The holidays can be a time of high stress for many which is why it's great to schedule in time to rest, relax, and enjoy all the holiday season has to offer. What better way to rest and celebrate than binging Christmas movies surrounded by one chosen family: friends! While most holiday movies are either geared towards kids or families at large, there is a handful that are great to watch with friends.
From raunchy R-rated Christmas movies to Christmas classics, there is no shortage of Christmas content to binge on this year. There's even a handful of great horror Christmas movies out there to counterbalance the slew of romantic comedies.
A Bad Moms Christmas (2017)
Stream On Fubo TV
It's not often that movies get holiday-themed sequels but that's exactly what happened with A Bad Moms Christmas. Exhausted and burned out from giving their kids extravagant Christmases, Amy, Kiki, and Carla decide to scale back their Christmas festivities only to have their plans rocked when their own mothers decide to spend the holidays with them.
A Bad Moms Christmas is a great movie to watch with friends, even if no one has kids. Everyone can relate to the struggles adults face during this time and it has some pretty hilarious scenes, like when the ladies attended a Sexy Santa show.
Anna And The Apocalypse (2017)
Stream On Hoopla & Kanopy
Anna and the Apocalypse is an underrated and largely unknown horror meets musical Christmas movie. Anna's Christmas celebrations are short-lived when her small town is invaded by a zombie apocalypse. Together, she and her friends must band together to defeat the zombies all while breaking into song at a moment's notice.
There aren't too many horror musical movies which is what makes Anna and the Apocalpyse unique. It's a great movie to watch for horror fans and musical fans which means everyone in the friend group can watch it together.
Elf (2003)
Stream On HBO Max & Starz
When it comes to classic Christmas movies, Elf makes the cut without any objections. The movie follows Buddy, a human who was raised by elves after stowing away in Santa's bag when he visited his orphanage. Now an adult, Buddy leaves the North Pole to New York City to track down his birth father after finding out he's adopted.
While Elf is more of a family-friendly Christmas movie, it's also great for friends to watch together. From hilarious scenes of Buddy prancing around in an elf costume to a cute romantic comedy and the uniting of family, there's something for everyone.
Holidate (2020)
Stream On Netflix
Holidate was one of Netflix's first holiday movies of the 2020 season and it did not disappoint. The movie centers on Sloane, a twentysomething-year-old who is tired of being the only single one during the holidays. After a chance encounters with Jackson, the two agree to be each other's platonic holiday dates for an entire year.
This is a great movie to watch with friends because it's extremely relatable, especially for the twentysomething-year-old crowd. Not only that, but Holidate has a cute romance with an even cuter romantic gesture.
Dr. Suess' How The Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
Stream On Fubo TV
One of the best Christmas movies to be based on a picture book is none other than Dr. Suess' How The Grinch Stole Christmas. While there have been a handful of adaptions, arguably the best is the live-action 2000 one that sees Jim Carrey transform into the legendary anti-hero character.
Not only is this movie a classic, but it's also great to watch with friends because it's all about friendship. The Grinch learns to let others in because of the love and friendship Cindy Lou offers and he returns the favor by giving the Whos the Christmas he nearly ruined.
Krampus (2015)
Stream On FXNow
Since being released in 2015, Krampus has become one of the best Christmas movies for horror fans. Based on the ancient European folklore, Krampus centers on one family whose youngest child accidentally summons the horned beast when he loses his Christmas spirit.
While there's a group of people who think Christmas movies shouldn't be scary, there's an equally as large group who welcome horror into their holiday plans. If that sounds like your friend group then Krampus is the perfect movie to watch.
Love Hard (2021)
Stream On Netflix
Netflix's Love Hard has quickly become one of the best Christmas movies of the 2021 season. The romantic comedy follows Natalie, a bad-at-love journalist who thinks she has finally met the one on a dating app. Wanting to prove the naysayers wrong, she flies across the country to surprise him for the holidays only to discover she's been catfished.
While catfishing is a serious matter in the real world, it's been turned into a cute trope thanks to the hard work the writers put in to redeem Josh. It's the perfect movie to watch with friends to commiserate about the horrors of dating in the modern age while still remaining optimistic that happily ever afters exist.
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)
Stream On HBO Max
The third installment in the beloved National Lampoon series was Christmas Vacation which instantly became a holiday classic. Written by the legendary John Hughes, the movie follows the Griswold family as the family patriarch, Clark, leads them on an epic Christmas. Of course, things don't go as planned and everything that could go wrong does go wrong.
If you can't laugh at your own family, then why not laugh at someone else's while surrounded by friends. Though the movie is older, it still holds up in the jokes department making it a fun watch for everyone.
Single All The Way (2021)
Stream On Netflix
LGBTQ+ inclusive Christmas movies have slowly been becoming a holiday staple and this year Netflix joined in on the fun with the release of Single All The Way. After finding out his boyfriend is married with kids, Peter convinces his best friend Nick to come home with him so he won't be alone for the holidays.
There are tons of fun tropes in Single All The Way from fake dating to best friends to lovers. The movie is also great because it offers some great and happy representation for the LGBTQ+ community.
The Night Before (2015)
Rent On Vudu
While there aren't a lot of R-rated Christmas movies, there is a handful like The Night Before. The movie centers on three lifelong friends who have spent the last 10 years celebrating Christmas Eve together doing whatever they please. When the realization hits that this will be their last Christmas Eve together now that one is becoming a father, the men decide to go all out for one final celebration.
Like most things Seth Rogan does, The Night Before is raunchy and adult but definitely hilarious. The movie also offers a touching look at how friendships change as everyone grows up.