A Jolly Bitch’s Guide to Holiday Viewing

25 Lesser Talked of Christmas Faves to Add to Your Rotation

We all have our favorite holiday movies that we turn to season after season. Home Alone 1 & 2, A Christmas Carol, A MUPPET’s Christmas Carol, The Santa Clause, and A Christmas Story are all my personal holiday givens that I know I will find the time to watch each December.

But this year, I wanted to highlight some lesser talked about holiday movies and specials that deserve to find more of the audience that will watch them again and again each holiday season. 

I’ve put together a list of 25 lesser talked about Christmas gems to add into your rotation this year and beyond. Some I’ve already seen and loved while some are just as new to me as they may be to you and I’m excited to find new favorites among them!

25 Lesser Talked About Christmas Movies/Specials

*as of the writing of this post all of the streaming match ups are correct to the best of my knowledge. but ya’ll know how they like to change things at the drop of a hat. my apologies for any unexpected changes*

To Grandmother’s House We Go (Dailymotion)

- The Olsen twins were a big part of my childhood much like many a millennial gal of the 90s, and To Grandmother’s House We Go was always on during Christmas time in my house. In this one, the twins want to give their single mother a break for Christmas and decide to run away to their grandmother’s house. Only they accidentally get kidnapped along the way when a pair of bumbling delivery truck thieves happen to steal the truck they’ve been hitching a ride in. Rhea Perlman and Jerry Van Dyke play the thieves and I love them so much. 

Babes in Toyland (1986) (Prime)

- Now this one, it has two versions. One from 1961 that you can find on Disney+ and the one I’m actually talking about, a 1986 made-for-tv movie starring Drew Barrymore and Keanu Reeves. Drew Barrymore and Keanu Reeves! I didn’t even know this dynamic duo existed until Jonathan told me about it. In Babes in Toyland, a little girl who has had to grow up too fast gets transported to Toyland and mixed up in all the Toyland drama. 

Love Hard (Netflix)

- A new one just released for this holiday season, Love Hard follows a writer as she flies 3,000 miles to surprise her online love for Christmas only to discover she’s been catfished. I’m typically not into the Hallmark Christmas style rom-com movies but there’s something about this one that has piqued my interest and I will def be adding it to my holiday viewing this season. 

SpongeBob Squarepants Christmas Who? Christmas Special (Paramount+)

- Christmas wasn’t always a big deal in Bikini Bottom and in this special, number 1 SpongeBob fan Patchy the Pirate tells the story of how Christmas came to the city under the sea. This special has such a banger of a song in it that honestly, that’s reason alone to spend the time watching it.

The Night Before (FX and FXX)

- A trio of lifelong friends celebrates the last year of their long standing night before Christmas partying and debauchery tradition by making it the most memorable night in the bunch. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, and Anthony Mackie star as the buddies and it’s actually a lot of fun and a little bit heartwarming. If you’re currently going through a a shift of your friends becoming parents for the first time and seeing your traditions with them change, this one will be a good one for you to check out. 

Rare Exports (Hulu and Tubi)

- You know my spooky ass couldn’t let the season pass without including some Creepmas gems. Rare Exports is a Finnish fantasy film (alliteration!) that tells the story of a young boy and his father who discover the tomb of Santa Claus….but this Santa isn’t the jolly old fat guy we all know and love. Reindeer are being slaughtered and children are going missing which leaves the father/son duo with the task of figuring out how to stop it. 

Black Christmas (Tubi)

- Black Christmas has a 2006 remake also on Tubi AND a 2019 remake you can find on HBO Max but I’m talking about the 1974 original. In this terror tale of Christmas, a group of sorority girl begin receiving gross phone calls that lead to threats from the voice on the end. Soon, one of the sisters goes missing and the girls must struggle to survive a serial killer who is closer than they thought. 

Gremlins (HBO Max)

- I don’t know about ya’ll but I regularly forget that the original Gremlins is actually, technically, a Christmas movie. If you’re unfamiliar, Gremlins follows Billy, a guy who gets a Mogwai as a gift from his dad. But Mogwai’s are incredibly high maintenance and when Billy accidentally lets his Mogwai get wet and eat after midnight…all hell breaks loose in his town on Christmas Eve. 

Krampus (FXX)

- When a young boy loses his festive spirit while dealing with a dysfunctional family Christmas gathering, Krampus unleashes his wrath upon the house. It’s a little weird and kinda campy but it can be a lot of fun if you go into it expecting silly scares instead of outright horror. Also, my girl Toni Collette stars in it and she can do no wrong in my eyes. 

The Holiday (Netflix)

- A lot of people already love this one but I’ve never seen it so I’m throwing it on this list! An English gal and an American gal swap homes after each finding themselves unlucky in love and down on their luck. But believe it! They manage to find some boys in their temporary homelands that just might help them turn things around. 

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Disney+) 

- So technically I don’t think this is a Christmas movie but it is a rather wintry movie. Four siblings discover a wardrobe that transports them to the magical world of Narnia where they get all wrapped up in a battle of good and evil. 

RENT (HBO Max) broadway recording can be bought on Prime

- Some may call this choice questionable but the whole first act takes place over Christmas eve (and maybe Christmas day in the movie version) so it’s a Christmas movie/stage musical. RENT follows a group of 20-30 somethings as they navigate life, love, and health during the 90s. If you haven’t seen it yet, I highly suggest trying to find the Broadway recording to watch before the movie but either will do. I haven’t watched RENT in years and I think I might actually make a point of putting it on this holiday season.

Happiest Season (Hulu)

- A woman plans on proposing to her girlfriend at her girlfriend’s family holiday party but discovers that her girlfriend hasn’t come out to her conservative parents. I meant to watch this one when it came out last year but never got around to it, but my girl KStew stars in it AND it was filmed in Pittsburgh so it’s one I’ve got to check out for sure. 

Neo Yokio (Netflix)

- Neo Yokio is a short animated series that follows Kaz Kaan, a young bachelor with a family penchant for slaying demons in the city of Neo Yokio, a fictionalized New York City. While the show itself is a must watch in it’s entirety, it’s the Pink Christmas Christmas special that puts Neo Yokio on this list. It’s funny, it’s magical, it’s Christmasy, and it’s got a great song (which is an important part of all Christmas specials.) To get through the whole series and the special would take you maybe 3-4 hours…do it!

Better Watch Out (Tubi)

- While on duty watching a 12-year-old boy, a babysitter must defend him and herself from violent intruders that invade the house. This one is actually pretty good and has some good twists and a bad guy you are just gonna hate.

Mixed Nuts (Rent or Buy on Prime)

- A man who runs a suicide prevention hotline gets the bad news that his landlord is evicting the team on Christmas Eve. That premise might scream drama but this is a comedy through and through.  Steve Martin and Madeline Kahn lead the ensemble cast of misfits as they try to survive the holiday. 

I’ll Be Home for Christmas (Disney+)

- When college student Jake is left in the desert without an ID or money, in a Santa suit no less, by his arch nemesis, he must figure out how to make it home to NYC in time for Christmas. It stars JTT…maybe the original teen heartthrob for my generation! 

Four Christmases (HBO Max, TNT/TBS)

- Vince Vaughn doesn’t usually do very much for me but I actually really enjoy this movie whenever I catch it…it must be the child of divorce in me. Four Christmases follow an unmarried couple who are forced to spend Christmas day with their four parents after their annual exotic vacation is cancelled. They travel to each parent in turn and spend the day learning more about one another and asking questions of their own relationship. I don’t necessarily love the ending on this one but the overall story might be one of my favorites. 

Jack Frost (HBO Max)

- One year after the loss of his father on Christmas day, Charlie plays his dad’s harmonica and accidentally brings his spirit back in the form of his front yard snowman. It’s been so long since I watched Jack Frost but kid me thought it was funny and adult me thought it was kind of sad so do with that what you will.

Call Me Claus (Youtube)

- You probably didn’t know that you wanted Whoopi Goldberg to play Santa but I assure you, you do. In this made for tv movie from the early 2000s, Whoopi plays a woman named Lucy, a grumpy tv producer who doesn’t dig the Christmas spirit. When she hires a man named Nick to host a segment for the home shopping network she works for, Lucy learns that even though she doesn’t want anything to do with Christmas, Christmas most certainly wants something to do with her.

Karroll’s Christmas (Youtube)

- I can’t get enough of different variations on A Christmas Carol. In this one from 2004, a man is visited by three ghosts….but this time they really did get the wrong guy. While the ghosts still go about their job, the man gets a glimpse into the past, present, and future of his grouchy neighbor whom the ghosts were actually meant for and it’s up to this man to change his neighbor’s course before it’s too late.

Ernest Saves Christmas (Disney+)

- Santa Claus needs a successor and Ernest is just the man…to help him convince the right guy for the job to take it. I literally just watched this for the first time last week (and I love Ernest so I don’t know how it took so long) and it’s as dumb as you’d expect but it hits the Christmas mark just as well as Ernest Scared Stupid hits the Halloween one.

The Family Stone (Peacock)

- Hoping to win over her boyfriend’s family when she accompanies him home for the holidays, Meredith only showcases her uptight personality leading the couple to question if they’re really meant to be. This is another one I’ve never seen but think I’m adding to my list this year mostly for Rachel McAdams, cause I miss her. 

Christmas with the Kranks (Starz)

- All Luther and Nora Krank want for Christmas this year is to totally ignore it and enjoy a Caribbean vacation instead. But their Christmas obsessed neighbors are not having it and will force the Christmas spirit on them one way or another.

Love the Coopers (Buy on Prime)

- Two Diane Keaton matriarch lead family holiday films on one list! Four generations meet for Christmas Eve, but as their problems are all laid out for everyone to see, they rediscover the importance of family and holiday spirit.

What Christmas movies always make your viewing list year after year? Which lesser talked about Christmas movies are you gonna check out for this season? Let me know in the comments below!