Ready for a healthy dose of 2023’s big Christmas releases? From gorgeous festive rom-com to the return of Eddie Murphy in a delightful-looking Christmassy adventure, we can’t wait to get stuck in with some of these! Check out our top recommendations and Happy Christmas!
Hannah Waddingham: Home for Christmas - Apple TV+
Do you love Hannah Waddingham? Good, so do we! The Ted Lasso star is appearing in a new holiday special where she rings in Christmas with special guests in an incredible musical extravaganza at the London Coliseum. Recorded in front of a live audience, Hannah performs some amazing Christmas classics with a big band, and we can’t wait to have a Christmassy evening in to watch.
Candy Cane Lane - Prime Video
Eddie Murphy is back in comedy form in this exciting new Christmas movie! Eddie stars as a man determined to win the neighbourhood’s annual Christmas home decoration contest and accidentally makes a deal with a mischievous elf named Pepper to help him out.
However, she casts a magic spell that brings the 12 Days of Christmas to life, wreaking havoc on the whole town. As such, he enlists the help of his wife Carol and their three children to break Pepper’s spell and save Christmas.
Your Christmas or Mine 2 - Amazon Prime Video
If you enjoyed the original Asa Butterfield movie, then join the Sex Education star for round two, where this time James and Hayley (Cora Kirk) are spending their next Christmas as a couple. The synopsis reads: "It’s the most wonderful time of the year … but will it be for James and Hayley? James’ father has invited the Taylors to spend Christmas in a luxury ski resort in the Austrian Alps, so they can meet his new American girlfriend.
"However, Hayley’s dad Geoff insisted on handling his family’s side of the booking and something clearly got lost in translation. After a mix-up with transport at the airport, the two tribes end up at each other’s accommodations, on different sides of a valley and opposite ends of the Tripadvisor ratings scale. Can Hayley and James' relationship survive another turbulent family Christmas, or has their future together gone off-piste?"
EXmas - Freevee
Blair Waldorf, is that you? Leighton Meester stars alongside Upload actor Robbie Amell as a former couple. When Graham surprises his family by coming home for Christmas, he is shocked when his ex is already there, celebrating. The two exes then have a battle to see who the family will pick to stay at the celebrations through Christmas.
Family Switch - Netflix
Jennifer Garner in a Body Switch movie? It’s 2004 again, and we’re not even mad! In the new movie, Jess and her husband Bill try their best to keep the family together while their children grow distant from them. However, after an astrological reading causes the family to wake up in each other’s bodies, on the morning of the most important day of each of their lives, can they work things out and stay united?
Best. Christmas. Ever! - Netflix
Starring The Hangover’s Heather Graham - are you ready for what Netflix does best, a classic Christmas special? The story involves Jackie, who sends a yearly boastful holiday newsletter that makes her old college friend Charlotte feel terrible. After a twist of fate lands Charlotte and her family on Jackie’s doorstep, she seizes the opportunity to prove her old friend's life can’t possibly be that perfect.
The Naughty Nine - Disney+
Danny Glover stars in this new film about a mischievous fifth grader, Andy, who finds himself without a visit or presents from Santa on Christmas morning. The synopsis reads: "Realising he must have landed on the 'naughty list' and feeling unfairly maligned, Andy pulls together a team of eight other 'naughty listers' to help him execute an elaborate heist at the North Pole to get the presents they feel they deserve.
"Along the way, the group comes to realise that the very best way off the naughty list is to redirect their unique talents for good -- instead of mischief."
Dashing Through the Snow - Disney+
In this sweet tale, a social worker for the Atlanta police department must go on a journey with his estranged daughter to help him remember the joy and magic of the yuletide season. Classic!
The movie follows Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges as Eddie, who has hated Christmas due to a traumatic childhood experience. At the request of his ex-wife Allison, he takes his 9-year-old daughter Charlotte to work with him on Christmas Eve, where they meet a mysterious man in a red suit named Nick. After Nick envokes the wrath of a local politician, Eddie and his daughter are taken on a magical adventure that just might restore his faith in Christmas.
Christmas in Notting Hill - Hallmark Channel
Football star Graham Savoy (played by Peter Pevensie himself, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’s William Moseley), is far too busy with his career to have time for any romance, which all changes when he meets Jessica (Sarah Ramos), a young woman who has no idea who he is. Fans might recognise Sarah from The Bear season two’s outstanding episode, Forks, as the ultra-organised chef helping Richie see the joy in restaurant work.