While I love a good romantic comedy all year round, there’s nothing quite like curling up with Christmas rom coms. People have made Christmas movies almost as long as they’ve made movies! Whether it’s a black-and-white classic like Christmas in Connecticut or a modern gem like Last Christmas, there’s holiday cheer and romance in every era. Grab your hot cocoa and check out some of the movies on this list.

PS – the recommendations of where to watch holiday films are constantly in flux, so if you want to watch one of these movies I recommend looking it up on IMDb.com! You can also assume that most of these movies are for rent on Amazon.

Classic Christmas Rom Coms

Remember the Night (1939)

Barbara Stanwyck stars as Lee Leander, a serial shoplifter whose third strike falls just before Christmas. Because juries are more sympathetic around the holidays, the prosecutor John Sargent (played by Fred MacMurray) decides to delay her trial. Feeling bad for the beautiful young miscreant, Sargent invites Leander to his family Christmas, where the warmth of his inviting family melts the chilly circumstances of their meeting, and they fall in love. This is one of the earliest golden age Christmas films, and despite the lack of color, you can feel the warmth and cheer radiating through the screen.

Where to Watch: Plex

The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

The inspiration for the Meg Ryan/Tom Hanks Film You’ve Got Mail as well as the Broadway musical She Loves Me, The Shop Around the Corner proves the enduring allure of romantic pen pals. At a department store in Budapest, Hungary, colleagues Alfred (Mr. Christmas Himself, Jimmy Stewart) and Klara (Margaret Sullavan) immediately rub each other the wrong way. When Alfred is fired due to a misunderstanding, he gets drunk and realizes that Klara is the secret pen pal he’s been planning to meet. Once re-hired, Alfred must figure out how to reveal his identity to an indifferent Klara. Despite many fantastic imitators, the snappy dialogue and exceptional chemistry means this movie deserves a spot on your watch list.

Where to Watch: HBO Max, MGM+

Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)

Young, radiant Judy Garland shines in one of her most famous roles. 17-year-old Esther Smith (Garland) has it all – beauty, brains, social position, and the love of the boy next door. But her family is turned upside down when her father announces they’ll be moving to New York. The movie premiered one of the most famous Christmas songs – “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” The legend goes that the original lyrics were very bitter, so Judy convinced director Vincente Minnelli (her later husband and father of Liza Minnelli) to re-write it into the beautiful ballad we know and love.

Where to Watch: HBO Max, Tubi

The Cheaters (1945)

This screwball comedy about a high-brow family has myriad twists and turns in its relatively short run time (only 87 minutes). Suffice to say, a wealthy businessman is close to bankruptcy, and his family is banking on an inheritance for Christmas. When they realize the family fortune has been left to an unknown woman, they scheme to keep it away. At the same time, they take in a down-on-his luck actor to keep up appearances. Shocker: the actor and the heiress fall in love.

Where to Watch: On DVD, unfortunately

Christmas in Connecticut (1945)

Elizabeth Lane (the beautiful Barbara Stanwyck again) has made a very lucrative career for herself writing a column for housewives. The trouble? She can’t make toast. When a soldier home from the war writes her editor requesting she make him and his fiancée a Christmas dinner, Elizabeth can’t refuse the offer. Quickly, she asks a farmer in Connecticut to marry her to keep up the premise of her homestead. This movie is full of both silly plot machinations and charm. It’s a beautifully shot, fun romp.

Where to Watch: Amazon Prime ($2.99)

Holiday Affair (1949)

Beautiful young widow Connie Ennis (Janet Leigh) supports herself and her young son Timmy by scoping out the competition for a department store. When a clerk at a rival store, Steve (Robert Mitchum) realizes who she is, he threatens her job, but lets her go. Steve and Connie’s attraction is palpable but there’s one problem: Connie’s boring but dependable long-time boyfriend, Carl (Wendell Corey). Filled with veteran actors taking the material seriously, the movie has gained a cult status among old Christmas movie lovers.

Where to Watch: Amazon Prime ($3.99)

White Christmas (1954)

Perhaps the most famous Old Hollywood movie on the list, White Christmas endures as a fun musical romp around December. Bing Crosby and Dean Martin star as a singing duo who team up with (and fall in love with) performing sisters played by Rosemary Clooney and Vera Ellen to save a failing inn in Vermont at Christmas. Full of iconic costumes and musical numbers, this light-hearted movie can warm any chilly heart.

Where to Watch: Amazon Prime (Free), AMC+, Periodically in Theatres

Bundle of Joy (1956)

Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher (Carrie Fisher’s parents) star in this wacky comedy about found family. When bumbling-yet-earnest salesgirl Polly Parish (Reynolds) finds a baby on the steps of an orphanage, she’s surrounded by sympathy she can’t turn down. The boss’s son Dan (Fisher) takes a special interest in helping Polly with the baby and, of course, they fall in love. Reynolds and Fisher were married when they made this movie, and while Fisher’s performance has largely been panned as wooden, Reynolds’s sparkling charm comes through in every scene. Ironically, she was pregnant with Carrie while making the film!

Where to Watch: Tubi

Desk Set (1957)

We love a sassy Katherine Hepburn vehicle; add in Christmas and a newsroom and you’ve got a recipe for a Blair-friendly movie! Shockingly ahead of its time, Desk Set follows the head of a newsroom Bunny Watson (Hepburn) whose job is threatened when an engineer, Richard Sumner (Spencer Tracy) shows up to computerize the research department. As Bunny and Richard go to bat for their respective jobs, a mutual respect and eventually mutual affection blooms.

Where to Watch: Amazon Prime ($3.79)

Bell, Book and Candle (1958)

Witches at Christmas in New York is a genre I, personally, could see explored more. Magical witch Gillian (Kim Novak) becomes intrigued by her handsome new neighbor, Shep (Jimmy Stewart, again), only to discover he’s engaged to her former rival. Determined to separate them, Gillian casts a spell to keep them apart. Complications ensue when Shep’s editor comes to town to discuss his newest project – a book about witches. Though the writing and acting leave a bit to be desired, the stunning art & costume design garnered this film a few Oscar nods. This movie also famously inspired the hit TV show Bewitched.

Where to Watch: Amazon Prime (free), Tubi

The Apartment (1960)

C. C. Baxter (Jack Lemmon) will do whatever it takes to rise in his insurance company – including letting executives use his apartment for their extramarital trysts. It seems his silence has paid off when a head honcho, Sheldrake (Fred MacMurray, from before!) promises C. C. a promotion, if HE can use the apartment. C. C. uses the fruits of his schemes to ask out his office crush Fran (Shirley MacLaine). Except, as it turns out, Fran is Sheldrake’s mistress. Quick and snappy, this movie is a great combination of a smart meditation on relationships and fidelity, and a fun romp in New York at Christmas.

Where to Watch: Amazon Prime (Free), FreeVee, Pluto, Tubi, Periodically in Theatres

Moonstruck (1987)

After her first husband gets hit by a bus, Loretta Castorini (Cher) knows she has bad luck. She contents herself with running the books for her family’s business in Queens, eating at the same restaurants with the same people day in and day out. When her long-time boyfriend wants to get married, he asks her to invite his estranged brother Ronny (Nic Cage) to their wedding. Cage and Cher’s chemistry is off the charts, and the sizzling dialogue is endlessly quotable. I always have to give this movie a “hear me out” when I recommend it, but I promise you, it’s one of the greatest rom coms ever.

Where to Watch: Pluto, Tubi, Roku Channel

When Harry Met Sally (1989)

Though it takes place over the course of many years, this delightful Nora Ephron film takes full advantage of the magic of the fall and winter as a romantic backdrop. Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan star as Harry and Sally, two people who meet driving from the University of Chicago to New York together. Through the years they grow closer and closer, until their compatibility is obvious to everyone but them. This deeply lovable movie has my favorite line in any rom com ever, “When you know you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.”

Where to Watch: Pluto, Periodically in Theaters

Mermaids (1990)

Okay so this one isn’t strictly a rom com, but it’s such a delightful coming-of-age movie that I just had to include it. Cher stars as Mrs. Flax, an unapologetically sexy woman whose frequent affairs necessitate frequent moves. Her daughters Charlotte (Winona Ryder) and Kate (Christina Ricci in her first role) must start over with each move. Charlotte rebels by being overly religious, and she and her mother’s fraught relationship comes to a head on New Year’s Eve.

Where to Watch: MGM+, PlutoTV, Roku Channel, Tubi

While You Were Sleeping (1995)

Lonely Lucy (Sandra Bullock) has no family left. She spends her time at home with her cat, or fantasizing about the handsome man (Peter Gallagher) who frequently comes through her turnstile at the Chicago Transit Authority station. When he passes out and falls onto the tracks, Lucy saves his life from an oncoming train. A misunderstanding at the hospital means his family mistakenly assumes she’s his fiance, and their warm welcome dissuades Lucy from telling the truth. Meanwhile, someone is onto her: Peter’s gruff brother, Jack (Bill Pullman).

Where to Watch: Roku Channel

The Preacher’s Wife (1996)

The perfect example of a remake outshining its source material (The Bishop’s Wife, 1947). Rev. Henry Biggs’s church – and marriage – are failing. When he prays to God for help, a guardian angel, Dudley (Denzel Washington), appears to save the church. Things grow complicated when Dudley falls in love with Julia (Whitney Houston), the preacher’s wife. Starring two powerhouses at the height of their charm, this warm romantic comedy is rounded out by Houston’s incredible vocal’s and Penny Marshall’s nostalgic directorial eye.

Where to Watch: Roku Channel

Modern Christmas Rom Coms

Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001)

Helen Fielding’s re-interpretation of Pride and Prejudice got the big screen treatment in this silly adaptation. Renee Zellweger controversially starred as British Bridget, a messy, earnest, self-deprecating thirtysomething looking for love and empowerment in the modern world. Hugh Grant and Colin Firth go toe-to-toe as Bridget’s suitors, and I won’t tell you who wins, but it ends in a deeply romantic kiss in the snow. Bridget’s relationship to her body hasn’t aged particularly well, but the other jokes sure have.

Where to Watch: HBO Max

Serendipity (2001)

The movie takes the full power of New York at Christmas and dials it up to eleven. After a chance meeting at Christmas, Jonathan (John Cusack) and Sara (Kate Beckinsale) can’t deny their obvious attraction, but decide to let fate intervene in whether or not they should be together. 10 years later, and engaged to other people, they can’t stop thinking about their one magical night together. So each sets off on their own journey to find the other.

Where to Watch: HBO Max

Elf (2003)

Yes, Elf is a holiday classic, up there with A Christmas Story and It’s a Wonderful Life. But at the heart of this silly story about a man raised as an Elf at the north pole is a sweet love story. Buddy the Elf goes to New York to find his real father, and becomes enamored by a standoffish woman named Jovie (Zooey Deschanel). Delightfully, Deschanel is not the MPDG in this situation, but the lovable curmudgeon who needs a little extra Christmas magic.

Where to Watch: HBO Max

Love, Actually (2003)

This movie is not without its genuine flaws (I cannot watch the famous poster scene), but I still really love it. The thing is, no one does Christmas like the Brits. Americans tend to go overboard with overly-polished Hallmark styling, but in the UK they really nail understated nostalgia. This movie follows multiple loosely-connected people as they navigate the trials of love around Christmastime. Maybe one day I’ll make my own fan cut, but in the meantime I’ll be crying at the footage of people greeting each other at the airport.

Where to Watch: Amazon Prime (Free)

Mona Lisa Smile (2003)

Another one that’s not strictly set at Christmas, this movie follows Katherine Clark (Julia Roberts), a young bohemian teaching an art history class at Wellesley in the 1950s. She meets a challenge in the bright, precocious, privileged ambitious students, and the handsome Italian professor. The movie features lots of beautiful scenes of New England in the winter, and acts as a time capsule for both 1950s feminism and early 2000s feminism. It’s a bit lighter on comedy, but it’s very heavy on romance (for more than one character).

Where to Watch: HBO Max, Roku Channel

Just Friends (2005)

Chris Brander (Ryan Reynolds) used to be a huge geek. Chubby, with a lisp, and hopelessly in love with his best friend Jamie (Amy Smart). All grown up with a coveted job at a record company, he’s forced to go back home for Christmas while traveling with a mercurial pop star (Anna Faris). Except for Reynolds’s truly unfortunate fat suit (not funny then, not funny now) the movie features a satisfying takedown of Chris’s hubris as well as GENUINE snowy Christmas magic (it was filmed in Canada).

Where to Watch: Hulu

The Family Stone (2005)

Sarah Jessica Parker stars as Meredith, an uptight woman invited to her boyfriend Everett’s (Dermot Mulroney) family Christmas. When the family learns of Everett’s intent to propose, his mother (Diane Keaton) and sister (Rachel McAdams) conspire to send her away. Things get muddier with the arrival of Meredith’s sister Julie (Claire Danes) and Everett’s brother Ben (Luke Wilson). SJP has a deeply unlikable speech about gay people that did not age well, but otherwise it’s a complicated, lovely movie.

Where to Watch: Hulu, Peacock, Amazon Prime (Free)

Last Holiday (2006)

When timid, unassuming Georgia Byrd (Queen Latifah) finds out she only has 3 weeks to live, she takes all the money she has in savings and treats herself to a fabulous vacation in the Alps. Latifah shines with lots of silly physical comedy, and her larger-than-life presence perfectly anchors this movie. LL Cool J at his absolute smoothest plays the handsome work crush that tracks her down in the lap of luxury. You’ll love to see them get together.

Where to Watch: AMC+, Paramount+, Pluto, Amazon Prime (Free)

The Holiday (2006)

Each facing a disappointing Christmas, movie trailer editor Amanda (Cameron Diaz) and journalist Iris (Kate Winslet) decide to swap homes for Christmas. Each woman finds her own version of love; Amanda with Iris’s handsome brother (Jude Law) and his children and Iris with a goofy, passionate composer (Jack Black). Winslet’s silver screen house has a trademark adorable Nancy Meyers kitchen, so you’ll get plenty of interior inspiration, too. The best part of the movie, though, is the friendship that develops between Iris and Amanda’s elderly neighbor, Arthur.

Where to Watch: Amazon Prime (Free)

New in Town (2009)

Miami businesswoman Lucy Hill is looking at the next rung on the corporate ladder. To reach it, she accepts an assignment to manage a small manufacturing plant in Minnesota. Prickly Lucy doesn’t know how to react to their folksy, insular way of life. She butts heads with everyone, including the handsome union representative Ted (Harry Connick Jr.). Eventually, she learns how to thaw to her neighbors while they accept her quirks. Sadly, Harry Connick Jr. never lends his iconic vocals to any songs in the film, but that’s okay. As a kid who grew up going to Minnesota to see my family for Christmas, the shots of wind-swept prairies and big coats makes me nostalgic for childhood.

Where to Watch: Roku Channel

The Best Man Holiday (2013)

Imagine if Love, Actually combined with The Cheaters with less problematic content, and you have The Best Man Holiday. A group of college friends reunite over the holidays at a joint Christmas celebration. Lots of silliness and fun ensues. What they didn’t account for is the old feelings (and feuds) that resurface when they’re all together. This movie is not only a celebration of Christmas, but it’s also a celebration of black joy, positive male friendships, and being with family. It also stars one of the actors whose presence is most likely to make me week in the knees (Sterling K. Brown).

Where to Watch: Amazon Prime (Free)

Last Christmas (2019)

Much funding of Christmas movies has gone to streamers, but a few years ago Universal blessed us with a truly perfect Christmas blockbuster. Emilia Clarke stars as Kate, an elf at a Christmas shop by day and a (supposed) singer by night. Sarcastic, acerbic, clumsy, and kind of a mess, Kate has hit a dead end. In this state, she meets Tom (Henry Golding), a silly, optimistic man who takes Kate exactly as she is. This movie is genuinely funny and genuinely feel-good. I predict it will be a Christmas classic in no time.

Where to Watch: HBO Max