Best Christmas Movies for Kids

Guide Note

Mahalo's Best Christmas Movies for Kids page lists some of the best Christmas themed movies for children.

Favorites

1. A Christmas Story (1983): Based on Jean Shepherd’s timeless classic, the film introduces us to Ralphie, who wants a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas, in spite of the fact that every adult he knows is convinced that he’ll poke his eye out.
2. Miracle on 34th Street (1947): A single mother and her daughter in New York City, discover that the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Santa Claus just might not be a myth. The 1994 sequel is a good option too.
3. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966): Try watching the TV version and the movie version back-to-back!
4. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965): The first of many prime-time animated TV specials based upon the popular comic strip Peanuts, has aired annually since 1965.
5. The Polar Express (2004): An animated Christmas film about a young boy who is taken on a train ride to the North Pole to meet Santa Claus and discover the true meaning of Christmas.
6. Home Alone (1990): The misadventures of a young boy who has been stranded by his parents during the Christmas holidays.
7. Elf (2003): Will Ferrell is an orphan raised by Santa Claus and his elves.
8. Frosty the Snowman (1969): The half-hour animated Christmas special based on the classic Christmas song of the same name airs each December since its late-Sixties premiere. The sequel Frosty Returns usually runs immediately afterward.
9. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (1964); The stop motion-animated Christmas classic is the longest-running holiday special on television.
10. The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974): In this claymation Christmas special, Santa Claus wakes up with a cold and decides to take a vacation.
11. Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983): Disney animated short retelling of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.
12. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992): Muppet adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic novel A Christmas Carol.