53 of the Most Romantic Christmas Movies 2023
Something from Tiffanys
Starring Zoey Deutch and Kendrick Sampson, this festive rom-com from 2022 follows a young woman who finds an engagement ring in her boyfriend’s stuff after he is hit by a car outside of the Tiffany’s store. Listen, there’s been hundreds of holiday rom-coms, they had to get creative. Anyways, when she finds the ring, she assumes he was preparing to propose. In reality, the ring belonged to the man that helped save his life. We won’t spoil things, but let’s just say this chance encounter leads to something bigger.
2The Nightmare Before Christmas
Romance looks different to everyone, and for some, Jack Skellington is the ultimate heartthrob. This Disney classic follows the king of Halloween Town who finds himself in Christmas Town, hell-bent on destroying the holiday. The romance comes from Sally, a mad scientist creation who secretly loves Jack.
3Love the Coopers
A pretty bad movie boasting a slay of an ensemble cast, Love the Coopers stars Diane Keaton, John Goodman, Olivia Wilde, Ed Helms, Alan Arkin, Amanda Seyfried, and more. The film follows a dysfunctional family reuniting for the holidays. AKA literally everyone’s holiday tradition. Didn't you hear? Bad movies get a pass as long as they feature at least one Christmas carol.
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4Emma
Is it a Christmas movie, or does it just take place during Christmas time? In this case, it's the latter. Emma, an adaptation of the Jane Austen 1815 novel, stars Anya Taylor-Joy as a wealthy young woman in Regency-era England who is prone to meddling and matchmaking.
5It's a Wonderful Life
This 1946 holiday classic from legacy filmmaker Frank Capra stars Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey, a downtrodden man who has given up on his dreams, and subsequently his life. As he considers suicide on Christmas Eve, he is met by a guardian angel named Clarence (just go with it) who shows him what the world would look like if he had never existed.
6The Apartment
Billy Wilder’s 1960 classic stars Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine as an insurance clerk and an elevator operator, respectively, who cross paths in a curious way. Lemmon’s character Bud lets his company’s upper management use his Upper West Side apartment as an infidelity crash pad, and MacLaine’s Fran is having an affair with his boss. Like When Harry Met Sally, The Apartment ends with a New Year’s Eve party. By our math, that’s a holiday movie.
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7New Year's Eve
With mere days separating the two holidays, we’re officially declaring that all New Year’s Eve-timed movies swing both ways. New Year’s Eve is a Christmas movie. This movie stars too many people to name, following a slew of people with interconnected stories who prepare for the new year’s clock to strike midnight.
8Sleepless in Seattle
From the desk of God (read: Nora Ephron), Sleepless in Seattle stars Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan as two eligible singles who meet via talk radio on Christmas Eve, beginning a long distance romance that culminates in a sweet moment atop the Empire State Building. Need we say more? You’ve certainly seen this movie before.
9Meet Me in St. Louis
Starring Judy Garland, this 1944 musical follows a year in the life of a family in St. Louis, and most notably gave us the song that has since become a bonafide holiday classic, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”
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10A Holiday Romance
This 1999 made-for-television festive flick stars Naomi Judd as a music teacher who is let go from her job just before the holiday season. In a festive act of kindness, her students work together to put on a concert to raise money to keep the school’s music program.
11A Welcome Home Christmas
Starring Jana Kramer, Rose Reid, and Brandon Quinn, this Lifetime Christmas film follows a returning soldier and an Army counselor who fall in love just before the holiday. Sweet, corny, and wintry white—everything you want in a holiday romance.
12Falling For Christmas
Oh, hi, Lindsay Lohan! This movie features our December cover star as a hotel heiress who loses her memory after a skiing accident. She's rescued by a dreamy small-town lodge owner, and well, you can probably guess what happens next.
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13The Holiday
Okay, this Nancy Meyers film is the movie equivalent of a cozy sweater. Iris and Amanda agree to do a home exchange for the holidays, as they're both trying to escape romantic turmoil in their own lives. Of course, they each just happen to fall in love with a local suitor while on their getaway.
14Last Christmas
Emilia Clarke stars as Kate, a young woman working in a year-round Christmas shop and feeling a little lost in life. But when she meets a handsome man outside her shop (played by the dreamy Henry Golding), he inspires her to approach life with a little more cheer.
15Let It Snow
This sweet Christmas movie follows a group of high school seniors. When a snowstorm hits their small town on Christmas Eve, it changes several of their friendships and romantic relationships. It's basically the perfect feel-good movie to watch with your fam this season.
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16Love Actually
If this Christmas classic doesn't make you believe that "love actually is all around," then nothing will. It follows several different characters, including a recently married couple, the Prime Minister of England and his staff member, a widower and his son, and um, a surprisingly sweet couple of adult film actors.
17Four Christmases
Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn play a couple trying to make it to Christmas celebrations with both sets of divorced parents, plus a bunch of siblings and kids. At least your family isn't *this* dysfunctional, right? And if they are, well, you and your person can watch this to get ready for your own holiday season.
18Happiest Season
Another entry into the "Dysfunctional Family Christmas" hall of fame, Happiest Season follows a couple, Harper and Abby, as they head to Harper's parents' house for Christmas. But things go sideways when Harper confesses that her parents don't actually know she's gay, and that Abby will have to pretend she's Harper's platonic roommate instead of her girlfriend.
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19Love Hard
This romantic Christmas movie follows Natalie, a girl from LA who falls for Tag, a guy she connects with on a dating app. But when she flies to the East Coast to surprise him for Christmas, she finds out she's been cat-fished by his best friend. To say "sorry for cat-fishing you," he offers to fix her up with the real Tag, and shenanigans ensue.
20Single All The Way
Peter convinces his friend Nick to pretend to be his boyfriend so he can enjoy the holidays without his family pestering him about his love life. But when Peter's mom sets him up on a blind date, things get significantly more complicated.
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