Where to Watch Christmas Movies in Ann Arbor

There are a number of places to see Christmas Movies in Ann Arbor throughout the holiday season. What is your favorite Holiday Movie? I love Miracle on 34th Street. My husband’s favorite is National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation – he puts it on every year while his is wrapping presents. When she was younger, my daughter really enjoyed Home Alone. Maybe your favorite is Elf or A Christmas Story.

New Release Christmas Movies in Theaters

There are two holiday themed new release movies in 2024 – perhaps they’ll become classics we watch year after year.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever opened on Friday, November 8. The movie is rated PG.

New this holiday season is the PG-13 rated holiday adventure Red One that opens November 15.

See Classic Christmas Movies in Ann Arbor on the Big Screen

While new movies are great, I’m all about seeing our traditional favorites. Both Michigan Theater & Emagine have screenings of classic holiday movies. These include both old and newer classics (like Elf).

Michigan Theater

Michigan Theater offers several Christmas movies throughout the season.. They will have the Sing Along White Christmas on Friday of Thanksgiving Weekend and It’s a Wonderful Life December 21&23. The Free Holiday Classics series includes Elf, Miracle on 34th Street, Dr Seuss’ The Grinch, and A Christmas Story.. Love Actually also plays a couple of times.

Emagine & Cinemark

Emagine participates in the Flashback Cinema program which shows a classic movie on Sunday and Wednesday each week. They have holiday themed movies in November and December. (As of November 2, they only list their November films).

Cinemark is offering the Holiday Movie Clubhouse with discounted tickets to holiday movies from November 30-December 18.

This year White Christmas is celebrating it’s 70th anniversary. Emagine will have showings on December 15 & 16.

Cinemark has It’s a Wonderful Life the weekend before Christmas.

All 2024 Christmas Movies Near Ann Arbor

Through November 24

Thanksgiving Weekend (November 25-December 1)

December 2-8

December 9-15

December 16-30

Watch at Home

Our preferred way to watch Christmas movies and specials has always been at home.

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Streaming Holiday Movies

Disney+ is one of the leaders for Holiday Movies this year. They have the Happy Holidays Collection which gathers all of their holiday movies. They have classics like Miracle on 34th Street, the Home Alone series and the Santa Clause series. Their animated movies include The Nightmare Before Christmas, A Christmas Carol, and more. We are looking forward to The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special on November 25.

Last year Netflix had White Christmas, but it moves to Amazon Prime this year. Netflix has lots of original Christmas programming some of which is aimed towards families. And for the romance lovers, they added several Hallmark movies this year as well as their own similar movies.

AppleTV+ has the Charlie Brown Christmas and Spirited.

Amazon Prime includes It’s a Wonderful Life, White Christmas, Scrooged, Christmas with the Kranks, and more.

Max has The Polar Express and Elf.

Your DVD Collection

We are a bit old school – we own several of our favorite Christmas movies on DVD or BluRay. And now that we have a teen, we are branching out to more mature films.

No season is complete without at least one watching of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. It was traditionally the movie my husband and I watched while we wrapped our daughter’s presents. But now she loves it, so it was upgraded to a general wrapping movie.

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133,794 Reviews

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (Special Edition) [DVD]

• Make merry as Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo, Randy Quaid and an ensemble of comedy favorites strive to gift-wrap the “perfect Christmas” for the Griswold family
• The most successful of the three vacations
• Year: 1989 Director: Jeremiah S

$9.99

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A few years ago we introduced our teen to the debate of whether Die Hard is a Christmas Movie. I say yes – she and dad are more on the fence. My husband insists if Die Hard is a Christmas Movie, so is Lethal Weapon, so we’ve watched that as well.

TV Airings

Since I am old enough to remember not just a time before DVRs, but before VCRs, the best way to watch a Christmas classic was on TV. Now with a DVR, it is even easier to watch your Christmas favorite from a TV broadcast. Get your DVR ready to record Christmas movies. Also be sure to check for On Demand Availability.

This year, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer moves from CBS to NBC. It has aired on CBS for five decades!

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4,441 Reviews

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer [Blu-ray]

• Have a holly jolly Christmas with the most famous reindeer of all in the original holiday special, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer! After being told he could not play in any Reindeer Games due to his glowing nose, Rudolph sets out on a fantastic journey where he meets Hermey the elf, prospector Yukon Cornelius and a host of Misfit Toys, all while trying to hide from the Abominable Snow Monster
• It’s a race against time as his family and Clarice try to find him during a big snowstorm that threatens to cancel Christmas
• Based on the timeless story and song, the Rankin/Bass production of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer features groundbreaking “Animagic” stop-motion animation, narration by Burl Ives and unforgettable songs including “A Holly Jolly Christmas,” “Silver and Gold” and “We’re a Couple of Misfits”
• It’s pure holiday magic for the entire family!Bonus Content:* The Animagic World of Rankin/Bass * Restoring the Puppets of Rudolph * Reimagining Rudolph in 4D * Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Attraction Film * T
• E

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On Christmas Eve/Christmas Day, A Christmas Story airs for 24 hours on both TBS (starting at 8p) and TNT (starting at 9p)

76,075 Reviews

A Christmas Story [Blu-ray]

• PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONChristmas Story, A (BD)A Christmas Story, a nostalgic view of Christmastime in Indiana during the 1940s, stars Peter Billingsley as Ralphie, a nine-year-old who has only one thing on his Christmas list: a Red Ryder Carbine-Action 200-Shot Air Rifle
• With his parents unwilling to buy him the gun because he might “shoot his eye out,” Ralphie decides to mount a full-scale, hint-dropping, Santa-begging campaign
• He also endures a slew of calamities from snowsuit paralysis to the dreaded tongue-on-a-frozen-flagpole gambit

$9.99

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Freeform’s 25 Days of Christmas is always a great source for Christmas movies. AMC, TBS, and TNT are other good sources for Christmas movies.

Christmas Guide

Arbor Annie’s Guide to an Amazing Ann Arbor Christmas

Our Guide to Christmas Events in Ann Arbor has all the fun local activities to celebrate the holidays. Find the best activities for Ann Arbor holiday celebrations to keep you in the holiday spirit. Note: We update the Christmas Ann Arbor Guide throughout the season as we find new events. Check back through the season to find […]

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