28 Best Hallmark Christmas Movies of the 2020s, Ranked

Hallmark has released enough holiday movies to keep your watchlist busy until next Christmas, but which ones are worth watching again? A ranking compiled by The List sorts 28 standouts from the 2020s by IMDb audience ratings, with a few festive surprises along the way. Familiar favorites face competition from time-travel romances, heartfelt family dramas, and even a Hanukkah comedy. The biggest surprise? The winner beats even the wildly popular Three Wise Men and a Baby. Here’s how the holiday favorites stack up, from solid crowd-pleasers to the movie at the top.

Even the Bottom of This List Has Serious Christmas Charm

Before anyone starts defending a favorite, these are lower-ranked picks among selected standouts, not the worst movies Hallmark has made. The ratings in the source start at a respectable 7.0/10, and IMDb scores can shift as viewers vote.

The 7.0/10 Club: Time Travel, Family Secrets, and Fake Dating

Next Stop, Christmas sends Lyndsy Fonseca back to 2011 on a mysterious train conducted by Christopher Lloyd. It’s an irresistible setup, though some viewers found the romantic connections less convincing than the festive fantasy. Another time-travel romance, A Timeless Christmas, brings a man from 1903 into 2020, with Ryan Paevey and Erin Cahill drawing praise for their chemistry.

Family takes center stage in My Southern Family Christmas, where Jaicy Elliott plays a woman who meets her biological father without revealing their connection. Meanwhile, the story inspired by real events, A World Record Christmas, follows an autistic boy as he tries to build a record-breaking Jenga tower with support from his mother and community.

Rounding out the group are Mystery on Mistletoe Lane, a cozy Christmas treasure hunt; Sealed With a List, about tackling abandoned resolutions; and ’Twas the Date Before Christmas, which pairs Amy Groening and Robert Buckley in a fake-dating adventure. At this level, your favorite trope may matter more than the score.

The 7.1/10 Favorites: A Little Less Formula, a Little More Feeling

Round and Round deserves a special mention: it’s a Hanukkah movie, not a Christmas one. Its time-loop story traps Rachel, played by Vic Michaelis, on the evening of her parents’ party, mixing romance with inventive comedy.

Miracle in Bethlehem, PA follows a new adoptive mother stranded over the holidays, while The Gift of Peace explores grief, faith, and connection through Nikki DeLoach’s widowed heroine. Both offer something beyond the usual seasonal flirtation.

For lighter viewing, Crashing Through the Snow mixes romance with blended-family complications, and Christmas With the Darlings finds warmth in caring for orphaned children. Take Me Back for Christmas adds a magical dilemma: what happens when your dream career comes at the cost of your marriage?

The Middle of the Ranking Is Packed With Potential Favorites

This is where a regular movie night can turn into an unexpected discovery. The next batch spans road-trip adventures, vintage glamour, and romantic mysteries, showing that Hallmark’s holiday appeal goes beyond one familiar formula.

The 7.2/10 Picks: Road Trips, Rockettes, and Romantic Reinvention

Inspired by true events, Holiday Road strands nine strangers at an airport before sending them toward Denver together. Sara Canning and Warren Christie lead an ensemble story where friendship matters as much as romance.

My Christmas Guide follows a professor adjusting to sight loss with help from a guide dog and its trainer. For a completely different mood, A Holiday Spectacular travels back to 1958, where an heiress dreams of dancing with the Radio City Rockettes despite an approaching society wedding.

Mystery fans have Time for Them to Come Home for Christmas, starring Jessy Schram as a woman with amnesia. Theater fans get A Dickens of a Holiday!, where Brooke D’Orsay recruits Kristoffer Polaha’s movie-star character to play Scrooge at a Victorian festival.

Then there are two familiar romantic setups: Christmas by Starlight pairs Kimberley Sustad and Paul Campbell in a fight to save a family café, while On the 12th Date of Christmas turns a citywide scavenger hunt assignment into a spark-filled collaboration.

The 7.3/10 Pair: Christmas Kindness With Emotional Stakes

A Reason for the Season gives Taylor Cole’s character an unusual path to her trust fund: she has to grant wishes for people who helped save her life at birth. Kevin McGarry provides the romantic connection, though some viewers questioned the pacing.

A Mrs. Miracle Christmas takes a gentler approach, with Caroline Rhea playing the helper who brings hope to a struggling family. Its focus on adoption and family longing gives the seasonal sweetness a little more weight.

The 7.4/10 Standouts: Secrets and Supernatural Sparks

Kimberley Sustad returns in To All a Good Night, playing a photographer who saves a mysterious man whose intentions may put her family’s land at risk. It’s a romantic premise with a built-in reason for suspicion.

Ghosts of Christmas Always puts Kim Matula and Ian Harding in a fresh take on the familiar Christmas-spirit redemption story. Meanwhile, Time for Him to Come Home for Christmas begins with a mysterious voicemail and weaves romance with interconnected stories around Holland Roden and Tyler Hynes.

The Final Three: Hallmark’s Heavyweight Holiday Favorites

The highest-rated entries take very different paths to winning viewers over. One leans into grief, another finds comedy in unexpected childcare, and the winner wraps its romance in old-Hollywood magic.

Five More Minutes: The Tearjerker at 7.5/10

Nikki DeLoach stars as Clara, whose wish for more time with her late grandfather leads her to his journal and a long-hidden romance. Five More Minutes treats remembrance as more than background decoration. Keep the tissues within reach.

Three Wise Men and a Baby: The Comedy Hit at 7.5/10

Paul Campbell, Tyler Hynes, and Andrew Walker play brothers whose unexpected babysitting duties force them to reconnect. Three Wise Men and a Baby brings together sibling friction, physical comedy, and genuine affection. The appeal is simple: the family relationship is every bit as entertaining as the holiday chaos.

A Biltmore Christmas: The Winner at 7.6/10

Bethany Joy Lenz plays a screenwriter working on a remake of a beloved Christmas film. When a visit to the Biltmore estate sends her into the past, she meets the original film’s star, played by Kristoffer Polaha, and faces a romance that could change her future.

A Biltmore Christmas takes the top spot in this ranking, thanks to its mix of nostalgia, time travel, and chemistry between its leads. It’s a close call, but the recommendation is clear: if you only have room for one Hallmark movie tonight, start here.