Christmas Movie T-Shirts

The films and television specials people rewatch every December.

American Christmas has a screen canon that works more like a set of family rituals than a list of favourite films. Rankin/Bass specials from the 1960s are still broadcast every December, A Christmas Story runs all day on cable, and Home Alone, Elf and Christmas Vacation return to the schedule on a predictable rota. The apparel follows the rewatching.

Most of the best designs in this group do not show a face at all. Live-action film characters come with the actor’s likeness attached, which is expensive to license, so the shirts lean on props and lines instead — a leg lamp, a strand of lights, a scream, a costume. Those designs are also the ones that land at a party, because they are jokes the room already knows.

All characters in this collection

How this list was made. Characters whose best-known story is a Christmas film or television special that is rebroadcast or rewatched every year. Chosen editorially and ordered as listed.

• Matching Family Christmas Shirts — Characters every age in a household recognises, in sizes from toddler to adult.
• Christmas T-Shirts for Kids — Festive characters for children, from toddler sizes up.
• US size guide — work out the size before you order.

Written and maintained by The CharacterTshirts editorial team · How we work