Christmas Movies on TV Tonight & This Week: 2026 Holiday Movie Schedule
Updated Monday, October 26, 2026.
On Monday, October 26, six Christmas movies are on TV between 6pm and midnight ET, on Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Mystery.
At 8pm ET: The Sweetest Christmas on Hallmark Channel and A Christmas tree grows in Colorado on Hallmark Mystery.
The next new Christmas movie is Who’s Coming for Christmas?, on Friday, October 30 at 8pm ET on Hallmark Channel.
This page lists every Christmas movie on TV tonight and over the coming week, across every network, cable and free over-the-air channel we cover, with times in Eastern. It’s rebuilt from the listings every day, so the tables always start from today. Below them is the premiere date of every new Christmas movie announced for 2026.
Christmas movies on TV tonight, Monday, October 26
| Time | Channel | Movie | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6pm ET | Hallmark Channel | What If Christmas New | 2026 |
| 6pm ET | Hallmark Mystery | A Fabled Holiday | 2022 |
| 8pm ET | Hallmark Channel | The Sweetest Christmas | 2017 |
| 8pm ET | Hallmark Mystery | A Christmas tree grows in Colorado | 2020 |
| 10pm ET | Hallmark Channel | Rocky Mountain Christmas | 2017 |
| 10pm ET | Hallmark Mystery | When I Think of Christmas | 2022 |
Which channels show Christmas movies, and when do they start?
Each channel runs its own Christmas season, and they start weeks apart:
- Hallmark Channel goes first. Its Countdown to Christmas started on October 16 and runs to Christmas, with Christmas movies around the clock and 34 new ones premiering at 8pm ET on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays until December 20. Every date and time is on our Hallmark Christmas movies schedule.
- Hallmark Mystery runs Hallmark’s Christmas movies from past seasons through the same weeks.
- Lifetime‘s season, It’s a Wonderful Lifetime, brings 11 new movies from Saturday, November 28 to Sunday, December 20. Saturdays usually have two premieres, at 8pm and 10pm ET, and Sundays one, at 8pm.
- AMC‘s Best Christmas Ever ran from November 29 to December 26 in 2025, on AMC and AMC+, with studio favorites such as Elf, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, The Polar Express, Four Christmases, Fred Claus, White Christmas and Scrooged, and a Christmas Eve to Christmas Day marathon. AMC hadn’t announced its 2026 dates when we last checked.
- Freeform‘s 25 Days of Christmas started on December 1 in 2025, with Home Alone, the Santa Clause movies, Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas and the animated classics. The 2026 schedule usually comes out in early November.
- NBC is now the home of the classic specials. In 2025 it aired Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and How the Grinch Stole Christmas in early December, and It’s a Wonderful Life on Christmas Eve.
TCM, Disney Channel, FX and the other channels show Christmas films too, more often as December goes on. The tables catch every one of them that’s in our listings.
Christmas movies on TV this week
Every Christmas movie starting between 7:30 and 11pm ET on the channels we cover. New marks a movie from this year.
Tuesday, October 27
| Time | Channel | Movie | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8pm ET | Hallmark Channel | Miracle in Bethlehem, PA | 2023 |
| 8pm ET | Hallmark Mystery | A Bride for Christmas | 2012 |
| 10pm ET | Hallmark Channel | The More the Merrier | 2025 |
| 10pm ET | Hallmark Mystery | Window Wonderland | 2013 |
Wednesday, October 28
| Time | Channel | Movie | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8pm ET | Hallmark Channel | Tis the Season for Setups New | 2026 |
| 8pm ET | Hallmark Mystery | A Big Fat Family Christmas | 2022 |
| 10pm ET | Hallmark Channel | Our Holiday Story | 2024 |
| 10pm ET | Hallmark Mystery | Where Are You, Christmas? | 2023 |
Thursday, October 29
| Time | Channel | Movie | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8pm ET | Hallmark Channel | ‘Twas the Date Before Christmas | 2024 |
| 8pm ET | Hallmark Mystery | Miss Christmas | 2017 |
| 10pm ET | Hallmark Channel | What If Christmas New | 2026 |
| 10pm ET | Hallmark Mystery | ‘Tis the Season to Be Irish | 2024 |
Friday, October 30
| Time | Channel | Movie | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8pm ET | Hallmark Channel | Who’s Coming for Christmas? (premiere) | 2026 |
| 8pm ET | Hallmark Mystery | Journey Back to Christmas | 2016 |
| 10pm ET | Hallmark Channel | Forgotten Holiday New | 2026 |
| 10pm ET | Hallmark Mystery | We Need A Little Christmas | 2022 |
Saturday, October 31
| Time | Channel | Movie | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8pm ET | Hallmark Channel | Adopting St. Nick (premiere) | 2026 |
| 8pm ET | Hallmark Mystery | The Christmas Charade | 2024 |
| 10pm ET | Hallmark Channel | The Spirit of Halloween New | 2026 |
| 10pm ET | Hallmark Mystery | Gingerbread Miracle | 2021 |
Sunday, November 1
| Time | Channel | Movie | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8pm ET | Food Network | Tournament of Champions: All-Star Christmas | 2025 |
| 8pm ET | Hallmark Channel | A Danish Christmas (premiere) | 2026 |
| 8pm ET | Hallmark Mystery | Christmas Scavenger Hunt | 2019 |
| 10pm ET | Hallmark Channel | The Christmas Secret | 2014 |
| 10pm ET | Hallmark Mystery | November Christmas | 2010 |
How we pick the movies
A movie makes the tables if its title says it’s a Christmas or holiday movie (Christmas, Santa, mistletoe, the Grinch and the rest), or if it’s one of the classics whose title doesn’t (Home Alone, It’s a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street). During Hallmark’s season every movie on Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Mystery counts, because the two channels show nothing else. The hour-long animated specials, such as Rudolph and Frosty, are included too. New marks a movie made this year; (premiere) marks its first showing.
New Christmas movies 2026: premiere dates by network
Hallmark Channel
34 new movies from Friday, October 16 to Sunday, December 20, at 8pm ET on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Six have premiered; the next is Who’s Coming for Christmas? on Friday, October 30. Every date is on our Hallmark Christmas movies schedule.
Lifetime
| Date | Time | Movie | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, November 28 | 8pm ET | Christmas Everyday: Married and Bright | Coming up |
| Saturday, November 28 | 10pm ET | Checking Inn for Christmas | Coming up |
| Sunday, November 29 | 8pm ET | A Firefighter’s Christmas Calendar | Coming up |
| Saturday, December 5 | 8pm ET | Christmas from the Heart | Coming up |
| Saturday, December 5 | 10pm ET | The Toymaker’s Christmas Romance | Coming up |
| Sunday, December 6 | 8pm ET | Mending Hearts for Christmas | Coming up |
| Saturday, December 12 | 8pm ET | Mistletoe in Mexico | Coming up |
| Saturday, December 12 | 10pm ET | An Inseparable Christmas | Coming up |
| Sunday, December 13 | 8pm ET | A Second Chance Christmas Letter | Coming up |
| Saturday, December 19 | 8pm ET | Love on the Christmas List | Coming up |
| Sunday, December 20 | 8pm ET | Christmas at Mistletoe Hall | Coming up |
Three of Lifetime’s titles (Mending Hearts for Christmas, An Inseparable Christmas and A Second Chance Christmas Letter) were announced as working titles and may change before they air. Lifetime’s app also has two short vertical-video Christmas stories, Casting Christmas and Christmas, Delivered, from November 25; they don’t air on the channel.
How to watch Christmas movies without cable
| Channel | Free with an antenna? | Live streaming | On demand |
|---|---|---|---|
| NBC (the classic specials) | Yes | Peacock | Peacock |
| Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Mystery | No | YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Fubo, Philo, DirecTV Stream, Sling | Hallmark+ |
| Lifetime | No | Live TV streaming services that carry it | Lifetime app |
| AMC | No | Live TV streaming services that carry it | AMC+ |
| Freeform | No | Live TV streaming services that carry it | Varies by movie |
For the rest of the evening’s films, Christmas or not, see movies on TV this week, and for everything else on tonight, what’s on TV tonight. On Thanksgiving, Hallmark adds a premiere to the Thanksgiving TV schedule.
Frequently asked questions
What Christmas movies are on TV tonight?
On Monday, October 26 at 8pm ET: The Sweetest Christmas on Hallmark Channel and A Christmas tree grows in Colorado on Hallmark Mystery. Six Christmas movies are on between 6pm and midnight in all.
Which channels are showing Christmas movies this week?
Hallmark Channel (77), Hallmark Mystery (77), Food Network (3), Freeform (2) and FX (2), counting every showing from Monday, October 26 to Sunday, November 1.
What new Christmas movies premiere this week?
Who’s Coming for Christmas? (Hallmark Channel, Friday, October 30, 8pm ET), Adopting St. Nick (Hallmark Channel, Saturday, October 31, 8pm ET) and A Danish Christmas (Hallmark Channel, Sunday, November 1, 8pm ET).
When do Lifetime Christmas movies start in 2026?
Saturday, November 28, with Christmas Everyday: Married and Bright at 8pm ET. Lifetime has 11 new Christmas movies this year, the last on Sunday, December 20.
When do Christmas movies start on TV?
Hallmark Channel starts first: its 2026 Countdown to Christmas began on October 16. Lifetime’s new movies start on November 28. In 2025 AMC’s Best Christmas Ever began on November 29 and Freeform’s 25 Days of Christmas on December 1, and both usually announce their dates in November.
Is It’s a Wonderful Life on TV this year?
NBC showed It’s a Wonderful Life on Christmas Eve in 2025, from 8 to 11pm. NBC hasn’t announced its 2026 holiday schedule yet; when it airs, it shows up in the tables on this page.
Where are Rudolph and Frosty on TV now?
On NBC. CBS showed the Rankin/Bass specials for decades, but in 2025 they moved to NBC, which aired Frosty the Snowman on December 4 and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer on December 5, each with a repeat the following week. Freeform also showed Rudolph during its 25 Days of Christmas.
Can I watch the Christmas movies without cable?
The cable channels (Hallmark, Lifetime, Freeform, AMC) need a cable, satellite or live TV streaming subscription such as YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV or Sling. NBC’s specials are on broadcast TV, free with an antenna, and stream on Peacock.