Planning your festive movie night? Curious about which Christmas movies are essential viewing on Disney Plus this season? We’ve compiled an extensive guide to our favourite Christmas films available on Disney Plus for December. Settle in and explore a wonderful selection of heartwarming, festive favourites and new holiday classics.

If you’re visiting New York City at Christmas, a special experience is to see The Nutcracker performed by the New York City Ballet. Co-directed by Sweden’s Lasse Hallstrom, this magical film version features stunning sets and costumes, which is based on the original Hoffmann tale. The story follows Clara who wants a one-of-a-kind key that will unlock a box that holds a priceless gift from her late mother. A golden thread presented to her at godfather Drosselmeyer’s annual holiday party, leads her to the coveted key which promptly disappears into a strange and mysterious parallel world. There is a talented ensemble cast attached.

There have been a couple of versions of this lovely film. Here Mrs. Doubtfire’s Mara Wilson stars as six-year-old Susan Walker who discovers that dreams do come true if you really believe. She has doubts about childhood’s most enduring miracle, Santa Claus. Her mother, Dorey, told her the “secret” about him a long time ago, so she doesn’t expect to receive the most important gifts on her Christmas list. But after meeting a special department store Santa who’s convinced that he’s the real thing, she is given the most precious gift of all, something to believe in.

This is a typical Disney Christmas movie with lots of colour, sparkling stuff everywhere, snowy scenery and quirky characters. It’s worth watching to see Shirley MacLaine as Elf Polly and Kingsley Ben-Adair who some will know as Vera’s Dr. Marcus Summer. Plus, there’s a message for girls in that they can do anything they want in life and for boys to find their true path instead of what is designated for them. Noelle has always had to support and encourage her brother Nick, who was ordained to take over as Santa. When Nick disappears right before Christmas, Noelle goes on a funny and heartfelt journey to find him and, ultimately, what Christmas is all about. It’s entertaining and amusing, which is what one needs at Christmas.

There are some for which this film is required viewing every year and many parents have sat through it countless times. And it’s always fun. It is Christmas time and the McCallister family is preparing for a vacation in France. But the youngest in the family, Kevin, got into a scuffle with his older brother and was sent to his room. The next morning, while the family was in a rush to make it to the airport on time, they completely forgot about Kevin, who now has the house all to himself. Kevin discovers two burglars about to rob his house on Christmas Eve. He acts quickly by wiring his own house with makeshift booby traps to stop the burglars and to bring them to justice. It’s a merry romp, with the added bonus of John Candy as a polka band leader, and it’s Kieran Culkin’s very first film appearance. I see he finally has his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. You can have a Home Alone Fest on Disney this Christmas with three movies available.

There must be hundreds of versions of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol in many forms, but you’ve got to love this Muppets take on the tale. It’s a classic retelling of Dickens story of Ebenezer Scrooge, miser extraordinaire. He is held accountable for his dastardly ways during night-time visitations by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and future. It’s one of the best Muppet movies.

There’s always those who protest that Die Hard is a Christmas movie. It does take place during Christmas and has become a popular film for families everywhere. It deserves its place on a Christmas Movie List. It is classic Bruce Willis, coming up to 35 years since its release, and it brought the wonderful Alan Rickman to everyone’s attention. Willis is NYPD cop John McClane who goes on a Christmas vacation to visit his wife Holly in LA where she works for the Nakatomi Corporation. While they are at the Nakatomi headquarters for a Christmas party, a group of robbers led by Hans Gruber take control of the building and hold everyone hostage, with the exception of John, while they plan to perform a lucrative heist. Unable to escape and with no immediate police response, John is forced to take matters into his own hands. It is considered one of the greatest action movies ever. Still a joy to watch this one.

I came across this lovely movie, which I had somehow never seen before. The wonderful Harry Dean Stanton stars as a Christmas angel named Gideon who is sent by Santa Claus to help Ginny Grainger, who is a cynic and hates Christmas. She and her family have fallen on hard times, making it even harder to believe in anything that can’t be seen. With help from her daughter Abbie and a trip to see Santa Claus himself, can Gideon find a way to make her believe again? Add this one to your Christmas viewing list.

Tim Burton cowrote this delightful story where Jack Skellington, the pumpkin king of Halloween Town, is bored with doing the same thing every year for Halloween. One day he stumbles into Christmas Town and is so taken with the idea of Christmas that he tries to get the resident bats, ghouls, and goblins of Halloween Town to help him put on Christmas instead of Halloween, but they can’t get it quite right. Tim Burton has said he was inspired after seeing a Halloween merchandise display in a store being taken down and replaced by a Christmas display. There are some great tunes from the talented Danny Elfman.

Bambi is one of those classic Disney films that can be viewed at any time. It was often chosen at Christmas in our house. All the animals of the forest are excited by the forest’s latest birth, a buck fawn his mother has named Bambi. The animals are more excited than usual as Bambi’s lineage means he will inherit the title of prince of the forest. Bambi navigates through life with the help of his similarly aged friends, Thumper, a rabbit who often forgets to heed all the lessons his father has taught him about how to live as a rabbit properly, and Flower, a skunk who likes his name. You’ll need tissues handy for this one.

Another Disney classic often viewed at Christmas, which was the first of its kind, is this cinematic musical experience that combines Western classical music with stunning visual animation from Walt Disney and his team of animators. Segments include “Ave Maria,” “The Nutcracker Suite,” “Night on Bald Mountain”, “Rite of Spring” and “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” with an appearance by Mickey Mouse. It has been said that the animators secretly modelled elements of the Sorcerer on their boss, Walt Disney