Movies like Wish for Christmas (2016)
The best movies like Wish for Christmas (2016) are A Veteran's Christmas (2018), A Christmas Carol (1997) and Flicka (2006). If Wish for Christmas hooked you with its family and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedLucy Shimmers and the Prince of Peace (2020)8.4/10 from 384 votes
- NewestI Heard the Bells (2022)Released 2022
A Veteran's Christmas (2018)
Captain Grace Garland, a decorated U.S. veteran, returns home after two tours of Search and Rescue in Afghanistan. After being separated from her beloved K9 partner, Grace must rediscover the magic of Christmas. When she finds herself stranded in the town of River’s Crossing a couple weeks before Christmas, the local judge, Joe Peterson, offers her a place to stay on his property and takes it upon himself to show Grace everything she has been missing; Christmas, family, community, and love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Christmas Carol (1997)
Miser Ebenezer Scrooge is awakened on Christmas Eve by spirits who reveal to him his own miserable existence, what opportunities he wasted in his youth, his current cruelties, and the dire fate that awaits him if he does not change his ways. Scrooge is faced with his own story of growing bitterness and meanness, and must decide what his own future will hold: death or redemption.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFlicka (2006)
Katy McLaughlin desires to work on her family's mountainside horse ranch, although her father insists she finish boarding school. Katy finds a mustang in the hills near her ranch. The headstrong 16 year old then sets her mind to tame a mustang and prove to her father she can run the ranch. But when tragedy happens, it will take all the love and strength the family can muster to restore hope.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHoovey (2015)
The true and inspiring story of the Elliott family, who refused to surrender, instead turning to one another and their faith in the worst of circumstances, to rebuild their lives, their boy, and their dreams... together. Step by grueling step, with faith, love, and the tireless work of a mother and father to save their family, their farm, their dream, Hoovey learns to walk again. To read again. To dribble and shoot a basketball again. And yes, to dream again himself. Then stepping out in his faith, back onto the hard court, to live that dream of playing this game once more...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Believe (2019)
A 9 year old boy experiences God's power in a supernatural way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSkater Girl (2021)
Prerna, a teenager growing up in rural India, comes of age when she’s introduced to the sport of skateboarding. As a result, she has to fight the odds to follow her dreams and compete in the national championship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLucy Shimmers and the Prince of Peace (2020)
Second chances start when a hardened criminal crosses paths with a precocious little girl who is helped by an angel to change hearts during the holiday season.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisWhere the Red Fern Grows (1974)
Billy Coleman works hard and saves his earnings for two years to achieve his dream of buying two red-bone coonhound pups. He develops a new trust in life as he faces overwhelming challenges in adventure and tragedy roaming the river bottoms of Cherokee country with his dogs, Old Dan and Little Ann.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Good Witch's Gift (2010)
Almost as soon as Jake and Cassie decide to get married on Christmas Eve, complications arise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Nutcracker Prince (1990)
After young Clara receives a wooden nutcracker as a Christmas gift, she dreams about a fantastical battle between her Nutcracker Prince and the evil Mouse King. At stake is the Nutcracker's freedom - and Clara's future happiness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie (1998)
Young Rudolph suffers a childhood accident that sees his nose turn from the publicly accepted norm of black to a glowing red colour. His parents worry about him getting teased, and indeed he does in the end. When he is beaten in the reindeer games by his rival for a doe he fancies, Rudolph runs away and moves into a cave with Slyly the Fox. However can he overcome his fear and reach his true potential?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOne Magic Christmas (1985)
Ginny Grainger, a young mother, rediscovers the joy and beauty of Christmas, thanks to the unshakable faith of her six-year-old daughter Abbie and Gideon, Ginny's very own guardian angel.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
SnoozefestMovies like thisPrancer: A Christmas Tale (2022)
Ten-year-old Gloria and her recently widowed grandfather Bud befriend a mysterious reindeer when the family gather for Christmas. Bud comes to believe that Prancer may actually be magical, but Gloria fears his theory will send him straight to a retirement home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSound of Christmas (2016)
Lizzie is a young piano teacher working at a music school while trying to save enough money for a Steinway piano. The school is gearing up for their major Christmas fundraiser and she has committed much of her time to plan the event. One afternoon, she meets Brad who takes an interest in her playing and asks if she will teach his uninterested teenage daughter. She begins to break through to the young girl, and sparks begin to fly with Brad, but she is shocked to find out that his interest is not solely in her playing, but in the property that houses the music school. She sets out to save the school and the event, but can she work things out with Brad?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChristmas Magic (2011)
Carrie Bishop, a successful event planner in New York City, is left unconscious after a car accident. In order to "pass over" to Heaven, she must help Scott Walker and his daughter Abby save their restaurant and find their Christmas spirit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Bridge (2015)
The sweeping tale of Molly Callens and Ryan Kelly, two young students who share a profound friendship their first semester in college, a time that becomes the defining moment of their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Bridge Part 2 (2016)
The second-half of the movie picks up in the present day, seven years later, with Ryan returning home from being on the road touring as a professional singer and Molly working at her father's corporation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPAW Patrol: Jet to the Rescue (2020)
A royal relative steals a gem with the power to make things fly, the Paw Patrol takes to the skies to stop him and save Barkingburg.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMickey's Tale of Two Witches (2021)
On Halloween, Mickey tells a tale of two witches-in-training, Minnie and Daisy, who must pass four tests to graduate from the With Academy in Happy Haunt Hills.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCome Sunday (2018)
Evangelist Carlton Pearson is ostracized by his church for preaching that there is no Hell.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisSummer Storm (2004)
Tobi and Achim, the pride of the local crew club, have been the best of friends for years and are convinced that nothing will ever stand in the way of their friendship. They look forward to the upcoming summer camp and the crew competition. Then the gay team from Berlin arrives and Tobi is totally confused. The evening before the races begin, the storm that breaks out is more than meteorological.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVeggieTales: An Easter Carol (2004)
Ebenezer Nezzer is out of control! He's trying to make Easter bigger than ever by filling London with plastic eggs! But just how hard can his mechanical chickens work before they're… well, fried? In just one unforgettable day and night, Cavis and Millward (Bob and Larry) and a music box angel named Hope must convince Nezzer that Easter is about more than candy and eggs. Inspired by Dickens' Christmas classic, this very special VeggieTales film explains why millions of Christians around the world celebrate Easter past, present and future.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
I Heard the Bells (2022)
Known as America’s Poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow leads an idyllic life – until the day his world is shattered by tragedy. With a nation divided by Civil War and his family torn apart, Henry puts down his pen, silenced by grief. But it’s the sound of Christmas morning that reignites the poet’s lost voice as he discovers the resounding hope of rekindled faith.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Elliot: The Littlest Reindeer (2018)
When Blitzen announces his retirement on December 21st, a miniature horse has 3 days to fulfill his lifelong dream of earning a spot on Santa's team at the North Pole try-outs.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
SnoozefestMovies like thisChristmas Coupon (2019)
Alison Grant begins teaching ice skating students on a friend's frozen pond after being fired from her rink job. On the first day of class her old high school sweetheart and now famous hockey player, Ivan Hall, unexpectedly shows up when he brings his niece for her skating lessons. While an initially cold reunion ensues, eventually Alison warms up to Ivan again.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Bonjour Tristesse (1958)
A spoiled teenager spends the summer at the French Riviera with her rich, widower, playboy father, but when his old flame resurfaces, she resolves to keep her frivolous lifestyle at all costs.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSuper Monsters Save Christmas (2019)
On Christmas Eve, the Super Monsters get together to make decorations, but end up having to find Santa's missing reindeer in order to save their holiday.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Small Change (1976)
The lives of a motherless young man, who's just starting to find interest in women, and his physically abused, poverty stricken friend, are mixed with more or less innocent childhood experiences and challenges most their age experience.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSandbar (2012)
In this freewheeling dark comedy, a haunted Marine spends one crazy day with his estranged son.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Snowed in for Christmas (2021)
Kaley, a young Au Pair, finds herself unable to return home for the holidays when a snowstorm derails her plans. In spite of her own disappointment she is determined to teach the girls she watches, alongside their charming Uncle, the magic of Christmas. Will this series of events lead to a perfect Christmas?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family
Like Wish for Christmas and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Wish for Christmas?
The closest matches to Wish for Christmas are A Veteran's Christmas (2018), A Christmas Carol (1997) and Flicka (2006). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Wish for Christmas?
Start with A Veteran's Christmas (2018), the closest match to Wish for Christmas.
What is the highest-rated movie like Wish for Christmas?
Lucy Shimmers and the Prince of Peace (2020), rated 8.4/10 by 384 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Wish for Christmas?
I Heard the Bells (2022) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Wish for Christmas?
Yes: A Veteran's Christmas (2018), A Christmas Carol (1997) and Flicka (2006).
How are movies similar to Wish for Christmas chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Wish for Christmas, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.