. Stream it on DisneyPlus.
While we’re on the topic of the greatest films ever made, the 1984 horror comedy, Gremlins , is streaming on Prime. Fall in love with Gizmo and get that ridiculously catchy theme song stuck in your head until New Years.
You want a classic without the holiday vibe
It’s been a month of dodging Mariah and Band Aid, so as the big day finally starts winding down often the last thing you want to see is more festive cheer and a running theme of big city girl meets small town boy and finds the magic of the season.
That’s where E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial can save Christmas. The 1982 Steven Spielberg heartwarming story about a loveable alien and its protective buddies airs on TVNZ 2 at 4pm.
This year’s wind-down could also be the perfect time to watch and reminisce over the many influential and brilliant films the late Roy Reiner made.
There’s The Princess Bride on TVNZ 2 at 2:10pm, Misery on Prime for starters. Stand By Me and A Few Good Me n are also available to rent on various streaming services.
You’re down for festive, but you want familiar
Miracle on 34th Street.
Supplied
The turkey coma has hit and you want something to doze in and out of without losing track of the plot?
Enjoy the somewhat problematic romantic Love Actually subplots of Prime Ministers falling for junior employees, husbands cheating with their secretaries and guys creeping on their best friends’ wives. ‘Tis the season, after all. Stream on Netflix.
It’s also hard to go past the much-loved Miracle on 34th Street . Choose from the 1947 original or the 1994 remake, both on DisneyPlus.
Prefer all the Home Alones ? You can find them on DisneyPlus, too.
You just want to keep the young kids entertained
Play video Pause video This video is hosted on Youtube.
Jump on Neon for a couple of Christmas-themed hits for the younger kids, with The Wiggles Sound of Christmas and a Paw Patrol Christmas .
For family time with the older kids
7pm on Whakataukī Maōri is where you’ll find the 2021 fantasy film, A Boy Called Christmas . A young boy called Nikolas sets out with a loyal mouse and a reindeer called Blitzen to find Elfhelm.
Prefer laughs, familiarity and Will Ferrell? Stream the 2003 hit Elf on Netflix.
We’re finally allowed to stop avoiding Wham!
George Michael with Andrew Ridgeley performing as Wham in 1984.
YouTube
Managed to survive Whamageddon and avoid hearing ‘Last Christmas’ throughout December? Celebrate with Wham! Last Christmas Unwrapped , a documentary chronicling the meteoric rise of the song so quintessentially Christmas that people globally compete to try to avoid it. Airing on TVNZ 2 at 9:20pm.
You want Christmas, but in bite-sized form
DisneyPlus has pulled the holiday episodes of all your favourites, from Ally McBeal to Family Guy , The Bear and Bob’s Burgers . Watch as many or as few as your heart desires.
You’re the kind of family that turns everything into a competition
Friendly competition on Christmas Day? How about The Chase special?
Hear me out. His Majesty’s The King’s Christmas Message is the perfect opportunity to take friendly wagers on what colour tie or handkerchief Charles’ will don before his annual message airs. Entry is mandatory. Winner gets the last unopened box of scorched almonds. Watch it on TVNZ 1 at 6.50pm.
The Chase Christmas Special on TVNZ 1 at 5pm is also the perfect opportunity to prove you’re smarter, shoutier and faster than any of your family members.
If it’s just not Christmas without the royals
If tradition and pomp is your thing, 1 Royal Special: Together at Christmas may be up your alley. A carol service in Westminster Abbey, hosted by the Princess of Wales at 8pm on TVNZ 1.
Down for some bonkers Christmas behaviour?
‘Twas The Fight Before Christmas is streaming on Apple+ and will make you grateful that your own neighbour only has a mildly excessive amount of Christmas house lights. A doco about a Christmas-obsessed American who enters a legal battle with his neighbours to have a Christmas light show that brings in hoards of strangers and noise to the street.
Because, you know … Freedom.
Christmas but with serial killer vibes
Check out the 1974 slasher flick Black Christmas , about a serial killer stalking sorority girls on Christmas. Find it, and a handful of other festive horrors on Shudder.
It’s far too hot for a real fireplace
It’s the middle of summer and you’re spending Christmas by (and in) the pool, but you, too, can spend your Christmas watching logs burn for an hour on the telly. Netflix has a range of settings, from traditional winter fireplaces to Stranger Things , Wednesday and K-Pop Demon Hunters vibes.
It’s still Christmas somewhere…
Technically the latest installment of Stranger Things Season 5 episodes doesn’t drop on Netflix in New Zealand until 2pm on Boxing Day, but that’s Christmas somewhere, so it makes the list.
STRANGER THINGS: SEASON 5. Nell Fisher as Holly Wheeler in Stranger Things: Season 5. Cr. COURTESY OF NETFLIX © 2025
COURTESY OF NETFLIX
