12 Days of Holiday Films – 2025 Edition

There are countless holiday films out there. From Hallmark fare to the delightfully dark horror offerings, I offer you my annual list of Christmas movies that I love and even one I love to hate. Some of these are mainstays on my list while others are new or brought back after a hiatus as my moods toward each holiday season changes with the year. Without further ado, I give you my 2025 list:

1. The Holdovers – This Paul Giamatti film set in the 1970s took over the number one spot on my list when it was released in 2023. I don’t see it being dethroned anytime soon. This film really is something special. It’s both funny and genuinely heartfelt and works both as a coming-of-age drama and a Christmas comedy.
2. While You Were Sleeping – My list might be decidedly on the sappy side this year. Sorry, not sorry, because there is no way I could leave this Sandra Bullock rom com off my list. Set in Chicago, this mistaken fiancé identity comedy gives a lonely woman a quirky family, even if she believes it is just for the holidays.
3. Ernest Saves Christmas – I have always believed that Jim Varney never received as much credit for his portrayal as Ernest P. Worrell as he deserved. The character always persevered even when those around him did not believe in him, and he always tried to do the right thing even if his execution led to mishaps. This holiday film is no different but leave it to Ernest to save Santa and Christmas at the same time.
4. Last Christmas – The song that spawned Whamageddon competitions on social media where people try to go the whole season without hearing Last Christmas was bound to get its own film about a woman obsessed with Wham! eventually. Starring Emilia Clarke, Emma Thompson, and Michelle Yeoh, this heartfelt and funny love story is sure to make you shed a tear and a few laughs. And the mention of Emma Thompson leads me to the film that I love to hate.
5. Love Actually – Not going to lie. Eighteen-year-old Keira Knightly being the love interest of two older men is weird. That said, the rest of the film has really grown on me in recent years. From Bill Nighy’s portrayal as the aging rock star to Hugh Grant’s character falling for a staffer, there’s a lot here to like. Even if Alan Rickman breaks Emma Thompson’s heart.
6. Die Hard – Yes, it’s a Christmas movie and, yes, I’m putting it on the list after Love Actually because it’s a cathartic way to stop being mad at Alan Rickman when he falls off of Nakatomi Plaza at the end. Villains gotta villain, so putting Rickman’s two most villainy roles back-to-back is a glorious holiday arc that also gives us Bruce Willis as the New York cop arriving in L.A. to see his estranged wife for Christmas.
7. Miracle on 34th Street – Speaking of New York, the 1994 remake about how Santa happens across the Thanksgiving Day Parade and is hired by a department store is new to my list this year. I rediscovered it this year and I’ve decided that I should have been watching it every year this whole time and not just ever couple decades. Mara Wilson and Elizabeth Perkins are great in a film that will have you believing in the spirit of Santa all over again.
8. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever – Another new entry onto my list, this film about a mother (Judy Greer) who takes the reigns of a church’s nativity pageant takes a surprising turn when all the problem children from one family decide to take part. It tests her good will and her motherly instincts, but it leads to a surprisingly earnest take on what it means to be Christian without being heavy handed. I tend to veer away from the religious holiday films, but this one is a keeper.
9. Pottersville – Judy Greer appears again on my list as she stars in this underrated film about a man who tries to save his town by pretending to be Bigfoot. It feels like more of a made for TV movie that just happens to star Michael Shannon, Christina Hendricks, and Ron Perlman, but it nails the small-town vibes that everyone seems to love during the holiday season. And there’s a hilarious bit with Bigfoot.
10. Black Christmas – If you followed my Yellow in Horror blog series this past October, you know I touched on the effects of Giallo Italian horror on cinema. This holiday horror film starring a marvelously acerbic Margot Kidder and Olivia Hussey certainly fits into that type of horror while also being a Christmas film. The ending is bleak, in the very best of ways and this always ends up on my list every year.
11. Klaus – I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention this animated film buried under the Hallmark holiday fare on Netflix. As far as Santa lore goes, this film gives us a new take on an old story and does it with some of the most beautiful animation you’re likely to see anywhere. Watch it with your kids or by yourself. This one is for both the young and old and will have you believing in the magic of Christmas.
12. The Family Stone – I can’t leave this Diane Keaton gem off of my list as she plays a character dying of cancer who wants one last Christmas with her family to be a good one until her son asks for the hand-me-down ring so he can propose to the misunderstood conservative girlfriend the family hates. Also starring Craig T. Nelson, Sarah Jessica Parker, Rachel McAdams, Luke Wilson, and Claire Danes, this funny family drama is worth an annual watch.

Before you flood my comments about the Home Alones and Elfs and A Christmas Storys and Gremlins of holiday cinema, know that I love those films too. The twelve listed here were just my favorites of the favorites this year, and the rotation of films changes from year to year.

Until next year, I hope you all have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, and make the most of the New Year in these tiring times.