Halloween is officially behind us, which means that if your local CVS didn’t already have the Christmas decorations out, it surely does now. And your favorite streaming services aren’t far behind with the Christmas movies! Amazon Prime Video has a fairly large year-round collection of Christmas movies, and we’re keeping tabs on all of it for you. These are the best Christmas movies on Amazon Prime right now.
Looking for more holiday picks? We’ve also assembled guides to the best Christmas movies on Netflix and the best Christmas movies on Hulu.
A Christmas Carol (1984) new
101m
Genre
Drama, Fantasy, TV Movie, Family
Stars
George C. Scott, Roger Rees, David Warner
Directed by
Clive Donner
Charles Dickens’ classic story has become a hallmark of the Christmas season, adapted and imitated more times than anyone can possibly count. This 1984 TV movie, however, is one of the best iterations. George C. Scott stars as Ebenezer Scrooge, the bitter old miser who’s ruining the Crachit family’s Christmas until he’s visited by three ghosts on a fateful Christmas Eve night.
Arthur Christmas (2011) new
97m
Genre
Drama, Animation, Family, Comedy
Stars
James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie, Bill Nighy
Directed by
Sarah Smith
The story of Christmas night is pretty well-established at this point, right? Santa’s elves make all the toys before Christmas and Santa brings them all over the world in his sleigh in a single night. Well, things get a twist when, one Christmas night, one of the 600 million children on Santa’s list gets missed. While Santa (Jim Broadbent) and the elves are willing to accept one small mistake in a night of triumph, Santa’s misfit son Arthur (James McAvoy) won’t let it go. Determined to make his dad proud and prove himself worthy of the Claus name, Arthur sets out on an unauthorized mission halfway around the world to make the final present delivery before dawn.
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
130m
Genre
Drama, Family, Fantasy
Stars
James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore
Directed by
Frank Capra
Of course, it wouldn’t be Christmas without the holiday mainstay It’s a Wonderful Life. The immortal classic stars James Stewart as George Bailey — a man ready to end it all before the intervention of an angel (Henry Travers) reveals to him exactly how the lives of the people of Bedford Falls would have unfolded without him. The vision is a revelation to George, whose second chance at life comes with rare, ecstatic gratitude. Ironically, It’s a Wonderful Life was a commercial bomb upon release, while today it’s as much a mandatory part of our annual traditions as A Christmas Carol.
Christmas Lodge (2011)
86m
Genre
Drama, Family, TV Movie
Stars
Erin Karpluk, Michael Shanks, Rukiya Bernard
Directed by
Terry Ingram
Mary Tobin (Erin Karpluk) grew up going to her family’s Christmas Lodge every Christmas and she harbors precious memories about those special times. But when she arrives for a weekend vacation as an adult, she finds the lodge has fallen into disrepair over the years. Not only that, but the family wants to put the lodge up for sale. Lacking funds and under pressure, Mary makes it her mission to perform a Christmas miracle and revitalize the lodge to its former charm — all while finding love along the way.
A Snow Globe Christmas (2013)
89m
Genre
TV Movie, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Stars
Alicia Witt, Donald Faison, Trevor Donovan
Directed by
Jodi Binstock
Alicia Witt and Donald Faison star in this Lifetime Christmas movie about a cynical TV executive (Witt) who wakes up after a blow to the head to discover a completely different life. Here, she’s settled in a seemingly perfect little town, married to her former sweetheart (Faison) with two children. But the little snow globe fantasy isn’t real, and the executive has to decide what’s really important to her between this fantasy and the real world.
The Christmas Toy (1986)
50m
Genre
Family, Fantasy, Music, TV Movie
Stars
Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Kathryn Mullen
Directed by
Eric Till
You can’t go wrong with a family-friendly flick about toys coming to life — particularly not when the Jim Henson Company is involved. Originally airing on ABC in 1986, The Christmas Toy chronicles the adventures of a group of toys causing trouble on Christmas Eve. Rugby the Tiger was Jamie’s favorite toy last Christmas, and he’s not about to be replaced by some new guy. Rugby sneaks out to hide among the new toys, hoping to once again be the favorite, but he doesn’t realize that as a toy, if he’s found out of place, he’ll be frozen forever. Apple the Doll leads a group of toys into the house to rescue Rugby. Funny and as wholesome as you’d expect from a Jim Henson Company production, The Christmas Toy is perfect viewing for the kids (even if “the kids” are fairly grown-up).
Christmas in Mississippi (2017)
93m
Genre
Romance, TV Movie
Stars
Jana Kramer, Wes Brown, Faith Ford
Directed by
Emily Moss Wilson
They say you can never go home again, but in Christmas in Mississippi, Holly (Jana Kramer) learns differently. A hurricane struck Gulfport five years ago, and that was the last time the town put on its popular Christmas light show. Holly wants to help make sure it happens this year, but so does her high school sweetheart Mike (Wes Brown). Considering how poorly he treated her heart last time, Holly doesn’t want a repeat performance. But with her mother (Faith Ford) pushing her in one direction and Mr. Kriss (Barry Bostwick) joining in for good measure, it won’t be long before these two old lovebirds start flying together once more
A Bride for Christmas (2012)
90m
Genre
Comedy, Romance, TV Movie
Stars
Arielle Kebbel, Sage Brocklebank, Peter Benson
Directed by
Gary Yates
Jessie (Arielle Kebbel) has just broken up with her third — that’s right her third — fiancé. Commitment, she decides, just isn’t for her. On the other end of the spectrum, there’s Aiden (Andrew W. Walker), who hardly ever gets to the “going steady” phase before moving on to the next woman. Indignant when his friend Matt (Peter Benson) claims women can tell that he’s unwilling to commit, Aiden agrees to a strange bet — that he can get a woman to agree to marry him before Christmas. Matt already knows about Jessie’s recent ban on long-term relationships, so he steers Aiden in her direction. Matt thinks he’s got things sewn up, but he’s in for a surprise in this Christmassy romantic comedy.
Christmas on the Bayou (2013)
86m
Genre
Romance, Drama, TV Movie
Stars
Hilarie Burton, Tyler Hilton, Randy Travis
Directed by
Leslie Hope
Sometimes life comes at us with impossible choices, and Katherine (Hilarie Burton) has some to face in the romantic comedy Christmas on the Bayou. Katherine has worked hard to become a successful marketing executive, but she starts to think all of the time she spends at work is having a negative impact on her son Zack (Brody Rose). She decides that bringing Zack with her back to her hometown for the holidays would be a welcome change for them both. While she’s there, she runs into her old childhood love Caleb (Tyler Hilton), who does everything he can to convince her to leave the big city behind and come back home. Shot dead center by Cupid and seduced by a less hectic way of life, Katherine will need the guidance of her mother (Markie Post) and the wise Papa Noel (Ed Asner) to figure out what path to take.
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