Whether you celebrate the holiday season or dread its arrival, one thing that’s almost guaranteed is the presence of children who need to be entertained. And, if you live somewhere cold, your options might feel a little limited.
Thousands of movies are available to stream at no cost to consumers. Each movie includes a few ads to watch, but that’s it. Tubi is one of the best FAST services on the market. Download Tubi now and enjoy one of these three Christmas movies.
Arthur Christmas (2011)
On Christmas, Santa Claus gets all the glory. However, Arthur Christmas pulls back the curtains and depicts what really goes on at the North Pole. In the animated Christmas movie, Santa, real name Malcolm Claus (Jim Broadbent), is the leader of a high-tech operation that utilizes hundreds of elves to help deliver presents. There is a hiccup this year when one present fails to make its way to one child’s home.
The present is a bike that belongs to Gwen Hines (Ramona Marquez), who lives in Trelew, Cornwall, England. When a devastated Santa needs help delivering the present, his youngest son, the clumsy Arthur (Speak No Evil’s James McAvoy), steps up and embarks on a mission to England. Arthur Christmas goes out to all the underdogs, who prove that even the unlikeliest of people can be heroes, especially at the holidays.
Stream Arthur Christmas for free on Tubi.
Elf (2003)
This is maybe the most obvious entry on this list, but it really couldn’t be avoided. Elf became a Christmas classic basically the second it hit theaters, and with good reason. Will Ferrell, playing a human who was raised as an elf and goes to New York in search of his biological family, has never been funnier than he is here, as he is utterly committed to every single absurd thing the script asks of him.
James Caan is just as good as his curmudgeonly father, a man who slowly begins to remember what it feels like to actually be happy. Elf is funny, sweet, and touching, all in the exact right proportions. It’s no surprise it’s become a new holiday classic and spawned a hit musical now running on Broadway.
You can watch Elf on Hulu.
Last Holiday (2006)
If you knew you only had a finite amount of time left on earth, how would you spend it? In the obscure Christmas movie Last Holiday, Georgia Byrd (Queen Latifah) takes the phrase “live like we’re dying” to another level. Georgia is a shy and quiet salesperson who discovers she has a rare terminal disease. Unable to pay for the surgery, Georgia decides to enjoy the last few remaining weeks she has left.
Georgia quits her job, cashes in her life savings, and heads to Europe to live out the final weeks of her life in style. Georgia checks into a gorgeous hotel suite and spends money on countless pieces of clothing and jewelry.
Georgia’s positive attitude attracts the attention of everyone around her, but all she cares about is winning over the heart of one person, her longtime crush Sean Matthews (LL Cool J).
Stream Last Holiday for free on Tubi.
Klaus (2019)
A brilliant and utterly surprising animated movie from Netflix, Klaus tells the story of a postman who is sent to the North Pole, only to meet a toymaker there who seems to closely resemble Santa Claus.
Klaus works so well in part because it is stripped of much of the ceremony that typically surrounds Santa. Instead, the movie tells a rather humble origin story for Santa Claus, imagining him as a man who gets taken advantage of for his gifts, even as he works as hard as he can to make people happy. And it doesn’t hurt that Klaus is beautifully animated, which helped result in a Best Animated Feature Oscar nomination.
You can watch Klaus on Netflix.
The Santa Clause (1994)
Tim Allen’s movie career was not as big as it could have been, but The Santa Clause is an undeniable highlight that still holds up today. Telling the story of a divorced dad who inadvertently kills Santa and must then assume the job himself, the film is equal parts silly and sweet as he slowly comes to accept the role he’s been asked to play.
Allen has rarely been better, and while the sequels to this movie are a bit too wacky, this first installment is a rock-solid holiday movie that works whether your 4 or 40.
You can watch The Santa Clause on Disney+.
