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Movies like A Christmas Story (1983)

The best movies like A Christmas Story (1983) are A Christmas Story Christmas (2022), Christmas with the Kranks (2004) and Elf (2003). If A Christmas Story hooked you with its comedy and family, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. A Christmas Story Christmas (2022)

    Follows Ralphie, now adult, who returns to the house on Cleveland Street to give his kids a magical Christmas like the one he had as a child, reconnecting with childhood friends, and reconciling the passing of his Old Man.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  2. Christmas with the Kranks (2004)

    When their only daughter Blair leaves the family nest, Luther and Nora Krank decide to book an island cruise to beat the yuletide blues and just skip the holidays. But their decision to boycott tradition has the whole neighborhood in an uproar, and when Blair calls on Christmas Eve to announce a surprise visit with her new fiancée, the Kranks have just twelve hours to perform a miracle and pull themselves and their neighbors together to throw the best celebration ever!

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  3. Elf (2003)

    When young Buddy falls into Santa's gift sack on Christmas Eve, he's transported back to the North Pole and raised as a toy-making elf by Santa's helpers. But as he grows into adulthood, he can't shake the nagging feeling that he doesn't belong. Buddy vows to visit Manhattan and find his real dad, a workaholic.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  4. How 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 · both family & comedy

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  5. Beethoven's Christmas Adventure (2011)

    A Christmas elf accidentally takes off in Santa's sleigh, crash lands in a small town, and loses the magic toy bag. Beethoven must rescue the elf, recover the bag from greedy crooks, and return the sleigh to Santa in time to save Christmas.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  6. Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse (2001)

    When a huge snowstorm leaves everyone stranded, Mickey and all of his guests at the House of Mouse, including Pooh, Belle, Snow White, Cinderella, Ariel and many more of his old and new friends, break out the cookies and hot chocolate to help Donald mend his tattered Christmas spirit.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  7. Family Switch (2023)

    When the Walker family members switch bodies with each other during a rare planetary alignment, their hilarious journey to find their way back to normal will bring them closer together than they ever thought possible.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  8. Merry Little Batman (2023)

    This Christmas, Damian Wayne wants to be a superhero like his dad – the one and only Batman. When Damian is left home alone while Batman takes on Gotham’s worst supervillains on Christmas Eve, he stumbles upon a villainous plot to steal Christmas and leaps at the chance to save the day.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  9. Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh (2008)

    Step brothers Drake and Josh must give a foster family the best Christmas ever or face years in jail for a Christmas party gone wrong.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  10. Jingle All the Way (1996)

    Howard Langston, a salesman for a mattress company, is constantly kept busy at his job, disappointing his son. After he misses his son's karate exposition, Howard vows to make it up to him by buying an action figure of his son's favorite television hero for Christmas. Unfortunately for Howard, it is Christmas Eve, and every store is sold out of Turbo Man. Now, Howard must travel all over town and compete with everybody else to find a Turbo Man action figure.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  11. Candy Cane Lane (2023)

    Determined to win the neighborhood's annual Christmas decorating contest, family man Chris makes a pact with an elf to help him out-do the competition. However, the elf casts a spell bringing the twelve days of Christmas to life, unleashing chaos on the small unsuspecting town.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  12. Kristin's Christmas Past (2013)

    Kristin, a cynical 34-year-old, drinks a mysterious champagne on Christmas Eve and wakes up seventeen years in the past, sharing a room with her 17-year-old self. Given the chance to change the worst Christmas of her life, she attempts to fix past mistakes, only to discover surprising truths about her family that may help her mend her present-day relationships.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family

  13. Noelle (2019)

    Kris Kringle's daughter, Noelle, sets off on a mission to find and bring back her brother, after he gets cold feet when it's his turn to take over as Santa.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  14. The Christmas Chronicles (2018)

    Siblings Kate and Teddy try to prove Santa Claus is real, but when they accidentally cause his sleigh to crash, they have to save Christmas.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  15. Unaccompanied Minors (2006)

    Five disparate kids snowed in at the airport on Christmas Eve learn some lessons about friendship when they launch a bid to get back to their families and outsmart a disgruntled airport official who wants to keep them grounded.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  16. Dashing 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 · both family & comedy

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  17. The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974)

    Feeling forgotten by the children of the world, old St. Nick decides to skip his gift-giving journey and take a vacation. Mrs. Claus and two spunky little elves, Jingle and Jangle, set out to see to where all the season's cheer has disappeared. Aided by a magical snowfall, they reawaken the spirit of Christmas in children's hearts and put Santa back in action.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  18. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)

    It's Christmastime, and the Griswolds are preparing for a family seasonal celebration. But things never run smoothly for Clark, his wife Ellen, and their two kids. Clark's continual bad luck is worsened by his obnoxious family guests, but he manages to keep going, knowing that his Christmas bonus is due soon.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  19. Christmas 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 this
  20. The 12 Days of Christmas Eve (2022)

    When Brian Conway, a successful businessman whose family relationships have suffered, gets in a car accident on Christmas Eve, Santa gives him twelve chances to redo the day and repair the relationships in his life, including with his daughter Michelle.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  21. Mary Poppins (1964)

    In turn of the century London, a magical nanny employs music and adventure to help two neglected children become closer to their father.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & family

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  22. The Wrong Trousers (1993)

    Wallace rents out Gromit's former bedroom to a penguin, who takes up an interest in the techno trousers created by Wallace. However, Gromit later learns that the penguin is a wanted criminal.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & family

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  23. Ronia: The Robber's Daughter (1984)

    Ronia lives happily in her father's castle until she comes across a new playmate, Birk, in the nearby dark forest. The two explore the wilderness, braving dangerous Witchbirds and Rump-Gnomes. But when their families find out Birk and Ronia have been playing together, they forbid them to see each other again. Indeed, their fathers are competing robber chieftains and bitter enemies. Now the two spunky children must try to tear down the barriers that have kept their families apart for so long.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  24. Summer 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 comedy

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  25. Cockles and Muscles (2005)

    Crustacés et coquillages is a fresh French comedy film with numerous surprise turnarounds and about the tolerance of a family of four. The family spend an idealistic summer vacation together where each of the family members gets involved in a new or old relationship.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  26. The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

    A young woman from the Midwest gets more than she bargained for when she moves to New York to become a writer and ends up as the assistant to the tyrannical, larger-than-life editor-in-chief of a major fashion magazine.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  27. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)

    Four kids travel through a wardrobe to the land of Narnia and learn of their destiny to free it with the guidance of a mystical lion.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  28. Christmas Telethon (2024)

    Local TV channel news anchors Nick Roberts and Kelly Snow host the absolute worst holiday telethon to save the network from bankruptcy. The worst talent, the worst acts, a doofus crew, a narcissist weatherman, and its over-the-top station owner, Jon Sampson, create a perfect holiday storm in this Christmas Eve cavalcade comedy.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy

  29. Barton Fink (1991)

    A renowned New York playwright is enticed to California to write for the movies and discovers the hellish truth of Hollywood.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  30. Stranger Than Paradise (1984)

    New York layabout Willie forms an unexpected bond with his young Hungarian cousin Eva when she pays him a surprise visit. Later, Eva moves in with their aunt in Cleveland, and Willie takes his best friend Eddie to see her—a visit that culminates in a strange, eventful trip to Florida.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy

    Worth the HypeMovies like this

Like A Christmas Story and something else?

Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like A Christmas Story?

The closest matches to A Christmas Story are A Christmas Story Christmas (2022), Christmas with the Kranks (2004) and Elf (2003). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after A Christmas Story?

Start with A Christmas Story Christmas (2022), the closest match to A Christmas Story.

What is the highest-rated movie like A Christmas Story?

The Wrong Trousers (1993), rated 7.8/10 by 1,225 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like A Christmas Story?

Christmas Telethon (2024) is the most recent release on this list.

Are there English movies like A Christmas Story?

Yes: A Christmas Story Christmas (2022), Christmas with the Kranks (2004) and Elf (2003).

How are movies similar to A Christmas Story chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside A Christmas Story, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

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