Huludays full schedule: Hulu gives us a holiday viewing season filled with good cheer
By Carla Davis
Huludays is back, and this year Hulu is giving us the gift of great holiday movies and specials. From old favorites to Christmas romcom movies, to a Family Guy holiday special, to yummy food and treats, Hulu has everything you need to make your season bright.
Some of these selections are already streaming on Hulu, others will hit later this month, and still more will be coming up in December. That’s a lot of holiday content to discuss, so let’s get right to it.
Already streaming:
The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland—This animated musical version of Carys Bexington’s best-selling book is a delightful mashup of Alice in Wonderland and The Night Before Christmas. Gerard Butler voices St. Nick, and Emilia Clarke lends her voice talents to the Queen of Hearts.
Christmas on the Ranch – This Hulu original introduces us to Jade Harlow as a talk show relationship expert. Her romantic issues come to a head when she is stranded at a ranch with the place’s charming owner (Houston Rhines) during the holiday.
Operation Mistletoe – Interior designer Grace is surprised by the return of her teen crush, Ryan, who has come back home just in time for Christmas. Grace’s friend comes up with the “Operation Mistletoe” scheme, which involves Grace being hired to decorate Ryan’s home, which he is planning to sell.
Renovation Romance—Chelsea and her boyfriend have a TV show called Renovation Romance, but their romance is floundering. Can the two keep their careers and love lives afloat?
The Christmas Break – Jack and Caroline are at a crossroads in their marriage when they visit her large family in Ireland for Christmas. Will the visit inspire them to start a family of their own, or will they call it quits?
Christmas in Pine Valley – Natalie is a successful businesswoman who owns a both a home goods store and a farm. This brings her to the attention of a popular magazine, who sends reporter Josh to interview her, believing that hers is a family business.
It’s a Wonderful Knife – Winnie saved her hometown from a serial killer last Christmas Eve, but not before he killed some of her friends. A year later, she makes the proverbial “I wish I’d never been born” wish and finds out that without her intervention, the killer would still be out there.
Die Hard—Yes, it’s a Christmas movie. Can we move on? John McClane (Bruce Willis) arrives at his wife’s company Christmas party only to find out that terrorists have taken over the place.
Jingle All the Way: A workaholic (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is determined to get his son the toy every child wants for Christmas, hoping it will compensate for his lack of attention.
Christmas with the Kranks – A married couple (Jamie Lee Curtis and Tim Allen) decide to skip Christmas when their daughter tells them she won’t be home for the holiday, but at the last minute, everything changes.
Just Friends – Chris (Ryan Reynolds) comes home for Christmas, now a successful record exec who is dating a ditzy pop star (Anna Faris). When he encounters his old crush, Jamie (Amy Smart), he is determined to win her heart.
The Family Stone – Meredith (Sarah Jessica Parker) goes to Connecticut with her boyfriend Everett (Dermot Mulroney) to meet his family during the holidays and asks her sister (Claire Danes) to join them. While there, some surprising events happen.
Deck the Halls – Matthew Broderick and Danny DeVito appear as neighbors in a battle to assert decorating dominance at Christmas.
Almost Christmas – Walter (Danny Glover) lost his wife Grace a year ago, but invites his now-grown children home for Christmas.
Also currently streaming are the following classic children’s holiday specials:
The Little Drummer Boy (1968)
Frosty the Snowman
Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town
November 25:
Family Guy Special: "Gift of the White Guy" – In a play on O. Henry’s classic Christmas tale The Gift of the Magi, Peter gives Lois’s Christmas brooch away at a gift exchange. Meanwhile, Stewie is afraid when he finds out he is on Santa Claus’s naughty list.
November 27:
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (35th anniversary) – Join the Griswolds for the “hap-hap-happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tap-danced with Danny f*****’ Kay!”
The Polar Express (20th anniversary) – In this charming animated film (in which Tom Hanks voices multiple characters), a young boy struggles to decide whether or not he believes in the magic of Christmas.
Elf – Buddy the overgrown elf (Will Farrell in the role he was born to play) travels to New York City in an attempt to save his birth father (James Caan) from being on Santa’s Naughty List.
Four Christmases – Brad and Kate are happily unmarried, and planning to travel to Fuji for the holidays, but bad weather has other plans, and the two end up visiting various family members instead.
Fred Claus – Fred Claus (Vince Vaughn) is jealous of his good-boy brother Nicholas, who lives in the North Pole. When Nick bails him out of trouble, Fred must work with his brother to pay him back.
November 29:
Nutcrackers – Mike is a workaholic who is forced to travel to a farm in Ohio when his sister and her husband are killed in an accident. He arrives to find out that he is now responsible for the four rambunctious kids they left behind.
December 1:
Miracle on 34th Street (1994) – In this remake, six-year-old Susan (Mara Wilson) has decided that Santa isn’t real. When her mother (Elizabeth Perkins) is tasked with hiring Macy’s Santa Claus (Richard Attenborough), who insists he is the real deal.
This Christmas – Ma’Dere (Loretty Devine) wants to get her family together for Christmas for the first time in four years. But when they are together, secrets get spilled, and the family is thrown into turmoil – something nobody wants for Christmas.
December 6:
Buddy’s Holiday Recipe Rumble (Complete season 1) – In A&E’s cooking series, Buddy Valastro pits two families against one another to find the very best holiday recipe.
December 13:
A Sudden Case of Christmas—In this new holiday film, based on the 2022 Italian movie Improvvisamente Natale,10-year-old Claire’s grandfather is tasked with breaking the news to her that her parents are divorcing. But Claire pleads with the family to spend one more Christmas together, even though it is only August. A Sudden Case of Christmas features Antonella Rose, Andie McDowell, Danny DeVito, and Wilmer Valderrama.