Due to the new stay-at-home order and the holidays coming around the corner, people are spending more time at home. During this season, people can watch movies to relax and spend time with family. Festive movies are spread out through a variety of genres including animation, comedy, romance, romantic comedies, sci-fi, and horror. Individuals can pick which movies they would enjoy the most from those categories. “Snuggling up and watching Christmas movies is the best way to get in the holiday spirit, and it’s never too early to start,” Goodhousekeeping notes. 

There are lots of animated holiday movies. Some of the most popular and most frequently watched movies during the Christmas season are: Mickey’s Once Upon A Christmas, Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas, Little Spirit, The Polar Express, Trolls Holiday, Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You. The Star, Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch, A Charlie Brown Christmas, The Christmas Dragon, Frosty the Snowman, Shrek the Halls, The Small One, The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About Christmas, A Christmas Carol, Frozen, Mickey’s Upon Twice a Christmas, Winnie the Pooh A Very Merry Pooh Year, The Little Drummer Boy, Beauty and the Beast The Enchanted Christmas, Curious George A Very Monkey Christmas, Arthur Christmas, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer, Jack Frost, Arthur’s Perfect Christmas, The Snowman, and Kung Fu Panda Holiday. These are only some of the enjoyable festive animated films. 

“I’m a cotton-headed ninny muggins!” Buddy from the movie Elf exclames. When in need of a good laugh, there are several holiday comedies to enjoy. Funny popular festive movies are: The Santa Claus, Jingle All the Way, Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Get Santa, The Christmas Chronicles, Elf, Noelle, Klaus, Let It Snow, The Grinch, Office Christmas Party, The Knight Before Christmas, A Bad Moms Christmas, Daddy’s Home 1&2, Krampus, The Star, Pottersville, Holiday in the Wild, Home Alone 1-4, Olaf’s Frozen Adventure, A Christmas Story, Alone for Christmas, Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever, Saving Santa, Christmas with the Kranks, and many more. These films can be fun for families to watch throughout the holiday season and can be found on DVD, on cable television networks, or on streaming services. 

Countryliving cites comments, “When the weather outside is frightful, the only way to make a day cozied up indoors even better is watching a romantic Christmas movie with someone you care about (even if that someone is your dog).” For people who like romance movies, there are plenty of films to watch and rejoice in the Christmas spirit. For example the movies: Let It Snow, Last Christmas, The Knight Before Christmas, The Holiday Calendar, Holiday in the Wild, Holiday Rush, Last Holiday, Christmas in the Smokies, The Princess Switch, Christmas Inheritance, The Spirit of Christmas, A Christmas Prince, A Christmas Prince The Royal Baby, Love the Coopers, Elliot, Coming Home for Christmas, A Very Merry Mix-Up, 12 Dates of Christmas, Holiday Engagement, The Best Man Holiday, and New Year’s Eve are a few of the romantic flicks to watch.

 For romantic comedy lovers some movies include: Four Christmas, The Holiday, The Perfect Holiday, Ira Finkelstein’s Christmas, Christmas in Wonderland, An All Dogs Christmas Carol, Loveactually, A Bride for Christmas, Santa Girl. Christmas in Connecticut, Grown for Christmas, A Snow Globe Christmas, Suddenly Santa, Once Upon a Holiday, A Christmas Wedding Tail, A Christmas Detour, Family for Christmas, and lots more. Hallmark and ABC family, that are shown on cable, also have rom-com movies they show along with a christmas countdown.  

“There are plenty of Christmas movies that include Santa Claus as a fantastical element, but that doesn’t necessarily make them speculative fiction,” traviscstevens.worldpress.com states. A example of films that contain horror or sci-fi and are festive movies are: Brazil, Edward Scissorhands, Prometheus, Scrooged, Gremlins, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, Iron Man 3, Hogfather, Children of Men, Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale, and Anna and the Apocalypse.

Several streaming services also have festive Christmas movies. Dlmag.com comments, “ Be it holiday rom-com, cute animations, or much-celebrated names-you’ll find a favorite on either Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu or Disney Plus.” The top holiday movies on Netflix are: A Christmas Prince, The Princess Switch, The Princess Switch: Switched Again, Holidate, Let It Snow, Operation Christmas Drop, and The Knight Before Christmas. Popular festive movies on Amazon Prime include: It’s a Wonderful Life, Love Actually, The Holiday, Christmas in the City, Holiday Engagement, The Polar Express, and The Man who Invented Christmas. Hulu’s top holiday movies are: Last Christmas, This Christmas, A Very Brady Christmas, The Spirit of Christmas, Prancer, Home for the Holidays, A Christmas, Tree Miracle and Angels in the Snow.

Some movies on Disney Plus to enjoy and watch with family are: The Santa Claus, The Muppet Christmas Carol, A Christmas Carol, Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas, Home Alone, Miracle on 34th Street, and The Nightmare Before Christmas. 

With these different lists of holiday-themed movies, people can pick and choose which festive films they would enjoy the most. Students can enjoy watching cheerful seasonal films to clear their minds, take time to themselves, and relax. Especially during quarantine, staying home wrapped up in blankets by the fireplace watching movies is one of the many at home activities to do.