It’s the holiday season, and that means it’s Christmas movie season: the time of year when we gather around our televisions and watch films that are filled to the brim with holiday cheer — or at least ones that make us feel all fuzzy inside.

HBO Max features one of the most diverse selections of films for the holidays. With HBO, TCM, and even Max Originals, the service is the one-stop shop for all of your holiday needs.

For more recommendations, check out our list of the best Christmas movies on Netflix, the best movies on HBO, and the best comedies on HBO.

Editor's note: This article was updated December 22nd to include A Hollywood Christmas.

Disclaimer: These titles are available on US Max.

A Hollywood Christmas

Rotten Tomatoes: 80% | IMDb: 5.2/10

You know when you watch a trailer and you see the entire movie summarized in under three minutes? That is certainly the case with A Hollywood Christmas, although one thing is different: you’ll still want to watch this movie after you’ve pretty much seen it all. That’s because it’s a fun new take on all the Christmas movie tropes. Director Jessica (Jessika Van) meets actor Christopher (Josh Swickard) while filming a holiday movie, and while the two butt heads at first, Jessica’s friend Reena (Anissa Borrego) quickly points out that Jessica appears to be in a holiday movie cliche herself, insisting that Jessica and Christopher are meant to be together.

The film, which premiered on Max in 2022, rated high among critics and audiences alike, saying that it broke away from the usual bland holiday movie tropes while containing plenty of laughs for the avid Hallmark holiday viewing crowd. The film also stars Riley Dandy (That’s Amor), Zak Steiner (Difficult People), Missi Pyle (Galaxy Quest), and Tom Williamson (The Fosters).

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A Christmas Mystery

IMDb: 5.9/10

Alex Ranarivelo directs A Christmas Mystery from the clever script written by John Ducey. Taking place in a small waterfront town in Oregon, A Christmas Mystery infuses magical whimsy with grounded excitement. The film stars Violet McGraw (M3gan) as a precocious young girl who, along with a group of friends, must prove one man’s innocence and identify the true thief behind Santa’s missing magical bells. Sprinkled with holiday spirit, A Christmas Mystery has the excitement and passion of other young-skewing mystery movies, similar in vibe to Harriet the Spy, Finding Ohana, or Dora and the Lost City of Gold. – Yael Tygiel

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Christmas in Connecticut

Rotten Tomatoes: 89% | IMDb: 7.3/10

While recovering in a hospital, war hero Jefferson Jones (Dennis Morgan) grows familiar with the "Diary of a Housewife" column written by Elizabeth Lane (Barbara Stanwyck). Jeff's nurse arranges with Elizabeth's publisher, Alexander Yardley (Sydney Greenstreet), for Jeff to spend the holiday at Elizabeth's bucolic Connecticut farm with her husband and child. Things are never that simple because the column is a sham! This leads to Yardley rushing to arrange a publicity ploy by setting up a single Elizabeth on a country farm.

Christmas in Connecticut is a wacky comedy that will give you a decent amount of laughs. It can be a bit dated with some of its themes, but nothing harmful comes of it. Barbara Stanwyck delivers a terrific performance and elevates the wild premise to a truly fun watch.

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Arthur Christmas

Rotten Tomatoes: 92% | IMDb: 7.1/10

We all know the legend of Santa Claus. Kris Kringle delivers presents to every single child on the planet while being pulled on a magical sled by his flying reindeer. However, to the surprise of everyone, Santa actually has a high-tech operation beneath the North Pole. One Christmas, the unimaginable happens when Santa misses one child, and it’s up to his son, Arthur (James McAvoy), to fix the mistake.

Arthur Christmas is a wonderful film that flips the script on everything we know about Santa Claus and his Elves. The film is a colorful adventure with a great cast of characters and a touching message about family. It’s a terrific animated film for all ages.

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The Shop Around the Corner

Rotten Tomatoes: 99% | IMDb: 8.0/10

A film that has been copied to death, but none have ever managed to capture the warmth and love oozing from the original. The Shop Around The Corner is about two store employees at a general store in Budapest. Klara (Margaret Sullavan) and Alfred (James Stewart) are constantly at odds with each other, butting heads and disagreeing on almost everything. Both are enamored of their respective pen pals, who serve as welcome distractions in their lives. Little do they know they are each the other's pen pal and, despite outward differences, have unwittingly fallen in love through their letters.

The Shop Around The Corner is a carefully crafted film about human emotions. Klara and Alfred’s relationship feels real rather than one purely based on fiction. Director Ernst Lubitsch delivers one of the best romantic comedies ever put to screen, and it’s a must-watch for any movie fan.

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Jack Frost

Rotten Tomatoes: 19% | IMDb: 5.4/10

As a touring musician clinging to dreams of stardom, aging rocker Jack Frost (Michael Keaton) never had much time for his wife, Gabby (Kelly Preston), and son, Charlie (Joseph Cross). A year after Jack's tragic passing in a car accident on Christmas Day, Charlie plays a mournful tune on his father's harmonica. With a little Christmas magic, Jack is brought to life as a snowman. Given a second chance, Charlie and Jack struggle to make up for lost time.

Jack Frost is a Christmas fantasy that doesn’t shy away from the themes of death and loss. The film has some fascinating ideas, but it doesn’t bring that massive sense of joy and fun that the other films on the list accomplish.

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The Man Who Came to Dinner

Rotten Tomatoes: 86% | IMDb: 7.5/10

While on a speaking tour in Ohio, opinionated and arrogant radio personality Sheridan Whiteside (Monty Woolley) injures himself slipping on ice and becomes an unexpected house guest for a prominent area family: the Stanleys. Whiteside proceeds to make brash proclamations and offer his unsolicited advice to the family members. When a romance begins between Whiteside's assistant, Maggie Cutler (Bette Davis), and a local reporter, Bert Jefferson (Richard Travis), he interferes with that as well.

Released in 1942, The Man Who Came to Dinner is a terrific comedy that still has us laughing 80 years later. The film is an adaptation of the stage play, with Monty Woolley reprising his role as Sheridan Whiteside. An unwanted guest is a very topical subject during the holidays, and it makes for a hilarious film. The sharp dialogue and fantastic performances make this one of our must-watch films every year.

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A Christmas Story Christmas

Rotten Tomatoes: 79% | IMDb: 6.7/10

A Christmas Story is one of the most beloved Christmas movies of all time. When it comes to returning to classic stories, things don’t always work out the way we want them to, but thankfully the sequel, A Christmas Story Christmas, is a worthy sequel to the original film.

Ralphie (Peter Billingsley) returns to his childhood home so he can give his kids a magical Christmas like the one he had as a child. A Christmas Story Christmas might not be as revered as its predecessor, but it’s still an endearing family film that fans old and new can enjoy.

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8-Bit Christmas

Rotten Tomatoes: 84% | IMDb: 6.7/10

We all have that one gift that we desperately want for Christmas as kids (or adults, let’s be real). This new HBO Max Original movie is all about the struggle one must go through to get their mittens on the gift they covet the most. Based on the novel of the same name by Kevin Jakubowski (who also wrote the screenplay) and directed by Michael Dowse, this family Christmas comedy tells the story of a young Jake Doyle (Winslow Fegley) who, growing up in 1980s Chicago, was determined to get the most sought after item of the season: the brand new Nintendo Entertainment System. The movie dips back and forth between present day and the late ‘80s, with the now-adult Jake (Neil Patrick Harris) recounting his desperate adventures to secure the gaming system with his misfit friends to his young daughter. The movie also stars June Diane Raphael and Steve Zahn as young Jake’s parents.

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Elf

Rotten Tomatoes: 86% | IMDb: 7.1/10

It’s a Christmas miracle. Elf is on HBO Max. Written by David Berenbaum and directed by Jon Favreau, this critical and commercial mega-hit of 2003 follows Buddy (Will Ferrell) a human that’s been raised by Santa (Ed Asner) and Papa Elf (Bob Newhart) in the North Pole after sneaking into Santa’s toy sack as a baby when he was delivering gifts at Buddy’s orphanage. Now as an adult, Buddy travels to New York City to track down his biological father Walter (James Caan), a cranky children’s publisher who is severely lacking some Christmas spirit. Buddy forces his way into Walter’s life and family, which includes his sweet wife Emily (Mary Steenburgen) and teenage son Michael (Daniel Tay). Buddy’s life changes once again when he meets Gimbels employee Jovie (Zooey Deschanel) and tries to win her over. This heartfelt and festive story instantly became a cozy Christmas classic and is the perfect movie to watch as you anxiously wait for Santa.

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A Christmas Story

Rotten Tomatoes: 89% | IMDb: 7.9/10

Careful, you might shoot your eye out. Watching the 1983 movie A Christmas Story is a holiday tradition for many families. But did you know that this movie was based on a collection of short stories that appeared in Playboy Magazine in the 1960s? The screenplay by director Bob Clark and Leigh Brown is an adaptation of the short story collection titled In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash by Jean Shepherd. At the core of the film is the story of 9-year-old Ralphie Parker (Peter Billingsley) who really wants a Red Ryder BB Gun for Christmas. His mother (Melinda Dillon) is strongly against this request while his father (Darren McGavin) is preoccupied with his fishnet-stocking leg lamp. Author Jean Shepherd voiced the narration of adult Ralphie in the film, which is believed to have inspired a similar format for the hit show The Wonder Years.

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The Polar Express

Rotten Tomatoes: 56% | IMDb: 6.6/10

All aboard! You can’t go wrong with The Polar Express, an animated masterpiece that follows a young boy who’s having a hard time believing that Santa Claus is real. On Christmas Eve, a train pulls up outside his house seemingly out of nowhere and sparks his interest. He journeys outside in his pajamas through the soft snow and is informed by the conductor (Tom Hanks) that the train is headed to the North Pole to visit Santa as he prepares for his big day. Along the way, the young boy meets several other children and interesting characters that teach him about the power of friendship, adventure, and Christmas. The movie’s realistic animation was made using motion-capture technology and the story was based on a children’s book by Chris Van Allsburg, who served as an executive producer on the project, and was directed by Robert Zemeckis.

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A Christmas Carol

Rotten Tomatoes: 100% | IMDb: 7.5/10

Surely you’re familiar with Charles Dickens’ classic Christmas tale known as A Christmas Carol which was first published in London in 1843. Its story has impacted fans for centuries and continues to inspire dozens of adaptations for the stage, screen, and even radio. Similar to its counterparts, this 1938 version tells the story of Christmas curmudgeon Ebenezer Scrooge (Reginald Owen) who is visited by the ghost of his late business partner Jacob Marley on Christmas Eve, who warns Scrooge to repent and serve the community in order to save himself in the afterlife. Throughout the film, Scrooge is visited by three specific ghosts: the Spirit of Christmas Past (Ann Rutherford), the Spirit of Christmas Present (Lionel Braham), and the Spirit of Christmas Future (D’Arcy Corrigan). All three ghosts do their best to remind Scrooge of the error of his ways, and encourage him to embrace the true meaning of Christmas.

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Four Christmases

Rotten Tomatoes: 25% | IMDb: 5.7/10

Celebrating one Christmas with family may seem like a lot, but imagine having to attend four? A nightmare! For couple Kate (Reese Witherspoon) and Brad (Vince Vaughn), this nightmare is actually a reality. Since both of their parents are divorced and celebrate Christmas separately, the onus is on them to make four individual trips. They think they have the perfect out (they plan a vacation to Fiji and say they are doing charity work) but unprecedented weather conditions keep them trapped at home. As a result, the two have no other choice but to face their chaotic, loud, and judgmental families, one tedious visit at a time. Will these gatherings pull Kate and Brad apart, or bring them closer together? Brad’s parents are played by Robert Duvall and Sissy Spacek and Kate’s are played by Mary Steenburgen and Jon Voight.

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Fred Claus

Rotten Tomatoes: 21% | IMDb: 5.6/10

Vince Vaughn is at it again in another Christmas (mis)adventure. He leads a star-studded cast as the titular Fred Claus, an adult still bitter for growing up in the shadows of his younger, generous brother Nick, who became a saint and grew up to become Santa Claus (Paul Giamatti). While the last thing Fred wants to do is interact with his jolly brother, he has no other choice but to reach out for bail money once he gets arrested for impersonating a Salvation Army Santa. In exchange for the cash, Fred must help his brother out in the North Pole during his busiest time of the year. The movie also stars Rachel Weisz, John Michael Higgins, Elizabeth Banks, Kathy Bates, and Jeremy Swift.

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National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

Rotten Tomatoes: 70% | IMDb: 7.5/10

An electrocuted cat, a power outage, and a visit by a SWAT team are three things you can expect to see in this fan favorite Christmas movie. Written by John Hughes (who would soon after write Home Alone), National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation follows the Griswolds and their disastrous Christmas with extended family. All Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) wants is to have a fun, relaxing holiday with his wife Ellen (Beverly D’Angelo) and their children Audrey (Juliette Lewis) and Rusty (Johnny Galecki), but a series of obstacles, unexpected setbacks, and combative family members creates more chaos than they could imagine.

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