How To Watch A Christmas Story Streaming And On TV

Peter Billingsley in A Christmas Story
(Image credit: MGM/UA Entertainment Co.)

As is the case for millions of people around the United States, one of my holiday traditions is to hang out with my brothers and see how many times we can watch A Christmas Story during the annual TBS/TNT 24-hour marathon of the 1983 classic. But what if I don't want to wait until Christmas Eve to see Ralphie shoot his eye out, hear Mr. Parker yell at the Bumpus' dogs, or watch Mrs. Parker stick a bar of soap in her mouth after her son said a certain four-letter word? There has to be a place where I can watch A Christmas Story streaming, right?

You bet! And you don't need a decoder pin to find out where, either. Below is a breakdown of how to watch A Christmas Story streaming and on TV this holiday season. We’ve also provided streaming information for Peter Billingsley’s return in the 2022 sequel, A Christmas Story Christmas, as well as the other movies and specials released over the years. 

How To Watch A Christmas Story Streaming

Anyone with an active HBO Max subscription can watch A Christmas Story streaming in a few quick steps. Just open the app on your preferred streaming device and type the title in the search bar. You’ll be watching Flick get his tongue stuck to the flagpole, the “Leg Lamp” come crashing down, and be eating Christmas lunch at a Chinese restaurant with the Parker family in no time. Or, you could just click the link down below.

Stream A Christmas Story on HBO Max.

Rent or Buy A Christmas Story, Or Watch The Christmas Story Marathon on Christmas Eve

There are still plenty of non-streaming ways to enjoy A Christmas Story for those who don't want to add another streaming service to their monthly budget. The easiest option is going to be to either rent or buy a digital copy of Bob Clark’s holiday classic on Amazon. 

Rent/Buy A Christmas Story on Amazon.

If you want to buy a physical copy of the movie and dive into all those behind-the-scenes stories from the making of A Christmas Story, the movie was given a 4K Blu-ray release in November 2022.

Buy A Christmas Story on 4K Blu-ray on Amazon.

There is also the annual 24-hour marathon that plays on TNT and TBS starting Christmas Eve. According to TBS, 24 Hours of A Christmas Story begins Saturday, December 24 at 8 p.m. ET/PT and runs through Sunday, December 25 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on TBS and TNT. The special broadcast is part of the TBS/TNT Winter Break programming block that also includes marathons of Elf and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation in addition to other holiday movies throughout the season.

How To Watch A Christmas Story Christmas And Other Sequels/Adaptations

If you want to further explore the Christmas Story franchise, there are plenty of ways to do so, with two of the sequels being available on HBO Max, just like the original. First, there is A Christmas Story Christmas, which debuted on HBO Max this month and follows an older Ralphie Parker (played again by Peter Billingsley) as he turns to his childhood home with a family of his own. There is also the 2012 direct-to-video A Christmas Story 2, which takes place a few years after the events of the original  movie but does not feature any of the original actors. And then there is the 2017 TV stage production A Christmas Story Live!, which serves as a retelling of the original movie. 

Stream A Christmas Story Christmas on HBO Max.
Stream A Christmas Story 2 on HBO Max.
Rent/Buy A Christmas Story Live! on Amazon.

Those are all the ways to enjoy A Christmas Story this holiday season, whether it be streaming, on TV, and every other way to take part in the annual tradition of watching Old Man Parker turn on that "major award" before it comes crashing down. If you want to take in even more seasonal cheer, take a look at our 2022 Christmas movie schedule, which includes everything from time-honored holiday classics and all those Hallmark movies your mom loves so much.

Philip Sledge
Content Writer

Philip grew up in Louisiana (not New Orleans) before moving to St. Louis after graduating from Louisiana State University-Shreveport. When he's not writing about movies or television, Philip can be found being chased by his three kids, telling his dogs to stop barking at the mailman, or chatting about professional wrestling to his wife. Writing gigs with school newspapers, multiple daily newspapers, and other varied job experiences led him to this point where he actually gets to write about movies, shows, wrestling, and documentaries (which is a huge win in his eyes). If the stars properly align, he will talk about For Love Of The Game being the best baseball movie of all time.