The Christmas season is filled with tradition. Some people decorate their tree together, others bake something or other. For some, though, the most meaningful part of the season is gathering around to watch a great movie. And no, we don’t mean Wicked.
Classic movies sometimes get a bad rap, in part because they’re old, and sensibilities were a little different when they were made. Even so, some of the best holiday movies ever made can most neatly be described as “classics,” and we’re recommending five of the very best for you to enjoy this holiday season.
We also have guides to the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Max, and the best movies on Disney+.
Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
When she was great, there were few movie stars better than Judy Garland, and in Meet Me in St. Louis, her talents are on full display. The film focuses on four sisters living in St. Louis ahead of the 1904 World’s Fair.
The entire movie doesn’t take place at Christmas time, but the movie does feature a section during the holiday season that includes Garland singing Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, so that alone merits its inclusion here. As a whole, the film is a delightful, wistful look at the way your life can change over the course of a single year, anchored by Garland at her very best.
You can watch Meet Me in St. Louis on Max.
It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
Jimmy Stewart pops up on this list twice, but that’s basically unavoidable. It’s a Wonderful Life was not a hit upon its release, but it is almost without a doubt the greatest Christmas movie ever made. The film tells the story of George Bailey, a small-town guy with big dreams who slowly finds that life will keep getting in the way of those dreams.
The whole thing culminates on Christmas Eve as George gets a chance to see what life would be like if he’d never been born, and comes to discover just how much he means to those around him, and just as importantly, how much they mean to him. It’s maybe the most life-affirming movie ever made.
You can watch It’s a Wonderful Life on Amazon Prime Video.
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
The existence of Santa Claus is probably not something that should be decided by a court of law, but Miracle on 34th Street makes that scenario seem plausible. The film tells the story of a Macy’s Santa Claus who begins insisting that he really is the man he’s playing in the store.
As he wins over children and adults alike, he eventually has to prove who he is in court, with the very magic of Christmas on the line. Miracle on 34th Street is equal parts silly and delightful, and it’s endured for decades for a reason.
You can watch Miracle on 34th Street on Peacock.
The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
One of the most recycled stories ever told, The Shop Around the Corner has been translated in various mediums over the course of decades, but this film remains one of the most enduring versions. The film follows two employees (James Stewart and Margaret Sullivan) of a Budapest general store who can’t stand each other in person, but find themselves entranced by the letters they’re exchanging anonymously.
The joy of the movie is in the dramatic irony of knowing that these two bickering employees are meant for one another, and hoping that they realize it in time for the holiday season. You’ve probably seen its 1998 remake, You’ve Got Mail, but the original is far better and more romantic.
You can watch The Shop Around the Corner on Max.
Trading Places (1983)
One of the great comedies of the 1980s is also a Christmas parable. The film tells the story of a high-powered financier (Dan Ackroyd) who is forced to trade places with a poor, down-on-his-luck man (Eddie Murphy) as part of a social experiment engineered by two wealthy brothers (Don Ameche and Ralph Bellamy).
Filled with jokes that still land and a great supporting turn by future Oscar-winner Jamie Lee Curtis as a hooker with a heart of gold, the film is also a careful parable about who really pulls the strings in most people’s lives, and how unaccountable the wealthiest people in America are to basically anyone.
You can watch Trading Places on Paramount+.