45 of the Funniest Christmas Movies to Help You Survive the Holiday Season

It’s hard to believe that Elf came out over two decades ago. Will Ferrell plays Buddy the Elf, a human raised in the North Pole, who goes in search of his birth father in New York City. Ferrell’s hilarious performance is responsible for an endless number of memes, and his face has been emblazoned on a plethora Christmas sweaters. The holidays just aren’t the same without Elf.

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Richard Curtis’s Love, Actually is a classic for a reason. Its all-star cast features everyone from Hugh Grant to Emma Thompson to Keira Knightley to the late Alan Rickman. Sure, in hindsight, some of the film’s scenes are a bit creepy and problematic. But viewers continue to revisit Love, Actually every holiday season for the heartwarming characters, hilarious moments, and unbridled romance.

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England-based Iris (Kate Winslet) and California-based Amanda (Cameron Diaz) agree to house swap for the holidays. Both are fleeing romantic failures, but neither is ready for the potential romance they might find on the other side of the pond. While there’s plenty of romance to go round, the comedic stylings of the cast, which includes Jack Black and Jude Law, help make The Holiday the perfect festive flick.

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Lindsay Lohan’s renaissance continues with Our Little Secret, in which she stars as Avery, a woman whose past catches up to her over the holidays. Avery hasn’t seen her high school sweetheart Logan (Pretty Little Liars star Ian Hale) since their brutal breakup years earlier. That all changes when they discover they’re dating people from the same family, and are inexplicably forced to spend the holidays together. Kristin Chenoweth co-stars, right off the heels of Wicked.

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Lindsay Lohan made her grand return in2022 with Falling for Christmas, where she plays a recently engaged heiress who experiences amnesia after a skiing accident. She finds herself being nursed back to health by a local bed and breakfast owner and single dad, played by Chord Overstreet. You can probably guess the rest, but damn is it good to have the Mean Girls icon back on our screens.

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The Family Stone features the perfect ensemble, which includes everyone from Diane Keaton to Sarah Jessica Parker to Rachel McAdams. Parker plays an uptight businesswoman who grates on her boyfriend’s laid-back family, and they’re certainly not happy about the prospect of her joining their clan. The Family Stone features some laugh-out-loud physical comedy moments and biting sarcasm, but be warned: It’s also extremely emotional.

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Macaulay Culkin became an international superstar thanks to his role as Kevin in Home Alone, and it’s easy to see why. Kevin’s family accidentally goes away for the holiday season without him. Hilarity ensues when the young boy finds himself defending his house from some opportunistic thieves, superbly played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern.

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Most Christmas films don’t get sequels, but Home Alone 2: Lost in New York proved to be just as good as the original. This time, Kevin manages to lose his family at the airport, and boards a flight to New York, while everyone else ends up in Florida. After somehow managing to get a room at the Plaza Hotel, Kevin finds himself embroiled in a plot to stop the Sticky Bandits once again.

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Netflix outdid itself in 2024 by giving the green light to Hot Frosty, a film in which a sexy (and naked!) snowman comes to life. Christmas queen Lacey Chabert stars as Kathy, a cafe owner and widow whose life has ground to a halt after her husband died. Enter Jack (Dustin Milligan), a chiseled ice sculpture who awakens after Kathy wraps him up in a magical winter scarf. An unexpectedly prolific handyman, Jack is instantly beloved by the entire town.

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The sequel to 1999’s The Best Man sees a group of friends reuniting for the holiday season. Starring everyone from Taye Diggs to Regina Hall to Sanaa Lathan to Nia Long, The Best Man Holiday is a reminder that some friendships never change.

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Is Christmas really Christmas if you don’t watch at least one Chad Michael Murray holiday flick? In this 2024 film, the One Tree Hill alum stars as handyman Luke, whose life is transformed when Broadway dancer Ashley (Britt Robertson) returns home for Christmas. Finding her parents’ bar in dire straits, Ashley creates “The Merry Gentlemen,” a Magic Mike-inspired live show in which hot, local men strip. Luke agrees to perform in the revue—as long as Ashley is directing, that is.

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National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is another hilarious outing for the Griswolds. Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) is desperate for his family to have the perfect holiday season. However, decorating doesn’t quite go to plan, then his cousin’s family camps out in his yard, and his employer threatens to stop the Christmas bonus he was expecting.

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Heather Graham and Brandy Norwood star in this festive comedy about estranged friends who end up spending Christmas together. Charlotte (Graham) and husband Rob (Jason Biggs) receive the annual Christmas letter from their former friend Jackie (Norwood), who appears to have the perfect life. When their son takes matters into his own hands, Charlotte and Rob turn up at Jackie’s house unannounced, and chaos ensues.

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Tim Allen stars as Scott, a disastrous single dad who witnesses a man in a Santa Claus suit fall from the roof of his house. Scott is soon instructed that he must take Santa’s place, and it’s not long before he physically starts transforming into the man in the red suit. This heartfelt film is seriously funny, and has spawned an entire franchise since.

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Lil Rel Howery and Ludacris star in this unexpected Christmas comedy. Eddie (Ludacris) has disliked Christmas since he was a kid and mall Santa broke into his home. As an adult, Eddie remains skeptical of the festive holiday, especially when he finds a man calling himself Nicholas Sinter-Claus in a neighbor’s house. Claiming to be the real Santa and on the run from stalkers, Eddie is drawn into a complicated web, which challenges everything he knows about the holiday season.

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Jim Carrey’s performance as the Grinch made How the Grinch Stole Christmas an instant holiday classic. The curmudgeonly Grinch decides that he’s going to ruin Christmas for all of the residents of Whoville. However, his plan is foiled by a young girl called Cindy Lou Who, played by a pre-Gossip Girl Taylor Momsen.

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Yet another adaptation of Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, but possibly the best. The Muppet Christmas Carol stars Michael Caine as Ebenezer Scrooge, while Kermit takes on the role of Bob Cratchit. Featuring appearances from all of your favorite Muppets, Scrooge is visited by ghosts on Christmas Eve, and madness ensues.

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The festive follow-up to 2016 hit Bad Moms reunites Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, and Kathryn Hahn as the badly behaved and completely relatable gang. This time, their own mothers are in town for the holiday season, which only makes their antics funnier.

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Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon play a couple whose parents are divorced, forcing them to celebrate Christmas on four separate occasions. Starring everyone from Robert Duvall to Jon Favreau to Kristin Chenoweth to Sissy Spacek, Four Christmases is well-worth a re-watch, if only for its incredible cast and the comic timing of its leading duo.

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Layla (Christina Milian) meets James in an airport lounge after her flight is delayed. They have an instant connection—Layla even introduces James to Pentatonix!—but she won’t share her contact information…because she has a boyfriend. James suggests, rather romantically, that they leave their connection to fate and meet at Pentatonix’s Christmas Eve concert the following year. Twelve months later, Layla finds herself single, and she’s reminded of the attractive stranger and his unbelievable offer to finally meet up.

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