‘Tis the season to start streaming. As your scary movie marathons wrap up, it’s time to start looking ahead to holiday watches for the end of the year. Netflix has a significant library of Christmas and holiday movies to watch, mixing a slate of originals (including new releases) with a handful of Christmas classics.
Here are seven Christmas movies you can watch on Netflix in November.
“Champagne Problems”
Mark Steven Johnson has had a wild career. He started off by writing 1993’s “Grumpy Old Men” and its sequel “Grumpier Old Men.” He then penned “Jack Frost,” a delightfully strange Christmas film starring Michael Keaton as a dead (and honestly not very good) rock singer who is reincarnated as a snowman to reunite with his son. Later, Johnson directed a couple of pre-MCU films, taking on “Daredevil” and “Ghost Rider” before the characters made their way onto Marvel TV.
Now, Johnson’s career has found another act in creating Netflix rom-coms. Following 2020’s “Love, Guaranteed” and 2022’s “Love in the Villa,” the filmmaker is back to write and direct “Champagne Problems,” a holiday romance streaming on Netflix starting Nov. 19. The film follows Minka Kelly as rising executive Sydney Price who attempts to secure the acquisition of a famous champagne brand during the holidays. After a taking an evening off in Paris, however, she inadvertently gets caught up in a one-night whirlwind romance — with the heir of the company she’s hoping to acquire. Champagne problems, indeed.
You can watch the trailer below.
“The Christmas Chronicles”
Kurt Russell stars as Santa in “The Christmas Chronicles,” a Netflix duology where a pair of kids go on holiday adventures with Ol’ Saint Nick himself. Joining Russell in the second film (weirdly, directed by Chris Columbus) is his longtime partner Goldie Hawn, who plays Mrs. Claus (after a brief appearance in the first movie). Need I say more?
In case I do, the “Christmas Chronicles” movies are delightfully strange, featuring a Kurt Russell who is truly committed to playing the kind of Kris Kringle you want to share an eggnog with. Russell provides an anchor for these fun adventure movies, making them a smooth and easy watch. If you need any more convincing, I would be remiss to not point out that the first film features Russell’s Saint Nick giving a jailhouse performance of “Santa Claus Is Back in Town.” We don’t get performances from Russell very often anymore, and we need to cherish them when we do.
“Hot Frosty”
From the moment audiences saw footage of it, “Hot Frosty” quickly became an emblem of the strangeness that sometimes befalls Netflix holiday movies. As the title suggests, the film follows a widow (Lacey Chabert) who falls in love with a hot Frosty — that is to say, a snowman who came to life as a hunk. Dustin Milligan stars as the snowman-turned-hot-man, fittingly named “Jack Snowman” (the screenwriting Oscar is in the mail). “Hot Frosty” is plenty self aware, making the most out of this dopey concept as one of the more ridiculous movies in this Christmas romance subgenre.
“Jingle Bell Heist”
Santa Claus is coming to “The Town.”
You’ve heard of an art heist, you’ve recently seen a Louvre heist, but have you ever watched… a “Jingle Bell Heist”? Olivia Holt and Connor Swindells star in this Netflix crime movie, which sees a retail worker and a repairman turn into crooks hoping to make a Christmas Eve score at a London department store. Michael Fimognari directed the film, written by Abby McDonald and Amy Reed, which mixes the Christmas romances that now flood Netflix with the energy of a comic caper. It releases on Netflix Nov. 26. You can watch the trailer below.
“Klaus”
“Klaus” surely holds the title for the best Christmas movie Netflix ever released. The beautifully animated film tells the story of a postman (Jason Schwartzman) and a woodworking recluse named Klaus (J.K. Simmons) who team up to deliver toys in a Santa Claus origin adventure. The film picked up a much deserved nomination for Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards, and it swept the 2020 Annie Awards (which recognize excellence in animation) by winning all seven of its nominated categories. That’s a lot of toys.
“A Merry Little Ex-Mas”
Alicia Silverstone and Oliver Hudson star in “A Merry Little Ex-Mas,” another new Christmas movie coming to Netflix this November. As Silverstone’s Kate tries to prepare a perfect holiday before giving up her family home, she is thrown for a loop when she learns that her new ex-husband Everett (played by Hudson) has a new, younger girlfriend (played by Jameela Jamil). Enter Pierson Fodé, playing an attractive younger man Kate invites to join the festivities. “A Merry Little Ex-Mas” (Get it? Ex?) starts streaming Nov. 12.
You can watch the trailer below.
“The Night Before”
“The Night Before” is a 2015 Christmas comedy that has gained something of a reputation in the decade since its release. The film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen and Anthony Mackie as a trio of friends who spend every Christmas Eve together after Ethan (Gordon-Levitt) lost his parents during the holidays 14 years prior. But the tradition is coming to an end, with Isaac (Rogen) and Chris (Mackie) moving on to bigger and better things. So the three endeavor to have one last, crazy night involving a highly exclusive NYC party. Jonathan Levine, who directed “50/50” and “Long Shot,” helmed “The Night Before” with a screenplay he wrote alongside Kyle Hunter, Ariel Shaffir and Rogen’s longtime friend and comic partner Evan Goldberg.
“The Night Before” also led to a famous “interview” where Nathan Fielder speaks to the film’s leading trio, asking them questions such as will Rogen “ever play a character that reads a book.”
