10 Christmas Movies You Probably Haven’t Seen

When it comes to Christmas movies, there is an absolute buttload of classics. You have your old classic classics, your more modern comedy classics, your niche genre classics, and everything in between. On this list I’m going to highlight and recommend 10 Christmas Movie I doubt you’ve seen. If you have, then my apologies. Some of these answers come from answers collected on my annual Christmas survey (article on that dropping a few days prior to the 25th) and there was really two pieces of criteria. It had to be considered niche and not a mainstream Christmas film, which was really subjective to my own knowledge. And secondly, I had to have seen it, because I don’t want to recommend movies I haven’t watched. Before we get into the list some films I want to mention are ‘Santa Claus: The Movie’ & ‘Joyeux Noël’ both of which were originally here, but will be receiving their own full reviews later this month. I’m also excluding any movies released in the 2020s because those were featured on my list of the Top 10 Recent Christmas Movies!

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964) - When I think of niche Christmas movie, this is what comes to mind for me. I had a full review of this film on the blog last year, that you can read HERE. It’s really not a very good movie. But in terms of ingenuity and fun, it’s definitely up there. It’s a very silly movie that is definitely worth watching at least once, even if it doesn’t make the annual lineup. It stars mostly unknown actors, some very silly looking martians, and the film debut of Mrs. Claus. Stream the movie free on Tubi, Pluto TV, or Plex.

We’re No Angels (1955) - A 1955 comedy starring Humphrey Bogart, Aldo Ray, & Peter Ustinov as three escaped convicts and up being angels of sorts for a struggling family near the prison they escaped from. I also have a review of this film from when I watched it last year, which you can read HERE. Oh and I didn’t mention this. But this whole ploy happens on Christmas. Duh. Stream it free on Pluto TV. 

The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus (1985) - Rankin & Bass are synonymous with Christmas films, due to their extremely popular animated made-for-TV specials. Some, like Rudolph, Frosty, ‘The Year Without a Santa Claus,’ ‘The Little Drummer Boy,’ and even ‘Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey’ are more well known. There are a butt ton of these specials, so many of them are not household staples like some mentioned prior. I haven’t seen all of those niche ones (but I’ll try to!), but one I have seen is this 1985 special, which does not run in continuity with their other Santa-centric specials. This 50-minute special is pretty weird, telling the story of Santa and his life through the narration of the Great Ak. Ak is making a request to the Immortals to grant Santa immortality to continue his good works. It’s available to watch with a special premium Prime subscription.

A Miser Brothers’ Christmas (2008) - As I mentioned in the previous entry, ‘The Year Without a Santa Claus’ is one of the most popular animated Christmas specials. One that’s not quite as popular is its sequel spinoff, that cames out three and a half decades later. This film was actually not a Rankin & Bass production, but attempted to match their aesthetic. It’s not quite as strong as it’s predecessor, but it does have some fun moments and good songs, and it actually features two returning cast members, Mickey Rooney as Santa and George S. Irving as Heat Miser. It’s available to rent on Prime. Or if you’ve already seen both of these and wanna get real weird, you can watch the 2006 live action remake of ‘The Year Without a Santa Claus’ which can be found on YouTube.

The Bishop’s Wife (1947)/The Preacher’s Wife (1996) - A two-for! And another two plugs by Shane. You can read my full reviews I wrote last Christmas for these two films HERE and HERE. The original 1947 film stars Cary Grant as an angel who comes to help loosen up David Niven’s Bishop Henry Brougham, and ends up connecting with Henry’s wife Julia, played by Loretta Young. The 1996 remake features a similar plot but stars Denzel Washington, Courtney B. Vance, and Whitney Houston, respectively. I personally prefer the original, but both have their strengths. Both films can be streamed free on Tubi.

I’ll Be Home for Christmas (1998) - This one may not be as niche as some of the others here, but maybe it is. I dunno. Starring Jonathan Taylor Thomas as Jake, a college student who reluctantly tries to make it from California to his family home in New York without a real way to get there. A road comedy, the film has some pretty good antics & hijinx, and also stars Jessica Biel as Jake’s love interest. It’s usually an annual rewatch in the Wilson household and is oft quoted by me and my brother (though we’re usually the only ones who get the reference). Stream it on Disney+.

Unaccompanied Minors (2006) - A comedy film about a group of children stranded in an airport on Christmas Eve with minimal supervision, this is basically just ‘Die Hard 2’ with kids. You can my full review from last year (don’t worry that’s my last self plug) HERE. The adult cast features some notable names such as Lewis Black, Wilder Valderrama, Paget Brewster, & Rob Corddry, while the only one of the child stars to maintain real celebrity in 2025 is Tyler James Williams. The film is pretty funny and a solid watch and if you don’t believe me, you can check it out on Peacock.

Tokyo Godfathers (2003) - I have very little grasp for who actually reads my blog (other than my mom. Hi mom) so I don’t know if it’s like real movie lovers or not. If NOT, I’m going to assume you’re not familiar with this 2003 animated Japanese film that is a soft remake of the 1948 American Western ‘3 Godfathers.’ The film follows three homeless people in Japan who discover a baby on Christmas day and begin what can only be described as a tragicomedy adventure. If that sounds at all appealing to you, you can stream it free on Tubi.

Klaus (2019) - I really don’t think this one is niche. But it tied for the second most answers on the blog, so I’m including it because I’ll take any opportunity to shoutout ‘Klaus.’ Everyone should watch it. It really is one of the best Christmas movies out there. If you haven’t seen it, watch it the next time you have a movie night (stream it on Netflix) and I’m confident it will enter you’re yearly Christmas watches. In fact, as I’m writing this, I’m going to go turn it on. The film stars Jason Schwartzman as a mailman sent on a very unfortunate job of a town made up of two families in a generation long feud. One of the other nearby occupants is the titular Klaus (J. K. Simmons) and that’s all I’ll say! Happy watching!