The festive season is upon us, and that means it’s time to switch on the air con, chuck on a Christmas sweater, and flick on a Christmas movie to get you into the festive spirit. Once again, Netflix has cemented itself as the premier destination for Christmas movies, with a selection of original and familiar favourites to fill you with cheer. Here’s a list of the top 10 Christmas movies to watch on Netflix Australia:
- Elf
- Love Actually
- Christmas as Usual
- Family Switch
- Love Hard
- A Castle for Christmas
- Scrooge: A Christmas Carol
- Holidate
- Christmas Chronicles
- The Princess Switch
Elf
Elf, a true holiday classic, captivates audiences with its feel-good story and laugh-out-loud gags. It follows Buddy, a human raised by elves at the North Pole, who sets out to find his real father in New York. The film features an all-star cast of Will Ferrell, Zoey Deschanel, James Caan, Peter Dinklage and Mary Steenburgen. Packed with festive cheer and humour, Elf blends endearing performances and charming characters to create the perfect Christmas movie viewing experience.
Love Actually
Since its release in 2003, Love Actually has cemented its status as a Christmas icon. The film, set in London, follows the interconnected lives of charming characters as they navigate love and relationships in the lead up to Christmas. Director Richard Curtis (of Notting Hill and Four Weddings and a Funeral fame) expertly mixes British wit with awkward moments to create a holiday classic, while the star-studded cast, including Hugh Grant, Keira Knightly, Colin Firth, Emma Thompson and Liam Neeson, deliver performances that have viewers weeping and cheering for them throughout.
Christmas as Usual
This 2023 Netflix Christmas movie follows the story of newly engaged couple Thea and Jashan. Thea is bringing Jashan home to Norway for Christmas with her family, but there’s a catch. Thea’s family doesn’t know that Jashan, who lives in the US, is originally from India and chaos ensues when unique cultural differences arise. The film is loosely based on the true story of director Peter Holmsen’s sister and her husband. If you’re looking for a fresh and ultimately heartwarming film to watch this holiday season, Christmas as Usual may be the perfect one for you.
Family Switch
Another new Christmas release for Netflix this year, Family Switch is two movies in one: a typical Christmas tale combined with a hilarious body switching comedy. When a rare planetary alignment occurs, each member of the Walker family switches places and hilarity ensues. The family must go on a journey of self-discovery to find their way back to their own bodies, just in time to enjoy Christmas day. With the brilliant casting of Hollywood heavyweights Jennifer Garner and Ed Helms as the parents, this Christmas film is not one to be skipped over.
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Love Hard
Netflix original Love Hard follows a young romance columnist from Los Angeles as she falls in love with a guy she met on Tinder, only to travel to his small town to find that she’s been catfished. Obviously, she’s devastated, but her luck begins to pick up when she realises that the original face she fell for is walking around the very same town. Convinced she can bag herself the original man, she teams up with her catfisher to lure him in. Definitely check out this funny and charming Christmas film if you’re a fan of lead actors, Nina Dobrev and Jimmy O. Yang.
A Castle for Christmas
A Castle for Christmas is a rose-tinted Netflix rom com, about a famed writer whose career has hit a roadblock. In order to rediscover her passion and become relevant once again, she decides to travel back to the Scottish castle where her grandfather grew up. There she meets the once-duke-now-groundsman Myles, who is determined to take her money and kick her out of the crumbling mansion. Slowly and surely, love blooms and the two begin to fall for each other. Actors Brooke Shields and Cary Elwes anchor this Christmas feel-good film, leaving you with nothing but holiday spirit and the desire to visit Scotland by the end.
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Back to Netflix Christmas Movies
Scrooge: A Christmas Carol
There is no shortage of Scrooge retellings available to stream but Scrooge: A Christmas Carol is an excellent animated version for the whole family to enjoy. In this 2022 version, Luke Evans voices the titular character, as he struggles with the spirit of Christmas while also dealing with the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and those Yet to Come. With songs by award-winning Leslie Bricusse, and a supporting cast including Jonathan Pryce and Olivia Colman, it’ll be a musical Christmas for the whole family to enjoy.
Holidate
Christmas feel-good movie, Holidate, features Emma Roberts starring as Sloane, a twenty-something woman who is sick of being single on the holidays. After meeting a strange, attractive Australian (Luke Bracey) in the shopping centre who feels the same way, the two agree to be each other’s ‘holidates’. Aka, platonic plus-ones to every Easter, St Patrick’s Day, and of course, Christmas. But, this is Netflix — so of course they’re going to catch feelings along the way.
Christmas Chronicles
The Christmas Chronicles portrays a Santa that’s very different to how we usually see him. He hates when people assume he’s fat and gets annoyed when asked to say “Ho, Ho, Ho”. This film follows siblings Kate and Teddy as they try to catch Mr. Claus on Christmas Eve. Unfortunately, the plan goes awry and the trio must team-up to save Christmas. While most other Christmas films lean towards the rom-com genre, this one presents as a great adventure tale for the whole family to enjoy. If you’re a fan of Santa Claus films, this may be the perfect Christmas flick for you.
The Princess Switch
Vanessa Hudgens plays two different characters in The Princess Switch – one being Stacy, a baker from Chicago and the second Margaret, the Duchess of Montenaro. If the title doesn’t already give it away, the two switch places in order for the Duchess to get to know the people of her town. It’s basically The Princess Diaries meets The Parent Trap. When it’s time for the two to go back to their own realities, it seems that both have fallen for the leading men in each other’s lives. It’s a film that will certainly get you into the Christmas spirit, and if you love it, you’ll be pleased to know there are two more films in the series you can binge this festive season.
There are many more festive movies on Netflix, so if none of these take your fancy, keep searching away as there’s bound to be one that you’d like to settle down with on Christmas Eve.
Photo Credit: Netflix
Original Author: Maddy Morwood
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