Despite their shared topic, many directors have succeeded in making unique Christmas movies. Some find originality in their premises, such as Christmas Holiday, a film noir, or 3 Godfathers, a Western retelling of the nativity story. Others take the premise of the holiday to imagine new scenes for pop culture figures such as The Bradys from The Brady Bunch and Mickey Mouse and his friends. The following list is a wonderland of ten of the most unique Christmas films ever created.

Christmas Watchlist

Christmas Holiday

Based On: Christmas Holiday by W. Somerset Maugham

This film noir transports us to Christmas Eve in New Orleans. U.S. Army officer Charlie Mason has been unceremoniously dumped by his fiancé Mona, who has married another man. He plans on traveling to San Francisco to confront his ex and her husband, but the bad weather causes his flight to have a layover in New Orleans. In New Orleans, he meets a woman named Jackie Lamont who also feels the Christmas blues. She tells her story in flashbacks, showing her naivety in falling in love with her husband Robert (played by Gene Kelly), who is currently in jail for murdering a bookie. Watch Christmas Holiday, and your present will be a fantastic dramatic performance by the entertainer Gene Kelly.

Carol for Another Christmas

Based On: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (available to stream on HBO Max)

The holiday season is known for bringing people together. Carol For Another Christmas is a 1964 television movie that brought together famous writers Charles Dickens and Rod Serling. Serling adapted Dicken's A Christmas Carol for his movie about the gifts of peace and charity. Serling’s film features a rich man named Daniel Grudge as his Americanized version of Ebenezer Scrooge. Daniel’s nephew Fred pays a visit to express his anger at his uncle’s decision to pull funding for a cultural exchange program. Daniel Grudge has held a grudge against the United States since his son Marley was killed in combat during World War II. At the same time, he believes the U.S. should resort to nuclear weapons to end conflicts with other countries. Will Daniel Grudge keep his isolationist stance towards his family and other countries? Watch Carol For Another Christmas to find out!

Santa, Baby!

You have heard of classic Rankin-Bass-animated Christmas specials such as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman. But have you heard of Santa, Baby!? It was Rankin-Bass’ last animated Christmas special. It is also a Christmas special about an African American family, featuring a little girl named Dakota who wants her father Noel to regain his songwriting magic. One day, she meets a talking songbird named Melody, who is the partridge from the pear tree. Melody grants Dakota a wish, and Dakota wishes for her father to have a hit song. But Noel won’t be able to pluck a hit song out of thin air. Noel’s journey to a hit song starts with Melody making him be a Santa for The Salvation Army. Will Noel be able to create a hit song that listeners will flock to? Watch Santa, Baby! to find out!

Mickey’s Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse

This is practically a sixty-five-minute Christmas clip show. But that doesn’t mean that it’s bad. This animated film is based on the Disney cartoon House of Mouse, and it involves Mickey Mouse and his friends working at a cartoon dinner theater that shows Disney cartoons. The dinner theater’s guests are from various Disney cartoons. This film takes place on Christmas Eve at The House of Mouse, which is snowed in. This upsets Donald Duck, who isn’t feeling the magic of Christmas. Micky takes it upon himself to show Donald the magic of Christmas by showing cartoons and other actions, with a memorable moment being in which Eeyore unenthusiastically tells of what he’s thankful for.

A Very Brady Christmas

Christmas is the perfect time of year for a family reunion. A Very Brady Christmas is not just a regular family reunion: it is a reunion of The Brady Bunch kids, now adults visiting their parents for Christmas. These Brady kids arrive with grown-up problems of their own, such as Jan’s separation from her husband and Bobby’s decision to drop out of grad school to become a racecar driver. Don’t worry: the Brady kids aren’t the only ones with problems, and Carol and Mike Brady and Alice also struggle with their own issues. Will The Brady Bunch keep their positive outlook on life in the dark year of 1988? Check out A Very Brady Christmas to see if The Brady Bunch will still have a sunshine day.

The Ultimate Christmas Present (streaming on Disney+)

This Disney Channel Original Movie premiered on December 1, 2000. It takes viewers into the lives of two California teenage girls, Allie and Samantha, who find Santa Claus’s weather machine in the woods. Allie uses the machine to create a white Christmas, but she worries that her traveling businessman father might not make it home for Christmas—due to a delayed return flight from San Francisco caused by the weather machine. Will Allie’s father make it home for Christmas? Will Allie’s family have a bright Christmas? Stream The Ultimate Christmas Present to see what happens!

3 Godfathers

Based On: The Three Godfathers by Peter B. Kyne

John Ford’s 1948 Western 3 Godfathers retells the nativity story. But it doesn’t start like your typical Christmas film. Three men rob a bank and are chased by U.S. marshalls. The three men successfully escape to the desert, where they come across a pregnant woman in a wagon. After giving birth, the woman exacts a promise from the three men. They promise to be the woman’s baby’s godfathers.

The history behind 3 Godfathers is also why it’s a treasured piece of cinematic history. John Ford had previously adapted Peter B. Kyne’s book The Three Godfathers for his 1919 film Marked Men. But the 1919 version of the film was lost. John Ford’s 1948 adaptation, however, has a blood connection to his version from 1919. The actor Harry Carey starred in the 1919 film, while his son Harry Carey Jr. played one of the three outlaws in the 1948 version. Watch 3 Godfathers to see a classic Christmas movie about restorative justice.

Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July

You have most likely heard of the Marvel cinematic universe, but you probably haven’t heard of the Rankin-Bass cinematic universe. Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July is an animated movie featuring Rankin-Bass’s two most popular characters, Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty The Snowman. This Rankin-Bass plot concerns an evil sorcerer named Winterbolt who wants to dethrone Santa Claus. His scheming includes plans like ridding Rudolph of his magical nose and stealing Frosty’s hat to create an army of snowmen. Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July also includes a mean reindeer named Scratcher who blames Rudolph as the reason why he wasn’t chosen to be one of Santa’s reindeer. Watch this Independence Day special to see how much Americans truly love Christmas.

Grandma Got Run Over by A Reindeer

Based On: “Grandma Got Run Over by A Reindeer” by Elmo & Patsy

You are now entering the territory of a Christmas television special based on a song. Grandma Got Run Over by A Reindeer expands on the song by Elmo and Patsy. The adaptation depicts a boy named Jake Spankenheimer and his grandma who operates a general store in Cityville. Austin Bucks (a Jeff-Bezos-type figure), who owns practically everything in Cityville, wants to buy Jake’s grandma’s store. He plans to use the land to build a sleighmobile that delivers Christmas gifts. Jake convinces his grandma not to sell her business, as he believes in both Santa Claus and his grandmother’s small business. But Jake’s grandma’s troubles are not yet over. His grandma is run over by Santa’s reindeer on Christmas Eve, and she disappears. Is Santa Claus a reckless driver? Will Jake’s grandma’s business survive in her absence? Your questions will be answered after watching Grandma Got Run Over by A Reindeer to find out!

The Lemon Drop Kid

Based On: “The Lemon Drop Kid” by Damon Runyon

Bob Hope stars as “The Lemon Drop Kid” in this black-and-white Christmas comedy from 1951. Kid likes spending his time at racetracks, convincing other people to bet on horses who are “surefire winners.” His scheme is dead in its tracks when he convinces a rich woman to place a bet on a horse, and the horse loses. But the loss is the least of kid’s troubles. The rich woman placed a bet on behalf of a gangster named Moose Moran, who gives Kid until Christmas Eve to pay Moose $10,000. If he doesn’t, he will be murdered. The Lemon Drop Kid also features a classic piece of cinematic history: the song “Silver Bells” was created for this film, but it was originally recorded by Bing Crosby. Watch The Lemon Drop Kid to see Bob Hope and Marilyn Maxwell’s version of “Silver Bells.”