Disney+ has dozens of Christmas movies, specials, episodes, and originals. This list compiles all of the winter-themed programming, our picks for the best of the service’s holiday content, along with a long at the “Season’s Streamings” collection on Disney Plus. (Updated November 7, 2023.)
For this Christmas, Disney+ is launching a bunch of new holiday content. The highlight of this, at least in this proud native Michigander’s opinion, is the second season of The Santa Clauses debuting tomorrow (Nov. 8). After 28 years, Scott Calvin reigns true as Santa Claus, leader of the North Pole and Christmas.
With his family by his side, and his elves at the reins, Santa contends with a changing world to keep the spirit of Christmas alive for a new generation. Obviously, this isn’t prestige TV or anything, but it’s a cute series about on par with Hallmark Channel productions, albeit with a way bigger budget for VFX.
There’s a good chance you already know about that, though, because Disney+ promotes the heck out of The Santa Clauses. A more under-the-radar addition for Disney diehards is “Christmas with Walt Disney,” coming on November 24, 2023. This is a Walt Disney Family Museum original production directed by Don Hahn, with holiday segments from Walt’s shorts, feature films, and vintage Disneyland footage.
It also includes Walt’s daughter, Diane, sharing her Christmas memories alongside Disney family home movies. The day was “centered on family,” as Diane recalled, with relatives enjoying quality time with one another. Walt and Lillian hosted Christmas dinner every year and the family would gather after the meal to sing Christmas carols together, while Walt loved “playing Santa.” Here are more details from the Walt Disney Family Museum. We cannot wait for this!
In addition to these two major additions for Christmas, there’s a ton of Disney+ original content the whole family can enjoy this holiday season. For that, check out the “Season’s Streamings” collection within Disney Plus, featuring holiday-themed episodes, films, shorts, and specials.
Subscribers can celebrate the holidays at home with new and classic content including the aforementioned Home Sweet Home Alone, Soul, Frozen, Home Alone, the Nightmare Before Christmas, the Santa Clause, Jingle All the Way, and much more.
More is coming throughout November and December 2023, including The Naughty Nine, Dashing Through the Snow, Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever, and much more. This includes Doctor Who: The Star Beast, which seems like a big deal to a lot of people. (Don’t hate, but Doctor Who is one of those things we never got into and somehow have almost zero awareness of.)
Below is a full list of content included in this year’s holiday collection now available to all Disney+ subscribers. Following that, we’ll pick some of our favorites.
Movies and Specials
- ‘Twas the Night
- A Christmas Carol (2009)
- A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa
- Arendelle Castle Yule Log
- Babes in Toyland
- Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas
- Christmas With Walt Disney – Streaming November 24, 2023
- CHRISTMAS…AGAIN?!?
- Cloud 9
- Cool Runnings
- Dashing Through the Snow – Streaming November 17, 2023
- Decorating Disney Holiday Magic
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever – Streaming December 8, 2023
- Disney Channel Holiday House Party
- Disney Channel’s Epic Holiday Showdown
- Disney Holiday Singalong
- DISNEY JUNIOR MICKEY & MINNIE WISH UPON A CHRISTMAS
- Disney’s Fairytale Weddings Holiday Magic
- Ernest Saves Christmas
- Feliz NaviDad
- Frozen
- Frozen 2
- Full-Court Miracle
- Godmothered
- Good Luck Charlie: It’s Christmas!
- Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas
- Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special
- High School Musical: The Musical: The Special
- High School Musical: The Musical: The Holiday Special
- Home Alone
- Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
- Home Alone 3
- Home Alone 4
- Home Alone: The Holiday Heist
- Home Sweet Home Alone
- I’ll Be Home For Christmas
- Ice Age
- Jingle All The Way 2
- LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special
- Mickey & Minnie Wish Upon a Christmas
- Mickey Saves Christmas
- Mickey’s A Christmas Carol
- Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas
- Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas
- Miracle on 34th Street
- Navidad Para Chueco, Una – Streaming December 15, 2023
- Noelle
- One Magic Christmas
- People Presents: Once Upon a Main Street
- Richie Rich’s Christmas Wish
- Santa Buddies
- Santa Paws
- Santa Paws 2
- Snow Buddies
- Snowball Express
- Snowglobe
- Space Buddies
- The Christmas Consultant
- The Christmas Star
- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
- The Muppet Christmas Carol
- The Naughty Nine
- The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
- The Santa Clause
- The Santa Clause 2
- The Santa Clause 3
- The Santa Con
- The Search for Santa Paws
- The Shepherd Movie – Streaming December 1, 2023
- The Ultimate Christmas Present
- Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas
- Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas Sing-Along
- Togo
- While You Were Sleeping
- Winnie The Pooh: A Very Merry Pooh Year
- Wrapped Up in Christmas
Holiday Shorts
- Duck the Halls: A Mickey Mouse Christmas Special
- From Our Family to Yours: The Gift
- ICE AGE: A MAMMOTH CHRISTMAS
- Olaf’s Frozen Adventure
- Once Upon a Snowman
- Pluto’s Christmas Tree
- Prep & Landing
- Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice
- Prep & Landing: Operation Secret Santa
- Puppy for Hanukkah
- Santa’s Workshop
- The Small One
- Winter Storage
Disney+ Christmas Series
- Donna Hay Christmas
- Hawkeye
- Mickey’s Christmas Tales Shorts (Series) – Streaming November 29, 2023
- The Great Christmas Light Fight
- The Santa Clauses – Season 2 Streaming November 8, 2023
Simpsons Christmas Episodes
- Bobby, It’s Cold Outside
- Grift of the Magi
- Holidays of Future Passed
- I Won’t Be Home for Christmas
- Kill Gil, Volumes I & II
- Marge Be Not Proud
- Miracle on Evergreen Terrace
- She of Little Faith
- Simpsons Christmas Stories
- Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire
- Skinner’s Sense of Snow
- The Burns and the Bees
- The Fight Before Christmas
- The Nightmare After Krustmas
- ‘Tis the 30th Season
- ‘Tis The Fifteenth Season
- White Christmas Blues
Other TV Shows with Holiday-Themed Episodes
- Alice’s Wonderland Bakery
- America’s Funniest Home Videos
- Austin & Ally
- Avengers Assemble
- Big City Greens
- Bizaardvark: A Killer Robot Christmas
- Bizaardvark: Agh, Humbug
- Black-ish
- Bluey
- Bunk’d
- Chicken Squad
- Chip ‘n’ Dale: Park Life
- Disney Family Sundays
- Disney Junior Music Nursery Rhymes
- Disney Magic Bake-Off
- Doc McStuffins
- Ducktales
- Elena of Avalor
- Even Stevens
- Fancy Nancy Clancy
- Firebuds
- Gabby Duran & The Unsittables
- Ghost and Molly McGee – Streaming December 6, 2023
- Girl Meets World
- Glee
- Good Luck Charlie
- Good Luck Charlie: A Duncan Christmas
- Guardians of the Galaxy (Series)
- Hailey’s on It! – Streaming December 20, 2023
- Handy Manny
- Henry Hugglemonster
- High School Musical: The Musical: The Series
- Jake and the Never Land Pirates
- KC Undercover
- Kickin’ It
- Kim Possible
- Lilo and Stitch The Series
- Liv and Maddie
- Mickey and The Roadster Racers Chip ‘n Dale’s Nutty Tales
- Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
- Mickey Mouse Funhouse – Streaming December 13, 2023
- Mickey Mouse Roadster Racers
- Mickey’s Christmas Tales
- Minnie’s Bow-Toons: Camp Minnie – Streaming January 1, 2024
- Minnie’s Bow-Toons: Party Palace Pals
- Minnies Bow Toons
- Muppet Babies
- Phineas and Ferb
- Pickle and Peanut
- PJ Masks – Streaming December 613, 2023
- Playdate with Winnie the Pooh – Streaming December 27, 2023
- Puppy Dog Pals
- Pupstruction – Streaming December 20, 2023
- Raven’s Home
- Rolie Polie Olie
- Shake It Up: Jingle It Up
- Sheriff Callie’s Wild West
- Sonny with a Chance
- Spidey and His Amazing Friends
- Suite Life of Zack and Cody
- SuperKitties – Streaming December 6, 2023
- Sydney to the Max
- T.O.T.S
- Teacher’s Pet
- That’s So Raven
- The Lion Guard
- The Proud Family
- The Suite Life on Deck: A London Carol
- The Villains of Valley View – Streaming December 6, 2023
- The Wonder Years
- Ultimate Spider-Man
Best Disney+ Christmas Movies, Series & Specials
The Muppet Christmas Carol — This is the seminal and most faithful adaptation of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, which is surprising given that it stars the Muppets and is also an exemplar of their trademark humor. There are a number of reasons why the The Muppet Christmas Carol is #1 on our list of the best Christmas movies.
First, the sprawling musical numbers, taking place in multiple settings and involving a variety of Muppets, with minor characters stealing the spotlight. Second, the performances of the three main characters: Gonzo, Rizzo the Rat, and Michael Caine. Having Gonzo play Charles Dickens was a bold move that paid off and provides several brilliant comedic moments. Finally, Brian Henson’s work as director is impeccable and worthy of his father’s legacy. I belabor these and several other points in my lengthy Muppet Christmas Carol Review, but suffice to say, this is the best Disney Christmas film by a wide margin.
Home Alone – Excellent how-to video for the amateur home security enthusiast, looking to put together their own system that can’t be hacked. Joking aside, we both have tons of nostalgia for Home Alone. Nowadays, the appeal for us is less about the hijinks and more about the Midwest setting, 1990s style, and charming characters.
Pluto’s Christmas Tree – One of Disney’s all-time great animated shorts, Pluto’s Christmas Tree is a 1952 Mickey Mouse cartoon in which Pluto and Mickey cut down a Christmas tree inhabited by Chip n’ Dale. I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who someone hasn’t seen this, but hijinks ensue. Watching the beautiful animation, emotive characters, vibrant backgrounds, atmospheric lighting, etc. etc. makes me really wonder what people see in the new Mickey Mouse cartoons.
The Santa Clause — Another nostalgia pick. Growing up in Michigan, native son Tim Allen was a pretty big deal. My family watched Home Improvement religiously and went to see every film of his in theaters. This was one such film, and I absolutely loved it. I still find it to be a ton of fun and I think it has aged pretty well, all things considered.
I’ll Be Home for Christmas – While it gets off to a grating and arrogant start, I’ll Be Home for Christmas finds its food and offers sentimental comfort food. It’s thoroughly cliched, but performances by Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Jessica Biel make it worthwhile. Pretty similar to what you’d find on Hallmark Channel, but with 1990s Disney star power.
Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special – We have serious cases of MCU fatigue, but the Guardians of the Galaxy are one big exception to that. This features their trademark humor mixed with sentimentality and a ridiculous(ly awesome) plot that revolves around kidnapping Kevin Bacon. It’s way better than it sounds, or has any right to be–an annual must-watch for us.
Hawkeye – This is another one of the aforementioned exceptions for many of the same reasons. This isn’t a Christmas series per se, but the entirety of it is set at Christmas-time, and those visuals are key. It helps that we think both Clint Barton and Kate Bishop are great characters that are (unlike so many superheroes) grounded in reality; the show is heartfelt and wholesome without multiverse ridiculousness or dripping with CGI.
Noelle — Anna Kendrick and Bill Hader are both hilarious (who doesn’t love Stefon from SNL or Barry?!) and Noelle was the very first thing on Disney+ that we watched. It’s predictable from the first scene, derivative, and a bit cheesy. Noelle is also heartwarming, humorous, earnest, and endearing. It also makes the most of what’s clearly a healthy budget with some nice special effects and one of the most adorable CGI characters in recent memory.
With Noelle, Disney+ mixes the formulas of Elf and Hallmark movies to create something unique, memorable, and charming. Unlike Netflix, which gently skewers the holiday genre with films you can laugh at (such as A Christmas Prince or Christmas Chronicles), Noelle is a heartfelt and irresistible movie that you’ll also laugh with. Much like the Santa Clause, this is “Disney” at its heart—which is also evident from the outset, thanks to things like hidden Mickeys and Duffy plushes in the sets.
The Nightmare Before Christmas — I’ll admit that it wasn’t until fairly recently that I came around on Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas. When I was younger, I never really got “into” this movie. I don’t know if it was too dark or just felt too Halloween-y, but it was a one and done for me as a kid. Now, I have a much greater appreciation for the artistic side of the film, and also like the characters and fairly unique concept.
Jingle All The Way – Another mid-1990s tentpole Christmas movie, this one capitalizing on the star power of Arnold Schwarzenegger. I don’t think this has aged nearly as well as the Santa Claus, but it’s relatable to anyone who has wanted to be the ‘hero’ of Christmas morning by finding that elusive toy. A fun stroll down memory lane.
Mickey’s Christmas Carol — How many versions of A Christmas Carol do you need to watch each holiday season? At least 2, probably more like 4. This is a time-honored classic with great animation, character design, and more. It’s also a relatively short special, making it well worth a watch every Christmas.
Prep & Landing (Both) – These specials tell the modern-day story of what goes on behind the scenes before Santa Claus arrives at a child’s house. It follows members of the Prep and Landing team, Santa’s stealthiest unit. Their mission: “Get In. Get Out. Never Be Noticed.” The two episodes (for lack of a better term) tell different stories involving this team, both of which are incredibly solid Christmas specials.
Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas — We aren’t the biggest fans of this direct to video sequel of the animated classic Beauty and the Beast. The plot is flimsy, the animation is sub-par, and a lot of the humor is suspect. However, it also features some beautiful scenery, familiar and beloved characters, and a sufficient dose of yuletide glee. It’s pretty far from being a classic, but the Enchanted Christmas has its moments and is worth putting on in the background while you’re preparing a Christmas feast.
Ernest Saves Christmas – This comes with the colossal caveat that I haven’t watched this since I was around 8 years old, at which time it was a veritable masterpiece. So was Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. Sometimes it’s best to leave the past in the past.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think of our list of the “best” Christmas movies, specials, shorts, episodes, and Disney+ originals? Any non-obvious movies or shows you’d recommend? Underrated or overlooked holiday gems? Favorites that are set during winter but not the holiday season? Overrated Christmas content that you would not recommend? Agree or disagree with any of our picks? Any questions? We love hearing from readers, so please share any other thoughts or questions you have in the comments below!
