Best movies like A Different Kind of Christmas

A unique, carefully handpicked, selection of the best movies like A Different Kind of Christmas Starring Shelley Long, Barry Bostwick, Richard K. Olsen, Nathan Lawrence, and more. If you liked A Different Kind of Christmas then you may also like: The Night They Saved Christmas, The Christmas Shoes, A Cinderella Story: Christmas Wish, 'Twas the Night, A Christmas Story and many more popular movies featured on this list. You can further filter the list even more or get a random selection from the list of similar movies, to make your selection even easier.

When you're the city attorney you don't need the kinds of problems that her father was giving her. After her mother died, her father began doing his "Santa Schtick," as she called it, much more intensely... which meant that he turned his home into a kind of year-round Santa Claus castle where children of all ages could come to see the wonderful presents and no child ever left without a gift.

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Know any good movies to watch like A Different Kind of Christmas 1996. With a similar plot or stoyline. Suggest it.

The Night They Saved Christmas

An oil company is exploring two Arctic sites for oil. The needed blasting at the first site rocks Santa Claus' North Pole village. He realizes that any blasting at the second site will destroy his home. He enlists the aid of a woman and her children to convince her husband (who works for the company) that the first site is where the oil they want is. Along the way, Santa explains all his secrets in delivering presents all around the world.

The Christmas Shoes

Two separate stories mesh - in the first, a young music teacher, Maggie Andrews, begins dying of a heart condition and her son Nathan tries to get a pair of Christmas shoes for her before she dies. In the second, lawyer Robert Layton and his wife Kate are slowly drifting apart and the matter comes to a head during Christmas when Kate takes over for Maggie for the school choir.

A Cinderella Story: Christmas Wish

Kat is an aspiring singer-songwriter who dreams of making it big. However, her dreams are stalled by her reality: a conniving and cruel stepfamily and a demoralizing job working as a singing elf at billionaire Terrence Wintergarden’s Santa Land.

'Twas the Night

A mischievous 14-year-old boy and his irresponsible uncle almost ruin Christmas when they decide to take Santa's new high-tech sleigh for a joyride.

A Christmas Story

The comic mishaps and adventures of a young boy named Ralph, trying to convince his parents, teachers, and Santa that a Red Ryder B.B. gun really is the perfect Christmas gift for the 1940s.

Christmas In Palm Springs

Jessica has a big presentation in Palm Springs. There are a couple of problems though: her two kids who will do anything to get mom and dad back together again - even if they have to hack mom's phone or pose as a secretary to make sure dad's in Palm Springs too. And father Joe who'll do anything to charm his way back into Jessica's life.

Miracle on 34th Street

Six-year-old Susan Walker has doubts about childhood's most enduring miracle—Santa Claus. Her mother told her the secret about Santa a long time ago, but, after meeting a special department store Santa who's convinced he's the real thing, Susan is given the most precious gift of all—something to believe in.

Santa Claus

Santa arrives at a house on Christmas Eve to deliver his presents for the children.

Christmas Is Canceled

A father begins dating his 29-year-old daughter Emma's high school frenemy soon after his wife passes away. His daughter embarks on a mission to break up the happy couple.

The Town Christmas Forgot

An urban family that can’t seem to get along gets stranded in a remote, impoverished lumber town two days before Christmas. When they become involved in the town’s home-grown Christmas pageant, they not only help solve the town’s problems but learn to connect with each other just in time for the holidays.

It Nearly Wasn't Christmas

Feeling unneeded, a disillusioned Santa Claus (Charles Durning) quits Christmas. Through the selflessness of a little girl looking to reunite her parents for Christmas (and the help of his bumbling chief elf, Philpot (Bruce Vilanch), Santa and the child travel across America and Santa discovers that people really do need him and care about other people.

Home for Christmas

Mickey Rooney plays a weary old thief who befriends a young child. Home for Christmas is a 1990 Canadian made film about a young girl (Chantellese Kent) who wants a grandfather for Christmas. She chooses an elderly, homeless ex-con (Mickey Rooney) as her pseudo-grandfather and he teaches her - and her family - the true meaning of Christmas. Somewhat predictable.. but has a good plot twist about half way through that keeps it interesting. A solid, low-key performance by Mickey Rooney as the seemingly broken down homeless man saves this one from drowning in it's own mushiness.

Miracle on 34th Street

A department store Santa tries to convince a little girl who doesn't believe in Santa Claus that he is Santa Claus, and winds up going on trial to prove who he is.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Five-time Emmy nominee and Golden Globe winner Henry Winkler stars in The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, the story of what happens when you open your heart to the power of Christmas. Disenchanted single mom Jennifer Cullen (Brooke Burns) is a Scroogette when it comes to anything Christmas. In fact, even her six-year-old son, Brian, is having trouble believing in Santa Claus. But when her Uncle Ralph (Henry Winkler) visits and brings a fellow passenger from his flight named Morgan Derby (Warren Christie), Jennifer s dubious heart awakens to the possibility that perhaps Christmas really does hold miracles. It s uplifting and laugh-packed and a story that will inspire the whole family to believe.

The Christmas Setup

The story of New York lawyer Hugo who heads to Milwaukee with his best friend Madelyn to spend the holidays with his mom Kate, who is also in charge of the local Christmas celebrations. Ever the matchmaker, Kate arranges for Hugo to run into Patrick, Hugo’s high school friend and secret crush, who has recently returned after a successful stint in Silicon Valley. As they enjoy the local holiday festivities together, Hugo and Patrick’s attraction to each other is undeniable and it looks as though Kate’s Santa-style matchmaking is a success. But as Hugo receives word of a big promotion requiring a move to London, he must decide what is most important to him.

Sister Swap: A Hometown Holiday

Jennifer and Meg Swift are two sisters who are very close despite living far apart. Jennifer is in Salt Lake City, running a successful restaurant she started with her late husband and raising her teenaged son Simon, Meg stayed in their hometown of Hazelwood, helping their parents run the local bakery.

Christmas Eve

Story of a well-to-do elderly woman, who befriends the homeless and volunteers her time with children, who learns she has an incurable illness and wants desperately to reunite her three grown grand children (who are scattered across the U.S. living their own lives), with their estranged father, her son. She hires a private detective to search for them so as to try to get everyone together on Christmas Eve.

My Santa

A young, single mother, Jen, begins to lose her faith in the magic of Christmas. However, when she takes her son Eric to see the local mall Santa, Jen immediately feels an attraction and connection with Chris, the young, attractive man filling the suit. As they begin spending time together, she begins to rediscover her belief in Christmas.

Cancel Christmas

The Christmas Board of Directors has decided to cancel Christmas since children everywhere have lost the true spirit of giving. But Santa Claus, not willing to give up his favorite holiday without a fight, demands 30 days to prove them wrong. The board assigns him what seems like an impossible mission: he must change the hearts of two self-absorbed kids and make them see the true meaning of Christmas.

Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas

When Sid accidentally destroys Manny's heirloom Christmas rock and ends up on Santa's naughty list, he leads a hilarious quest to the North Pole to make things right and ends up making things much worse. Now it's up to Manny and his prehistoric posse to band together and save Christmas for the entire world!

48 Christmas Wishes

Holiday magic has never gleamed brighter as Santa’s Elves head out on an adventure to bring every boy and girl their Christmas wish while also bringing a family back together in this heartfelt Christmas movie from Gaumont. After accidentally destroying a bag of Christmas wishes from a small town on the eve of Christmas Eve, two junior elves learn that if even one wish goes unfulfilled, Christmas could be extinguished forever. For the first time in their lives, the elves Mindy and Cam venture out of the North Pole and sneak into Minnedoza to collect the lost wishes. Along the way they enlist the help of young Blake, whose family has a difficult time celebrating Christmas since his father died. With their deadline fast approaching, Mindy and Cam have only one more wish to find…but whose could it be? It’s up to Mindy and Cam to find out and save Christmas!

A Flintstone Christmas

Santa has an accident at Fred's house on Christmas Eve, Fred and Barney have to continue his run for him.

My Christmas Love

A hopeless romantic who can’t ever seem to give a guy a real chance begins receiving each of the "12 Days of Christmas” as gifts anonymously at her door. As she tries to figure out who is sending the gifts, she begins to believe that the mystery suitor could finally live up to her expectations.

Christmas Unwrapped

Charity, an ambitious reporter, learns the true meaning of Christmas when she investigates Erik Gallagher, a beloved member of the town who insists all the gifts he provides every Christmas are from none-other than Santa himself.

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas

Maggie Chalke is torn between her journalistic integrity and helping her long time crush Mitch O'Grady when her boss orders her to write a story for the paper about the Secret Santa gifts she's been sending Mitch to help him relearn his love for Christmas.

Christmas Connection

Adventurous flight attendant Sydney’s plans for a tropical Christmas get delayed when she helps an unaccompanied minor get home to Chicago to her dad Jonathan, a handsome widower and investigative reporter. Faced with a shortage of out-going flights, Sydney is marooned for several days in the Windy City – once her home as a small girl — and tags along with Jonathan, his daughter, and their exuberantly festive family until she can find a connecting flight. Jonathan makes her a deal: he helps her chase down the story of how her late parents met, and she helps him to write the perfect Christmas story and keep his job, and along the way, sparks form between them.

Guess Who's Coming to Christmas

Jaded rock star Dax is found by New York paparazzi passed out in his car with a frozen holiday turkey in the passenger seat. In order to repair his tarnished image, Dax publicly agrees to grant a fan’s “Dear Santa” Christmas wish. To his dismay, his manager Jason drops Dax off in Cedar Grove, a Midwest small town, where he’s committed to spend a week and perform in a local holiday Christmas concert.

The Case for Christmas

An up-and-coming attorney risks it all to help defend Santa when Christmas is in jeopardy of cancellation.

My Christmas Family Tree

When Vanessa receives the results from her Family Tree DNA test, she discovers a family she didn't know existed and travels to their home for Christmas.

A Royal Queens Christmas

A prince finds his way to Queens during Christmas when a local woman enlists his help with a children's Christmas show.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered for Christmas

With a duty to deliver every last letter before Christmas, the beloved quartet of post office detectives—Oliver, Shane, Rita and Norman—are working around the clock to redirect Santa’s mail just as Oliver runs into his former Sunday school teacher. When they receive an emotional last-minute plea not meant for Saint Nick, but instead written to God, they must delay their own travel plans to make sure one little girl doesn’t lose her Christmas joy—something Oliver and Shane are also struggling to find as they each face painful holiday memories. With a little guidance from a mysterious post office volunteer, Jordan, the Postables are more surprised than anyone to discover they've been a part of more than one miracle on this Christmas Eve.

Christmas Bells Are Ringing

Samantha, a freelance photographer, is returning to Cape Cod for the first time since the death of her mother years earlier. She’s going to celebrate her father’s Christmas Eve wedding but is anxious to revisit past memories. On a deadline for a big Christmas spread that could ignite her career, she enlists the help of her childhood friend, Mike, to show her around. In the time she spends in Cape Cod, she realizes that Christmas is wherever your family is.

A Christmas Tree Grows in Colorado

Erin is planning the town’s Christmas celebration and must win over firefighter Kevin in order to obtain the beautiful spruce tree from his property for the celebration.

Christmas with Tucker

While coming to terms with his dad's recent passing in a tractor accident, 13-year-old George McCray is living with his grandparents on their Kansas farm. George misses his mom, Jill, who has moved to Minnesota to deal with her grief, but there is the promise of their reunion at Christmas. George feels needed on the farm as he helps his grateful grandfather Bo with daily chores and comforts his grandmother Cora. He has also made friends with Mary Ann and became attached to Tucker, the smart and friendly dog the McCrays take in when his troubled owner Frank Thorne lands in jail.

A Hobo's Christmas

A hobo played by Barnard Hughes decides it's time to go home. Drifting from place to place, Hughes finds himself in his hometown of Salt Lake City at Christmas time. Here he hopes to close old wounds and be reunited with his unforgiving son played by Gerald McRaney, and get to know the grandchildren he has never met. McRaney, still resenting the fact that Hughes ran out on his family 25 years earlier, gives his father only one day with his grandkids; after that, he's expected to leave and never come back. All the while Hughes' friends warn him that his son and the past are memories that are best left alone, and should leave, but he has to find out for himself.

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