21 Of The Funniest Christmas Movies Ever
Spiked eggnog not necessary but definitely encouraged.
By DEANNA JANES - published
Holiday movies come in all kinds of genres and varieties of catharsis. Thanksgiving movies start by putting us in the holiday spirit, while the best classic Christmas movies tap into our wistful nostalgic fixation. But sometimes, all we really want is for our bellies to shake like bowls full of jelly—and that’s where the following best funny Christmas movies come in. Whether you’ve seen them all a million times or are just discovering a few upon this happenstance scroll, we invite you to usher in the holiday season with the merriest of movie marathons.
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Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
The animated Grinch special, based on Dr. Seuss’s classic story, hit television screens in 1966 and every year since then. And it’s a must-watch. But when it comes to laughing matters, turn to Ron Howard’s reimagined holiday gem starring Jim Carrey. Always the over-actor (love it or hate it), the comedian hops into the mean one’s fuzzy shoes to bring the children’s tale to life and actually gives one of his best comedic performances.
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Best. Christmas. Ever! (2023)
Brandy and Heather Graham go head to head as Jackie Jennings and Charlotte Sanders in this 2023 eggnog-com from Netflix. When Charlotte arrives with her family at Jackie's house for Christmas, she begins to resent how perfect Jackie's life is – handsome husband, buff butler, prodigy children – so she investigates. Mishaps, misunderstandings, and mistletoe romances all ensue.
Candy Cane Lane (2023)
Eddie Murphy. Tracee Ellis Ross. Holiday shenanigans. Need we say more? Get excited for this Prime Video original starring the comedians as a married couple whose efforts to win their neighborhood's Christmas decorating contest get way out of hand. We're talking, the 12 Days of Christmas come to life, thanks to a magical elf with a dark side.
Dashing Through the Snow (2023)
Chris "Ludacris" Bridges takes centre stage in this fantasy that blends standup, slapstick, and a little Southern hospitality. He plays a social worker whose sour outlook on Christmas is flipped after a visit from the big man in red. This year's gift from Disney+, the film's directed by Tim Story and costars Lil Rel Howery and Teyonah Parris, so buckle up for a joyride through holiday chaos.
Related article: The 35 Best Classic Christmas Movies of All Time
Family Switch (2023)
If there's anyone who is a master class at body switching, it's Miss 13 Going On 30 Jennifer Garner. She gives the narrative springboard another go with Family Switch, this time the old switcheroo happens among a family of four who are growing up and growing apart. After a blip in the astrological radar, the family spend the holidays surviving their wacky reversals.
Holidate (2020)
Emma Roberts and Luke Bracey get raunchy for this crass comedy about two singles who agree to be each other's platonic plus-ones for the barrage of holiday events that fill the calendar every year. Bookended with a pair of Christmases, the film trudges through St. Paddy's, Easter, Halloween, and more as the two leads, who think they've beat the system, start to catch feelings.
Let It Snow (2019)
'Tis the season to pine over your one true love. So do it with Julie, Stuart, Addie, Angie, and the rest of the characters who take this one from ordinary rom-com to extra-festive charmer. Based on the same-name novel, Let It Snow does just that: Representing the inside of a snow globe, the film sees its ensemble cast navigate the twists and turns of love while snowed in on Christmas Eve.
Love Hard (2021)
Nina Dobrev doesn't necessarily strike us as struggling online-dater, but here we are. She plays Natalie, a blogger from Los Angeles who gets cafished on a dating app but spends the holidays with the dishonest bait anyway. You can probably guess what happens in the end, but Hernán Jiménez's Netflix Original is actually full of laughs and surprises. So swipe right. You can trust us.
Who Killed Santa? A Murderville Murder Mystery (2022)
A feature spinoff of Netflix's semi-improvised series starring Will Arnett as Detective Terry Seattle, Who Killed Santa? recruits comedy legends Maya Rudolph and Jason Bateman for a whodunit that unfolds with its two celebrity guests in the dark. In the dark and operating without a script, the three work a case full of surprises, where everyone has an alibi, and no one has a clue.
Single All the Way (2021)
Sick of singeldom and the judgments that come with it, Peter convinces his best pal and roommate, Nick, to accompany him home for the holidays and pretend that they're hugged up. While there, the two unwrap romantic feelings they didn't know they had. As for the laughs, a lot of those comes in the form of Aunt Sandy, played by the wonderfully hilarious Jennifer Coolidge.
The Bad Guys: A Very Bad Holiday (2023)
An offshoot of the hit Netflix feature released last year, this holiday special catches back up with the menagerie who's up to no good. This Christmas, the baddies are casing banks to hit while everyone else is home opening presents. Only problem, they mistakenly steal a Santa balloon while do so, inadvertently cancelling Christmas. Now, they have to do a little good to get back to being bad.
The Naughty Nine (2023)
We all know about Santa's Naughty & Nice List, but what actually happens when the kiddos he tags as rascals learn they're destined for lumps of coal under the tree? According to Disney+'s new original movie, they join forces to confront Santa on his own turf, determined to take back the gifts they feel they deserve. A great choice for the whole family, this holiday heist has twists, turns, and laughs.
Christmas with the Kranks (2004)
Surprisingly, this one’s based on a John Grisham novel. Not surprisingly? Tim Allen delivers on the comedy front. More slapstick than biting wit, this adaptation with a Chris Columbus script gets silly when a ba-humbug couple (Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis) swear off Christmas and everything the holiday entails to go on a cruise.
Mean Girls (2004)
Perhaps we’re reaching; to call Mean Girls a Christmas movie is like calling Regina George a contender for Miss Congeniality. But what can’t be denied: “Jingle Bell Rock” is an iconic moment in Christmas-related cinema. And you never need an excuse to watch this Tina Fey/Mark Waters mash-up.
A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas (2011)
Check the PC manners at the door. This stupid-funny stoner comedy sends its titular characters on another foggy adventure and is as offensive, over the top, and inappropriate as the dinner conversation you’re inevitably going to have to excuse yourself from come Christmas day.
Four Christmases (2008)
One holiday is stressful enough. Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn’s Kate and Brad endure four—each filled with kooky relatives and parent-inflicted humiliation—in Seth Gordon’s merry little cringe fest, which steals belly laughs despite a seriously flawed script.
In Bruges (2008)
Christmas isn’t the focus of Martin McDonagh’s tragicomic gem, but it is an excuse for a pair of hitmen (Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell) to lay low after a job gone wrong. The city’s enchantment, the actors’ deadpan, and especially the humorous banter—it’s all such a gift.
Falling for Christmas (2022)
All we want for Christmas is a Lindsay Lohan comeback, and thanks to Netflix, our wish is being granted. The first in a three-film “Lohanaissance,” Falling for Christmas sees the famous ginger in her most self-deprecating role yet. As Sierra Belmont, an heiress whose bout of amnesia leaves her in the care of a strapping lodge owner, Lohan hits all the right notes. Although the silly comedy is being heralded as the Citizen Kane of Netflix holiday flicks, we’d say it’s more Overboard set in the middle of snow globe.
Happiest Season (2020)
The holiday season is full of romantic comedies that slog through the genre like a broken-down sleigh with chunky reindeers, but this contemporary offering from writer/director Clea DuVall is actually funny and really romantic. An instant queer holiday classic, Happiest Season stars Kristen Stewart and Mackenzie Davis as Abby and Harper, a couple on the verge of a few pivotal engagements: one that includes a proposal, and another that requires Harper coming out to her conservative family at Xmas.
Spirited (2022)
Not since Chris Brander wooed Jamie Palamino with day dates, a ’90s mixtape, and a carton of a Ben & Jerry’s have we been more excited over a holiday movie starring Ryan Reynolds. This one, a rejiggering of the Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol classic, comes from Instant Family director Sean Anders and includes elaborate dance numbers, white-knuckle action, and—best of all—well-timed comedy courtesy of costars Octavia Spencer and Will Ferrell.
The Best Man Holiday (2013)
Fifteen years after Lance (Morris Chestnut) marries Mia (Monia Calhoun), and Harper (Taye Diggs) commits to Robyn (Sanaa Lathan), the entire crew from The Best Man reunite for another chapter in Malcolm D. Lee’s ensemble saga. This time, however, our favourite friends get together not for a wedding but for the holidays at Lance and Mia’s sprawling, magazine-worthy digs in New Jersey. It’s here where hilarity ensues and past rivalries are reignited. Here’s hoping the next installment is on the way soon!
This article originally appeared in Harper’s BAZAAR US.