Anna Kendrick wanted to star in the film because she always wanted to be part of a holiday feature that families would be able to re-watch together over the years.
Filming began in 2017 and the film was originally scheduled for a theatrical release. However, Disney decided to postpone the film and release along with the launch of their streaming platform Disney Plus, in order to give the platform more value.
The riff that Noelle sings to summon her flying reindeer is the same one she used in Into the Woods (2014) as Cinderella when she summoned her bird friends.
The movie was originally named "Nicole" but as an attempt to ramp up the Christmas theme of the movie, it was changed to Noelle.
This was one of the first films available on the Disney+ streaming service upon its launch on November 12, 2019.