For our third and final special edition holiday article for 2024, we’re going to look at the Funniest Christmas Capers. We’ve reviewed Christmas comedies in the past including the raunchiest comedies of the Christmas season and our Ultimate List of Christmas Comedies featuring over 30 fun-filled comedies set during the Christmas season. And while our previous article in this special edition looked at the best action-packed and violent Christmas Crime Films, this article will feature the funniest films of the holiday season that involve everything from extravagant capers to small-time robberies.
Caper films are often more light-hearted than Heist films and involve an expansive set of crimes including robberies, cons and kidnappings. Caper films also typically feature comedic elements such as slapstick comedy and raunchy comedy. This third and final article will cover these hilarious Christmas-time capers and you can check out our other Christmas-themed articles for 2024 below:
- Best Christmas Crime Films
- Best Film Adaptations of A Christmas Carol
- Funniest Caper Comedies
What are the Funniest Christmas Capers? Read on as we look at some of the best bumbling thieves, adventure-filled heists and naughty criminals of the holiday season.
For our rankings we’re going to use some criteria to help define and refine our list. First, the film must be set during the Christmas holidays or include an element of Christmas such as Santa Claus. We’re not going to entertain any debate as to whether Trading Places (1983) is a Christmas film. It’s set during Christmas, so it’s on our list.
Second, we’re going to use a very broad definition of a caper film to include as many different holiday ‘crime’ films as possible. Most of these films will be comedies first but will also have themes of heists, kidnappers and hostages, burglars, murder mysteries and other light-hearted criminal elements.
Third, this list will include all caper comedies so though most of these films will be family friendly, there are a few including Trading Places, The Ref (1994) and Bad Santa (2003) that aren’t for kids. We’ll include the parental rating with our selections below.
And fourth, we had to follow our rule for all of KBZ’s film listings where we only list films that have a 4.0/10 or higher rating and were released after 1970.
Our complete list of Christmas Movies features over 838+ films from 1946 – 2024. This collection features almost every film from every genre set during Christmas and other end of the year holidays. Also, as we’re always updating our collections and will be releasing additional articles of great Christmas films, subscribe to our newsletter for our latest updates as we post them.
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Funniest Christmas Capers
Films that didn’t make our list (only for completists): Christmas Caper (2007), Just Getting Started (2017), Christmas Thieves (2021), Twas the Night (2021), Christmas Ransom (2022) and Vandits (2022).
Honorable Mentions: Grumpy Cat’s Worst Nightmare (2014), Bad Santa 2 (2016), The Santa Stakeout (2017), Reno 911: It’s a Wonderful Heist (2022), A Christmas Mystery (2022), Who Killed Santa? A Murderville Murder Mystery (2023) and The Heist Before Christmas (2023).
#10
Get Santa
Plot: A father and son must team up to save Christmas when they discover Santa Claus sleeping in their garage, having crashed his sleigh and found himself on the run from the police.
Rating: PG
KBZ’s Take: This underrated British caper comedy usually gets lost in the shuffle of annual Christmas classics. While it’s not a classic holiday film such as A Christmas Story (1983), it does feature some very funny moments children will enjoy and a standout performance by Jim Broadbent as Santa himself. We also think this is the only Christmas comedy involving Santa in an actual prison (which provides its own unique laughs).
Additional Lists: The Ultimate List of Christmas Comedies #29
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#9
Santa Claus
Plot: Antoine is 6 years old and wants to take a sleigh ride with Santa Claus. When a petty thief lands on his roof, they will form a partnership to steal money and jewels from the best Paris apartments.
Rating: PG
KBZ’s Take: Also known as Le Père Noël, this French film has many similarities to Bad Santa (2003). There’s a criminal posing as Santa Claus that robs homes during Christmas with the assistance of his new helper – a naïve young boy infatuated with Santa. That’s where the similarities end as Le Père Noël trades the raunchy comedy of Bad Santa for a heartwarming, yet funny, bond between the criminal Père Noël (Tahar Rahim) and the young Antoine (Victor Cabal).
Though younger children might not find much interest in the film (as it’s also in French), it is a film we would recommend if you’ve already seen most of the popular Christmas caper comedies on this list.
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
Plot: On a mission to make Christmas unforgettable for Quill, the Guardians head to Earth in search of the perfect present.
Rating: TV-14
KBZ’s Takee: We initially had Who Killed Santa? A Murderville Murder Mystery (2023) in this spot but moved it out for the Guardians of the Galaxy holiday special. We didn’t think it would be worth watching as most holiday specials of popular sci-fi franchises tend to be very bad (i.e. The Star Wars Holiday Special).
However, at a short 42 minutes, the Guardians holiday special is full of laughs and action – mostly revolving around Drax (David Baustista) and Mantis’s (Pom Klementieff) attempt to kidnap the actual Kevin Bacon on Earth. It’s probably not a film you’ll watch annually at Christmas, but it is worth checking out this year if you haven’t seen it yet.
Where to Stream / Buy: Disney+
Plot: Fresh out of prison, Alvin (Dana Carvey) and Dave Firpo (Jon Lovitz) pull their brother Bill (Nicolas Cage) back into a life of crime. But the siblings’ foolproof bank heist takes a tailspin when Alvin gets lost in the getaway car. That’s how the criminal nitwits wind up trapped in the snowbound burg of Paradise, Pennsylvania, on Christmas Eve with a bag full of stolen cash. With suspicious police on one side and hospitable townsfolk on the other, could a change of heart be far away?
Rating: PG-13
KBZ’s Take: Most critics lambasted this film in 1994, and it made an appearance on quite a few ‘worst films of the year’ lists. We must be in the minority though because we enjoyed the film upon its release and it’s firmly in our annual holiday rotation of films.
How much you will enjoy the film will likely depend on how funny you find Nicolas Cage, Dana Carvey and Jon Lovitz. We’ve always loved their brand of comedy and the chemistry between the bumbling burglars is what makes the film (for us). Though this also isn’t a ‘laugh out loud a minute’ type comedy, it does have a feel-good redemption arc that’s perfect for the holidays.
Additional Lists: The Ultimate List of Christmas Comedies #22
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
Plot: When Andy finds out he’s on Santa’s naughty list, he pulls together a group of naughty list kids to get the presents they think they deserve.
Rating: TV-G
KBZ’s Take: The Naughty Nine can basically be summed up as a Christmas-themed Ocean’s Eleven (2001) for kids. Each of the kids on the naughty list has their own ‘special skill’, that when taken together, forms a team to break into the North Pole.
Though it is a Disney film and targeted at young teens, it’s also adult-friendly. There are some very funny scenes in the film along with positive messaging for children.
Where to Stream / Buy: Disney+
#5
Red One
Plot: When a villain kidnaps Santa Claus from the North Pole, an E.L.F. (Extremely Large and Formidable) operative joins forces with the world’s most accomplished tracker to find him and save Christmas.
Rating: PG-13
KBZ’s Take: Like The Naughty Nine (2023), Red One involves a Santa-related caper, but in this instance, it’s the kidnapping of Santa Claus (J.K. Simmons) by the evil Grýla (Kiernan Shipka). What follows is an action-filled comedy as Santa’s #1 Callum Drift (Dwayne Johnson) and Jack O’ Malley (Chris Evans) team up to save Christmas.
The film is very funny, exciting and has some great special effects – especially Santa’s reindeer, his North Pole complex and other Christmas-related mythological creatures. And that’s what we enjoyed most about the film – the exploration of Christmas folklore involving the winter witch Grýla and Krampus.
The film does have a PG-13 rating for a reason (strong language and some intense scenes) so might not be suitable for very young children.
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#4
The Ref
Plot: Bickering spouses (Judy Davis, Kevin Spacey) annoy the cat burglar (Denis Leary) who takes them hostage in their Connecticut home.
Rating: R
KBZ’s Take: We’ll start by saying The Ref is not a film for younger children on Christmas, nor will they likely be interested in the film. For adults, however, it has become a cult classic for the holiday season with its very funny, yet dark, comedy.
This is a great companion piece to Bad Santa (2003) if you’re in a particularly anti-Christmas mood during the holidays.
Additional Lists: The Ultimate List of Christmas Comedies #11
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#3
Bad Santa
Plot: A miserable conman and his partner pose as Santa and his Little Helper to rob department stores on Christmas Eve. But they run into problems when the conman befriends a troubled kid.
Rating: R
KBZ’s Take: As we just mentioned, The Ref (1994) and Bad Santa make up the darkest duo of comedies you can watch during the Christmas season. We would also offer up White Reindeer (2013) for the trifecta if you want to have a completely nihilistic holiday.
And while Bad Santa does have some very dark moments, it’s also filled with the raunchiest comedy you’ll find for Christmas. Bad Santa is at the top of our holiday film rotation every year and one that has easily earned its reputation as a Christmas classic.
Additional Lists: Best Raunchy Christmas Comedies #1, The Ultimate List of Christmas Comedies #11
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
#2
Home Alone
Plot: Eight-year-old Kevin McCallister makes the most of the situation after his family unwittingly leaves him behind when they go on Christmas vacation. But when a pair of bungling burglars set their sights on Kevin’s house, the plucky kid stands ready to defend his territory. By planting booby traps galore, adorably mischievous Kevin stands his ground as his frantic mother attempts to race home before Christmas Day.
Rating: PG
KBZ’s Take: Another film that has evolved into a classic Christmas film over the last 30 years, Home Alone has all the elements of a classic holiday comedy. There’s the large hectic family during Christmas time, the bumbling burglars and the ingenious Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) who becomes a MacGyver-type hero celebrated by kids from around the world.
Like some other Christmas classic films that are on heavy TV rotation during the holiday, it’s a good chance you’ll catch Home Alone playing at some point.
Additional Lists: The Ultimate List of Christmas Comedies #7
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
Plot: A snobbish investor and a wily street con-artist find their positions reversed as part of a bet by two callous millionaires.
Rating: R
KBZ’s Take: Trading Places is a definitive Christmas comedy classic that also just happens to be a caper comedy involving orange juice futures and the commodity exchange. Sure, it isn’t a typical Christmas film (or comedy) but that’s what makes the film so special. From Louis Winthorpe’s (Dan Aykroyd) descent at the expense of Billy Ray Valentine’s (Eddie Murphy) ascent, it doesn’t focus on the feel-good trappings of a Christmas film but rather explores (comically) the psychological descent of someone who has lost everything during the holidays.
Trading Places is a film of its time and has some outdated language and scenes that wouldn’t be acceptable today. But it’s satirical exploration of societal and class structure will have you laughing throughout in a comedy that has themes that are just as relevant today as they were over 40 years ago.
Additional Lists: The Ultimate List of Christmas Comedies #3
Where to Stream / Buy: Amazon
