THE trees are up, the lights are on and Mariah Carey’s royalties are in. It’s Christmas, and that means there’s more stuff to stream than ever, writes columnist NICK OVERALL.

THE holidays mark large numbers of viewers flocking to platforms such as  Netflix, Disney Plus, Binge and more for some family flicks, but in the sea of choice, what’s worth the time?

Here’s a few highlights.

Netflix has an underrated animated film called “Klaus” that kids and adults alike can enjoy.

It tells the story of Jesper Johansson, a young boy failing postman school who is sent to a little frozen town in the north where he stumbles across a reclusive toymaker named Klaus. No spoilers on who that might be.

Although it originated in Spain, the film is spoken in English and features a beautiful hand-drawn animation style that makes it a visual treat on top of a heart-warming story.

Looking for a festive classic?

Frank Capra’s delicately crafted “It’s a Wonderful Life” is streaming on Stan, a film that turns 75 this year and remains both a tear-jerker and a laugh-inducer.

It’s about a suicidal businessman who is shown by an angel what life would look like if he was never born, which from the outset admittedly sounds quite dour for a Christmas flick – but it’s anything but. 

Even those who haven’t seen the film might recognise it through its countless references and love letters in pop culture.

“The Simpsons”, “The Big Bang Theory”, even “The Muppets” have all paid homage to the 1946 film that many believe to be the greatest Christmas movie of all time.

Don’t let the movie’s age discourage a watch; even by today’s standards it’s effortless to get caught up in.

Marvel fans have plenty to be happy about this holiday season. 

Disney Plus is streaming “Hawkeye”, another of its television show spin-offs, adding to the exponentially growing “Marvel Cinematic Universe” (MCU).

In “Hawkeye”, crackshot archer Clint Barton and his family are looking for some much needed downtime for Christmas – being snapped out of existence by a megalomaniac for five years would be a bit draining, I suppose.

But when ghosts of his past come back to haunt him, he has to team up with a new companion in order to make it home safely to his family in time for their festive celebrations.

“Hawkeye” is pretty much what to expect from any Marvel instalment these days – it won’t bat an eye from anyone uninterested, but for fans who can’t get enough, it’ll squarely hit the bullseye.

Then there’s Marvel’s first Asian-led film: “Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings”, which is also now streaming on Disney Plus.

While it may follow one of the lesser-known superheroes in the comic canon, it represents one of the more stylistically interesting entries in the MCU and will also tick the boxes of anyone wanting more Marvel.

There’s plenty more holiday classics spread throughout the streaming platforms, though.

Binge, for example, has got the Christmas doofus sub-genre covered with “Mr. Bean” and “National Lampoon’s Vacation” available to watch, while Netflix has classic guilty pleasures such as “You’ve Got Mail” and ”Elf”.

The definitive Christmas movie though? There’s not many who seem to disagree. It’s gotta be “Love Actually”, which is on Amazon Prime Video, Stan and Binge.

Of course, in this era of remakes and revivals, someone just had to try and ruin at least one Christmas classic this year.

This time “Home Alone” got the treatment, with a new movie called “Home Sweet Home Alone” now streaming on Disney Plus.

It’s a shocker – bizarrely shy of committing to the implausible and hilarious nonsense that made the first one worth the time.

Granted, a kids’ movie in 2021 probably isn’t going to have its hero hurl bricks off a roof like Kevin McCallister did in the originals, but this one plays it so painfully safe that there’s not a shred of fun left to be found.

It’s lucky the original two “Home Alone” movies are available for streaming on the platform, because Disney deserves some coal in their stocking for this new one.