There’s nothing better than snuggling up with your furry friend on the sofa - especially over the busy holiday season. To make sure you’re selecting the perfect Christmas dog movie, we’ve analyzed IMDB’s list of the 100 greatest holiday movies of all time.
We’ve looked at each movie’s duration, dog-friendly color composition, frequency of outdoor scenes, level of on-screen chaos, and intensity of sound stimulation.
Whether you’ve got a pup of your own or you’re house sitting as a trusted pet sitter this December, find out which Christmas movies are best watched with dogs below.
Best Christmas movies for dogs to watch
- The Snowman
- A Charlie Brown Christmas
- Frosty the Snowman
- The Little Drummer Boy
- Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer
- Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town
- The Year Without a Santa Claus
- A Boy Called Christmas
- White Christmas
- The Christmas Card
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What makes these the best Christmas movies for dogs?
For dogs, they see best in shades of blue, yellow, and gray, while struggling with the colors green, red and orange (to get an understanding of just how different our pups see the world, head to our blog and check out the interactive tool).
We can also tolerate longer movies with more chaotic scenes and sounds, whereas for dogs it can be very overstimulating and possibly trigger a fight or flight response in them.
To understand more about why we ranked these as the best Christmas movies for dogs, take a look below.
Hint: The higher the blue/yellow/gray score, the better!
The Snowman
- Blue/yellow/gray score: 10
- Outdoor scene frequency: 9
- Sound stimulation score: 2
- Runtime: 26 mins
- Chaos level score: 2
- Total score: 99.23
With a total score of 99.23, ‘The Snowman’ is the best holiday movie for dogs to watch.
A near-perfect score, the 1982 animated TV short movie provides an even balance of color, sound, and outdoor scenery that is comfortable and tolerable for your furry friends.
Soft blues, whites, and grays dominate the snowy landscapes, making it visually appealing for dogs. The short movie's runtime of just 26 minutes keeps dogs engaged without overstimulation.
Its low chaos level and quiet, steady soundtrack also create a calm environment that’s easy for dogs to relax to, making ‘The Snowman’ an ideal holiday watch for your furry friends.
A Charlie Brown Christmas
- Blue/yellow/gray score: 8
- Outdoor scene frequency: 7
- Sound stimulation score: 3
- Runtime: 25 mins
- Chaos level score: 2
- Total score: 77.33
‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ is the second-best holiday movie for dogs to watch.
A little canine representation can’t hurt if you were looking for Christmas dog movies (shout-out Snoopy), as the classic animation features simple visuals and colors suited for dogs to process easily.
The movie’s 25-minute runtime is perfect for keeping their attention, and its limited chaos ensures an enjoyable viewing experience that your dog can watch from start to finish.
Frosty the Snowman
- Blue/yellow/gray score: 10
- Outdoor scene frequency: 9
- Sound stimulation score: 6
- Runtime: 25 mins
- Chaos level score: 3
- Total score: 76.67
‘Frosty the Snowman’ is the third-best holiday movie for dogs to watch.
The 1969 animated short movie is a childhood classic stemming from a holiday jingle into an actual character (opposite of ‘The Snowman’) that’s very easy on the eyes for your furry friends to enjoy with its constant blue, white and gray winter color scheme.
The movie is also very short in duration compared to other holiday movies at only 25 minutes, which is an ideal length of time for dogs to engage.
Sporadic and action-packed motions can be extremely overwhelming for dogs, even if a movie is short in length, but Frosty the Snowman doesn’t have many chaotic scenes, making it the perfectly balanced Christmas movie for your dog to enjoy.
The Little Drummer Boy
- Blue/yellow/gray score: 8
- Outdoor scene frequency: 8
- Sound stimulation score: 5
- Runtime: 25 mins
- Chaos level score: 4
- Total score: 69.83
With a score of 69.83, ‘The Little Drummer Boy is the fourth best holiday movie for dogs to watch.
This animated classic is a great option for dogs during the holidays, as it has a familiar color palette which makes it visually appealing for canine viewers.
Although it has many indoor scenes, the 30-minute duration creates a nice balance between engagement and overstimulation, making it watchable for most dogs.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
- Blue/yellow/gray score: 9
- Outdoor scene frequency: 8
- Sound stimulation score: 6
- Runtime: 47 mins
- Chaos level score: 3
- Total score: 62.64
Rounding out the top five with a score of 62.64, is ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ as the fifth best holiday movie for dogs to watch.
This movie is a festive favorite for dogs and humans to enjoy. Although it features bright, contrasting colors, the whimsical outdoor scenes help keep your dog comfortable and engaged without being overwhelmed.
At 51 minutes, it’s longer than the typical short movie, but its measured pacing and moderate level of chaos help most dogs stay at bay, and make you think they’re actually following along with the story.
Which Christmas movies are the worst for dogs?
- Terrifier 3
- Black Christmas
- Krampus
- Die Hard
- Violent Night
- Better Watch Out
- Silent Night (2023)
- Silent Night (2002)
- Gremlins
- Batman Returns
What makes these the worst Christmas movies for dogs to watch?
As humans, we can handle bright, clashing colors, loud sounds, and fast-paced action on screen without much stress. Your dog on the other hand, might spiral out of control if a movie is too loud, crazy, and color centric. So to avoid unwanted whining and barking, below are the ten worst holiday movies for dogs that are the most overwhelming and stressful for pups to watch.
Terrifier 3
- Blue/yellow/gray score: 2
- Outdoor scene frequency: 2
- Sound stimulation score: 9
- Runtime: 125 mins
- Chaos level score: 10
- Total score: 19.89
With a total score of 19.89, Terrifier 3 is the worst holiday movie for dogs to watch.
This scary clown holiday movie’s inclusion of blood, gore, and full-on chaos is definitely not an ideal movie for dogs, and may not even be an ideal holiday movie for some adults to enjoy.
The movie’s color scheme is the total opposite of what dogs are comfortable with, but it’s loud, boisterous, high-energy, and harsh scenes and sound effects are what really might set your hound on edge.
Black Christmas
- Blue/yellow/gray score: 3
- Outdoor scene frequency: 2
- Sound stimulation score: 8
- Runtime: 98 mins
- Chaos level score: 9
- Total score: 24.80
With a total score of 24.80, Black Christmas is the second-worst holiday movie for dogs to watch.
This horror classic features dark, muted visuals and tense, chaotic scenes that are likely to bother canine viewers. The movie’s loud, sudden noises and intense moments make it a stressful experience for dogs – far from the calm, visually soothing environment they normally enjoy.
Krampus
- Blue/yellow/gray score: 3
- Outdoor scene frequency: 3
- Sound stimulation score: 8
- Runtime: 98 mins
- Chaos level score: 9
- Total score: 26.46
With a total score of 26.46, Krampus is the third-worst holiday movie for dogs to watch.
As another holiday movie dogs should avoid, the movie’s dark, saturated color palette and high level of on-screen anarchy, including scary creatures and crazy action sequences, can be a lot for dogs to comprehend.
Combined with loud sound effects and intense scenes, it’s the opposite of the calm and gentle stimulation that makes holiday movies peaceful for canine viewers.
After watching this movie, you might want to leave the night light on for your pup, as they probably won’t be dreaming about chasing squirrels.
Die Hard
- Blue/yellow/gray score: 4
- Outdoor scene frequency: 3
- Sound stimulation score: 9
- Runtime: 132 mins
- Chaos level score: 9
- Total score: 27.45
With a total score of 27.45, Die Hard is the fourth-worst holiday movie for dogs to watch.
Visually, the dark interior settings offer little of the outdoor scenery that helps dogs feel calm. Far from an ideal Christmas movie for dogs, its frequent explosions and harsh, loud sounds create a highly chaotic viewing experience.
The darker color schemes and constant high-energy scenes are visually and audibly too much for dogs, making it one of the least dog-friendly Christmas movies.
Violent Night
- Blue/yellow/gray score: 4
- Outdoor scene frequency: 3
- Sound stimulation score: 9
- Runtime: 112 mins
- Chaos level score: 9
- Total score: 28.13
With a total score of 28.13, Violent Night is the fifth-worst holiday movie for dogs to watch.
Full of guns, loud crashes, and complete madness, it’s not only visually overwhelming but extremely stressful for canine viewers. Its dark tones, violent content, and harsh sound effects make it entirely unwatchable for a dog-friendly holiday movie night.
What’s the ideal holiday movie for dogs to watch?
Classic movies like Elf, Home Alone, The Holiday, Polar Express, and others that are constantly in the holiday movie rotation are amazing watches for people of all ages, but these gems are too long for dogs to keep up.
Landing from just out the top ten with ‘Polar Express’ to the latter half of the ranking with Home Alone, these major movies have some qualities that can be appealing to the eyes and ears of our furry friends - and for sure liked by people worldwide, but they don’t have the complete balance to be one of the best Christmas movies for your dog’s viewing.
The ideal holiday movie for dogs requires:
- Keeping the noise and chaos to a minimum
- Short runtimes
- Heavy use of dog-visible colors
- Plenty of outdoor scenery
Long movies and exuberant colors might send your dog into a spiral, ruining your own movie-watching experience. So to allow everyone to enjoy the festive fun, it’s best to choose one of the 30-minute childhood classics with less color and chaos.
Methodology
We reviewed IMDb’s list of the 100 greatest holiday movies to find the most dog-friendly picks. Each movie was scored based on its length, how often calming dog-visible colors (blue, yellow, and gray) appear on screen, the number of outdoor scenes, how chaotic the action is, and how intense the sounds are. We combined these factors to determine the #1 holiday movie that’s most enjoyable and comfortable for dogs.
