Best family Christmas filmsAll together.
One good film.

Fine for almost anyone. The Christmas Yet to Come sequence is genuinely eerie and catches out the under-fives; the rest is as gentle as it looks.

Rated PG: some scenes may upset younger children. The film page has the detail.

Fine for all ages. Note that the UK cinema version was trimmed slightly to hold its U and an uncut PG version also exists, so check which you have.

Rated PG: some scenes may upset younger children. The film page has the detail.

Fine for all ages. Gentle throughout with no jeopardy to speak of, and a courtroom stretch younger children will simply talk over.

Fine for most five-year-olds. A death occurs off-screen in the first ten minutes, handled lightly but worth knowing about beforehand.

Rated PG: some scenes may upset younger children. The film page has the detail.

Rated PG: some scenes may upset younger children. The film page has the detail.

Six-year-olds and up should cope with this PG, though the snarling lead and a few frights can unsettle the very youngest, and much of the rude humour sails over small heads.

The ghosts earn the rating. Marley and the final spirit reliably frighten under-sevens. Fine from about eight, better with someone sitting alongside.

Fine for all ages. Mild rude humour, a great deal of shouting, and nothing that needs explaining afterwards.

Fine from about four, with a caveat: several sequences are genuinely tense, and the animation itself unsettles some small children.

Fine from about seven. Black and white with a slow first half, and Marley is properly frightening for a couple of minutes.

Rated PG: some scenes may upset younger children. The film page has the detail.

Rated PG: some scenes may upset younger children. The film page has the detail.

Rated U by the BBFC. The only rough stuff is slapstick, mostly the dog getting buried in snow and run over by a sleigh, so the kids can watch this one, though the very youngest may mind watching the presents vanish.

Rated U for very mild peril. The only menace is a toy tyrant and his marching toy soldiers, pitched squarely as comedy, so most five-year-olds will cope happily.

Rated PG: some scenes may upset younger children. The film page has the detail.

Fine for all ages. A great deal of shouting, some peril played entirely for laughs, and nothing that needs explaining afterwards.

Fine for all ages. A great deal of shouting, slapstick throughout, and nothing that needs explaining afterwards.

Rated PG for mild violence and language. Pitched at pantomime level throughout: a child sleeping rough and a climax that puts two children in peril, with everyone safe and home by the end, so most five-year-olds will be fine.

Rated PG. Slapstick pratfalls and a street full of neighbours behaving badly, but no real threat. Fine for most sevens and up.

Rated U and fine for most five-year-olds: the only tension is a kind old man being locked up and taken to court, and the one brief adult reference will pass straight over small heads.

Rated U for mild language and horror. Mostly warm and bouncy, but a skeletal hooded spirit, an open grave and a trip to the afterlife could frighten younger children, so watch that stretch together.

Rated U for infrequent mild scary scenes and language. The night-time graveyard and the hooded final spirit can unsettle under-sevens, but nothing is gory and the Christmas-morning ending puts everything right.

Rated 12 for language and sex references. Fantasy peril from the Twelve Days curse and a lot of chaos, but it stays comic and ends warmly. Twelve and up, by the rating.

Rated PG. Slapstick sabotage and plenty of shouting between grown men, with no real threat. Fine for most sevens and up.

Rated U by the BBFC, which flags language. Nothing scary, and silly enough for primary-age children, though the romance is aimed at the grown-ups.

Rated PG: some scenes may upset younger children. The film page has the detail.

Rated PG: some scenes may upset younger children. The film page has the detail.

Fine for children old enough to sit with black and white. Nothing frightening, but a long stretch of adult despair in the middle will simply bore them.

Rated PG. Mild scary scenes with spells and a troll, brief injury detail, and a parent's sacrifice alongside gentle bereavement. The loss is handled kindly, but it frames the whole story. Fine for most sevens and up, with a hand to hold.

Rated 12A for punch-ups, fantasy weapons, a few menacing creatures and the odd cut-off swear, but the jokes keep undercutting the threat, so most confident nine-year-olds will cope with a grown-up alongside.

U-rated and suitable for most six-year-olds: comic brawling, chases and some mild prison menace, all daft rather than frightening, and a properly happy ending.

Rated U by the BBFC for very mild comic violence. The rough stuff is slapstick, a shovel to the face and a few tumbles, so the kids can watch this one.

Rated PG by the BBFC for mild violence, discrimination and language. The ghosts are only mildly spooky, but a brief racist attack and scenes of families fleeing their homes and grieving may need talking through with younger children.

Fine for the very young, with one caveat: the ending upsets a lot of small children and it arrives without warning. Worth being in the room.

Rated PG: some scenes may upset younger children. The film page has the detail.

Mild bad language, rude humour and a sledging accident are all manageable for primary schoolers, but a grandparent's death and the grief that follows may need a quiet chat with younger ones.

Rated 12A: not recommended for under-12s. The film page has the detail.

Fine for all ages. Long, gentle and entirely without jeopardy; younger children will drift in and out of it.

The nearest thing to a villain is a fussy, numbers-obsessed cousin, and the old Santa has died before the story starts, so most primary-age children will be fine.

Rated 12 for one moment of implied strong language; otherwise mild bad language, mild sex references, mild violence and some rude humour. Twelve and up, by the rating.

Rated 12 for moderate sex references and rude humour. No scares at all, but it sits best with twelve and up.

Fine for most children, though the scheming organ villain and a near-fatal finale may frighten under-fives.

Mild language is about the worst of it, with a US PG rating, though the grown-up romance will lose anyone under ten long before the end.

Rated PG for mild bad language and brief scary scenes with figures from the book. The flashbacks to a young boy sent out to work in a factory may upset younger children more than the spooks do, so most eight-year-olds and up will be fine.

Not rated by the BBFC. A gentle comedy with nothing scary in it; the talk of an absent father may land with older children, and the romance subplots will pass younger ones by. Should suit most families from about eight.

Pre-schoolers will manage fine with this U: the snowman still melts, but a wished-for present softens the goodbye, so any tears should be brief.

Rated 12 for sex references and language. Nothing frightening at all, but it sits with twelve and up rather than little ones.

Rated 12 by the BBFC for language. Nothing frightening happens, just a tumble on the slopes and some romance, but the swearing makes it one for 12 and up.

Rated PG by the BBFC for language and threat. The scariest moment is a skiing fall and a bump on the head, and the romance stops at a kiss, so the kids can watch this one.

Rated PG by the BBFC for infrequent mild bad language and some very mild slapstick. There is nothing frightening and only some kissing, so the whole family can watch this one.

Rated 12A: not recommended for under-12s. The film page has the detail.

Rated U and suitable for any age; a brief storm is the only peril, although small children may wander off during the kissing.

Four-year-olds should be fine with this U, though the cat's stalking scenes and its creepy lair may unsettle the very youngest.

Peril is mild and brief, so most primary-age children will be comfortable, though younger ones may drift off once the romance takes over.

Fine for all ages, though younger children will find the pace slow. One scene of real upset near the end.

Rated PG for upsetting scenes and sex references. Suitable for most children: the grief running through it is handled gently, and the references should sail over younger heads.

Sleepover-safe from about eight: stepfamily meanness, a handful of rude and suggestive gags, and no peril to speak of before a happy finish.