Netflix continues its countdown to Christmas with the release of yet another holiday special: “That Christmas.”

Now that December is here, many families are clearly getting into the spirit of the season. That's because this new film has surged to the No. 2 spot on Netflix just days after its release on December 4. The problem. It's hard to see this film becoming a Christmas classic.

“That Christmas” is an animated Christmas comedy based on a story written by Richard Curtis (yes, the Richard Curtis of “Love Actually” and “About Time”).

Simply put, “That Christmas” is an okay piece of festive entertainment. A collection of small-town Christmas stories about family and friendship, it hits all the expected emotional beats.

With a stellar voice cast including Brian Cox, Fiona Shaw, and Jodie Whittaker, the film is good enough for family viewing, but I found it rather dull. The film has been mixed among critics, with a current Rotten Tomatoes critics score of 57%, which is not very good.

With this in mind, if you were planning to stream “That Christmas” but now need some fresh festive inspiration, I've compiled a small list of great Christmas movies you can stream on Netflix and listed them below.

Before directing “Ghostbusters”: director Gil Kenan kicked off the holiday season with his 2021 live-action Christmas adventure “A Boy Called Christmas” before “Ghostbusters/Frozen Empire.”

The film follows Nicholas (Henry Roehl), an ordinary boy, on a journey to find his father Joel (Michiel Uysmann), who has set out to find the elf village of Elfhelm. It is not hard to imagine that this Nicholas will eventually become Saint Nick.

Accompanied by a talking mouse and later a reindeer, 13-year-old Nicholas sets out on a journey of exploration, but soon finds himself on a much grander adventure. structured as a bedtime story told by three children, this is a cozy, comforting film, and it's a good time to It stands out above many other holiday films available on Netflix.

Watch “A Boy Called Christmas” on Netflix now

“Claus” came to Netflix in 2019, but in my humble opinion, this Oscar-nominated animated feature remains the streamer's best holiday release ever one of the best ever.

It may be another Santa origin story, but it's a very different one than the one I originally nominated. Klaus revolves around an unlikely partnership between Jesper (voiced by Jason Schwartzman), a selfish mailman in 19th century Norway, and Klaus (JK Simmons), a reclusive woodsman and toymaker. together, they move from a feud-ridden town to Smellensburg and establish the age-old tradition of sending letters to Santa Claus in exchange for toys.

“Beautifully animated and full of charm, ‘Klaus’ is one of my favorite Christmas movies to watch, and is definitely worth a watch if you haven't experienced it.

Watch “Klaus” on Netflix Now

“The Christmas Chronicles” is a predictable Christmas movie, certainly not award-worthy (few Christmas movies are), but it has one major selling point: Kurt Russell's impassioned performance as Santa Claus.

In Clay Katis' festive film, we meet Kate and Teddy Pierce, two kids who plan to catch Santa Claus busy delivering presents on Christmas Eve.

When their plan fails, the kids cause Santa's sleigh to crash and are forced to work with the big man in red and his kind elves to save Christmas before it is too late. Yes, there are low points in “Chronicle,” but this is a movie worth watching for the Santa action.

Watch “The Christmas Chronicles” on Netflix Now

If you've already seen the three Christmas movies on this list or aren't sure if they're for you, don't worry. For more inspiration, check out our guide to the five classic Christmas movies to watch this year and our guide to the five best Christmas movies that are totally underrated.