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We love bundling up under a bunch of blankets, with a cup of cocoa in hand, and binging every Christmas movie we can find. Now, we love the classics like It’s a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, and Love Actually, but sometimes, we wanna shake things up.
Eventually, we run out of Christmas movies (and sometimes, we just want to try something new, but still in the same vein as the wintertime). We want those wintertime movies, packed with all the fixings of a Christmas film: a lesson about togetherness or being grateful, love, and something to make us cry.
Now, quite a few films have been debated as Christmas films over the years (yes, we’re talking about you, Die Hard). And years after the films have been released, some put these films in their Christmas cycle.
Will you, though?
From action-packed films like The Nice Guys and The Long Kiss Goodnight to romance films placed during winter like Serendipity and Edward Scissorhands, there’s something for everyone.
Below, check out which movies we’re debating on whether or not they should be considered Christmas movies.
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‘Mean Girls’
Image Credit: (c) Paramount/courtesy Everett Collection Starring Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Amanda Seyfried, and our December Cover Star Lacey Chabert, Mean Girls remains iconic for explaining High School love and all things girlhood. We watch the film anytime, all year round, but quite a few people have been insisting that it can count as a Christmas movie for the ever-so-iconic “Jingle Bell Rock” scene.
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‘Harry Potter’ Movies
Image Credit: Everett Collection. One thing all the Harry Potter movies have in common, aside from just being the perfect fantasy film to watch when you want to feel nostalgic, is that nearly every movie has a Christmas scene.
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‘Gremlins’
Image Credit: (c)Warner Bros./courtesy Everett Collection. Okay, we don’t care what anyone says: Gremlins is a Christmas movie. Not only does it take place around Christmas time, but the lead is given the gremlin as a Christmas gift. You can’t change your minds on this one (but maybe try to skip the scene where one of the leads talks about not believing in Santa anymore because that could be bleak for the kiddos).
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‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’
Image Credit: ph: John Bramley/©Summit Entertainment/courtesy Everett Collection. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is maybe one of the best films to perfectly encapsulate the trials of life, even at such a young age. The reason we’re putting it on this list, is because the Christmas scene is one of the most iconic from the film because it drastically changes the tone for the next act. No spoilers here, but just look out for it!
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‘Zombieland: Double Tap’
Image Credit: ph: Jessica Miglio / © Columbia Pictures / courtesy Everett Collection. So this one may be a bit of a stretch, but Zombieland 2: Double Tap can count as a Christmas film simply because one of the opening scenes that changes it all happens the day after Christmas when Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin’s characters leave a note saying that they’ve left the family.
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‘Just Friends’
Image Credit: © New Line Cinema / Courtesy: Everett Collection. Just Friends is basically a filthy Hallmark movie. it has all the laughs, all the messed up humor that comes with Ryan Reynolds, and it has the iconic Christmas storyline of someone returning home for the holidays for ulterior motives!
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‘Die Hard’
Image Credit: Everett Collection. Another non-Christmas film that has become a holiday staple is Die Hard, where a cop tries to save a slew of hostages, including his estranged wife, during a hostage situation during a Christmas party in New York City.
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‘Wizard of Oz’
Image Credit: Everett Collection You may be wondering, “why is Wizard of Oz on here?” Because it has all the elements of a Christmas film. Let us explain, it has family, adventure, gift-giving, and being thankful for one’s home. All that’s missing is a bunch of snow and a carol.
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‘Little Women’
Image Credit: (c) Columbia/courtesy Everett Collection. Based on the classic novel, Little Women follows a group of sisters following after their individual dreams. It’s been dubbed a holiday movie for numerous factors, but with many looking to the wintertime scenery and the fact that there are scenes that take place at Christmas.
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‘The Sound Of Music’
Image Credit: Everett Collection Like the Wizard of Oz, the musical classic The Sound of Music was often on television during Christmas time, therefore, many associated it with the giving season.
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‘While You Were Sleeping’
Image Credit: Everett Collection It all started with the train. The 1995 film While You Were Sleeping follows a hopeless romantic who works as a Transit Authority ticket booth operator, who saves a man from being run over by a train, whom she has been pining after for a long time. However, a mistaken identity incident occurs when at the hospital, a nurse refers to her as the Comatose man’s fiance. Then, this woman, played by Sandra Bullock, is welcomed with open arms into this Man’s family. There’s romance, forbidden love, hysterical mishaps, and, of course, quite a few Christmas scenes.
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‘The Long Kiss Goodnight’
Image Credit: © New Line/courtesy Everett Collection This film follows a woman who suffers a concussion after being in a car crash on Christmas Day, and starts to remember her life before being a suburban mom (it’s action-packed, to say the least).
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‘Groundhog Day’
Image Credit: © Columbia/ courtesy: Everett Collection. While the classic comedy takes place on another winter holiday, many associate Groundhog Day with Christmas time because of all of the sharing themes it has with holiday films, and just the fact that it’s in the wintertime.
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‘Edward Scissorhands’
Image Credit: Courtesy: Everett Collection. If you’re looking for a truly dark romance film that’ll stay with you, then you need to watch Edward Scissorhands this holiday season. We won’t say much, but there is a scene on Christmas day that’ll just make your heart sing when Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder share the screen together.
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‘8 Women’
Image Credit: © Focus Features/courtesy Everett Collection. The French musical drama Eight Women takes place On Christmas Day, when a murder has taken place. One man has been murdered, and the eight women in his life are trying to piece together who they are to the man and what happened before his untimely death.
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‘Serendipity’
Image Credit: Everett Collection. While Christmas shopping at Bloomingdale’s, two people meet and have an instant connection, and then a magical night full of romance ensues. They leave their futures together up to fate, but they have a bit of a sense of humor, and unfortunately, it wasn’t the right time. Fast forward to a year later, and the signs are back, and they are trying to find one another again. It’s truly a wonderful romance film set around Christmas time.
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‘The Nice Guys’
Image Credit: ph: Daniel McFadden / © Warner Bros. / courtesy Everett Collection. Starring Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling, The Nice Guys is a fun ride from beginning to end, and by the end, it’s Christmastime, and everything has changed.
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‘Pirate Radio’
Image Credit: Ph: Alex Bailey/©Focus Features/courtesy Everett Collection. The Boat That Rocked, also known as Pirate Radio, follows a band of rogue DJs who are protesting the government’s ban on anything except classical music by playing the rock and roll day in their listener’s love on a boat. You may think this isn’t Christmas-y, but there is a Christmas scene that many viewers rewind to.
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‘The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’
Image Credit: Everett Collection. The fantastical vibes and the mountains of snow make The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe the ultimate non-Chritsmas-y Christmas movie to watch this year.
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‘You’ve Got Mail’
Image Credit: Everett Collection. Many more people than you think consider You’ve Got Mail starring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks to be the perfect non-holiday, holiday movie since it has the romance, the nostalgia factor, and it just gives people those warm butterflies the holiday usually brings.
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‘Batman Returns’
Image Credit: ©Warner Bros./courtesy Everett Collection. Despite Batman Returns being a superhero movie, a lot of the film takes place around Christmas events!
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