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It's the Disney Plus Christmas Guide to the best holiday shows and movies

From Home Alone to The Santa Clause to ... Hawkeye?
By

Published onDecember 7, 2022

the santa clauses disney plus
Disney Plus

Disney Plus is still one of the best streaming services you can subscribe to for great family-friendly entertainment. That’s definitely the case at Christmas time, and Disney Plus has been busy launching all new TV shows, movies, and specials to celebrate the holiday season. So what are the best Disney Plus Christmas films and series to watch. In this article, we will go over the best Christmas content on the service. From classic movies to the most recent films and specials, there’s no lack of content for Disney fans or Christmas fans. You can sign up for the service at the link below:

The Disney Plus logo.
Disney Plus
Disney Plus offers thousands of TV episodes and movies from across the Disney library, including its Pixar, Star Wars, and Marvel shows and films, along with exclusive TV series and movies.

The Santa Clauses

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Disney Plus

Tim Allen returns to his role from The Santa Clause movie trilogy as Scott Calvin, who is the current incarnation of Santa Claus. In this six-episode series, we see that his Christmas magic seems to be weakening, so Scott decides to retire to spend the rest of his life with his wife and family somewhere south of the North Pole. However, he also has to find a successor for the Santa role, and that decision will have massive consequences.


The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special

guardians of the galaxy holiday special
Disney Plus

James Guns, the writer and director of the MCU’s Guardians of the Galaxy movies, also wrote and directed perhaps one of the best Christmas-themed events of 2022. The leader of the Guardians, Peter (Star-Lord) Quill, is not feeling the best since his love Gamora has left the team. It also happens to be the Christmas season back on his home planet Earth. So what do two of his teammates, Drax and Mantis, do to get Peter out of his doldrums? They head to Earth to get something that will mean a lot to Peter. Unfortunately, that something is a person, actor Kevin Bacon (played by, well, Kevin Bacon).


The Hip-Hop Nutcracker

hip hop nutcraker disney plus christmas
Disney

The classic Nutcracker tale gets reinvented in this Disney Plus Christmas special, which is based on the traveling stage show. The basic premise is the same: A young girl is transported to a magical land around Christmastime, but in this version, she comes from present day New York City. Get ready to see some first-class dancers perform with a hip-hop musical theme in this special.


Pentatonix Around the World For The Holidays

penatonix disney plus christmas
Disney

The popular acapella singing group has a new Christmas special on Disney Plus. The members of the group find themselves in a magical mailroom that transports them all over the world to learn about holiday traditions from other countries. Of course, they also sing some Christmas songs as well.


Best In Snow

best in snow disney plus
Disney

This new Disney Plus Christmas-themed reality competition show features eight teams that are tasked with creating new snow sculptures from big blocks of snow. The sculptures must also feature characters from the various Disney-owned properties. Even Kermit the Frog makes an appearance in this special.


Donna Hay Christmas

donna hay christmas
Disney Plus

Donna Hay, the well-known cooking personality from Australia, shows everyone how to make the best holiday meals, treats, food gifts, and more in this Disney Plus Christmas mini-series.

Noelle

disney plus noelle

Anna Kendrick plays Noelle, the daughter of Santa Claus, in this Disney Plus Christmas original movie. Her dad passed away several months before Christmas, so her brother Nick Kringle, played by Bill Hader, has been training to take his place. However, Nick panics over the prospect of becoming Santa, and runs away from the North Pole. Can Noelle find Nick and whip him into shape to save Christmas?


Godmothered

godmothered
Disney Plus

This Disney Plus original movie is set during Christmas. It stars Jillian Bell as Eleanor Fay Bloomingbottom, a young fairy godmother who is still learning her craft. However, the modern world seems to have moved on from believing in fairy godmothers and making wishes come true. Eleanor finds a letter from a young girl who needs help and makes the journey to the real world, only to discover that the young girl is now a grown woman, played by Isla Fisher. Can Eleanor help her fulfill her wishes and keep the magic of being a fairy godmother?


Lego Star Wars Holiday Special

star wars lego holiday 2020
Disney

The Lego Star Wars universe celebrates its version of Christmas in this holiday special. Set after the events of The Rise of Skywalker, Rey is training Finn to be a Jedi during Life Day on the Wookies’ home planet. However, Rey discovers an artifact that allows her to travel back in time to previous Life Days, where she encounters other Star Wars characters like Darth Vader and a young Luke Skywalker.


High School Musical: The Musical: The Holiday Special

high schoo musical disney plus christmas
Disney

The cast of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series get together to sing (of course). This time, the gang sing Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year’s songs while also sharing some of their own favorite holiday traditions.


Hawkeye

Hawkeye show Disney Plus
Disney

Yes, Marvel Studios set one of their Disney Plus original shows during Christmas. Clint “Hawkeye” Barton (Jeremy Renner) just wants to spend Christmas with his kids on a family trip to New York City. However, he soon gets involved in fighting some criminals and also encounters another skilled crime-fighting archer Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld). Look for some surprise appearances by some other MCU characters in this series.


Miracle on 34th Street

miracle
Disney

Disney Plus has both the original 1947 version of this Christmas classic and the more recent 1994 remake. Both films are about a man named Kris Kringle, a department store Santa who claims actually to be the real Santa Claus. Many adults try in both versions to undermine Kris’ story. Can Kris prove he is Santa and help children believe in Santa Claus again?


Home Alone

Macaulay Culkin applies aftershave while looking in the mirror in Home Alone - best family movies on disney plus
20th Century Fox

This holiday classic movie probably needs no introduction, but we will give it one anyway. Young Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) is left behind at his home accidentally while his extended family flies to France for Christmas. Left home alone, Kevin does his best to pass the time, while his frantic mother tries to get back home. However, the “Wet Bandits” are out in Kevin’s neighborhood, and Kevin feels the need to defend his home with all sorts of very painful traps. Disney Plus also has the many (too many, some might say) other Home Alone movies to stream, but you can safely bypass those films; the original is really the only one you need to check out.


The Santa Clause

santa clause
Disney

Before you watch The Santa Clauses, check out the original movie, where Tim Allen’s Scott Calvin becomes Santa Claus after the current one falls off Scott’s roof at home and disappears. Scott must deal with his new role, and his changing appearance, while members of his family think he’s going insane. The sequel to this movie, The Santa Clause 2, is also entertaining, but you can bypass the third film if you want, even though it has a great performance by Martin Short as the comical villain Jack Frost.


A Christmas Carol

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Disney
Left to right: Ghost of Christmas Present, Ebenezer Scrooge (JIM CARREY)

This CGI motion capture animated movie stars Jim Carrey as Ebenezer Scrooge. Carrey also voices and animates the roles of Scrooge’s three Christmas ghosts, who take him on his time travel journey so he can rediscover his soul. Some people might not like the “uncanny valley” efforts to create realistic humans in CGI, but the movie itself is a faithful and entertaining adaptation of Charles Dickens’ story. Gary Newman, Colin Firth, and Robin Wright also provide voices and motion capture for other roles in the film.


The Nightmare Before Christmas

nightmare before christmas
Disney
(Left) Jack Skellington (Chris Sarandon) ©Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved.

Is this stop-motion animated musical a Halloween movie or a Christmas movie? Why not both? This film from writer Tim Burton and director Henry Selick centers on the head of Halloweentown, Jack Skellington, who decides to invade the nearby Christmas Town, and take over the full Christmas holiday. This film is definitely one of the more unusual but popular, Christmas movie-watching traditions.


The Muppets Christmas Carol

muppets christmas carol
Disney

Here’s another version of Dickens’ story. It’s not quite as faithful to the source material, but the Muppets cast is terrific in the various smaller character roles. The highlight for this movie, however, is Michael Caine playing Scrooge, who is as funny as he is angry at times, and it’s a stand out performance from his huge career.


That’s our list of the best Disney Plus Christmas content. You can check out even more, including special Christmas episodes of Disney TV shows, animated shorts, and more, on the Disney Plus Christmas page.