Holiday movies are a big business for streaming services and advertisers alike. Every holiday season, everyone from Hallmark to Netflix releases a lineup of Christmas movies that keeps viewers glued to the screen for a fraction of the cost of big-budget films.
Christmas movies are a great business idea as this fare includes something that can be watched with family and evokes the warm and fuzzy feelings associated with the holiday. The 2022 holiday lineup reportedly includes over 150 Yuletide films and is meant to satisfy your sweet tooth, without the calories.
While the holiday season is definitely a time to get together, a CivicScience study revealed that 20% of US adult poll respondents said they are ‘very likely’ to binge-watch streaming content over the 2022 holiday season.
After Secret Santa gift exchanges and gorging on delicious food, people often like to unwind with some good movie.
Yuletide movie tropes are so ingrained in us that we even associate random acts of kindness with a Hallmark movie moment during the season. Late November, one Twitter user named Shyla Watson received unexpected help from a stranger and shared the news on the microblogging site. Twitterati soon jumped in with suggestions on how she should play out her “HALLMARK moment.”
I can’t believe I’m even writing this but just now I was trying to get my Christmas tree off the roof of the car. Clearly struggling. A voice calls out asking if I need help. I turn around. A HANDSOME, SHIRTLESS, TATTOOED stranger comes forward. (1/2)
— Shyla Watson (@shylawhittney) November 27, 2022
Okay so I didn’t get his name or number but in my defense I was very frazzled!! It’s not every day a hot shirtless guy comes to your Christmas rescue (yes this would be the name of the Hallmark movie) but I’m pretty sure he lives across the street so waiting for a xmas miracle
— Shyla Watson (@shylawhittney) November 28, 2022
To help you spend some quality time with your family or alone time (if that’s how you roll), we have put together some of the cheesiest, funniest, and most heartwarming movies to brighten your holiday season.
1. Santa Camp – HBO Max
If you’re looking for Christmas movies that are thought-provoking, inclusive, and about breaking norms, you must watch Santa Camp. Aspiring Santa Clauses get together to take stock of the past in the best way possible and carve out a better future. With a black Santa, a trans Santa, and a Santa who has spina bifida, the movie examines traditional roles and how we can improve upon them.
2. Haul Out the Holly – Hallmark
At this point, Lacey Chabert is pretty much synonymous with Hallmark Christmas movies. In this Hallmark rom-com, a woman who is staying at her parents’ house for the holidays finds out that the town has some pretty strict Christmas traditions. Of course, she does not believe in it, and receives some help from the kind townspeople, and well… you know where it’s going.
3. Falling for Christmas – Netflix
Want something easy on the eyes? Look no further than Netflix’s Falling for Christmas. Starring Lindsay Lohan as a spoiled heiress, the movie is goofy and the absolute manifestation of Christmas tropes. After she falls off a cliff and loses her memory, she finds herself in a Christmassy town where the townspeople are exactly what the title suggests.
4. Something from Tiffany’s – Amazon Prime
Just like it happens to most of us, two guys mistakenly switch out the gifts they got for their partners. Except one of them had bought an engagement ring from, you guessed it – Tiffany’s! The ensuing shenanigans make everyone question their life choices resulting in a happy ending. Sometimes you just need to visit Tiffany’s to have an epiphany.
5. Spirited – Apple TV
Corny romances and saccharine-sweet storylines are not for all. If you want a stellar cast and a musical comedy, mixed in with some dark souls, Spirited is the one for you. A modern retelling of the Christmas Carol, starring Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds, the unconventional Christmas movie centers on the perspective of ghosts. Each Christmas Eve, the Ghost of Christmas Present selects one dark soul to be reformed by a visit from three spirits, but this time, one soul is not having it.
Some honorable Yuletide movies that have stood the test of time include the Home Alone series, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, A Charlie Brown Christmas, A Christmas Carol, and A Wonderful Life.
For die-hard rom-com fans, we recommend rewatching The Holiday, Holidate, A Christmas Prince, and Love Actually. So, get that hot chocolate ready, grab a fuzzy blanket, and settle in to warm your heart with some streaming content.
