christmas movies on Hulu right now.

We’ve also put together guides to the best Christmas movies on Netflix and the best Christmas movies on Amazon Prime. After all, Hulu’s holiday selection is only so big.

A Christmas Carol (2019)

In this FX take on the Charles Dickens holiday classic, Guy Pearce stars as the iconic Ebenezer Scrooge. For Scrooge, Christmas Eve is just another business day for the miserly tycoon. Retiring to his abode, the foul man gets the fright of his life when three benevolent spirits carry him through a nightlong odyssey, transporting Scrooge in and out of time and space to better understand himself, Christmas, and the meaning of life.

Rotten Tomatoes: 52%
Stars: Guy Pearce, Andy Serkis, Stephen Graham
Director: David Izatt
Rating: NA
Runtime: 75 minutes

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12 Pups of Christmas (2019)

Martin (Donny Boaz) is having a tough time keeping his business afloat. Specializing in dog GPS locators, he and his new hire, Erin (Charlotte Sullivan), are tasked with finding homes for 12 puppies that were abandoned after a photo shoot. As Martin and Erin band together under pressure, the coworkers begin to discover a blooming love for one another — just in time for the holidays.

Rotten Tomatoes: NA
Stars: Charlotte Sullivan, Donny Boaz, Elizabeth Small
Director: Michael Feifer
Rating: NA
Runtime: 85 minutes

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A Christmas Crush (2019)

Addie (Cindy Sampson) is all about the holidays, so much so that she concocts a plan to send off a magical Christmas wish to the Kringle powers that be. Her wish: Get her neighbor Sam (Robin Dunne) to fall in love with her. Unfortunately for Addie, her dream backfire, and her other neighbor, Pete (Chris Violette), starts falling for her instead. Recruiting Sam, it’s up to Addie and her crush to fend off Pete’s over-the-top romantic gestures.

Rotten Tomatoes: NA
Stars: Cindy Sampson, Robin Dunne, Chris Violette
Director: Marita Grabiak
Rating: NA
Runtime: 87 minutes

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The Polar Express (2004)

An animated adaptation of the classic children’s book by Chris Van Allsburg, The Polar Express follows the Arctic odyssey of a young boy (voiced by Daryl Sabara) who has his hangups about Santa’s existence. When a mystical train arrives outside his home, the child is carried off to the North Pole to meet Saint Nick. A coming-of-age tale like no other, The Polar Express is a profound example of CGI’s best in 2005, with the animation style closing matching the illustrations from Van Allsburg’s iconic book.

Rotten Tomatoes: 56%
Stars: Tom Hanks, Michael Jeter, Nona Gaye
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Rating: G
Runtime: 100 minutes

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Dear Santa (2020)

Dana Nachman’s beautiful Dear Santa is a heartfelt documentary that focuses on the “Operation Santa” created by the United States Postal Service. Focusing on both larger metropolitan operations and small-town branches, the film shows the efforts the post office goes to when letters to Santa come streaming in. A perfect holiday film that will leave you in tears, Dear Santa is a pleasant reminder that true heart and soul can be found all over the world.

Rotten Tomatoes: 89%
Stars: Dana Nachman
Director: Dana Nachman
Rating: N/A
Runtime: 84 minutes

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Every Other Holiday (2018)

Every Other Holiday stars Schuyler Fish and David Clayton Rogers as recently divorced Tracie and Rick. When the holiday season rears its head, the couple’s daughters wish to spend Christmas together, with both parents, at Tracie’s farmhouse. An endearing holiday rom-com that hits all the beats we’d expect with the premise we’re given, Every Other Holiday sticks to a successful “getting back together” formula that feels its best during the month of December.

Rotten Tomatoes: 89%
Stars: Schuyler Fisk, Dee Wallace, Glenn Morshower
Director: Blair Hayes
Rating: N/A
Runtime: 90 minutes

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The Heart of Christmas (2011)

Candace Cameron Bure stars in this family-friendly drama about a hard-working, career-oriented woman who is forced to reexamine her priorities after she sees people decorating for Christmas in October to help a family celebrate the holiday before their sick son passes away. It’s a tearjerker, but a heartwarming one.

Rotten Tomatoes: 57%
Stars: Candace Cameron Bure, Jeanne Neilson, Eric Beck, Anita Renfroe, Matthew West
Director: Gary Wheeler
Rating: TV-G
Runtime: 90 minutes

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So This Is Christmas (2009)

Eric Roberts and Vivica A. Fox star in this soapy, almost melodramatic Christmas movie about a couple’s tumultuous relationship and its impact on their 18-year-old daughter. As she seeks refuge from the chaos at home, she starts to fall in with a bad crowd, and her life begins to head in the wrong direction. But at Christmas, everybody gets a shot at redemption.

IMDb: 5.2
Stars: Lexi Ainsworth, Eric Roberts, Vivica A. Fox, Titus Makin Jr., Bryan Massey
Director: Richard Foster
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 114 minutes

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Happiest Season (2020)

This holiday season Hulu’s serving up an original Christmas movie that’s funny, star-studded, and featuring a lot of the kinds of characters you don’t often find in holiday fare. Kristen Stewart stars as Abby, who’s so devoted to her girlfriend Harper (Mackenzie Davis) that she’s ready to pop the question. But on the way to Harper’s family home for Christmas, Harper drops a bomb — she hasn’t come out to her conservative family yet, meaning Abby’s going to have to play at being something she’s not. At the same time she bends over backward to hide the truth from Harper’s family, Abby has to struggle with her growing doubts about Harper. With a top-notch comedic cast including Dan Levy (Schitt’s Creek) as Abby’s best friend, Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation) as Harper’s no-nonsense ex-girlfriend, and Alison Brie (Community) as Harper’s older sister, Happiest Season is a perfect holiday rom-com sure to keep you laughing and crying in all the right places.

Rotten Tomatoes: 85%
Stars: Kristen Stewart, Mackenzie Davis, Mary Steenburgen, Dan Levy
Director: Clea DuVall
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 102 minutes

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A Christmas Solo (2017)

There are probably few, if any, easy times to be a single parent, but for Nate (Jonathan Scarfe) and Jennifer (Kelli Williams), this latest one promises to be the most challenging yet. Jennifer’s husband died tragically, Nate’s ex-wife left him, and each is raising a daughter on their own. While in a perfect world, their budding romance would only help things, sadly they’re not the only ones with a say in the matter. It turns out their respective daughters, Charlotte (Pippa Mackie) and Melissa (Kayla Wallace), are bitter enemies in school, and their parents’ courtship only fuels their rivalry. A little Christmas spirit will probably be in order for everyone involved to find understanding, forgiveness, and — hopefully — love.

IMDb: 5.9
Stars: Kelli Williams, Jonathan Scarfe
Director: Christie Will Wolf
Rating: TV-G
Runtime: 90 minutes

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A Very Brady Christmas (1988)

The Brady Bunch is back for the holidays in this 1988 CBS TV movie. Mike (Robert Reed) and Carol Brady (Florence Henderson) can’t wait to spend the Christmas holiday with their six adult children and family friend, Alice, but a confluence of issues may prevent the holiday get-together from happening at all — every Brady child seems to have a problem going on. When Mike is trapped in a collapsed building, however, they’ll all have to set aside their issues to help make a Christmas miracle happen.

IMDb: 6.0
Stars: Robert Reed, Florence Henderson
Director: Peter Baldwin
Rating: TV-PG
Runtime: 100 minutes

Christmas Perfection (2018)

Ever since she was a child, all Darcy wanted for Christmas was the perfect holiday. When she stumbles across an enchanted figurine, she magically wakes up in a Christmas village in Ireland, where all of her perfect Christmas dreams finally come true. This being a romantic film, that also means finding love.

IMDb: 5.6
Stars: Caitlin Thompson, James Henri-Thomas
Director: David Jackson
Rating: TV-PG
Runtime: 90 minutes

The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017)

Directed by Bharat Nalluri from a script by Susan Coyne, The Man Who Invented Christmas is based on the 2008 book of the same name by Les Standiford. Delving into biopic territory, the film follows Charles Dickens (Dan Stevens), who is down on his luck and reeling from financial hardship as he struggles to find inspiration to begin writing A Christmas Carol, an aspiration that people in his life detest. Trusting his intuition and the advice of his children’s Irish nursemaid Tara (Anna Murphy), Dickens forges ahead with his novella. As notable characters begin to take form, their fictional guises are transplanted to the real world. Chief amongst these realizations is the all-too-iconic Ebenezer Scrooge, brilliantly portrayed by actor Christopher Plummer. The Man Who Invented Christmas is a new and brilliant lens through which to view Dickens’ classic holiday tale, and it’s a great Christmas film to add to your family’s yearly rotation.

Rotten Tomatoes: 79%
Stars: Dan Stevens, Christopher Plummer, Patrick Joseph Byrnes
Director: Bharat Nalluri
Rating: PG
Runtime: 104 minutes

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Christmas on Holly Lane (2018)

Sara, Riley, and Cat have been friends for decades. Once more, they gather to celebrate Christmas at Sara’s house on Holly Lane, but this year is different. Sara (Sarah Lancaster) is fresh from a painful divorce, and, unfortunately, it looks like she won’t be able to afford the house on Holly Lane for much longer. With enduring friendships that have withstood the test of time, Riley and Cat come together to help their friend not only save her home but to make sure no breakups or financial woes will dim the warmth of her holiday spirit.

IMDb: 6.2
Stars: Sarah Lancaster, Karen Holness, Gina Holden
Director: Christie Will Wolf
Rating: TV-PG
Runtime: 90 minutes

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