17 Bad Christmas Movies People Absolutely Love, And 14 Popular Christmas Movies People Actually Hate

    "The Nightmare Before Christmas is one of the worst movies I've ever seen."

    Liz Richardson
    by Liz Richardson

    BuzzFeed Staff

    A while back, we wrote a post where the BuzzFeed Community shared the popular Christmas movies they actually hate. On another post, they shared the "worst" Christmas movies they truly love.

    New Line Cinema

    Here are some of the most surprising responses:

    1. Hated: The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

    Jack Skellington in "The Nightmare Before Christmas"
    Buena Vista Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "The Nightmare Before Christmas is one of the worst movies I've ever seen."

    —hermione weasley

    "It's so boring, I almost fell asleep."

    —cheese

    2. Loved: The Princess Switch (2018)

    Vanessa Hudgens plays two women who look identical in "The Princess Switch"
    Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "Honest to god, The Princess Switch is so predictable. There’s nothing about it that I couldn’t figure out, but that didn’t stop me from watching it for a week straight. It’s so cute!"

    —mary12155

    3. Hated: Home Alone (1990)

    Young Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McCallister in "Home Alone"
    20th Century Fox / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "Home Alone is terrible. Maybe it’s because I watched it the first time as an adult? Everyone is mean, the police do not care, and why would the robbers keep trying? Also, let’s talk about the psyche of a child who SETS A MAN ON FIRE??? And living in this area, I can tell you this would never happen. Absolutely not."

    —ameliavoldf

    4. Loved: The Polar Express (2004)

    Two characters from "The Polar Express" open a gift box that has a bell
    Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "Everyone says it’s really creepy and all with the animation, but I saw it as a 10-year-old and absolutely loved it! Have watched it every year since!"

    —peterpankid

    5. Hated: Love Actually (2003)

    Keira Knightley in the iconic "Love Actually" note card scene
    Universal / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "Love Actually is a terrible movie. It's only famous because of all of the celebs in it."

    —christine61390

    "Love Actually is overrated. It wasn't all that, and some of the characters did deserve better. I don't think there were too many character plots, but I do think they weren't distributed properly. Also, it should have had more plot interactions."

    —ILitterallyLoveThis

    6. Loved: Bad Santa (2003)

    A miserable-looking Santa with a kid on his lap
    Dimension Films / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "It’s so terribly good."

    —kaylar401220a44

    7. Hated: How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)

    The Grinch talks to young Cindy Lou
    Universal / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "The live-action Grinch with Jim Carrey is disturbing. Between the Whos' creepy faces and the Grinch's backstory, it just makes me uncomfortable."

    —S_uffel

    8. Loved: Every Hallmark Christmas Movie

    A couple have a deep conversation outside during a Hallmark Christmas movie
    The Hallmark Channel

    "Every single Hallmark Christmas movie. They're all so predictable, but they end happily, and I love them."

    —chelseah4a39101ab

    9. Hated: Elf (2003)

    Will Ferrell in "Elf" screams during a doctor's visit
    New Line Cinema / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "I saw Elf in theaters when it came out. (I was a teen, and my friends and I just wanted to go see a movie. We thought it looked okay, so we went.) I could barely sit through it. My skin crawled with secondhand embarrassment basically the whole time. In fact, I feel that way about Will Ferrell movies in general."

    —OMGitsaClaire

    10. Loved: Christmas With the Kranks (2004)

    Jamie Lee Curtis screams while being dragged away in "Christmas With the Kranks"
    Columbia Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "Christmas With the Kranks is really corny and overall kind of embarrassing, but I still find myself wanting to watch it every year."

    —heckbird

    11. Also Loved: A Christmas Horror Story (2015)

    George Buza plays an edgier-looking Santa in the movie
    Chistos Kalohoridis / RLJ Entertainment / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "It's so bad that it's SO good. Krampus, zombie elves, etc. You are welcome."

    —castleillurian

    12. Hated: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)

    Three reindeer, including Rudolph, look happy outside
    NBC

    "Stop-motion specials/movies are creepy AF! The movements, especially in older specials like Rudolph, are freaky because they're choppy, since they have to do every motion separately. Also, the voiceovers don't always match the motion being made."

    —jackiem440fbc631

    13. Loved: The Christmas Prince (2017)

    Prince Richard and Amber have a conversation at a ball
    Netflix

    "The Christmas Prince!!! It’s the cheesiest movie ever, but it’s so good! I don’t know what makes it so intriguing, but this idea of showing up and falling in love with royalty is so interesting."

    —may32teal

    14. And Loved: A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding

    Prince Richard and Amber look surprised in a room decorated for Christmas
    Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "I thought the first one was bad, but this was on another level. At one point, the main character uses a bow and arrow to threaten someone who is then imprisoned in the palace dungeons — and it's treated like just a regular day in Aldovia. It's a terrible/amazing movie."

    —capricopia33

    15. Also Loved: A Princess for Christmas (2011)

    Characters from "A Princess for Christmas" are dressed up, as if for a ball
    Hallmark Entertainment / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "It was the original Christmas Prince and deserves so much more appreciation than it gets. Katie McGrath is positively precious in it, and you could watch it just for her alone, but the other storylines involved are just as sweet."

    —hermanfreakinpotter

    16. Hated: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)

    Clark Griswold wears a Santa suit and stands near a Christmas tree
    Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation is one of only two movies I've ever walked out on in a theater. I'm glad I'm not quite the only person in the world who hated it!"

    —nicoleg4fbf770b4

    17. Loved: The Mistle-Tones (2012)

    Tori Spelling dances with a group of women in "The Mistle-Tones"
    ABC Family / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "The Mistle-Tones is so cheesy, but I can’t help it."

    —Angela

    18. Hated: The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)

    Kermit, Miss Piggy, and Tiny Tim as "Christmas Carol" characters
    Walt Disney Co. / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "The Muppet Christmas Carol is a good movie, but once you watch it a million times in music class, you start to hate it."

    —quizzygoat37

    19. Loved: A Very Brady Christmas (1988)

    A bunch of the Brady members stand together, looking surprised
    Paramount / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "This is the corniest movie, but I've watched it every year since I first saw it on TV."

    —lqrtz890

    20. Hated: A Christmas Story (1983)

    The iconic scene where Flick gets his tongue stuck on a frozen pole outside
    MGM / UA Entertainment Co. / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "A Christmas Story is so boring. It doesn’t offer any of the heartwarming, magical feel that’s typical of Christmas movies, and I just really can’t stand any of the characters."

    —Cor15

    "A Christmas Story is not a good movie; it’s just annoying and dated. I hate it so very much and all of its dumb memorabilia."

    —AJPanda

    21. Loved: Deck the Halls (2006)

    Danny DeVito rides a sleigh in "Deck the Halls"
    20th Century Fox / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "Amazingly bad, but so good."

    —abbieedw

    22. Hated: The Holiday (2006)

    Jude Law and Cameron Diaz play lovers in "The Holiday"
    Columbia Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "The Holiday is absolute trash, and if it weren’t for Winslet, Diaz, Law, Black, etc., it wouldn’t get all the hype. It’s like someone wrote a Lifetime Christmas movie, took out all the 'so cheesy, it’s funny' moments, and tried to peddle it as a classic. Saccharine and hollow — I hate it."

    —what_if_we_see_sailfish

    23. Loved: A Christmas Wedding Date (2012)

    A couple looks at each other lovingly in "A Christmas Wedding Date"
    Lifetime Television / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "It’s about a woman who returns to her hometown for a friend’s wedding on Christmas Eve, and she ends up having to relive the same day over and over. Cheesy and not great acting, but it’s one of my favorites!"

    —d9224

    24. Hated: It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

    "It's a Wonderful Life" characters pose together for a sweet family moment
    RKO Radio Pictures

    "I don’t get It’s a Wonderful Life and the hype of it being one of the greatest movies ever. I just don’t think it’s that great a film. This opinion has gotten me into a lot of disagreements over the years."

    —BakerStGirl

    25. Loved: Snowglobe (2007)

    Angela looks longingly at a snow globe while laying in bed
    ABC Family

    "I watch it multiple times during the Christmas season. It’s so cliché, but so entertaining."

    —marissar447416026

    26. Hated: Home Alone 3, 4, and 5

    Young Alex, the new kid in "Home Alone 3"
    20th Century Fox

    "They were all terrible, low-budget messes trying to cash in on the glory of the first two movies. I actually liked the third a little bit because it came out when I was young, so I have memories of enjoying it as a kid. But rewatching it as an adult, I'm just not as big a fan as I am of the first two. Still, 3 isn't a ~total~ mess. But 4 and 5 were just unnecessary."

    —NikkiLad23

    27. Loved: A Mom for Christmas (1990)

    A family poses together for the holidays in "A Mom for Christmas"
    NBC / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "A Mom for Christmas with Olivia Newton-John is an underrated classic of absolute cheesy awfulness. It's basically 'Mannequin Does Christmas.'"

    —a4b8fb8ae8

    28. Hated: Die Hard (1988)

    Bruce Willis holds a shotgun in "Die Hard"
    20th Century Fox / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "Die Hard is overrated and NOT a Christmas movie."

    —hannahlweston

    29. Loved: All I Want for Christmas (1991)

    Ethan Embry and Thora Birch have a conversation in "All I Want for Christmas"
    Paramount / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "All I Want for Christmas with Ethan Embry and Thora Birch. Totally predictable, but so good. Somehow Lauren Bacall and Kevin Nealon are also in it? I have to watch this movie every year."

    —cbirney79

    30. Hated: Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

    A young girl hugs Santa in "Miracle on 34th Street"
    20th Century Fox Film Corp. / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "I don't care how much of a classic it is — Miracle on 34th Street was beyond dull, and there was no need for a '90s remake."

    —childrenofthecornbread

    31. And Finally, Loved: 12 Dates of Christmas (2011)

    A couple about to kiss in "12 Dates of Christmas"
    ABC

    "It’s so cute, and it makes me so happy. I have to watch it at least a couple of times every year!"

    —Sarahcat18

    Any Christmas movies you'd add to either list? Let us know in the comments below!

    Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.