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Let’s face it: What we look forward to the most during Christmas are the cheesy rom-coms, and Netflix has the best holiday movies by far. From a Meghan Markle-inspired story about an American who falls in love with a foreign prince to a nonsensical flick about two long lost twins who find each other by way of a holiday miracle, Netflix holiday movies never fail to warm our rom-com-loving hearts.
We aren’t saying that these films are worthy of Oscars (though and argument could be made for Vanessa Hudgens’ performance in 2018’s The Princess Switch), but there’s no denying that Netflix holiday originals are deliciously fun to watch. “People were having so much fun picking on the movie,” A Christmas Prince writer Karen Schale told Cosmopolitan in 2018. “They were tearing it apart, and I think it’s great, because what I’m trying to do is bring people joy and happiness. I took it all as a compliment and I was just so happy people were watching and talking about it.”
Of course, fans aren’t the only ones who understand the appeal of Christmas films. Holiday movie veterans like Vanessa Hudgens is also aware of the massive viewership of festive flicks. Along with last year’s The Princess Switch, the High School Musical actress also stars in 2019’s The Knight Before Christmas, where she once again won over our holiday-obsessed hearts.
“I grew up loving The Parent Trap. My sister and I would recite the lines to each other. We’d know all the scenes,” Hudgens told The Los Angeles Times in November before revealing that The Princess Switch sequel will include not two but three versions of herself. “If I can bring a family together at a special time of year and allow them to escape from their lives and live the rest of their day feeling a little lighter, then I think that’s a really beautiful gift,” she continued.
For what to watch this year, check out our list of the best Netflix holiday movies of 2019 ahead.
A Christmas Prince 3: The Royal Baby
The third film in the Christmas Prince franchise, The Royal baby follows Amber (Rose McIver) and Prince Richard (Ben Lamb) as they take the next step in their relationship: a baby, obvi. (Sound familiar? Meghan Markle and Prince Harry welcomed their first child, 6-month-old baby Archie, earlier this year.) Amber and Richard, who met in 2017’s A Christmas Prince and married in 2018’s A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding, are expecting a royal baby. The film follows the couple as they disagree on how they want to raise the child (Amber, of course, wants him or her in public school and on the subway). Of course, it wouldn’t be a Christmas Prince movie without some sort of foreign political hijinks, which there are are plenty of in this threequel.
Netflix.
The Knight Before Christmas
Reigning Netflix holiday queen Vanessa Hudgens returns for this fantasy Christmas movie, in which she stars Brooke, a woman who has lost hope on finding her “happily ever after” until a 14th century knight named Sir Cole (Josh Whitehouse) time travels and becomes her literal knight in shining armor. The film follows the couple as Brooke teaches Sir Cole about modern-day technology (yes, including a radio), as they come closer to love.
Netflix.
Let It Snow
Let It Snow is the perfect blend of a holiday movie and a teen rom-com. The film, written by Pitch Perfect writer Kay Cannon, follows a group of friends on winter break. Think your favorite teen romance dramas but with snow, the holidays, LGBTQ storylines and an all-star cast including The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina‘s Kiernan Shipka, Spider-Man: Homecoming‘s Jacob Batalon and newcomer Isabela Moner.
Netflix.
Holiday in the Wild
Days before their second honeymoon in Zambia, Kate’s (Kristin Davis) husband tells her that he’s no longer in love with her. She decides to go on the vacation to Africa alone, where she meets Derek (Rob Lowe), a handsome pilot who guides her around Zambia. While in the wild, the two come across a traumatized baby elephant, whose mother has been killed by poachers. The two find a way to rescue the animal, and thus, fall in love in the process.
Netflix:
Holiday Rush
Family comedy Holiday Rush stars Romany Malco as Rashon “Rush” Williams, a famous radio host who finds himself unemployed during the holiday season after his station shifts its priorities. After freaking out over what to do for his children the coming holiday, which will be one of the first since his wife Paula (La La Anthony) died, Rush decides to make a plan with coworker Roxy (Sonequa Martin-Green) to bring back his radio career. Surprise, surprise, there’s romance along the way.
Netflix.
Klaus
Though not a holiday rom-com, this Netflix original is still a Christmas movie worth watching. The Spanish animated film tells the origin story of Santa Clause, who, in this take, was a toymaker in the North who becomes the holiday figure we know today after he befriends a postman named Jasper.
Netflix.