Best Christmas films on Disney Plus in 2025 – from Home Alone to The Muppet Christmas Carol

While Netflix are undoubtedly the most productive of the major streamers when it comes to releasing brand new Christmas films every year, it's arguably Disney Plus which has the best selection of proper Yuletide classics.

The library includes such beloved gems as Home Alone, The Muppet Christmas Carol and two versions of Miracle on 34th Street, alongside a couple of films that are known to start debates as to whether they can truly qualify for Christmas status: Die Hard and The Nightmare Before Christmas.

But that's not all. You can also find a number of other seasonal films on the platform, including some great options for younger viewers and even an Oscar-nominated short film from acclaimed Italian director Alice Rohrwacher.

Check out our list of recommendations below – and also make sure to take a look at our lists for Netflix Christmas films and Prime Video Christmas films too.

Home Alone

More than 30 years on from the film's release, Macaulay Culkin's turn as Kevin McAllister remains one of the most revered child performances of all time. As you'll no doubt be aware, the film sees 8-year-old Kevin – who has inadvertently been left behind when his family go off on holiday – laying all manner of violent booby traps in a bid to stave off the threat of two opportunistic burglars (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern) on Christmas Eve.

The film has spawned a number of sequels over the years, which are also all available to view on Disney Plus, although in our opinion only the most immediate of those follow-ups, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, is especially worth your time.

Die Hard

While not everyone considers this classic 1988 action flick to be a Christmas movie – it had its original release in July, after all – it's undoubtedly become a seasonal staple for millions of film fans around the world, thanks to its Christmas Eve setting, festive soundtrack and perhaps the best use of Ho Ho Ho ever seen on film.

Of course, the film stars Bruce Willis as John McClane, a New York detective who unexpectedly finds himself up against an army of terrorists while visiting his wife's Christmas Eve party in an LA skyscraper. Willis's central performance – which includes a string of memorable lines – has gone down in action movie history, while few villains are more iconic than Alan Rickman's Hans Gruber.

The Muppet Christmas Carol

There have been countless adaptations of Charles Dickens's classic Yuletide yarn over the years, and yet few of them can boast anything like the fandom of this delightful version starring The Muppets. Narrated by Gonzo (as Dickens himself) and Rizzo the Rat, it finds key roles for the majority of the beloved characters, while Michael Caine is on superb form as Ebenezer Scrooge – playing it completely straight against his non-human co-stars.

This fresh, brilliantly chaotic take on the iconic tale coupled with an assortment of terrific original songs – including Thankful Heart and It Feels Like Christmas – make this perhaps the definitive film version of the novella, a movie that can't fail to put you in a great festive mood.

A Christmas Carol

If the Muppets aren't for you (what is wrong with you??), then you might be more at home with this 2009 adaptation of the tale. Directed by Robert Zemeckis and originally designed to be watched in 3D, it saw the filmmaker use the same motion-capture animation techniques he'd used in his earlier Christmas film Polar Express – which gives the film a rather unique visual style.

Jim Carrey stars in multiple roles as Ebenezer Scrooge and all three of the visiting spirits, while there are also key roles for Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Bob Hoskins and Robin Wright, among others. How much it works for you will largely depend on how keen you are on the technology used, but the story itself is performed well and told faithfully.

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Is Tim Burton and Henry Selick's macabre animated feature a Christmas film or a Halloween one? That's a question thats invariably asked every year, and perhaps the most appropriate answer is that it's actually both at once.

The stop-motion musical fantasy tells of Jack Skellington, the disillusioned Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, who one day stumbles upon a portal to Christmas Town and becomes devoted to bringing Yuletide to his own home, even kidnapping Santa Claus (or Sandy Claws). Although it leans into its Halloweeny themes, there are more than enough Christmassy images and ideas to qualify it for a festive watch.

Mickey's Once Upon A Christmas

This animated anthology starring Mickey and his pals was released straight to video back in 1999 and is a great option for younger viewers looking for a bit of festive fun,

It consists of three short films – Donald Duck: Stuck on Christmas, A Very Goofy Christmas and Mickey and Minnie's Gift of the Magi – and if that's not enough for you, you can find a further five stories in the 2004 follow-up Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas.

The Santa Clause

This Christmas comedy from 1994 sees Tim Allen – in his first leading film role – playing a divorced and somewhat curmudgeonly father who finds himself unexpectedly landing a gig as the next Santa Claus after he inadvertently kills the previous Saint Nick.

Although initially startled at the prospect, he slowly grows into his new role and rediscovers a Christmas spirt that he'd long been missing. It was followed by two sequels – The Santa Clause 2 and The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause – in 2002 and 2006, which are also both streaming on Disney Plus.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

After Scrooge, there's no doubting the second most famous Christmas-hater – Dr Seuss's infamous green creation The Grinch. Although there was a more recent animated movie adaptation in 2018, this 2000 film starring Jim Carrey is undoubtedly the definitive movie version.

It follows the infamous grouch as he does his worst to ruin the festive period for the Christmas-loving residents of Whoville, who he despises. However he is soon befriended by a 6-year-old local girl named Cindy Lou (Taylor Momsen ) who tries to get him to change course.

Miracle on 34th Street

Another classic Christmas story, there are actually two versions of this film available on Disney Plus. The 1947 original stars Edmund Gwenn as Kris Kringle, with Richard Attenborough playing the same role in the popular 1994 remake – which also features Matilda child star Mara Wilson.

Both films are set in New York City and see Kris Kringle – who had been working as a department store Santa – put on trial due after doubts are raised as to whether he could possibly be the real Santa Claus, much to the distress of the young girl he has befriended.

Noelle

This 2019 Disney Plus original stars Anna Kendrick as Santa Claus's daughter Noelle, who is forced to take over the family business when her father decides that the time has come to retire and her older brother goes mysteriously missing.

The starry supporting cast also includes Bill Hader, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Billy Eichner, Julie Hagerty and Shirley MacLaine.

The Family Stone

The late Diane Keaton leads an ensemble cast that also includes the likes of Sarah Jessica Parker, Claire Danes, Rachel McAdams and more. The film follows Parker's Meredith, who has grown up with conservative values, discovering that she's a bit of a misfit at her boyfriend's family's Christmas celebrations.

While their relationship seems to be going swimmingly when in the city, when they visit family in a small New England town, that's when things start to go awry.

Le pupille

This Oscar-nominated Italian short film from La Chimera director Alice Rohrwacher is an under-the-radar gem in Disney Plus's Christmas library – and is well worth a watch if you're after something a little different from the usual festive fare.

Set at Christmastime during the Second World War, it follows Serafina, a young outcast at a strict Catholic orphanage who is always getting in trouble, and is soon excited by the delivery of a large cake.

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