Movies like The Secret Santa (2014)
The best movies like The Secret Santa (2014) are Christmas Angel (2009), On the Twelfth Day of Christmas (2015) and Christmas in Evergreen: Tidings of Joy (2019). If The Secret Santa hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedHow the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)6.8/10 from 8,572 votes
- NewestDashing Through the Snow (2023)Released 2023
- In ItalianI Am Santa Claus (2021)Also in Italian
Christmas Angel (2009)
Ashley has been on her own all her life. She feels even more alone this Christmas as she searches fruitlessly for a job. The seasonal cheer around her only rubs salt in her wounds as she scrapes by to support herself and her dog, Dash. But her neighbor, Nick, knows exactly what to do. He offers her a job, to be his assistant in the best work-helping others. There's one catch that Ashley must honor though-she can't tell anyone that her new boss is a sort of Secret Santa, helping others anonymously. Through her new job, Ashley meets Will, a writer for a business magazine who uncovers what Ashley is doing, and more importantly, Nick's involvement. As Ashley and Nick help people in need, Ashley tries to protect Nick's secret, and her own heart, while Will must weigh the consequences of what he does.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOn the Twelfth Day of Christmas (2015)
Maggie Chalke is torn between her journalistic integrity and helping her long time crush Mitch O'Grady when her boss orders her to write a story for the paper about the Secret Santa gifts she's been sending Mitch to help him relearn his love for Christmas.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChristmas in Evergreen: Tidings of Joy (2019)
A skeptical writer shows up in Evergreen to get the scoop on the town's famed passion for Christmas during a search for a long-lost time capsule.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSanta Claus: The Movie (1985)
In ancient times, a man named Claus, who delivers toys in his small village, fulfils his destiny to become Santa Claus after meeting an expert toy-making elf, Patch, in the North Pole. In the present day, Santa Claus has become overwhelmed by his workload, and the disgruntled Patch flees the workshop to New York City. There, Patch unknowingly threatens the fate of Christmas by taking a job at a failing toy company run by a scheming businessman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this12 Days of Giving (2017)
A photographer uses his cash prize to anonymously give gifts, sparking a change in the community.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNorthpole (2014)
Northpole, the magical city where Santa and his elves live and work is in trouble. Families around the globe have gotten too busy to enjoy the season together, and Northpole depends on their holiday happiness to keep running. In the hopes of turning things around, a determined young elf befriends a little boy with a lot of spirit. His skeptical journalist mom doesn’t have room in her heart for anything but the facts, so it’s going to take a little nudge from his charming teacher to create an unbeatable Christmas team to turn around this town and share the importance of the season with the whole world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUSS Christmas (2020)
Maddie, a reporter for a Norfolk newspaper, embarks on a Tiger Cruise during Christmastime where she meets a handsome naval officer and stumbles upon a mystery in the ship’s archive room.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Am Santa Claus (2021)
Ettore has spent the last five years in jail for a robbery. Once out of prison, he has nowhere to go, his wife broke up with him and doesn’t want him to meet their little daughter who was born right before he was arrested. Alone and desperate, Ettore roams the streets of Rome and meets a strange old man, Nicola. He decides to take advantage of him and rob him. But after breaking into his house, Ettore realizes Nicola doesn’t have anything worth stealing and furthermore, the old man tells him a rather stranger thing: he affirms to be Santa Claus…
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Little Christmas Charm (2020)
Holly, a jewelry designer finds a lost charm bracelet and teams up with investigative reporter Greg in hopes of finding the owner and returning it by Christmas Eve.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Night Strangler (1973)
After being run out of Las Vegas, reporter Carl Kolchak heads for Seattle and another reporting job with the local paper. It's not long before he’s on the trail of another string of bizarre murders. It seems that every 21 years, for the past century, a killer murders a certain number of people, drains them of their blood, and then disappears into the night. Kolchak is on his trail, but can he stop him?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHow the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
The Grinch decides to rob Whoville of Christmas - but a dash of kindness from little Cindy Lou Who and her family may be enough to melt his heart...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Search for Santa Paws (2010)
When Santa and his new best friend, Paws, discover that the boys and girls of the world have lost the spirit of the season, they take a trip to New York City. But after Santa loses his memory, it's up to Paws, a faithful orphan named Quinn, her new friend Will, and a wonderful group of magical talking dogs to save St. Nick and show the world what Christmas is really all about.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMiracle on 34th Street (1994)
Six-year-old Susan Walker has doubts about childhood's most enduring miracle—Santa Claus. Her mother told her the secret about Santa a long time ago, but, after meeting a special department store Santa who's convinced he's the real thing, Susan is given the most precious gift of all—something to believe in.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEngaging Father Christmas (2017)
It's Christmas and Miranda leaves Seattle with a suitcase full of presents to join her long- lost family in Carlton Heath, where she will experience the joyful traditions she missed as a child. Last Christmas, Miranda fell in love with Ian, a local man who helped her as she searched for her father, James Whitcomb, a famous theatre actor she believed had a connection to the town. At his widow Margaret’s request, Miranda agrees to keep it a secret to protect the family from scandal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDashing Through the Snow (2023)
Eddie Garrick is a good-hearted man who has lost his belief in the wonder of Christmas. While spending time with his nine-year-old daughter Charlotte on Christmas Eve, he befriends a mysterious man in a red suit named Nick.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSanta Paws 2: The Santa Pups (2012)
When Mrs. Claus travels to Pineville, the merriest place on the planet, a quartet of magical puppies stow away on her sled, granting joyful wishes to the town's boys and girls. However, something goes terribly wrong - the Christmas spirit begins to disappear. Now, the Santa Pups and Mrs. Claus must race to save Christmas magic from running out for all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlizzard (2003)
A young girl's aunt tells her the tale of a young ice skater and an enchanted reindeer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Holiday Calendar (2018)
A talented photographer stuck in a dead-end job inherits an antique Advent calendar that may be predicting the future -- and pointing her toward love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Santa Clause 2 (2002)
Better watch out! The big guy in red is coming to town once again. This time, Scott Calvin -- also known as Santa Claus -- finds out there's an obscure clause in his contract requiring him to take on a wife. He has to leave the North Pole to fulfill his obligations, or else he'll be forced to give up his Yuletide gig.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Christmas Dragon (2014)
After receiving a magic crystal from a dying elf and a message to save the North and the fading spirit of Christmas, Ayden, an orphaned girl, sets out along with her friends to fulfil his last wish.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Secret Santa?
The closest matches to The Secret Santa are Christmas Angel (2009), On the Twelfth Day of Christmas (2015) and Christmas in Evergreen: Tidings of Joy (2019). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Secret Santa?
Start with Christmas Angel (2009), the closest match to The Secret Santa.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Secret Santa?
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000), rated 6.8/10 by 8,572 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Secret Santa?
Dashing Through the Snow (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Italian movies like The Secret Santa?
Yes: I Am Santa Claus (2021).
How are movies similar to The Secret Santa chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Secret Santa, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.