The holiday season is here, which means it’s time for the ultimate streaming showdown: Netflix or Hulu for your Christmas movie marathon? Both platforms are stuffed with festive favorites, but which one’s got the goods to keep you cozy all season long? We’re breaking down the best holiday flicks on each service, from tear-jerking classics to musical extravaganzas. Vote for your fave in each category and you might snag a $100 gift card to fuel even more binge-watching!
Classic Holiday Magic
Netflix: Scrooge: A Christmas Carol (TV-Y7)
This animated musical puts a fresh spin on Dickens’ timeless tale with Luke Evans voicing the grumpy moneylender himself. When Ebenezer Scrooge faces one final Christmas Eve to confront his past and change his future, he’s visited by three spectacular spirits (including Olivia Colman as a candle-wax shapeshifter!). The film features reimagined songs and a stunning supernatural journey through time. It’s got that modern animation magic while keeping the heart of the classic tale intact.
Hulu: Home Alone (PG)
Does this one even need an introduction? Macaulay Culkin’s Kevin McCallister accidentally gets left behind when his massive family jets off to Paris for Christmas. What follows is pure childhood wish-fulfillment as eight-year-old Kevin defends his house against two bumbling burglars (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern) using increasingly elaborate booby traps. It’s slapstick comedy gold with just enough heart to make you feel the Christmas spirit. Decades later, those paint cans swinging into faces still hit the sweet spot!
Child Friendly Christmas Cheer
Netflix: Christmas Chronicles (TV-PG)
Kurt Russell as Santa Claus is everything you didn’t know you needed! When siblings Kate and Teddy accidentally crash Santa’s sleigh on Christmas Eve, they join forces with this cool, guitar-playing St. Nick to save Christmas before morning. Russell brings swagger and heart to the role, making Santa feel fresh while keeping the magic alive. The film balances adventure with genuine emotion (these kids are dealing with their dad’s death), stellar special effects with cozy Christmas vibes. It spawned a sequel (and possibly a third movie!) for good reason.
Hulu: The Santa Clause (PG)
Tim Allen as skeptical dad Scott Calvin accidentally causes Santa to fall off his roof on Christmas Eve, then finds himself magically bound by “The Santa Clause” to take over the job. Watching the divorced workaholic gradually transform into the real Santa (complete with expanding belly and white beard he can’t shave off) is comedy gold. But it’s the relationship between Scott and his young son Charlie that gives this fantasy real heart. It launched a whole franchise, but the original remains the coziest.
Sing-Along Spectaculars
Netflix: Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square (TV-PG)
You know what this Christmas could use? More Dolly Parton. Luckily, there’s Christmas on the Square for that. Directed and choreographed by Debbie Allen, the Emmy-winning musical stars Christine Baranski as a rather Scroogeish landowner planning to evict the residents of her hometown and sell the real estate to a mega-mall developer. With the guidance of a sassy Christmas angel (Parton, who also wrote all the film’s songs), she starts to reconsider her scheme and her own history with the town.
Hulu: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie (TV-PG)
The Jonas Brothers finish their London tour and just want to get home for Christmas with their families. But when Santa Claus (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) decides their brotherly bond needs strengthening, he curses them with escalating travel disasters. Kevin, Joe, and Nick face everything from exploding planes to wolf attacks while grappling with band tensions and Joe reconnecting with his childhood crush (Chloe Bennet). It’s self-aware, silly fun packed with original songs and celebrity cameos. Perfect for nostalgic millennials who grew up with these guys and anyone who loves a chaotic holiday road trip.
Naughty List Laughs
Netflix: Who Killed Santa? A Murderville Murder Mystery (TV-MA)
Will Arnett’s mustachioed Detective Terry Seattle is back, and this time someone’s murdered Santa Claus with a sharpened candy cane! Here’s the genius twist: celebrity guests Jason Bateman and Maya Rudolph aren’t given scripts and have to improvise their way through the investigation. Watching Bateman go undercover as an elf while Rudolph plays a Bulgarian basketball star is absolutely ridiculous in the best possible way. It’s part murder mystery, part improv comedy show, and completely unhinged holiday entertainment (for grown-ups only, of course)
Hulu: National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (PG-13)
Chevy Chase’s Clark Griswold just wants to give his family the perfect old-fashioned Christmas. Instead, he gets 25,000 tangled lights, exploding turkeys, crazy relatives camping in the yard, and a squirrel loose in the house. This 1989 classic captures every nightmare scenario of holiday hosting with pitch-perfect chaos. Randy Quaid steals scenes as the motorhome-driving Cousin Eddie, while Chase’s physical comedy reaches legendary heights. It’s quotable, rewatchable, and proof that the most disastrous Christmases make the best stories.
Weepy Winter Wonders
Netflix: Last Christmas (PG-13)
Emilia Clarke plays Kate, a London Christmas shop worker whose life is a disaster following a near-fatal heart transplant. When she meets the impossibly charming Tom (Henry Golding), he helps her rediscover joy and connection. Set to George Michael’s iconic music, this one will hit you with unexpected emotional depth beneath the rom-com surface. Clarke’s performance captures both the messiness of trauma and the tentative hope of healing. Fair warning: that twist in the final act requires tissues, and the exploration of Kate’s recovery from serious illness adds genuine weight to the holiday cheer.
Hulu: The Family Stone (PG-13)
Sarah Jessica Parker’s uptight Meredith visits her boyfriend’s bohemian family for Christmas, and everything that can go wrong does go wrong. But beneath the holiday comedy chaos lies something profound: matriarch Sybil Stone (Diane Keaton) is dying of cancer, and this is the family’s last Christmas together. The ensemble cast (including Claire Danes, Rachel McAdams, and Luke Wilson) navigates love, loss, and acceptance with raw authenticity. It’s uncomfortable, heartbreaking, and deeply human. The film captures how grief colors every moment, even the joyful ones, making it both harder to watch and impossible to forget.
The Verdict?
Both streaming giants are bringing serious Christmas magic this year! Netflix leans into animated features and musical sparkle, while Hulu delivers nostalgic hits and fresh takes that’ll have you laughing and crying (sometimes simultaneously). The real winner here is your couch, because you’re about to spend a lot of quality time on it. Whether you’re vibing with Kurt Russell’s cool Santa or ugly-crying through The Family Stone, there’s something perfect for every holiday mood. So grab the hot cocoa, queue up your favorites, and let the seasonal binge-watching begin! 🎅🎄✨
