What Makes A Movie A Christmas Movie?

Colored lights versus white, presents wrapped versus unwrapped, Elf on the Shelf versus not — there are a million Christmas debates out there. But nothing gets people quite as fired up as sharing your opinion that Die Hard is a Christmas movie and, I’ll be real honest, I can’t figure out why. Die Hard may be an action movie, but it literally happens on Christmas Eve... during a company Christmas party. John McClane writes “ho ho ho” on the sweatshirt of the man he kills. It could not be much more of a Christmas movie. In fact, it includes more Christmas than It’s a Wonderful Life does, and the latter is considered a classic Christmas movie. So what gives? What makes a movie a Christmas movie?

Some are obvious choices: Christmas Vacation, The Santa Clause, Elf. But like every other Christmas debate, deciding what constitutes a movie as a Christmas movie outside of the clear winners is pretty personal. Everyone has their favorite Christmas movie, and for many families, that means loving a movie that has zero to do with Christmas — like The Wizard of Oz. Broadcast on television for the first time in November 1956, The Wizard of Oz was a huge TV event and drew incredibly high ratings. For many families, that time of year immediately became associated with the spectacular musical, especially when it broadcast between Thanksgiving and Christmas from 1959 through 1962. That kind of tradition becomes seared in your memory, and for a few Baby Boomers I spoke with, this is exactly why The Wizard of Oz is their Christmas family movie night tradition.

But what about movies that are set at or during Christmas? That clearly makes them Christmas movies, right? Again, it depends. I personally find the Goodfellas Christmas sequence one of the best in film history — “Karen! I got the most expensive tree they had!” — but if I suggest watching Goodfellas to my husband in December, he’s aghast. It’s not a ~Christmas~ movie to him because the majority of the movie doesn’t take place at Christmas. Yet, other movies have plots centered around the holiday and are still considered “unconventional” Christmas movies. Is it that Die Hard became a series after that first 1988 movie and none of its successors have anything to do with Christmas? Is it because Gremlins feels more like a spooky sci-fi movie, despite its Christmas setting?

Then you have to take a look at other “Christmas” movies and determine the parameters for making it a film to watch each season, especially if the whole movie doesn’t take place around the holiday, like It’s a Wonderful Life. The 1946 Frank Capra classic starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed is one of those movies people immediately name when trying to list Christmas movies — even though the actual Christmas “part” is only at the latter half of the film. Christmas Eve 1945 is when the entire plot hits its climax, though, and all that talk of angels and the entire town coming together for George Bailey during Christmas absolutely makes it a Christmas movie.

When you consider all of the other broad parameters for what counts as a “Christmas” movie, it’s easy to see why everyone has a different opinion. Frozen and Frozen II are frequently part of Freeform’s 25 Days of Christmas lineup, and I can only assume it’s because snow equals Christmas vibes? Likewise, my husband always balks a little at Toy Story being on TV this time of year because it only has one tiny Christmas scene right at the end — but for me, I don’t mind. I specifically remember seeing Toy Story in movie theatres on Christmas Eve 1995. I will never forget driving home, looking at lights out the window, dreaming about Christmas morning and how all of my old toys would feel about the new toys I was going to receive.

What makes a Christmas movie a Christmas movie is really you. How you see the holiday and your own family traditions. Do you only want classic Christmas movies? You can’t go wrong with White Christmas. Movies with at least one Christmas scene? Give Edward Scissorhands a try. Movies whose entire plot centers around the holiday? Miracle on 34th Street is a clear winner.

And honestly, any movie you watch on Christmas is officially a Christmas movie. Nobody has to agree with you, much like someone loving fruitcake or peppermint-flavored everything this time of year. We all have our own interests and vibes and feelings.

(But Die Hard is 1000% a Christmas movie, end of story.)