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Netflix must have a fairly big budget for twinkle lights.
In the last few years, the streamer has leaned into releasing holiday films that are glossier than those found on the Hallmark Channel and just as satisfying. It will recruit, say, a beloved and broadly appealing star like Lindsay Lohan to attract viewers, and also greenlight projects that prioritize plot hooks over glitzy celebrity casting.
Netflix’s 2025 seasonal slate offers an oh-so-contemporary combination of grit and glam that reflects the times in which we live. Desperate caretakers scheme to make a buck! Gen-X spouses consciously uncouple! A millennial, disillusioned with corporate America, follows Emily and moves to Europe.
As is tradition in most holiday films, everyone lives happily ever after. (And we wouldn’t have it any other way.)
Our television critic guides you through the blizzard of holiday programming available to watch from the comfort of your home.
Behold, a handy guide to the notable new releases being offered this season, all available to stream now, as well as some new-ish classics guaranteed to leave you feeling merry and bright.
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Best Santa con: ‘My Secret Santa’
Alexandra Breckenridge as Taylor and Ryan Eggold as Matthew in “My Secret Santa.”
(Diyah Pera / Netflix)
The premise is delightfully preposterous: Scrappy single mom Taylor (Alexandra Breckenridge), struggling to make ends meet and pay for her teen daughter’s snowboarding lessons, fakes her way into a gig as the resident Santa Claus at a high-end ski resort. While hiding behind a prosthetic mask, jolly red suit and a made-up name (“Hugh Mann”), she forms an unexpected bond with Matthew (Ryan Eggold), the resort’s handsome manager.
Dear reader, “My Secret Santa” took me by surprise.
The chemistry between Breckenridge and Eggold truly crackles onscreen, and the clever script gives the actors much to work with. Impersonating St. Nick, Taylor dispenses amusingly practical advice to children telling her what they want for Christmas. “Where are you gonna put the pony?” she asks one kid. “In your room? It’s gonna poop on the floor.” Taylor, in disguise, becomes an advisor to Matthew, who has no clue that “Hugh” is also the stylish, world-weary woman he encountered in a record store. He can’t stop thinking about her. (Little does he know.)
Suspend your disbelief! This is a love story that touches the heart and lifts the spirit.
The showrunner and a set designer on Netflix’s “Virgin River” discuss how they prepared for the pair of holiday-themed episodes that will round out the fifth season of the series.
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Best way to live vicariously through Minka Kelly: ‘Champagne Problems’
Tom Wozniczka as Henri Cassell and Minka Kelly as Sydney Price in “Champagne Problems.”
(Mika Cotellon / Netflix)
Stuck at home this Christmas, but dreaming of France? Then pour yourself a nice glass of bubbly, grab a cozy blanket and watch Kelly in this effervescent escape that I want to retitle “Minka in Paris.”
Kelly portrays Sydney Price, an ambitious, American executive angling to acquire Chateau Cassell, an esteemed Champagne house in the French countryside. The night before her big pitch, she visits a twinkle-lit bookstore and meet-cutes Henri Cassell (Tom Wozniczka), a soulful poet type who invites her to walk through the City of Light with him. One thing leads to another, and lo and behold, she discovers that his family owns the vineyard that she wants to claim for her company.
Cue the hijinks. The hurt feelings. The loving stares. The luxe interiors that seem designed by Nancy Meyers. Though Kelly is not nearly as funny as Cameron Diaz in “The Holiday,” she’s a leading lady both radiant and relatable. Her co-star, Sean Amsing, provides plenty of comic relief as Roberto, a bon vivant who says things like, “Everything I know about France, I learned from ‘Ratatouille.’”
I can imagine hearing that joke at a party. Come to think of it, that’s what the movie feels like: A fun, fizzy party — and we’re all on the guest list.
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Most entertaining crime caper: ‘Jingle Bell Heist’
Connor Swindells as Nick and Olivia Holt as Sophia in “Jingle Bell Heist.”
(Rob Baker Ashton / Netflix)
While the timing is accidental, coming just over a month after thieves brazenly robbed the Louvre in broad daylight, speeding off with eight of the French Crown Jewels and making headlines along the way, Netflix released this heist comedy-drama that leverages public fascination with fine-jewelry theft. Sophia (Olivia Holt), hoping to fund her mother’s cancer treatment, teams up with Nick (Connor Swindells) to rob the posh London department store where she works.
Holt and Swindells make a winning professional team, though the movie falls flat when it forces a romance between the pair. Still, it is thrilling to see if they can successfully pull off their scheme and subvert a system that rewards the greediest at the expense of the neediest.
(All told, the Louvre robbers, whomever they are, should return Empress Marie Louise’s tiara, among other historically significant pieces, and in pristine condition. To quote Indiana Jones: “That belongs in a museum.”)
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Best Gen-X divorce plot: ‘A Merry Little Ex-Mas’
Pierson Fodé as Chet and Alicia Silverstone as Kate in “A Merry Little Ex-Mas.”
(Marni Grossman / Netflix)
It’s pretty rare for a feel-good holiday flick to feature a couple going through a divorce, but this film breaks the mold in that regard.
Alicia Silverstone and Oliver Hudson play exes nearing 50, with two kids and decades of resentment between them. Kate (Silverstone) regrets walking away from her career as a green architect in Boston to chase Everett (Hudson) to small-town Vermont, where he’s built a thriving medical practice. However, when he introduces Kate to his glamorous rebound girlfriend Tess (Jameela Jamil), it becomes clear that Mom and Dad still love each other very much. Within the span of 90 minutes, they must decide whether to save their marriage or move on for good.
Silverstone sparkles in a role that hits close to home — like Kate, she’s an environmental activist — and when she smiles, the whole room lights up. Everett starts to see his estranged wife with fresh eyes, realizing what he’s got before it’s gone.
Part of what attracted Oliver Hudson and Jameela Jamil to Netflix’s holiday movie was the ’90s stars who were attached: Alicia Silverstone and Melissa Joan Hart.
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Most festive addition to the ‘Lohanaissance’ collection: ‘Falling for Christmas’
Chord Overstreet as Jake Russell and Lindsay Lohan as Sierra Belmont in “Falling For Christmas.”
(Scott Everett White / Netflix)
Unfortunately, Criterion has yet to make room in its famed film library for Lindsay Lohan’s oeuvre, but when/if the time comes, it should include her 2022 comeback picture, “Falling for Christmas.”
The millennial icon, as luminous as ever, plays a filthy-rich hotel heiress named Sierra Belmont, who develops amnesia after bumping her head in a skiing accident. Chord Overstreet’s Jake, a salt-of-the-earth widowed father (aren’t they all?), finds Sierra lying unconscious. He takes her to the hospital and then invites her to stay at the charming bed-and-breadfast he owns (because of course).
There, Sierra bonds with Jake’s young daughter, Avy (Olivia Perez), and breathes much-needed life into the B&B. It’s wonderful to witness Lohan merge her sparkly magic with that of the holiday season, and perhaps she’s found her special niche as a Netflix rom-com heroine who begins defrosting in November. By December, she’s hanging mistletoe and sipping mulled wine.
Lohan fans (and Criterion): Don’t sleep on “Our Little Secret” (2024), wherein her character encounters an old flame while celebrating Christmas with her new boyfriend and his relatives.
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Guiltiest pleasure: ‘Hot Frosty’
Dustin Milligan as Jack Snowman in “Hot Frosty.”
(Petr Maur / Netflix)
When “Hot Frosty” debuted last year, it became an instant cult classic. No one, not even your hater cousin, could resist the urge to stream the story of a sexy snow sculpture transforming into a real man.
Jack Snowman (a game Dustin Milligan) is one of those guileless characters who waltzes into town and changes everyone’s lives forever. In this case, Jack melts the heart of Kathy (Lacey Chabert), a melancholy cafe owner, and as an added bonus, distracts her neighbors by repairing a roof while baring his chiseled abs. (He doesn’t mind the cold, for obvious reasons.)
I appreciate the talented male actor who accepts a part in a silly, sweet film targeting women without thinking it’s beneath him. Milligan seems to understand the value of starring in a crowd-pleaser like “Hot Frosty.” More men should follow suit.
See also: Chad Michael Murray in “The Merry Gentleman” and Pierson Fodé in “A Merry Little Ex-Mas.”
The actor and former teen heartthrob is starring in his latest holiday film for Netflix, which required him to dance for hours while baring his abs for all.
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Most nostalgic: ‘Meet Me Next Christmas’
Devale Ellis as Teddy and Christina Milian as Layla in “Meet Me Next Christmas.”
(Sophie Giraud / Netflix)
Back in the ‘90s, I went to the movie theater around Christmas and caught Denzel Washington in “The Preacher’s Wife” and Mara Wilson in “Miracle on 34th Street.” Both films felt like vintage postcards from New York City. The softly falling snow. The hustle and bustle of the street. The passersby sporting timeless wool topcoats and carrying shopping bags.
If you wish to recapture that warm, fuzzy vibe, look no further than “Meet Me Next Christmas” (2024), which remains my favorite Netflix end-of-year offering. Christina Milian is absolutely divine and infuses each frame with her plucky exuberance. Her Layla is a hopeful romantic determined to attend a sold-out Pentatonix concert in Manhattan on Christmas Eve. It’s a hot ticket! But she must find a way to get inside. The prior December, she randomly met the dashing James (Kofi Siriboe) in an airport lounge. He had proposed that, if they’re both single, they try to find each other at the a cappella group’s show the following year.
As it happens, Layla’s chaotic journey is more fulfilling than the destination, and she learns that the greatest gift is sometimes the least expected.
