Festive Films for Family Frights

With Little Monster and Lil’ Boo both lovers of merry monsters, I wanted to pull together a list of festive films for family frights. I have made a Halloween family tv show watchlist, but I was in need of a spooky one for Christmas. As far as I’ve seen, the lists for winter and holiday horror movies is endless. However, a list of haunted holiday flicks that families can watch with their little ones seems to be lacking. In light of this, I decided to compile one myself.

Please keep in mind that while these films may not be inherently scary or frightful, this list is meant to serve as a kind of gateway list. I love the idea of a list of kid-friendly scary movies, but make it Christmas.

13 Frightfully Festive Films for Families

This list goes from what I consider least scary to most, with the last on the list recommended for older children versus much younger ones. My littles (7 and 5 at the time of writing this) grew up with all of these films. However, I strongly encourage you to read the All Hallow’s Geek article about introducing your children to Horror. I know my kids quite well when it comes to movies and they are much more open to some content that other children their ages find intense or scary.

13) The Gruffalo’s Child (2011 | G | Animated)

With a 25 minute runtime, this short is inspired by the Julia Donaldson book by the same name. This is a sequel to “The Gruffalo” which is just as endearing.

12) Candy Cane Lane (2023 | PG | Live Action)

Although this Amazon Prime original does not scream scary, it involves a very Rumpelstiltskin-esque deal with an “evil” elf. It’s a very fun film with a subtle darker Christmas undertone hidden within it.

11) Rise of the Guardians (2012 | PG | Animated)

This charming film from DreamWorks is technically an Easter movie, but it seems that it ends up on a lot of Christmas watch lists due to Jack Frost and Santa Claus. The villain is the boogeyman and he controls these nightmares that give children bad dreams.

10) The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (2005 | PG | Live Action)

Based off the book of the same name, this film takes place in a land cursed to be in an endless winter. There are darker moments and a fearsome witch, but an overall enjoyable watch for fans of the books.

9) The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018 | PG | Live Action)

As a girl raised on the ballet, I’ve always thought the story of the Nutcracker had a beautifully darker side to it. What, with a hideous rat king and a frightening magical friend of the family, it is loaded with creepy elements that children still enjoy. This rendition is quite enjoyable and introduces a beloved character as the unexpected villain.

8) The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993 | PG | Animated)

Whether you think this is a Christmas movie or a Halloween movie (I think it’s both), this is a great one to put on for the children. There are catchy songs and although the citizens of Halloween town are scary in appearance, they come off as quite friendly.

7) Scrooge: A Christmas Carol (2022 | TV-Y7 | Animated)

An animated original on Netflix. It is a musical version of “A Christmas Carol”. As is with most renditions, the third Christmas spirit is the most frightening, but a special note here on the scene with the “death” of the second Christmas spirt to summon the third. It could be a little intense for some very young ones. There’s also a scene with a man dancing on Scrooge’s casket, but that is more of a “yikes” moment for the grown-ups.

6) Wendell & Wild (2022 | PG-13 | Animated)

Although not technically a holiday film, it takes place in the wintertime and shares many themes that can be found in a holiday movie. This includes the importance of friendship and family, supporting your community and realizing you are not completely on your own. Although aesthetically, this film is a bit on the darker side, it is very whimsical and there are no real jump scares.

5) Red One (2024 | PG-13 | Live Action)

A newfound family favorite as of last year. This movie does introduce several darker characters, but mentioning them would spoil it, so I’m not going to say much. However, little ones may find these said characters a bit frightening so watch ahead of time if you know your littles are imagery sensitive.

4) Ghostbuster II (1989 | PG | Live Action)

This sequel to the classic Ghostbusters film and takes place around New Years Eve in New York. This is our household’s go-to NYE movie. It’s silly, but as with the original, the practical effects with the ghosts can give a fright to little ones.

3) Anastasia (1997 | G | Animated)

More “winter time” than holiday, this Don Bluth animated film is full of memorable music and characters. Rasputin is scary and intense. As an animated character, he is infamous as comical, yet rather disturbing as his body falls to pieces throughout the film. His green gargoyle/goblin creatures can also come off as frightening, which is why this is so much further down the list.

2) Gremlins (1984 | PG | Live Action)

This older Steen Spielberg film may already be a staple for some, but it checks all the boxes for winter frights. Some consider the mogwai before becoming gremlins scary. The gremlins are certainly jarring and execute some effective jump scares.

1) Krampus (2015 | PG-13 | Live Action)

Most certainly the scariest on this list and with the highest rating of PG-13. (And yes, Red One does have a PG-13 rating too, but for language.) This film is intended to scare, and it does so. Save this for the older children as there are many moments that are intense AND frightening.

Other Festive Family Frights

This list is far from being comprehensive, but I felt like it was a good start. Is there a film on your family’s holiday watch list that I missed? One on here you don’t agree with? Please be sure to tell me in the comments. I am always looking for some haunting holiday features to expose my young ones to.