Classic Christmas Movies for Millennials and Gen X to Revisit This Holiday Season
Grab some popcorn and hot chocolate and rediscover these favorite holiday movies from your childhood.
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With this classic Christmas movie list you can get reacquainted with the special movies from your youth and share in watching them with those you love — your children, significant other, or siblings — or enjoy them for a solo movie night cozied up on your couch. Many of these Christmas movies are usually available to stream on the major streaming networks during the holiday season, or on other services for a small fee.
This list features the classic Christmas movies that millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) and Gen X (born between 1965 and 1980) grew up watching year after year. Back then, we didn’t have streaming services on our TVs. We watched what was airing on TV, what our family owned on VHS tape, or what we rented from the video store. Maybe you watched something at your cousin’s or friend’s house. These are the holiday movies that became the classics of our childhoods.
Now we have every movie available at our fingertips with a few clicks of the remote. If a movie isn’t available on one of your many streaming services, you can easily rent or buy it instantly, without leaving your seat on the couch. There are many, many more holiday movie options now than there were during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, so it’s easy to forget about some favorites from Christmases past now that we have so many different movies available to watch.
I hope that you enjoy revisiting these favorite holiday films and TV specials, or even discover a new favorite that you may have missed in the past. There’s something so comforting about rewatching Christmas movies you loved as a kid — they bring back warm nostalgic feelings. Even though these Christmas movies are from when I was a kid, I still really enjoy watching them!
Whether it’s their classic style, familiar humor, or nostalgic holiday magic, these films have a way of making the season feel extra special.
Classic Christmas Movies for Millennials and Gen X
Sharing these movies with your own kids or loved ones is a fun way to connect across generations and keep holiday traditions alive.
A Christmas Story (1983)
PG • 1h 33m
It’s the 1940s and Ralphie wants a BB gun for Christmas, but his mother is afraid he’ll shoot his eye out.
Home Alone (1990)
PG • 1h 43m
An elementary school kid is accidentally left home alone when his family leaves for Christmas vacation, and has to fight off burglars.
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
PG • 2h
After getting on the wrong flight, a kid ends up lost in NYC during Christmastime and has to survive on his own.
Scrooged (1988)
PG-13 • 1h 41m
A cynical TV executive is shown his past, present, and future, in an effort to change his ways.
The Santa Clause (1994)
PG • 1h 37m
A divorced father accidentally injures Santa on Christmas Eve and reluctantly becomes the new Santa, to the thrill of his young son.
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
PG-13 • 1h 37m
A well-meaning father stumbles through the week leading up to Christmas with his extended family while chaos ensues.
Jingle All the Way (1996)
PG • 1h 29m
A loving but distracted father forgets to buy his son the sold-out Christmas present of the year, and goes through hell to find one in time for Christmas.
Ernest Saves Christmas (1988)
PG • 1h 35m
Well-meaning Ernest does everything he can to help a man claiming to be Santa, here to appoint his new replacement.
It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
PG • 2h 10m
A guardian angel helps a disheartened businessman see how worse off the town would be if he had never been born.
Elf (2003)
PG • 1h 37m
An orphaned man who was raised as a Christmas elf at the North Pole travels to NYC to meet his biological father who doesn’t know he exists.
Prancer (1989)
G • 1h 43m
A girl tries to save an injured deer who she believes to be Santa’s reindeer Prancer, despite her father’s protests.
The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
G • 1h 25m
The Muppets take us through the telling of A Christmas Carol, filled with songs and charm.
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
Approved • 1h 36m
A young girl who was taught by her mother not to believe in Santa Claus starts questioning if he’s actually real after meeting the department store Santa her mother hired.
Miracle on 34th Street (1994)
PG • 1h 54m
A remake of the classic 1947 film that some millennials prefer.
Related: The Most Wonderful Christmas Activities for Kids and Families
Classic Christmas Specials for Millennials and Gen X
These classic Christmas specials aired on TV during the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and still to this day. They have a shorter run time, all clocking in at one hour or less. It’s fun to watch these again with your children, your significant other, or yourself!
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966)
Not Rated • 26m
A grumpy Grinch steals Christmas from the entire town of Whoville, but it doesn’t stop their holiday celebrations.
Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town (1970)
TV-G • 48m
Santa repeatedly delivers toys to the village kids, despite there being a law against having toys.
A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
TV-G • 25m
Charlie Brown tries to find a deeper meaning to Christmas after feeling disheartened about how commercialized the holiday has become.
The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974)
TV-G • 51m
Santa, feeling unappreciated and unwell, considers skipping Christmas, but rediscovers the Christmas spirit with the help of some elves and a boy.
A Flinstone Christmas (1977)
Not Rated • 1h
Fred and Barney save Christmas after Santa gets injured on Christmas Eve.
Frosty the Snowman (1969)
TV-G • 29m
A snowman tries to avoid a magician who is after his magic hat, with help from a girl.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
TV-G • 47m
Rudolph runs away after being ostracized for having a red nose, but when a heavy fog hits on Christmas Eve, Santa needs him to save Christmas.
Save This List of Classic Christmas Movies for Millennials and Gen X Christmas Movies for Later
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Classic Christmas Movies for Millennials and Gen X
If you grew up in the ‘70s, ‘80s, or ‘90s, these are the movies that were always playing on TV or that you watched on VHS over and over again. They’re the Christmas classics of our generation.
It’s so fun to revisit some of these Christmas movies each year, and to share them with those we love. They can really help to make the Christmas season feel more fun and joyful.
Which of these classic Christmas movies for millennials and Gen X are you watching this year? Do you have any favorite Christmas movies from your childhood that aren’t on this list? Share your thoughts in the comments.
