15 of the Worst Family Christmas Movies Ever Made

If you're looking for good holiday movies, you won't find them here. Check out the worst Christmas movies of all time.

We’ve all seen great classic Christmas movies. Every year, we look forward to getting cozy and watching our favorites one more time during the holiday season.

But other films aren’t good Christmas movies by a long shot. While they do have some fans who love them for how bad they are, they are indeed the worst of the genre.

These are the worst family Christmas movies ever made.

15. Santa Claus Conquers the Martians

Jalor Productions / IMDb

Studio: Embassy Pictures

Release date: 1964

What Makes Santa Claus Conquers the Martians So Bad

Jalor Productions / IMDb

Martians become obsessed with Christmas via TV shows beaming from Earth, and the only way to sate their need for the Christmas spirit is to kidnap Santa Claus.

When they find him, for whatever, reason, they take him and two human children along for the ride to the Red Planet. However, not all Martians are on board — one tries to kill Santa and the kids. Nevertheless, they do make it, and bring Christmas cheer to all the Martians.

Cheaply made with a confusing plot, “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians” is camp in the way Ed Wood movies are and does have a few moments in that regard. But couldn’t some of the Martians have at least shaved their mustaches?

14. Four Christmases

New Line Cinema / IMBb

Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures

Year released: 2008

What Makes Four Christmases So Bad

New Line Cinema / IMDb

A couple played by Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon plan a Christmas trip to Fiji to avoid their families, but due to inclement weather, they can’t make their flight.

Their families find out they are available, and they must spend “Four Christmases” with each divorced parent. Through their visits, they discover what Christmas truly means.

“Four Christmases” has a few decent moments, but it’s extremely predictable. You know what’s coming well before it happens.

13. Christmas in Wonderland

Yari Film Group / IMDb

Studio: Yari Film Group

Year released: 2007

What Makes Christmas in Wonderland So Bad

Yari Film Group / IMDb

When the Saunders kids move from Los Angeles to Edmonton, Canada, it’s up to their dad, Wayne (Patrick Swayze) to make their Christmas bright.

In a local mall, the kids find a bag of counterfeiters money and go on a spending spree. During this, they are cornered by counterfeiters who want that money back, and the chase is on.

Despite some “Home Alone” elements, uninspired acting, poor writing, terrible CGI and a predictable outcome make this a Christmas movie to pass on.

12. All I Want for Christmas

Paramount Pictures / IMDb

Studio: Paramount Pictures

Year released: 1991

What Makes All I Want for Christmas So Bad

Paramount Pictures / IMDb

This sickeningly sweet romantic comedy involves kid siblings who hatch a plan to get their parents back together with a little help from Santa (Leslie Nielsen.)

A predictable plot, a lack of passion by the main actors (with the exception of the kids, who do put their all into it), and a story that’s an obvious rip off of “Miracle on 34th Street” and “The Parent Trap” make for one forgettable Christmas movie.

11. Santa with Muscles

Hit Entertainment / IMDb

Studio: Cabin Fever Entertainment

Year released: 1996

What Makes Santa with Muscles So Bad

Hit Entertainment / IMDb

WWE superstar Hulk Hogan plays a narcissistic health food tycoon named Blake Thorne. Thorne was involved in a reckless game of paintball (as one sometimes is) and is wanted by police.

He hides out as a mall Santa, gets hit on the head and believes he is Santa. He begins performing good deeds, including saving an orphanage.

The Hulkster may have been great in the ring, but he’s no actor, and the film proves as much.

10. Fred Claus

Warner Bros. / IMDb

Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures

Year released: 2007

What Makes Fred Claus So Bad

Warner Bros. / IMDb

Another Vince Vaughn Christmas movie that should have stayed on the shelf, “Fred Claus” tells the story of Santa’s younger brother who needs money to open an off-track-betting shop.

He hits up his brother Nick (as in “St. Nick”) for the money, who tells him to come up to the North Pole and help out in the workshop. Meanwhile, an audit threatens Nick’s business. Predictably, bumbling brother Fred may be its only hope.

A dull script with infrequent laughs doesn’t make for an entertaining Christmas story. “Fred Claus” is not “so bad it’s good.” Ultimately, it’s just bland.

9. Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny

R & S Film Enterprises Inc. / IMDb

Studio: R & S Film Enterprises Inc.

Year released: 1972

What Makes Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny So Bad

R & S Film Enterprises Inc. / IMDb

Santa’s sleigh is stuck on Florida beach, and the only people who can help him get unstuck are local children. While they try to get him out of the sand, he tells them the story of Thumbelina, and the film shifts into that story.

As he finishes the tale, which has nothing to do with Christmas, the Ice Cream Bunny arrives in an antique fire engine to pull him free in time for Christmas.

Did we mention this is also a musical?

8. Santa Claus vs. the Devil

Cinematográfica Calderón S.A. / IMDb

Studio: Churubusco–Azteca Studios Mexico

Year released: 1959

What Makes Santa Claus vs. the Devil So Bad

Cinematográfica Calderón S.A. / IMDb

Also known as “Santa Claus,” this Mexican fantasy film has a cult following, and many people like it, but it is so bad, it was spoofed on “Mystery Science Theater 3000.”

Santa, who prepares for Christmas Eve in his workshop (which is not at the North Pole, but in space), is hampered by a demon named Pitch, who is sent to Earth to turn the kids against him by the Devil himself.

Santa, aided by his big-lipped computer and ally Merlin the Magician, manages to turn things around before the big day.

7. Jingle All the Way 2

Pace Pictures / IMDb

Studio: 20th Century Fox

Year released: 2014

What Makes Jingle All the Way 2 So Bad

Pace Pictures / IMDb

Truck driver Larry Phillips (aka, Larry the Cable Guy) races against time and his ex-wife’s wealthy husband, Victor, to find the perfect gift for his daughter. Victor, however, throws every possible obstacle in his path.

The film is a sequel in name only. It has nothing to do with its predecessor, and the events in that movie are never acknowledged. However, it does somewhat rehash the plot of the first film, which wasn’t necessarily great but had moments due to the charisma of Arnold Schwarzenegger.

This movie has neither.

6. Jack Frost 2: Revenge of the Mutant Killer Snowman

Gorey Bits / YouTube

Studio: A-Pix Entertainment, Inc.

Year released: 2000

What Makes Jack Frost 2: Revenge of the Mutant Killer Snowman So Bad

Cypress Willow Productions / IMDb

A couple and their friends, hoping to escape the clutches of the murderous snowman in the first movie, head to the Caribbean for the holidays.

However, the formerly thawed, wise-cracking snowman is accidentally refrozen. He seeks revenge and goes to the tropical climate. He now has the ability to remain frozen regardless of how hot it gets and also has mini offspring with the same killer instincts.

Hilarity does not ensue. Neither does quality entertainment.

5. A Christmas Story 2

Hollywood Media Bridge / IMDb

Studio: Warner Home Video

Year released: 2012

What Makes A Christmas Story 2 So Bad

Hollywood Media Bridge / IMDb

The first “A Christmas Story” is a charming, nostalgic look at one Christmas past through the eyes of a little boy who wants just one gift.

“A Christmas Story 2,” while a sequel, does not have any of the iconic moments of the first movie, even though it tries to reintroduce them through various plot points.

Flick gets his tongue stuck on a lamppost, and the leg lamp makes another appearance, but none of it has the same magic as the first movie.

4. The Nutcracker in 3D

Nutcracker Holdings / IMDb

Studio: G2 Pictures

Year released: 2010

What Makes The Nutcracker in 3D so Bad

Nutcracker Holdings / IMDb

A huge budget and A-list actors (Nathan Lane, Richard Grant, and Elle Fanning) can’t save “The Nutcracker in 3D” from its fate as one of the worst Christmas movies of all time.

To start, it’s not faithful to the story of the original “Nutcracker” and contains several disturbing scenes with Nazi rats, a robot dog, and a clown that has more than a passing resemblance to John Wayne Gacy’s alter ego, Pogo.

Albert Einstein is also a central character for reasons unknown, and to top it all off, the filmmakers added lyrics to Tchaikovsky’s works.

3. Santa’s Slay

Media 8 Entertainment / IMDb

Studio: Media 8 Entertainment

Year released: 2005

What Makes Santa’s Slay so Bad

Media 8 Entertainment / IMDb

Santa is the Devil’s son. After losing a bet with an angel, he spent 1,000 years giving gifts to children on Christmas, but time is up, and he goes back to his evil ways with a vengeance.

“Santa Slay” has plenty of over-the-top violence and a high body count, but it doesn’t seem to pick up enough stamina to launch it into cult classic status.

The performances are lackluster, the gore is dull, and nothing about it is memorable.

2. Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas

Camfam Studios / IMDb

Studio: Samuel Goldwyn Films

Year released: 2014

What Makes Saving Christmas so Bad

Camfam Studios / IMDb

This faith-based movie is on several lists of the worst movies ever made and not only at Christmastime.

The film follows Kirk Cameron as he takes his brother-in-law, “Christian” (hint, hint), from place to place, all the while explaining why Christmas is a Christian holiday.

The movie is patronizing to every faith, has poor acting, terrible special effects and even an inexplicable hip-hop dance number to “Angels We Have Heard on High.”

1. Elves

Fitzgerald Film Corporation / IMDb

Studio: Action International Pictures

Year released: 1989

What Makes Elves so Bad

Fitzgerald Film Corporation / YouTube

A young woman cuts her hand in an anti-Christmas ritual and awakens an ancient demonic Christmas elf with her spilled blood.

As the last remaining pure Aryan virgin in the world, she is fated to breed with the evil elf to create a race of superior beings. The only one who can save her is a down-on-his-luck mall Santa, played by non other than “Grizzly Adams,” Dan Haggerty.

No, we can’t believe that’s the plot either.