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Movies

"‘Dear Santa’ and ‘Hot Frosty’: New Holiday Movies to Stream"

2024-12-04

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year,” as the song goes. “There’ll be parties for hosting/Billions of movies for bingeing.” In this season filled with holiday movies, we’ve gathered a selection from the major streaming platforms. Time is precious, so we focus on the latest offerings. Remember, seeing the same plot elements multiple times can lead to clichés, but during the holidays, we embrace the conventions.

Uncover the Best Holiday Movies to Stream This Season

“Dear Santa”

Stream it on Paramount+. This year’s take on the bad Santa subgenre goes all out. The bearded, stocky guy in the red outfit is actually Satan (Jack Black). Young Liam (Robert Timothy Smith) mistakenly switched two letters in his note to Santa, and now the devil won’t leave until Liam requests three wishes. It sounds straightforward but has unexpected twists. Directed by a Farrelly brother (Bobby) and with a great cast, Black seems to have been waiting his whole life for this role. There are enough surprises to make this movie a delight to watch.

Watch for: gastrointestinal distress that adds an extra layer of humor to the story.

“Hot Frosty”

Stream it on Netflix. Unfortunately, we are having trouble retrieving the full article content. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode, please exit and log into your Times account or subscribe for all of The Times. If you are already a subscriber, log in. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.