There is something inherently nostalgia-laden about vintage Christmas movies. They hearken back to what we perceive as the simplicity and warmth of earlier times.
These old classic Christmas movies celebrate the best things about the holiday – love, family, peace, and joy. Not to mention, they are generally accompanied by our favorite Christmas carols sung by Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, and Tony Bennett, which only enhances the images onscreen.
Christmas just happens to be my favorite time of year. In fact, I start my holiday countdown in October. I’m also a classic film aficionado, so you’ll notice many of the movies on the list are black-and-white Christmas movies.
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Thus, I am combining my two favorite things today to bring you a list of the best vintage Christmas films for your enjoyment. Some of these are famous classics, while others are more obscure. But all of them should leave you filled with the wonder of the season.
Keep reading for our bonus list of even more nostalgic Christmas classics to enjoy!
Note About Vintage Christmas Movies Streaming: Availability in the Where to Watch sections is for the U.S. and is subject to change at any time. The availability information was last updated in December 2025.
VINTAGE CHRISTMAS MOVIES LIST
(in no particular order)
1. The Lion in Winter (1968)
Featuring a tour de force performance by the great Katharine Hepburn, it also stars Peter O’Toole and Timothy Dalton and features the debut of Anthony Hopkins.
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Henry II gathers his estranged wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and his sons, Richard, Geoffrey, and John, to celebrate Christmas. He also plans to choose who his successor should be. You’ve never seen a dysfunctional family Christmas quite like this one. Katharine Hepburn and Peter O’Toole portray dueling spouses.
Where to Watch: Stream on Kanopy and BFI Player Classics. Rent/buy on Digital and DVD.
2. Remember the Night (1940)
Screenshot Credit: Paramount Pictures
Barbara Stanwyck is a petty thief who is remanded into the care of the city’s prosecuting attorney (Fred MacMurray) for the holidays.
He takes her to his family home with him for Christmas, where she experiences the warmth and acceptance of a family for the first time.
Where to Watch: Stream on Plex or rent/buy on Digital and DVD.
3. Come to the Stable (1949)
Two French nuns travel to the town of Bethlehem, Connecticut, where they plan to build a children’s hospital.
They run into all sorts of obstacles but manage to lovingly coerce many eccentric characters to assist them in their efforts. Loretta Young stars.
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Where to Watch: Rent/buy on Digital and DVD.
4. The Bishop’s Wife (1947)
Cary Grant plays an angel sent to help a minister discover what is truly important in life. What more do you need to know than that?
Except this heavenly angel begins to feel some rather human romantic emotions towards the minister’s lovely wife.
Where to Watch: Stream on Prime Video, Roku, Tubi, Hoopla, Plex, BYU TV, and Kanopy. Rent/buy on Digital and DVD.
5. Christmas in Connecticut (1945)
What if Martha Stewart was a fake? Well, our heroine is a Martha Stewart-type character who is the furthest thing from a domestic goddess.
But when her publisher decides she needs to host Christmas for himself and a wounded sailor, she is left scrambling to create the homemaker illusion she has become famous for.
Where to Watch: Rent/Buy on Digital and DVD.
6. White Christmas (1954)
One of two Christmas musicals starring Bing Crosby and set in an inn. This one has him and his partner falling for sisters and trying to save the lodge, which belongs to their former commanding general.
Where to Watch: Stream on Prime Video, AMC+, and Hoopla. Rent/Buy on Digital and DVD.
7. A Christmas Story (1983)
Though this film is much more recent than others on this list, the time setting is the same. This is a good example of a more modern movie that still retains the nostalgia of an earlier era.
Ralphie’s daily adventures and quirky family feel familiar to many people who enjoy this modern classic.
Where to Watch: Stream on HBO Max (the sequel is there now, too), Hulu, and Watch TCM (with cable), or rent/buy on Digital and DVD.
8. Holiday Inn (1942)
Beloved by many, it stars Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire doing what they each do best while competing for the same woman.
It also features a country inn that is only open on holidays, so you will see some festive song-and-dance numbers.
Where to Watch: Rent/buy on Digital and DVD.
9. Holiday Affair (1949)
A widowed mother costs a sales clerk his job. But her young son thinks the now jobless clerk would make a much better dad than the man his mom is currently dating.
This film is famous for being used to restore Robert Mitchum’s public image after he was arrested for possession of marijuana. And it really is a sweet, wholesome film. It also stars Janet Leigh before her famous role in Psycho.
Where to Watch: Stream on Fawesome and Darkroom or Rent/buy on Digital and DVD.
10. Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
Although this film has been remade recently, nothing compares to the original, starring Maureen O’Hara, the young Natalie Wood, and Edmund Gwenn as Kris Kringle. A cynical woman and her daughter befriend a man who claims to be Santa Claus.
Eventually, he must prove his claim in court. But more importantly, he must prove himself to a young girl who has closed her heart to the magic of Christmas.
Where to Watch: Stream on Disney+, Peacock, Paramount+, and Roku. Rent/buy on Digital and DVD.
11. It Happened on 5th Avenue (1947)
Every winter, wealthy owners of a New York mansion move south for the season. Shortly after, a kind but homeless man moves in for the season as a squatter. His generosity leads him to invite others who are suffering to move in with him in this house he does not own.
Unbeknownst to him, however, the owners have discovered his residency. They move back home under assumed names to find out what is going on in their house. An underrated Christmas feel-good comedy.
Where to Watch: Stream on Plex. Rent/buy on Digital and DVD.
12. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
What list would be complete without this perennial Christmas classic about George Bailey and the angel who teaches him the value of a well-lived life?
Although it flopped upon initial release, its important message has made it a holiday favorite over time.
Where to Watch: Stream on Prime Video, Plex, Fawesome, and Hoopla. Rent/buy on Digital and DVD. Check cable listings as it plays on multiple channels in December.
13. The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
Are you a fan of You’ve Got Mail? Did you know it was based on this film starring James Stewart about a couple of pen pals in Budapest?
(This film was based on the Hungarian play, Parfumerie by Miklós László.) The two just happen to be co-workers who can’t stand each other in real life.
From my review: “While The Shop Around the Corner does not put a focus on the Christmas season, it’s an excellent example of a film containing all the things that make the season special. It has romance, humor, and forgiveness. It highlights the values of loyalty, friendship, and kindness. And it manages all this with sincerity and without being sappy. It’s a film the whole family can enjoy.”
Where to Watch: Stream on HBO Max or rent/buy on Digital and DVD.
14. A Christmas Carol (1938)
There are many different film adaptations of Dickens’ popular story of the irascible Scrooge and his three ghostly visitors. This version is my favorite. Reginald Owen will always be my idea of Scrooge.
Where to Watch: Stream on HBO Max. Rent/buy on Digital and DVD.
15. The Man Who Came to Dinner (1941)
Have you ever had an unpleasant guest who just didn’t know when to leave? That is the premise of this holiday film. A famous but cynical theater critic breaks his leg while visiting the home of an Ohioan family.
The doctor insists he cannot be moved. He then moves in with this family and proceeds to create havoc in their lives. Monty Wooley and Bette Davis starred.
Where to Watch: Buy on DVD.
16. Meet John Doe (1941)
A reporter prints a fake letter from an anonymous man threatening suicide to protest the state of society. Her ploy hits a nerve with the newspaper readers.
She must then hire a man to play this fake letter writer. His real, everyman opinions make him famous and start a political movement.
Where to Watch: Stream this lovely old-fashioned Christmas movie on MGM+, Hoopla, Kanopy, Roku, and many more free streaming sites like Plex and Pluto TV. Rent/buy on Digital and DVD.
17. Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
This follows the antics of sisters in St. Louis at the turn of the century. Although the events of this film unfold over the course of the year, a part of them occurs at Christmas.
This movie will also always be remembered for Judy Garland’s emotional performance of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”
Where to Watch: Rent/buy on Digital and DVD.
18. Bachelor Mother (1939)
When a young saleswoman is mistaken for the mother of a baby left at her doorstep, it threatens her job. Her boss and the store owner’s son have compassionate hearts.
However, his efforts to help her leave have led people to believe he must be the father of the woman’s child. Things become even more complicated when the store’s owner decides his Playboy son needs to settle down and marry the mother of “his” child.
Where to Watch: Rent/buy on Digital and DVD.
19. Never Say Goodbye (1946)
An underrated romantic comedy Christmas film. Never Say Goodbye is the story of a precocious young girl attempting to reunite with her parents, who are secretly still in love with each other.
You may recognize the stunningly beautiful actress who plays her mother as the Baroness from The Sound of Music. This picture has many laugh-out-loud scenes, including one with double Santas.
Where to Watch: Rent/buy it digitally or on DVD.
BONUS – MORE NOSTALGIC CHRISTMAS MOVIES TO WATCH
(All titles from the 90s and earlier – keeping it classic!)
These additional picks were selected by the founders of The Silver Petticoat Review, Amber & Autumn Topping.
- All I Want For Christmas (1991)
- An Avonlea Christmas (aka Happy Christmas, Miss King) (1998)
- The Apartment (1960)
- Babes in Toyland (1961)
- Batman Returns (1992)
- Bell, Book and Candle (1958)
- The Bells of St. Mary’s (1945)
- Beyond Tomorrow (1940)
- The Blue Bird (1940)
- Bright Eyes (1934)
- A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
- The Cheaters (1945)
- A Christmas Carol (1951)
- Christmas in July (1940)
- Desk Set (1957)
- Die Hard (1988)
- Edward Scissorhands (1990)
- Ernest Saves Christmas (1988)
- Going My Way (1944)
- Gremlins (1984)
- Heidi (1937) – It’s not a Christmas list without Shirley Temple!
- The Holly and the Ivy (1952)
- Home Alone & Home Alone 2 (1990/1992)
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966)
- I’ll Be Seeing You (1944)
- It Happened on Fifth Avenue (1947)
- A Little Princess (1939 & 1995)
- Little Women (1994)
- Miracle on 34th Street (1994)
- Mrs. Parkington (1944)
- A Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
- National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
- One Magic Christmas (1985)
- Prancer (1989)
- The Preacher’s Wife (1996)
- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: (1964)
- Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town (1970)
- Santa Claus: The Movie (1985)
- The Santa Clause (1994)
- Scrooged (1988)
- A Season For Miracles (1999)
- Since You Went Away (1944)
- Sleepless in Seattle (1993) – Yes, we’re counting it!
- Stepmom (1998)
- The Thin Man (1934)
- Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
- A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945)
- We’re No Angels (1955)
- While You Were Sleeping (1995)
- You’ve Got Mail (1998)
Do you have a favorite classic Holiday Christmas movie? Let us know!
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