21 feel-good movies, TV shows to watch over the holiday season

The holidays will feel a bit different this year, but some traditions cannot be thwarted - like our annual viewing of "It's a Wonderful Life." Though your gatherings might be smaller than usual, there are a ton of family-friendly viewing options on streaming and a growing number of ways to make them a virtual group experience. We've rounded up some of our favorite kid-friendly TV and film picks below.

• "A Christmas Story" (1983): Consider this a triple dog dare. (Hulu Plus Live TV/TBS)

• "Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey" (2020): A toymaker who lost everything when his apprentice betrayed him is inspired by his granddaughter to return to the trade in this fantastical musical. It boasts an all-star cast - Forest Whitaker, Keegan-Michael Key, Anika Noni Rose, Hugh Bonneville and Phylicia Rashad - to boot. (Netflix)

• "Hair Love" (2019): Matthew A. Cherry's Oscar-winning short, about a little girl who helps her dad figure out how to do her hair, clocks in at just under seven minutes but will stay with you for much longer than that - especially if you've ever struggled to love your own hair. (YouTube)

• "Ratatouille" (2007): We wouldn't let Remy, the rat chef at the center of this Oscar-winning animated film, cook our holiday dinner, but we'll gladly take his culinary tips while we wait for the musical conceived by TikTok users to materialize. (Disney+)

• "Coco" (2017): This tender and vivid Pixar/Disney film is rooted in the Mexican tradition of Día de los Muertos, the annual time when families honor their departed loved ones, so it's a great preamble to discussing grief with younger kids (or processing it at any age). The story revolves around a young aspiring musician who - in a quest to reverse his family's long-standing rule against music - finds himself among his ancestors in the Land of the Dead. (Disney+)

• "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" (2008): Force-sensitive families will enjoy this animated "Star Wars" series, which takes place between Episodes II and III of the Star Wars prequel saga and lets an intriguing heroine shine. (Disney+)

• "The NeverEnding Story" (1984): This is familiar territory for 1980s kids, but why not let the younger generations see what movie magic looked like in the pre-CGI days? (HBO Max)

• "Paddington 2" (2017): The marmalade-loving bear has a run-in with the law in this fun sequel, which features one of Hugh Grant's finest performances as villain Phoenix Buchanan. The first film isn't bad either. (Hulu Plus Live TV/TBS)

• "The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo" (2020): The lovable Sesame Street resident interviews celebrities and hosts musical guests in a typical but truncated late-night format: Each episode is just 15 minutes. (HBO Max)

• "Molly of Denali" (2019): This animated PBS Kids show revolves around a young Alaska Native girl. The series won a Peabody Award this year for "helping to shift the ways that the next generation will think about Indigenous people and for giving native media-makers a central role in shaping their own representation." (PBS Kids)

• "PBS Kids Talk About: Race & Racism" (2020): This PBS special tackles a tough and timely subject through conversations with real kids and their parents, along with some good example-setting from fan-favorite characters including Arthur and Daniel Tiger. The broadcaster also offers some helpful resources for starting your own conversations at home. (PBS and YouTube)

• "Izzy's Koala World" (2020): Animal lovers of all ages will get into this docuseries following tween "Koala Whisperer" Izzy Bee, who takes care of cuddly marsupials with some help from her mother, a wildlife veterinarian, on Australia's Magnetic Island. (Netflix)

• "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" (2018): Miles Morales goes from Brooklyn teenager to superhero in this Oscar-winning animated film featuring an ensemble cast of voices (Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld and Mahershala Ali among them) and, for what it's worth, a song that toddlers seem to love. (Netflix)

• "Home Alone" (1990): Is it even the holiday season if you don't watch Macaulay Culkin (and Catherine O'Hara!) in this blockbuster and its 1992 sequel? (Disney+)

• "Julie and the Phantoms" (2020): A teenager grieving the loss of her mom starts a band with three ghosts in this Netflix dramedy, which is far less morbid than it sounds - and perfect for musically inclined tweens/teens. (Netflix)

• "The Baby-Sitters Club" (2020): Ann M. Martin's treasured teen series gets a decidedly Gen Z update, featuring several charismatic new talents. (Netflix)

• "Toy Story 4" (2019): The toys are back for another beautiful and emotional adventure in this Oscar winner. (Disney+)

• "Hamilton" (2020): Lin-Manuel Miranda cut some coarse language out of his Tony-winning musical so even the kids could learn about the ill-fated Founding Father. As history shows, however, this one doesn't have a happy ending. (Disney+)

• "Anne with an E" (2017): This Canadian series, an adaptation of Lucy Maud Montgomery's famed children's novel, finds Anne of Green Gables at her pluckiest - and has a passionate fan base that bristled over the show's cancellation earlier this year. (Netflix)

• "Black Panther" (2018): The late Chadwick Boseman is the heart of this breathtaking and culturally significant Marvel film. (Disney+)

• "It's a Wonderful Life" (1946): Every year - but especially this one - we can benefit from the life lessons in Frank Capra's beloved Christmas classic. (Amazon Prime/USA)