| Marisa LaScala |
The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
It’s a plot so good, it’s been used as inspiration for everything from the Broadway play She Loves Me to the Nora Ephron hit You’ve Got Mail. In it, James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan play people who are rival clerks in real life, but adore the pen pals they’ve met through an ad in a newspaper — and don’t realize their rivals and pen pals are actually the same people. It all unfolds in Budapest just before Christmas.
The Merry Gentlemen (2024)
This is for everyone who wants their romances on the steamier side, in a Magic Mike kind of way: It follows a woman (Britt Robertson) who, in order to save her hometown theater, plans a holiday all-male revue — and begins to fall for one of the stars (Chad Michael Murray). It comes to Netflix on November 20.
Love Actually (2003)
It may not be the best Christmas romance, but it certainly has the most Christmas romance: The film chronicles nearly 10 couples’ relationships and how they intertwine in sometimes funny and surprising ways. It’s the ultimate holiday rom-com, and it stars a stacked cast of celebrities like Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson and Keira Knightley, to name just a few.
Happiest Season (2020)
This movie is for anyone who has a complicated relationship to their families. Abby (Kristen Stewart) and Harper (Mackenzie Davis) are happily in love — or so Abby thinks. When she goes to visit Harper’s family for the holidays, she finds out that Harper isn’t out to her family and expects Abby to pretend to be just a friend. Will their relationship survive until Christmas?
RELATED: The Best LGBTQ+ Christmas Movies
The Thin Man (1934)
The Thin Man is aspirational in every way: the looks are stunning, the banter is witty and Nick and Nora Charles have that perfect, screwball, married-couple banter that’s not swoony as much as it is couple goals. In the film, they visit New York City for Christmas only to be drawn into a mystery after an inventor goes missing. There are five sequels, starting with After the Thin Man, which will take you right to New Year’s Eve movies.
Hot Frosty (2024)
This movie dares to ask to tough question: What if, when Frosty the Snowman came to life, he was really hot? In this case, he befriends a young widow and tries to help her get over her grief…while being hot. It comes to Netflix on November 13.
When Harry Met Sally (1989)
When Harry Met Sally ranks high on the rom-com list with just a smattering of Christmas (and New Year’s, and a few other holidays). This is a safe choice to watch with someone who doesn’t want to go too all-in on the Christmas cheer.
The Best Man Holiday (2013)
A sequel to 1999’s The Best Man finds the friends gathering again, this time for a holiday college reunion. And again, relationships change, truths emerge and romances begin, so it’s also fan fans of comedy and melodrama.
Holidate (2020)
Like Holiday Inn before it, this film lets people celebrate a year’s worth of holidays in one movie — and in a rom-com, no less. It starts off when two single people (Emma Roberts and Luke Bracey), tired of their families meddling in their love lives, agree to be each others’ “platonic” plus-ones for every holiday gathering. But is it possible to keep up this arrangement without one of them catching feelings?
Elf (2003)
Sure, Elf is a rom-com where the comedy is front and center. But it’s also about the romance between Will Ferrell’s Buddy and Zooey Deschanel’s Jovie. Who could forget their “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” duet?
The Apartment (1960)
In this Best Picture winner, Jack Lemmon plays Bud Baxter, a guy who gets ahead at work by letting his philandering bosses use his apartment for their affairs over the holiday season. Things become complicated when he starts to have feelings for one of the mistresses, Fran, played by Shirley MacLaine. What results is one of the best rom-coms of all time.
Love Hard (2021)
Can catfishing be romantic? This movie follows an L.A.-based writer who decides to surprise her dating-app crush in person for the holidays, only to find out he’s not at all who he appears to be. But he promises to introduce her to the man whose picture he used if she pretends to be his girlfriend for the holidays. What could go wrong?
The Family Stone (2005)
This drama centers around powerhouse performances by four actresses: Rachel McAdams, Clare Danes, Sarah Jessica Parker and Diane Keaton. When Everett (Dermot Mulroney) brings his girlfriend Meredith (Parker) home to meet the rest of his family, complications arise and they question the fitness of the relationship — so Meredith calls in her sister Julie (Danes) for backup. Things unfold in a hectic way that only happens around the holidays.
Single All the Way (2021)
Between this, Love Hard and Holidate, the fake-date premise is a certified trend. In this one, best friends Peter and Nick pretend to be each other’s holiday dates, but Peter’s family has other plans. Their friendship will be put to the test after Peter’s family’s relentless matchmaking.
Falling for Christmas (2022)
This film is like a holiday gloss on an Overboard-style scenario: Lohan plays a spoiled heiress who loses her memory during a ski accident. She crosses paths with a young widower (Chord Overstreet) who winds up taking care of her. Will they end up under the mistletoe?
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
This movie is most remembered for its legal drama and how to keep the magic of Christmas alive. But there’s also a sweet romance between Fred (Kris Kringle’s lawyer) and Doris (the mother of a girl who has doubts) that’s charming and funny without overdoing it.
Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001)
The indomitable Bridget (played in an iconic performance by Renée Zellweger) tries to improve herself for the new year by keeping track of literally everything in her diary. Who can’t relate? But of course, romance gets in the way, and she finds herself torn between two men.
The Holiday (2006)
When two women, one from London and the other from Los Angeles, do a home-swap for the holiday season to get a change of scenery, they realize there’s more to life than the boy problems they had back at home. Watch when you’re in the mood for some trans-continental romance.
Our Little Secret (2024)
Cameron (Jon Rudnitsky) is going to bring his new girlfriend Avery (Lindsay Lohan) home for the holidays to meet his mom. Cameron’s sister is also bringing her new boyfriend Logan (Ian Harding). The problem? Avery and Logan are bitter exes, but for the sake of their partners, they decide to pretend not to know each other — a decision that surely won’t lead to any (possibly romantic) complications. It comes to Netflix on November 27.
Marisa (she/her) has covered all things parenting, from the postpartum period through the empty nest, for Good Housekeeping since 2018; she previously wrote about parents and families at Parents and Working Mother. She lives with her husband and daughter in Brooklyn, where she can be found dominating the audio round at her local bar trivia night or tweeting about movies.
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