7 Hidden Holiday Gems to Watch on Netflix Instant

Holiday movies can be the worst sort of schlock.

Grab some D-listers, slap a Santa hat on a Golden Retriever, add any actor who previously starred in "Home Improvement" and/or Jenny McCarthy. Exhibit A: Netflix's curated list of holiday movies. 

But there's still hope for your Netflix queue: Here's my unofficial short-list of seven streaming movies (and TV shows) that will put you right into the holiday spirit:

1. The Fitzgerald Family Christmas. Ed Burns and Connie Britton together again? I'm in, no questions asked. (Imagine if Burns had cast Britton as his love interest in The Brothers McMullen instead of former girlfriend Maxine Bahns? Whole. Different. Movie.) Caitlin FitzGerald and Ed Lauter are also great here. It's a shame this gets lumped in with lesser holiday movies.

2. Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Yes, yes this has nothing to do with the holidays per se, but you can't pass up this chance to introduce your older kids or nieces and nephews to the essential 1980s film canon. Netflix has some stellar ones streaming right now. (See also, The Breakfast Club) This movie should be required viewing in today's overheated academic environment. We can all be a little more like Ferris: "The question isn't 'What are we going to do,' the question is 'What aren't we going to do?'"

3. The IT Crowd. This is hands-down my favorite Netflix hidden gem. If you are completely stressed over anything holiday-related, put on some headphones, grab the laptop or tablet and binge on this British import until your relatives (or kids) tell you to stop laughing so loudly. Pure, remarkably well-crafted silliness. Bonus: You get to say you discovered Chris O'Dowd long before he showed up in Bridesmaids or HBO's Girls.

4. Spending time at your parents' house? Try Young Adult with Charlize Theron. I wouldn't quite call this one uplifting, but Theron is never less than great. It captures so well the longing, heartache and expectations that can surround coming home. What's more holiday than that?

5. Now let's tackle that holiday movie elephant on the screen: Love Actually. It's a terrible movie. Even its fans can tell you that. I'll never be able to critique it quite like this hilarious dressing down, but I also know I've seen plenty worse. (And it will absolutely be better than "Elf Bowling: The Movie.") Worth it, but be warned: It does not bear a second-viewing well.

6. Pacific Northwest Ballet's Nutcracker. This is a recommendation from a friend. "It's a little spooky, and has sets by Maurice Sendak!"

7. Let's stick with ballet for our last pick: First Position is a fantastic documentary streaming on Netflix right now. Even if dancing is not your thing, filmmaker Bess Kargman will draw you into the lives of these dancers from the first scene. I watched this with my 7- and 9-year-old girls, who absolutely loved it. 

P.S. Amazon has The Holiday for a $2.99 rental. The only movie that will make you want to spend the holidays alone in a freezing English cottage!

What movies—Christmas-themed or not—would you recommend this holiday season?