The Best 7 Movies to Watch on Christmas (If You HATE Christmas Movies)
If you’re not exactly decking the halls with glee this year, you’re not alone. Maybe you can’t handle another sappy Christmas film where the dour protagonist learns the same heartwarming lesson. Maybe you just want something vaguely festive without diving headfirst into tinsel and sentimentality. Either way, you can still soak up that cosy end-of-year vibe—the fairy lights, snow, and quiet moments of reflection—without actually having to sit through a generic Christmas movie.
These seven films all take place around Christmas, but the holiday itself is more of a backdrop than the main event. You get the twinkling lights, the office holiday parties, the melancholy, and some action-packed chaos, while safely avoiding the usual “Christmas spirit saves the day” trope. So, grab your hot cocoa, dim the lights, and settle in for seven great movies to watch at Christmas that aren’t about Christmas.
The eternal debate over whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie will probably rage on forever, but one thing is clear: it is absolutely not about Christmas. Set on Christmas Eve, the film follows NYPD officer John McClane as he heads to his estranged wife Holly’s office holiday party to try and patch things up—only for the building to be taken over by Hans Gruber and his crew of German terrorists, leaving John as the only free agent capable of fighting back.
While Die Hard is first and foremost an action classic, Christmas is woven throughout the film more subtly. Office decor, holiday bangers like Run-D.M.C’s incredible if not dated ‘Christmas in Hollis,’ and even Bruce Willis whistling ‘Jingle Bells’ create a distinctly seasonal backdrop without the film ever turning into a sermon about goodwill. It’s got just enough holiday flavour to get a taste of the holiday spirit without making you feel like you’re drowning in good cheer.
Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of Little Women has a few key Christmas moments and themes, but the film’s heart lies elsewhere. Based on Louisa May Alcott’s 1868 novel, Little Women follows the story of the four March sisters—Jo, Meg, Amy, and Beth—as they navigate life during and after the American Civil War, balancing creative ambition, economic realities, and complicated forms of love.
Two important Christmases appear in the film, and both highlight the March family’s values without tipping into corny territory. In one early sequence, the sisters give their Christmas breakfast to the impoverished Hummel family, only to come home to a surprise feast arranged by Laurie’s grandfather, which becomes a heartwarming celebration of generosity and community across socio-economic status. Little Women remains a story profoundly about the power of sisterhood, family, creativity, and choosing one’s own life path.
If you’ve had it up to here with holiday cheer, In Bruges is the perfect salve for your oversaturated soul. Darkly funny, violent, and surprisingly moving, the film stars Colin Farrell and Brendon Gleeson as Ray and Ken, two Irish hitmen sent to lie low in the medieval city of Bruges after a job goes horribly wrong, resulting in Ray accidentally killing a child.
The action unfolds in the run-up to Christmas, with cosy pubs, traditional Christmas markets, and festive lights providing a stark contrast to the characters’ guilt and moral dilemmas. While the timing could easily be swapped for another season, the Christmas setting adds a bittersweet layer of sentimentality that deepens the film’s overarching reflections on friendship, redemption, and the contemplation of whether sins can ever truly be forgiven.
If you’re craving something more subversive with your eggnog, might I suggest Stanley Kubrick's disturbing masterpiece, Eyes Wide Shut? The acclaimed director’s final film follows couple Bill and Alice Hartford—played by Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman—after Alice reveals that she once fantasised about cheating on Bill, sending him spiralling over the course of one long, hallucinatory night of sexual jealousy, moral confusion, and even a masked orgy hosted by a sinister secret sect.
Kubrick shifted the setting of Arthur Schnitzler’s original novella from mardi gras to Christmas, surrounding the characters with twinkling lights, office parties, and overly decorated trees. The festive backdrop—all warmth and surface-level joy—clashes magnificently with the film’s darker themes of secrecy, desire, and power, making it one of the most disturbingly off-kilter “holiday” films you could watch.
If you’re in the mood for a beautifully crafted forbidden romance this holiday season, look no further than Carol. Set in 1950s New York during the Christmas period, the film follows aspiring photographer Therese and the glamorous, mysterious Carol as they fall in love while Carol’s divorce and custody battle intensify around her.
Director Todd Haynes uses crowded department stores, the bustle of Christmas shopping, and the softly glowing city streets to create an intimate aesthetic for Carol and Therese’s relationship to unfold within. Here, Christmas feels like a gentle supporting character that is present in the decorations and soundtrack, but mainly there to heighten the sense of longing, possibility, and a quiet holiday magic that will crack your heart open upon every viewing.
Tangerine is unconventional in almost every way, which makes it a great pick for a not-quite-so-Christmassy Christmas film. Shot entirely on an iPhone 5s, the film follows trans sex worker Sin-Dee Rella and her friend Alexandra over the course of one wild Christmas Eve in Los Angeles, as Sin-Dee tracks down her boyfriend and the woman he’s been cheating with.
Christmas itself only vaguely registers in the film, with a few mentions of family plans, scattered decorations, and colourful lights along the streets. Instead, the story leans into the friendship between Sin-Dee and Alexandra, and their resilience in the face of economic hardship and bigotry. The holiday timing is mostly used as a contrast between the idealised image of Christmas and the reality of life on the margins.
Despite being released in 1989, Steel Magnolias remains one of those films that feels emotionally timeless. Set in a small town in Louisiana, it follows a tight-knit group of women—played by Julia Roberts, Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, and others—as they support each other through weddings, health crises, everyday dramas, and one devastating tragedy.
The story spans several years and marks time through major occasions like weddings, funerals, Easter, and yes, Christmas—including the moment when Shelby tells her mum she’s pregnant. The film was primarily shot in Natchitoches, Louisiana, and it incorporates the town’s real Christmas festival, complete with the elaborate light displays along the riverfront. The result is a film that taps into the themes of friendship, love, and endurance that resonate nicely with Christmasy values while avoiding the sap.
