Top 10 romantic Christmas movies for the holidays
It’s my favorite time of year. Festive Christmas lights decorate nearby houses, my apartment bedroom, and the Christmas tree at my parent’s house. Snowfall quietly blankets the yard the day after finals, giving me no greater desire than to curl up with my laptop and binge-watch Netflix Christmas movies until the cows come home, or the little shameful Netflix icon pops up to ask me, “Are you still watching?”
I’ve watched my fair share of Christmas movies over the years. While each year’s watchlist is just a little bit different, I always try to include a mixture of old and new, classics and fresh takes.
While browsing Twitter at the beginning of this Christmas season, several people I follow were doing something I’d never seen done before. The Utah Statesman’s very own Logan Jones live-tweeted the brand new Netflix “Christmas Prince” movie. After I watched the movie, I found myself interested in doing the same thing. Another one of my Twitter friends asked her followers for a few Christmas movie recommendations, and then watched some of them on Netflix. She tweeted her “star ratings” for said movies and many people followed her tweets, including me.
Can you even say it’s Christmas if you don’t watch the “classics” like “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” the live-action flick with Jim Carrey, or all the “Home Alone” movies? Or who can forget all three “Santa Claus” movies? Say what you will, but nothing beats the first of the series, the classic “Santa Claus” or “Home Alone” movie.
Some of the cheesy Christmas flicks on Netflix bring a classic Hallmark charm in one way or another. I also can’t bring myself to pick just one movie to put on the top of the list. But for the sake of this article, I’ll try. I’ve picked my top ten romantic holiday movies for your viewing pleasure.
Most of the movies I will mention have one thing in common: there is at least one piano scene. What’s more attractive than a man playing the piano?
“A Christmas Prince”
This flick is a classic twist on a royal Christmas. A reporter travels to a country known as Aldovia to report on the royal family and the prince taking over as king. This movie is at the top of the list for many reasons. As a reporter, I loved the investigative journalism that occured in the film. Definitely a must-watch.
“Christmas in the City”
I absolutely loved this movie and the main actress. Definitely recommended to anyone looking for a classic Christmas love story.
“The Heart of Christmas”
While this movie wasn’t necessarily about gushy romance, it was about a different kind of love: the love of a neighbor, a friend, and a love for family. A neighborhood boy becomes sick with a type of cancer. The whole neighborhood bands together to give Christmas to this very special boy, to make sure he has a chance to celebrate. Meanwhile, the story of the boy catches the attention of a neighbor, and turns her life and the life of her family around. Definitely a tear-jerker that requires tissues.
“Holiday Engagement”
A classic twist on the take home a fake fiancè flick, a recently unemployed woman has been engaged to her boyfriend Jason for a long time. While her mom is constantly begging for her to bring said boyfriend home, she fights for a reason to not go home so she doesn’t have to spend another Christmas alone when her parents ask what happened between her and Jason. She opts for the perfect loophole: bring home an actor to play her fake fiancè when her real fiancè dumps her to focus on his career.
“Christmas in the Smokies”
The family farm is in trouble and a sassy daughter named Shelby is willing to do what she can to save it. When an old flame attempts to rekindle what they used to have, can Shelby turn things around for her love life and her family’s lifestyle?
“Christmas Crush”
This film was more dramatic than I would have hoped for a movie with a promising title. If you can make it past the drama overload and the less-than-fantastic dramatic, the ending is worth the wait. I personally loved the main actress as well as the guy she ends up with in the end.
“Holiday Baggage”
A husband finds his way back into the lives of his wife and children after many years of separation and disconnect and discovers all that he’s missed in the time he’s been away. While he strives to reconnect with his family and mend the hearts he has broken, he finds the most important things in his life are the things he almost let slip away.
“12 Dates of Christmas”
A couple of strangers are set up on a blind date. When the date goes awry, the strangers get twelve chances to find true love, while she relives Christmas Eve 12 nights in a row. A cute movie, complete with drama, love and second chances.
“Naughty and Nice”
Two “love doctor” radio DJs are thrown together for Christmas, but when they find that true love isn’t only found through radio waves, they find a new happily ever after for themselves.
“Christmas Kiss”
An aspiring interior designer will do everything her boss asks of her so she can get the promotion of her dreams. After she spends time in an elevator with a handsome man, later discovering the man is her boss’s boyfriend, she worries she will be caught catching feelings for him. When an unsuspected incident leaves the interior designer alone with her boss’s boyfriend and her boss fires her, the designer seeks to find her own path, eventually discovering that her life isn’t complete without the one who truly loves her.
And because you can’t have a holiday without the classics, here are my favorites:
- “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (the Jim Carrey version)
- “The Santa Claus” (#1)
- “The Muppet Christmas Carol”
- “White Christmas”
- “Home Alone” (#1)
Whether you choose to indulge in cheesy Netflix holiday movies or the classics that continue to be love by many, I hope you have a very happy holiday season and a cheerful new year! Feel free to follow #kortnischristmastakes for more holiday tweets, movie reviews and holiday mishaps!
—kortni.marie.wells@aggiemail.usu.edu
@kortniwells