Roku UK: Giving the gift of streaming!

This week we just had to do a Christmas special for you! There is so much festive content on Roku it’s hard to know where to start but here is our pick of the best Christmas entertainment that you can start streaming now…

Let us know what you watch this Christmas in the comments box below!

• • Home Alone – Voted the nation’s favourite Christmas film in our recent survey, we just had to include this Macaulay Culkin comedy in our round-up! A young scamp is left behind when his family go on holiday. Easy pickings for sneaky burglars Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern, or so they think. Unfortunately for them, the kid is smarter than they’ll ever be. John Candy pitches in as a jazz musician who helps to reunite frantic mum Catherine O’Hara with her little boy. Catch both Home Alone and Home Alone 2 on Sky Store now.

• Scrooged – A cold-hearted TV exec is about to discover the true meaning of Christmas — the hard way — in this 1988 wild, woolly spin on Dickens’s A Christmas Carol featuring Bill Murray. Watch it now on Netflix.
• Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger – Supply teacher Mr Peterson (David Tennant) has to juggle a pregnant wife and a class of unruly children (plus a baby) on a road trip to the National ‘Song for Christmas’ Competition in Wales. Not helped but hindered by bumbling classroom assistant Mr Poppy (Marc Wootton), it’s a fraught journey that will see them whitewater rafting and scaling misty peaks… with a donkey. This seasonal sequel from writer-director Debbie Isitt will appeal to younger children as it makes a virtue out of its lack of sophistication. Available now on Sky Store.
• The Royle Family Christmas Special (2000) – Enjoy the Millennium Christmas special all over again on Netflix. While the Royles are bloated with Christmas turkey, Barbara is wondering what to feed her future in-laws, who are vegetarian.
• Frozen – In “Frozen,” fearless optimist Anna teams up with rugged mountain man Kristoff and his loyal reindeer Sven in an epic journey, encountering Everest-like conditions, mystical trolls and a hilarious snowman named Olaf in a race to find Anna’s sister Elsa, whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom of Arendelle in eternal winter. Catch it now on Google Play.
• The Nightmare Before Christmas – Bored with the same old scare-and-scream routine, Pumpkin King Jack Skellington longs to spread the joy of Christmas. But his merry mission puts Santa in jeopardy and creates a nightmare for good little boys and girls everywhere! Watch it now on Google Play.
• Arthur Christmas – Santa’s youngest son Arthur embarks on a magical adventure to deliver the final gift to a child to save Christmas. Watch it now on the Sainsbury’s Entertainment Channel.
• Elf – Winningly daft comedy starring Will Ferrell as Buddy, a human who is raised as an elf at the North Pole but, having outgrown his surroundings, returns to New York to find his true identity. Unfortunately, Dad (James Caan) is a greedy children’s book publisher who’s landed himself on Santa’s “naughty list”. Zooey Deschanel is the shop assistant who becomes Buddy’s little helper while Peter Dinklage is at his scene-stealing best as an arrogant author. Available on Now TV.
• Miracle on 34^th Street – This classic Christmas fantasy from 1947 stars the perfectly cast Edmund Gwenn as a lovable department store Santa who sets out to prove to a child that he is the real Father Christmas. This deservedly scooped three Academy Awards – including one for Gwenn – and also features an eight-year-old Natalie Wood. A genuinely heart-warming tale, given a crispier edge with its anti-consumerism message. Watch it on Now TV.
• Die Hard – A controversial Christmas choice. New York City Detective John McClane becomes the only hope for a small group of hostages, one of whom is his estranged wife, trapped in a L.A. high-rise office building when it is seized by terrorists. Catch it now on the Sainsbury’s Entertainment Channel.