Movies Like A Light in the Forest

If you liked A Light in the Forest (2003), a family movie directed by John Carl Buechler, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
Candy Cane Lane (2023)
★ 6/10Also family
Determined to win the neighborhood's annual Christmas decorating contest, family man Chris makes a pact with an elf to help him out-do the competition. However, the elf casts a spell bringing the twelve days of…
2
Christmas in the Heartland (2017)
★ 6.1/10Also family
Kara and Jessie are two teenage girls from very different worlds, but with a little Christmas magic, they find they have much more in common than they ever imagined.
3
Christmas at Grand Valley (2018)
★ 6.4/10Also family
Burned out from the hubbub of the Chicago gallery world, artist Kelly returns home to the picturesque Grand Valley just in time for Christmas. Leo, businessman and all-star dad to his children, struggles to balance his…
4
Shorts (2009)
★ 5.9/10Also family
A young boy's discovery of a colorful, wish-granting rock causes chaos in the suburban town of Black Falls when jealous kids and scheming adults alike set out to get their hands on it.
5
Kristin's Christmas Past (2013)
★ 5.9/10Also family
Kristin, a cynical 34-year-old, drinks a mysterious champagne on Christmas Eve and wakes up seventeen years in the past, sharing a room with her 17-year-old self. Given the chance to change the worst Christmas of her…
6
Holiday in Handcuffs (2007)
★ 6.3/10Also family
A ne’er-do-well thirty-something attempts to appease her family by kidnapping herself an attractive boyfriend for the family Christmas. Despite unlikely odds and dysfunctional family moments, the two fall in love and…
7
Return to Christmas Creek (2018)
★ 6.4/10Also family
As Christmas approaches, Amelia Hughes, a career-focused Chicago app developer lacking in holiday spirit, returns to her small hometown of Christmas Creek to rediscover the meaning of Christmas. There, she reunites…
8
Marvel Super Hero Adventures: Frost Fight! (2015)
★ 6/10Also family
The holiday season gets extra chilly as Loki and the frost giant Ymir plot to conquer the world. Marvel heroes Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Thor and others must stop the villains from stealing Santa's power – if…
9
The Sleepover (2020)
★ 6.4/10Also family
Two siblings who discover their seemingly normal mom is a former thief in witness protection. Mom is forced to pull one last job, and the kids team up to rescue her over the course of an action-packed night.
10
My Spy (2020)
★ 6.9/10Also family
A hardened CIA operative finds himself at the mercy of a precocious 9-year-old girl, having been sent undercover to surveil her family.
11
Anastasia: Once Upon a Time (2020)
★ 5.9/10Also family
Anastasia Romanov escapes through a portal when her family is threatened by Vladimir Lenin, and she finds herself in the year 1988, befriended by a young American girl.
12
Thunderstruck (2012)
★ 6.2/10Also family
After NBA star Kevin Durant switches talent with 16 year old Brian, the teenager becomes the star of his high school team, but Durant starts struggling and eventually learns an important lesson.
13
A Royal Christmas (2014)
★ 6.7/10Also family
A young working girl with a blue-collar background is surprised when her new fiancé announces he is actually a prince of a small sovereign country in Europe. After the couple quickly takes off to spend the holidays at…
14
Monster High: Welcome to Monster High (2016)
★ 6.9/10Also family
Monsters once lived in hiding—even from each other—because they were afraid they would be in danger if humans knew they existed. But Draculaura, the daughter of Dracula, along with her best ghoulfriends, dreamt of a…
15
The Warriors Gate (2016)
★ 6.6/10Also family
After a mysterious chest opens a gateway through time, teen gamer Jack is transported to an ancient empire terrorized by a cruel barbarian king. Jack will need all of his gaming skills as he battles to defeat the…
16
My Christmas Prince (2017)
★ 5.8/10Also family
Samantha, a dedicated teacher in Manhattan, returns to her home town of Maple Falls, Wyoming every year for Christmas. This year, she’s delighted when her boyfriend Alex, a European diplomat from the tiny country of…
17
A Veteran's Christmas (2018)
★ 6.5/10Also family
Captain Grace Garland, a decorated U.S. veteran, returns home after two tours of Search and Rescue in Afghanistan. After being separated from her beloved K9 partner, Grace must rediscover the magic of Christmas. When…
18
Love the Coopers (2015)
★ 6/10Also family
When four generations of the Cooper clan come together for their annual Christmas Eve celebration, a series of unexpected visitors and unlikely events turn the night upside down, leading them all toward a surprising…
19
The Christmas Calendar (2017)
★ 6.2/10Also family
When Emily, a struggling baker in a small town, receives a handmade Christmas Calendar from a secret admirer, the local residents become obsessed with finding out the identity of the sender.
20
The Happiest Millionaire (1967)
★ 6.8/10Also family
A happy and unbelievably lucky young Irish immigrant, John Lawless, lands a job as the butler of an unconventional millionaire, Biddle. His daughter, Cordelia Drexel Biddle, tires of the unusual antics of her…