I love all things Christmas – especially Christmas movies! Between Netflix, Hallmark, Lifetime, Freeform, and so many more, there is always a surplus of Christmas movies new and old every holiday season. This year, I’m making it my goal to watch (at least) one Christmas movie a day from December 1st to the 25th. Here, I’m going to keep a running list of every movie and my thoughts on it as I go.

12/1 – The Knight Before Christmas (Netflix)

This is a new Netflix Christmas movie starring Vanessa Hudgens. Here’s the Netflix synopsis, “Medieval magic sends a 14th-century knight to modern-day Ohio, where he falls for a high school science teacher who’s disillusioned by love.” It was charming, made me laugh a few times and actually not as cheesy as it sounds, even though it did make Jared roll his eyes when he caught a few minutes of it. To sum it up in one word: cute. Nothing dramatic, but a nice departure from your typical Christmas love story due to the added medieval/magic element, which I love.

12/2 – The Santa Clause (Disney+)

For our anniversary, Jared and I watched his favorite Christmas movie of all time – The Santa Clause. In a nutshell, a divorced dad accidentally becomes Santa Claus. Tim Allen is always a hit with us and this movie is really just timeless. It’s funny and it makes you believe in all the Christmas magic that I’m such a big fan of. This one always gets 5 stars from us and we watch it every December. We’ll be watching The Santa Clause 2 and 3 later this month for sure and we haven’t watched those in forever!

12/3 – Christmas in Louisiana (Lifetime)

As a fan of singer and actress Jana Kramer (love her podcast too), I had to check out her new Lifetime Christmas movie. It’s available free on demand. A former Miss Christmas goes home to celebrate the town’s sugarcane festival and is forced to spend time with her ex, Mr. Christmas. Let’s be honest – the plot is predictable. It is a Lifetime movie after all. Despite that, the movie was really good and very family-centric in addition to the love story. I really liked the vibe of the banter between the two main characters. It seemed very effortless and natural, which is refreshing for a cheesy movie.

12/4 – A Christmas Wish (Lifetime)

This movie combines holiday romance, Christmas magic, and even some school board petitioning. The synopsis is that, “Every December in a small town, a wooden wishing box is placed in the park as a Christmas tradition.” It’s predictable as most Christmas movies are, especially from Lifetime. Even though many potential suitors are presented throughout the movie, it’s obvious from the start who the leading lady will end up with even though they try to make it a “mystery.” One Tree Hill fans will recognize Hilarie Burton (Peyton Sawyer) and Tyler Hilton (Chris Keller) as the leading duo and Antwon Taylor (Antwon “Skills” Taylor), Barbara Alyn Woods (Deb Scott), Colin Fickes (Jimmy Edwards), and Lee Norris (Mouth) in supporting roles. If you don’t catch this movie this year, you’re not missing much, but if you want to watch a Christmas movie you haven’t seen before, give it a shot!

12/5 – Same Time, Next Christmas (ABC)

A tropical take on Christmas with star-crossed lovers! The synopsis says, “A young woman and her childhood sweetheart reunite at the same Hawaiian resort where they met,” but that makes it seem super cheesy. Trust me, the cheese factor is practically nonexistent in this movie. It was so good! The production quality on ABC versus Lifetime or Hallmark is just so much better and that contributed a lot. Also, Lea Michele is the star and I love her so that never hurts. Definitely check this one out on demand this holiday season!

12/6 – A Christmas Story (TBS On Demand)

Believe it or not, I have never seen A Christmas Story! It’s so iconic and I feel like a basically know the plot because of all the pop culture references to it. I decided to take the plunge and finally watch it tonight. For those who don’t know, it’s about a boy named Ralphie who tries to convince his parents to get him a BB gun for Christmas. To be honest, I thought it was just ok. I think the reason so many people like it is because they watched it as a kid so it gives them nostalgia. I thought the narrator had an overbearing presence the whole movie and wished kid Ralphie talked more to tell the story instead of the narrator. Nevertheless, it still got me in the Christmas spirit, so mission accomplished I guess?

12/7 – Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas (Disney+)

I used to watch this one on VHS so I knew I already loved it. I mean, Disney and Christmas are two of my favorite things. This movie is three short movies in one hour. These are great for kids because there’s a very clear lesson in each one kids can learn from. In the first short, Huey, Dewey, and Louie (Donald’s nephews) learn to be polite and grateful on Christmas by repeating the day until they get it right. In the second short, Goofy’s son Max learns the real meaning of Christmas after he’s told there’s no Santa Claus. And in the last short, Mickey and Minnie learn that Christmas is about love, not presents. If you haven’t seen this one, I’d highly recommend it, especially if you have kids. It’s a classic!

12/8 – Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas (Disney+)

Similarly to Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas, there are short stories each with a different Christmas lesson. The first one has Minnie and Daisy competing in an ice skating competition where they learn how to be good sports and work together to succeed. In the second story, Huey, Dewey, and Louie realize the easiest way to get on Santa’s Nice list is to be kind and helpful. Then there’s a story where Max learns to embrace his dad’s “goofiness,” when he brings a girl home for Christmas. The next story has Donald going from actively avoiding anything Christmas-related to getting in the holiday spirit. Finally the last story features Mickey trying to decorate for Christmas and Pluto getting in the way. Mickey realizes Christmas doesn’t mean anything if you’re not with your loved ones. While Twice Upon a Christmas is good, I think Once Upon a Christmas is the best, so if you only watch one, I’d watch the first one.

12/9 – Grounded for Christmas (Lifetime)

Nina, a pilot, reluctantly agrees to let her arrogant fellow pilot stay at her nearby parents’ home and has him pretend to be her boyfriend. Was it cheesy? Yes. Was it equally as charming? For sure. Did I love it? Absolutely! This movie was perfect background while I was crafting. I knew the plot would be predictable so I didn’t have to pay too much attention, but I enjoyed the story the whole time. I’m a sucker for the whole, “dislikes each other, pretends to date, then actually falls in love” plot.

12/10 – Santa Baby (ABC On Demand)

Santa Claus’ businesswoman daughter takes over Christmas with her own twist and innovation. This movie was really cute. The plot was interesting and kept me engaged without anything too dramatic going on. While it’s marketed as ages 6+, it’s definitely more for 13+ or so because of language. Not really sure why it’s called Santa Baby since it’s about Santa’s grown adult daughter, but that didn’t affect the movie-watching experience for me at all.

12/11 – A Cinderella Story: Christmas Wish (Netflix)

“Despite her vain stepmother and mean stepsisters, an aspiring singer works as an elf at a Christmas tree lot and finds her own holiday miracle.” Cinderella is my favorite fairytale so I knew there was a good chance I’d like this one. This modern-day take is funny and endearing. Plus, the music is good! I do have to say the catch with Cinderella stories is that it always leaves you thinking, “How did they not recognize each other?!,” and this is no exception. Still, I’d recommend it!

12/12 – Christmas Wedding Planner (Netflix)

Weddings and Christmas? That’s basically my heaven! However, I have very conflicting feelings about this one. It’s about a wedding planner who meets a private investigator hired to disrupt her biggest job ever, her cousin’s wedding. I really, really liked this movie…until the very end. I hate when relationships move too quickly – like extremely, unrealistically quickly – and that’s what happened at the end of this movie. I was so bummed because the rest of the movie was so good and really kept me on my toes. I was excited to finally find a Christmas movie that wasn’t super predictable and then I hated the ending. Overall it was a great movie, but probably not one I’ll watch again knowing how it ends.

12/13 – The Grinch (2018) (Netflix)

Unpopular opinion ahead – I’ve always hated The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. It quite literally terrifies me, even as a grown adult. However, my brother saw the animated Grinch remake last year and said it was really good so I mustered up some courage and watched it. I was a little iffy throughout the movie because he was so mean and it made me sad, but then the ending made my heart so happy! I would actually watch this movie again and that’s something I never thought I’d say. I still shudder at even the sight of the live action Grinch, but I’d really recommend the newer animated one.

12/14 – The Santa Clause 2 (Disney+)

In the sequel to The Santa Clause, Scott Calvin has to get married or lose his job as Santa. This movie is endearing and, in my opinion, funnier than the first one. While the original can never be beat, this sequel is a fun companion. If you’ve seen the first one, you should definitely watch the second! We’ll be watching the third movie soon so stay tuned!

12/15 – Let It Snow (Netflix)

11/10 would recommend! It’s about how a group of high school seniors’ lives change one snowy Christmas Eve. It follows multiple storylines that overlap throughout the same day. It wasn’t a dumb, cliche Christmas movie at all. It was modern, relatable for literally anyone, and heartwarming. This is for sure one to catch this year, especially for high schoolers and 20-somethings.

12/16 – Santa Girl (Netflix)

What happens when Santa’s daughter leaves the family business and an arranged marriage to go to college? Apparently it’s cringey and way too obvious. The dialogue in the movie made me super uncomfortable because it was so unnatural. There’s an awkward love triangle where one of the guys looks like he’s straight out of a ’90s romcom. The depiction of college is very off. Just as a whole, I was not a fan. Do yourself a favor and skip this one.

12/17 – Mickey’s A Christmas Carol (Disney+)

The original Disney characters take on the classic Dickens tale of A Christmas Carol. I remember watching this as a little kid and being kind of scared by it. When I think back on it, it almost seemed like more of a Halloween movie than a Christmas one. Watching it again as an adult, I feel the same way. It’s kind of scary and sad and I wouldn’t have my future kids watch it. The moral of the story is good, but there are other ways to teach kids that. It’s only 25 minutes so it’s a super quick watch, but I won’t be watching it again. It’s also funny seeing classic Disney characters like Mickey, Donald, and Goofy referred to as actual characters from A Christmas Carol by name. Not something you hear every day.

12/18 – Holly Star (Netflix)

The Netflix description for this movie is, “Home for the holidays, a broke puppeteer knows there’s treasure buried somewhere under her town. To find it, all she has to do is die – almost.” Well color me intrigued. I have never seen anything quite like this movie. The puppets throughout the movie kind of creeped me out, but luckily they weren’t too present. It was definitely an interesting movie that I wasn’t able to predict at all. However, the ending sucked in my opinion. The whole movie built this whole mystery and it was such a let down.

12/19 – Noelle (Disney+)

This Disney+ original stars Anna Kendrick as Santa’s daughter who has to find her brother and bring him back in time to save Christmas. The production quality of this movie was really great and overall I really enjoyed it. It’s funny, gives you all the Christmas feels, and the plot is interesting. It’s a feel-good movie without making you roll your eyes at the cheese factor. I would watch this movie over and over again. If you have Disney+, you definitely need to check it out!

12/20 – The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (Netflix)

This twist on the classic Nutcracker has Clara embarking on a dreamlike journey filled with fantasy and conflict. This movie is pure magic. I’ve loved The Nutcracker since I was a little girl watching the ballet. The movie incorporated music from The Nutcracker, which I was so happy about since I listen to the score on a regular basis. There’s even a significant ballet portion to tell a story in the movie with Misty Copeland that is just beautiful.

12/21 – A Christmas Prince (Netflix)

Truly one of the best Netflix movies in my opinion. A young journalist is sent abroad to cover the coronation of a handsome prince about to be king. This movie is just so dang charming and is full of plot twists you definitely will not see coming. I will say, it has one of those relationships that ultimately moves unrealistically, extremely quickly at the end, but I’ll look past it because I just love this movie so much. I watched it last year and had to add it to this year’s list to refresh myself on the plot so I can follow up with the rest of the trilogy. Stay tuned!

12/22 – A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding (Netflix)

In the second A Christmas Prince installment, we follow up a year after the first movie as the royal wedding approaches. While it’s not as good as the original, the sequel does not disappoint. There are plot twists, and the storyline keeps you engaged the whole movie. Of course, everyone gets the happily ever after you’d expect, but that doesn’t make the movie frivolous. It’s funny and keeps you on your toes. I’m looking forward to watching the 3rd one!

12/23 – A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby (Netflix)

The anticipation of the royal baby a year after the royal wedding is shrouded in mystery with visiting dignitaries at the palace. If this had been the first of the three movies, I wouldn’t have watched the next two. This movie is such a let down after the first two. The “mystery” makes it seem ridiculous even though you really don’t know what’s going on the entire time. There’s far too much “spookiness,” talk of curses, and forced “action” for my liking. It’s like they switched genres entirely from a romantic drama to a mystery/action movie and they didn’t do it well. I could’ve stopped watching the series after the sequel.

12/24 – Elf (On Demand)

A true classic! I watch Elf at least once every Christmas season. While Will Ferrell can make some pretty dumb movies, Elf definitely isn’t one of them. It’s so funny and Buddy the Elf is so naive and innocent in the crazy world of New York City. Zooey Deschanel is a goddess and I love hearing her sing in the movie. It’s a great movie for those of you, like me, who will always believe in the magic of Christmas and the power of Christmas spirit. Pretty much every scene is the best scene of the movie and the whole thing is just so dang quotable! This one will always top the charts for me.

12/25 – National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (AMC On Demand)

I had a really hard time deciding what movie to watch for my final movie of 25 Days of Christmas Movies. There were so many good movies I still hadn’t watched this year – some I’ve seen and love and some I’ve never seen. I decided on Christmas Vacation because I’ve never seen it before and I hear so much about it. While it was funny, it was a little too slapstick for me. I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it either. I laughed a little and enjoyed the plot overall, it’s just not a new favorite for me.