Sometimes you don't want to watch a Christmas movie on Christmas. Sometimes you just want to zone out with the family, digest your feast and let your mind wander into whatever happens to be streaming. Maybe kids are in the room. Maybe they aren't. Maybe they're too busy playing with their new presents to even pay attention.
We got you covered. Here are five good movies currently streaming on Netflix that won't kill your holiday vibe (except for one, in which that's kind of the point).
Coco - If you haven't seen 2017's Pixar tearjerker extraordinaire, get on it. If you have seen it, it bears repeat viewings. This bold, color-blasted take on Dia de los Muertos is beautiful in every way, from the spirit-lifting songs to the life-after-life denouement.
Secretariat - I could never figure out why this tale of a woman (Diane Lane), a man (John Malkovich) and a storied horse couldn't get more traction at the box office. Perhaps the comparisons to Seabiscuit didn't hold up. At any rate, this is a family movie that adults can easily warm up to. Go ahead, cheer in your living room.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind - All the Spielbergian wonder, mixed with an outer space conspiracy story right in tune with its '70s setting. This is one I have watched multiple times, and will watch many more. Added bonus: You can re-enact one of the key scenes when you scoop your mashed potatoes onto your plate.
Coraline - Fun for the family? Sure. It's a PG movie. But Henry Selick's audaciously imaginative adaptation of Neil Gaiman's book, about an 11-year-old girl who stumbles into an alternative version of her home life, is also deliciously dark. It's another one of those animated films that talk to the grown-ups and the kids in different languages.
Bad Santa - You've been listening to Christmas music for months. You've probably been doing Christmas shopping just as long. You've endured ugly sweater parties and sweated to put the lights up on the house. It's almost over. So sit back and enjoy this cathartic, profane, raunchy and unrepeatable movie about a drunk, larcenous department store Santa who learns a thing or two about Christmas. Note: Keep the kids out of the room for this one. Added bonus: Two dearly departed funny men, Bernie Mac and John Ritter, in fine fettle.
