Best Netflix Christmas movies and shows

Well, these are a lot more fun than we were expecting. Kurt Russell is Santa Claus - who doesn’t ‘ho ho ho’ - is brilliant casting and bringing in Goldie Hawn and Mrs Claus for the sequel is equally inspired. In both movies, In the first movie for the most part it takes place in modern-day America. For the second, the action shifts to the North Pole

If you’re not crying by the end of this then your heart is cold and black. Who hurt you so much that you wouldn’t tear up at this Aardman Animation (the minds behind Wallace & Grommit) classic about a young lad who travels around the world to make sure a little girl, who’s been missed off the list by a now distant Santa Claus, gets her present on Christmas morning?

Oh Bill. Are you OK mate? You’ve had a weird life, and this musical Netflix original just makes it even weirder. Miley Cyrus, George Clooney and niche French band Phoenix all guest star in this festive special directed by Sofia Coppola about Bill Murray just being Bill Murray, but at Christmas. Sure it might border on the downright wacky and indulgent, but the Ghostbuster’s Christmas cheer is properly authentic, and you don’t often get to see that these days.

Watching a deranged Charlie Kelly bite off Santa’s ear in an act of revenge for having sex with his mother every December 25 might not give you the warm, fuzzy feeling that It’s a Wonderful Life does, but it will give you a belly full of laughs with its look back at childhood Christmases that weren’t as special as they once thought.

Yes, it’s a chocolate box version of England, where Brexit doesn’t exist and we all live in wonderful cottages out in the country and not house shares in Kilburn but this is a movie that will give you that warm, fuzzy feeling over Christmas - even if there’s not a chance in hell Jack Black could woo Kate Winslet.

This is a beautiful animation about a postman who finds himself in a frosty part of the world where someone who looks remarkably like Santa Claus is hiding out. Directed by Disney vetern Sergio Pablos, and with the voice talent of JK Simmons, this is Netflix getting into the animated business and it’s a lot of Festive fun.

Krampus is a brilliant fest fright fest about a family who loses their Christmas spirit, only to be terrorised by a demon called Krampus who doesn't like people who don't get into the festive spirit.

One of the newer Christmas movies and, if you are in the UK the movie title has rather dark connotations, this is a great, strange movie about a toy maker who makes the ultimate toy - a sentient matador doll. This one is a huge amount of fun and packed with heart.

As you have probably guessed, the best Christmas movies aren’t on Netflix. BUT, The Holiday Movies that Made Us is a brilliant look at Elf and The Nightmare Before Christmas, through behind-the-scenes footage and talking head. This is a really great series and there’s a standard Movies That Made Us series as well which is equally great.

The Nativity movies are more fun than they should be, with director Debbie Isitt managing to find a decent balance between comedy and chaos. There are a slew of sequels on Netflix, too, and the movies were also spun off into a series of live shows.