15 Toddler Christmas Movies & Holiday TV Specials
Inside: Our pick of the top 15 toddler Christmas movies and TV specials…that preschoolers will enjoy too!
Ornaments on branches and carols a-singing, choosing fun gifts and Santa’s bell ringing, all of the good feels a holiday movie brings – these are a few of my favourite things!
If Christmas movies rate as highly on your family’s holiday activity list as it does on ours, be sure to check out our original list of the best kids Christmas movies. Or, for those with littles, read on to discover our pick of the fifteen best Christmas movies and TV specials for toddlers and kids in Pre-K.
15 Christmas Movies for Toddlers & Preschoolers
This list includes fabulous Christmas themed short films, alongside TV holiday specials featuring already familiar (and well loved) characters. Each item listed below is linked to an Amazon store page where you can find more information and reviews about each movie (these are affiliate links and I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases).
1. Stick Man: This beautifully animated film tells the tale of Stick Man and his epic adventure! He gets thrown into a river, escapes from a swan’s nest, and even ends up on top of a fire. Will he ever get back to his family tree in time for Christmas?
RELATED: See more of Julia Donaldson’s fabulous stories bought to life in this collection of Short Films From Children’s Books.
2. Jingle All the Way & Jingle and Bell’s Christmas Star: A husky puppy looking for a home at a Christmas tree farm bonds with a young boy visiting with his parents. As the boy rides away, unable to keep him, the pup escapes and embarks on a snowy journey to find his friend again.
See the trailer for Jingle and Bell’s Christmas Star here:
3. An Elf’s Story: Providing a fun backstory for The Elf on the Shelf phenomenon, An Elf’s Story follows a young scout elf, Chippy, who is assigned by Santa to restore Taylor McTuttle’s belief in Christmas magic.
4. Winnie the Pooh: A Very Merry Pooh Year: Winnie the Pooh and friends are celebrating Christmas Eve when they begin to reminisce about Christmases past, like the time the friends’ wish list to Santa gets lost in a blizzard and it’s up to Pooh to recreate the holiday tradition for friends as Santa!
5. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer: The beautifully made, classic stop motion animation of the story of Rudolph, who becomes a hero when he guides Santa through the storm to deliver Christmas presents to the world.
6. Yogi’s First Christmas: Happy holiday music rouses Yogi and Boo Boo from their sleep and right into the fun: skating, skiing, singing and trimming the tree. Two holiday grouches – a mysterious hermit and the obnoxious nephew of Jellystone Lodge’s owner – are determined to ruin Christmas! A fun Christmas movie for the whole family to enjoy together.
7. The Snowman: In this wordless short film, a young boy wakes to find a thick blanket of snow covering the ground as far as his eye can see. Filled with excitement the boy decides that it is the perfect weather to build a snowman. Later that night, the snowman comes to life and together they embark upon an extraordinary adventure to the North Pole.
8. Elmo’s Christmas Countdown & Christmas Eve on Sesame Street: An awesome collection of fun holiday specials featuring all your favourites – Elmo, Abbey Caddaby, Ernie, Bert, Big Bird, Oscar, Cookie Monster, The Count, Grover, Snuffy and Kermit the Frog!
9. Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas: George and The Man In The Yellow Hat are having a merry time counting down to Christmas but neither can decide what to give each other. Will they find the answers before Christmas morning?
10. Peter Rabbit’s Christmas Tale: Peter and his cousin Benjamin brave a blizzard to deliver food to the residents of Lake District, while trying to avoid sneaky Mr Fox along the way.
11. Thomas and Friends: The Christmas Engines: It’s all engines to the ready at Sodor for Christmas! Percy brings holiday fun to Reg at the scrapyard, while Duncan tries to overcome his bah humbug attitude. Thomas clears the snowy tracks so Connor can race passengers home in time for Christmas. James causes confusion and delay helping Duck get unstuck, as an old friend returns to Sodor bringing Percy the perfect gift.
12. Merry Christmas, Olivia: A fun collection of stories featuring the wonderful pig, Olivia! Includes Olivia spreading Christmas cheer at Francine’s July beach party and Olivia’s dream of being Santa when her favorite doll, Matilda, goes missing.
13. Pete the Cat: A Very Groovy Christmas: Pete the Cat and friends are off to find the Christmas Cat in the hope of receiving lots of cool gifts. Along the way they end up helping a number of family and friends and discover that giving to others is truly the best way to enjoy the holidays.
14. Charlie and Lola: How Many Minutes Until Christmas?: Charlie and Lola are excitedly taking it in turns to open the doors on the Advent calendar. After 24 days of hiccups and preparations, everything looks set for the perfect Christmas until Lola notices that she sent Lotta’s Christmas card to Santa and her Christmas wish list, with that especially special gift request for Charlie, to Lotta by mistake!
15. VeggieTales The Best Christmas Gift: Veggietale’s The Best Christmas Gift ever shares the Christian Christmas story through a play the friends create to show a young boy why the birth of Jesus brought hope to the world.
Do you have a great toddler Christmas movie or TV special to add to our list?
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