For children, the holidays hold a special kind of magic that many adults spend a lifetime trying to hold onto. Christmas lore and stories feel believable when we’re young. This enchantment often shows up in holiday kids’ movies — and some of them go beyond mere entertainment and represent the true yuletide spirit. They’re the sorts of movies they will grow up and wish to share with their own children.

Maybe you think the time has come to show your children the stories that will help them understand the holiday’s core tenets — kindness, forgiveness, gratitude, generosity — or maybe you want a reminder for yourself. Either way, these holiday kids’ movies provide a perfect reason for the entire family to sit down together and make memories.

A Boy Called Christmas

Dame Maggie Smith narrates this story within a story about the remarkable life of a boy named Nikolas (Henry Lawfull), nicknamed Christmas. His father left him to go in search of the mythical realm of Elfhelm, where the elves live. After enduring time with his evil aunt, Carlotta (Kristen Wiig), Nikolas finds a map to Elfhelm and sets out with a mouse he taught to speak. Along the way, he picks up a reindeer named Blitzen, and together they find Elfhelm and discover a whole world of magic — a world that desperately needs their help.

A Boy Called Christmas

1h 46m   PG   2021

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The Christmas Chronicles

Kate Pierce (Darby Camp) is trying to keep the Christmas spirit alive at home, but her father’s death and her mother’s long work hours make it hard to get excited about the holiday. When Kate thinks she catches a glimpse of Santa Claus, she convinces her brother, Teddy (Judah Lewis), to help her capture him on video. When Santa (Kurt Russell) appears, Kate and Teddy jump into his sleigh and take off with the man in red. They spook the reindeer when they reveal themselves, and the sleigh crashes in Chicago. Kate and Teddy have to help fix the sleigh so Santa can get back to work delivering presents. Running from the Chicago PD, contacting Santa’s elves, and raising the level of Christmas spirit are all in a merry night’s work.

The Christmas Chronicles

1h 45m   TV-PG   2018

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Klaus

Why do children write Santa Claus Christmas letters? In Klaus, we learn the origins of this custom in the tale of Jesper Johansen (Jason Schwartzman), a postman in 19th-century Norway who’s sent to the remote village of Smeerensburg. There, he meets a reclusive woodsman named Klaus (J.K. Simmons), who crafts toys and works with Jesper to secretly deliver them whenever the kids write him a letter. Convincing the children that Klaus knows when they’ve been bad or good, Jesper sets off a wave of kindness that helps settle an ancient feud between two of the village’s families — and kick-starts a yearly tradition that continues to this day.  

Klaus

1h 38m   PG   2019

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Scrooge: A Christmas Carol

This vibrant animated musical version of Dickens’s A Christmas Carol is perfect for the whole family. The grumpy miser Ebenezer Scrooge (Luke Evans) is visited by the ghost of his deceased business partner, Jacob Marley (Jonathan Pryce), who warns him that his greed and lack of charity will be his undoing. Three more ghosts visit Scrooge: the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. They show him the path that formed him into a selfish man, and warn him of what will happen if he refuses to change.

Scrooge: A Christmas Carol

1h 41m   TV-Y7   2022

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That Christmas

This British animated comedy tells the stories of several children and parents from the town of Wellington-on-Sea: a new boy adjusting to his parents’ divorce, a pair of twin sisters who couldn’t be more different, a local town rebel looking to shake things up, and a bus full of parents trying to get back to their kids by Christmas in the midst of a snowstorm. With voice talent that includes Brian Cox, Fiona Shaw, Jodie Whittaker, Rhys Darby, and Bill Nighy, there’s something special in each story and plenty of laughs along the way.

That Christmas

1h 36m   PG   2024

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The Star

This animated Nativity story is told through the eyes of the animals: Mary’s donkey, Bo (Steven Yeun); Bo’s best friend, a dove named Dave (Keegan-Michael Key); the three wise men’s camels, Felix (Tracy Morgan), Cyrus (Tyler Perry), and Deborah (Oprah Winfrey); a sheep named Ruth (Aidy Bryant) who sees the star heralding the birth of a king; and many more. Bo and his friends will have to follow the star and be the heroes the baby king needs. The film features an original song, “The Star,” from Mariah Carey, who also voices one of the characters. The voice cast also includes Kelly Clarkson, Kristin Chenoweth, Patricia Heaton, Christopher Plummer, Gina Rodriguez, and Zachary Levi. 

The Star

1h 26m   PG   2017

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