25 Cozy Holiday Movies Coming Before Christmas
Even though Mariah Carey is slowly defrosting, there’s another sure sign that the holidays are coming: The slow trickle of cute and cozy movies debuting on Hallmark, Lifetime, Hulu, BET, OWN and Netflix is about to turn into a deluge. Hallmark alone produces 30 to 40 holiday movies (the word “holiday” usually, but doesn’t always, mean “Christmas”) throughout the year, and it’s hardly the only game in town.
It’s hard for even the most devoted consumer of seasonal films to watch them all, so I’m trying to narrow the list down to highlight the most promising of the new batch: the biggest, silliest, weirdest, and most sentimental holiday. movies that usually sound like they’ll be the best use of your time on the couch drinking cocoa and wrapping presents. (I’ve long been a skeptic of holiday movies in recent years, so we’re going to curl up under a fuzzy blanket and enjoy these seasonal comfort movies without shame.)
Christmas at the Ranch (November 1)
A relationship expert (Jade Harlow) is stuck at the ranch (hence the title) just in time for Christmas. Perhaps there is a charming rancher in the house who could help her overcome her own inhibitions and find love? (Yes: he is played by Houston Rhines).
Where to watch: Hulu
Holiday Mismatch (November 3)
Caroline Rhea and Beth Broderick reunite; they were, of course, aunts to Sabrina the Teenage Witch for seven seasons in the ’90s. Here they play a pair of moms—one free-spirited, the other uptight—who bicker at a Christmas committee meeting but then discover they’ve accidentally signed up their adult children to a dating app. Now they are determined to stop this affair before it starts.
Since I’ve seen the movie before, I’m willing to bet they’ll flop.
Where to watch: Hallmark Channel
See you next Christmas (November 6th)
Veteran TV and film director Rusty Cundiff ( Tales from the Hood and Chappelle’s Show , among many others) directs I’ll See You Next Christmas , starring Christina Milian as a woman who rushes around New York City looking for sold-out tickets to Pentatonix (strangely specific, but true). You see, last year at Christmas she met a guy named James and they agreed to reunite at an Affair to Remember -themed concert – but wait! The handsome ticket concierge (Devale Ellis) helping her is also very nice…
Where to watch: Netflix
Christmas Miracle (November 7)
A family goes into full-blown panic to save the local community center for the holidays. Nori Victoria, Blue Kimble, Victoria Rowell, Nadia Simms and Aaron D. Spears star.
Where to watch: BET+
Santa Tell Me (November 9)
Successful interior designer Olivia (Erin Krakow) finds a note from Santa saying that she will meet the love of her life on Christmas Eve and that his name will be Nick. But then she meets three guys named Nick! She’s also attracted to Chris (Erin Krakow) from work! Considering this is a Hallmark Channel movie, I’m guessing she’ll pick one rather than invite everyone to a festive Christmas orgy.
Where to watch: Hallmark Channel
Hot Frost (November 13)
Lacey Chabert leads the cast in this instantly meme-worthy romance about a recently widowed woman who brings a snowman (like you) to life to help her get through the holiday season. The title and blurb seem a little obscene, but I’m sure we’ll get something much more useful.
Where to watch: Netflix
Style me for Christmas (November 14th)
A fashion designer (Raven Goodwin), whose business is barely staying afloat, gets an unexpected boost from his new client, a famous R&B singer (played by the eponymous singer Mario) who is also a bit of a playboy.
Where to watch: BET+
Christmas with the Singhs (November 15)
Newly engaged Asha Singh (Anuja Joshi, The Resident ) and Jake O’Brien (Benjamin Hollingsworth, Virgin River ) are ready to spend Christmas together, but their relationship is tested when inter-family cultural and holiday traditions collide.
Where to watch: Hallmark Channel
Christmas at Plumhill Manor (16 November)
Maria Menounos takes a break from her theatrical debuts to play Margo Stone, a woman who inherits an English estate with the condition that she stay there for a week. Oh no, how painful it is! Will she have an affair with the hot gardener’s son? (She will.)
Where to watch: For Life
Merry Gentlemen (November 20)
A Broadway dancer (Britt Robertson) decides to stage a show to save her parents’ small-town performance space. Oh, and it’ll be an all-male revue directed by Chad Michael Murray if you’re looking for a little heat in your eggnog.
Where to watch: Netflix
South African Christmas at Wesley (21 November)
Following on from 2022’s A Wesley Christmas (and its sequel A Wesley Christmas Wedding ), Todd (Terail Hill) heads to Durban for some holiday business – accompanied, of course, by the whole family. Dorien Wilson and Jasmine Guy return, as does the rest of the Wesley family.
Where to watch: BET+
Three Wise Men and a Boy (November 23)
The sequel to Three Wise Men and a Baby follows the Brenner brothers (Paul Campbell, Tyler Hines and Andrew Walker) five years after they overcome family squabbles and personal failures to care for their young baby, Thomas. It was Hallmark’s most-watched holiday movie of 2022, so expect this new movie, in which the brothers come together to save Thomas’s school play, to do pretty darn well.
Where to watch: Hallmark Channel
Our little secret (November 27)
Lindsay Lohan is back for her third Netflix film after her big comeback in 2022’s Christmas Has Fallen . Here she joins a stacked cast that includes Kristin Chenoweth, Ian Harding, Jon Rudnitsky and Chris Parnell, in a story about a pair of exes forced to holiday together (her new boyfriend’s sister is dating her old boyfriend and neither of them wants someone to know). Shenanigans are sure to follow.
Where to watch: Netflix
Christmas ’90s (November 29)
Like most of the working women in the holiday movie, busy lawyer Lucy Miller (Eva Bourne) is preparing to spend Christmas alone. At least until a magical trip takes her back in time to 1999, where she can relive the holiday season with her mom, sister, best friend—and her high school crush.
Where to watch: Hallmark Channel
Nutcrackers (November 29)
The cast here is very attractive, with Ben Stiller starring (along with Linda Cardellini and Tim Heidecker) as a work-obsessed guy who suddenly finds himself in the role of guardian to his rambunctious nephews. Directed by David Gordon Green, best known for his Halloween and The Exorcist reboots.
Where to watch: Hulu
Cook or Bake Christmas (December 1st)
Vivica A. Fox and Jackie Harry (Sold Out!) star the story of Leslie (Fox), a lifestyle leader looking to expand her brand by purchasing a local bakery owned by Denise Sugarbaker (Harry). Leslie sends one of her employees, Emma (Jasmine Aivaliotis), away. goes undercover as a seasonal employee to convince Denise to sell… but Emma soon becomes drawn not only to the cozy holiday charm of the bakery, but also to the owner’s son, David (Landon Moss).
Where to watch: For Life
Season’s Greetings from Cherry Lane (December 5)
2023’s Smart Christmas on Cherry Lane , featuring three loosely connected stories set across generations in one particular house, will receive not one, but three sequels this season. In the first episode, we see couple Mike and Zian (Jonathan Bennett and Vincent Rodriguez III) return in a modern-day story, as a doctor in 1951 tries to throw a special Christmas for his wife before heading to Korea, and the couple newlyweds in 2003 are experiencing difficulties. to please your relatives and each other during the holidays.
Where to watch: Hallmark+
A Time to Remember (December 7)
Sports reporter Simone Gibson (Michelle Weaver) has a week until Christmas to find a story that could propel her career forward, and luckily she meets a charming, handsome and driven freelance photographer (Nathan Owens) who can help her. .
Where to watch: OWN
A very fun beauty salon (December 7)
Sienna (Tia Mowry), owner of Atlanta’s busiest beauty salon, is set to receive a humanitarian award at the annual Tinsel Ball. When the (sexy) CEO of a prestigious wine brand (RonRiaco Lee) takes over sponsorship of the event, there is romance in the air, but also fears that his new ideas could destroy the traditions that have made the ball so beloved.
Where to watch: For Life
Happy Holidays on Cherry Lane (December 12th)
In the second of three Cherry Lane sequels this year, we see the couple hosting a curmudgeon father in 1960, the first meeting of Nelson (James Denton, returning from the first film) and future wife Regina in 1998, and the final meeting. -minute wedding on Christmas Eve 2015.
Where to watch: Hallmark+
Hanukkah on the Rocks (December 13)
A recently unemployed corporate lawyer (Stacey Farber) ventures across Chicago in search of the last box of Hanukkah candles and instead finds Rocky’s, a quaint bar where she meets Jay (Daren Kagasoff), a Florida doctor, and his grandfather Sam (Mark Summers). What else to do but get a job as a bartender, plan a huge Hanukkah party, and learn a lesson or two about the value of the unexpected?
Where to watch: Hallmark Channel
Christmas at the Alpaca Farm (December 15)
Jess (Kirsten Comerford) quits her high-flying job at a New York fashion brand to launch her own line. To do this, she, as you may have guessed, will have to spend Christmas on an alpaca farm. Luckily, there’s a handsome single dad (Matt Wells) in the house too.
Where to watch: For Life
Deck the Halls at Cherry Lane (December 19)
The latest film, 2024’s Cherry Lane, saw John Brotherton and Erin Cahill return as John and Lizzie, a sequel to the first segment of the 1981 film. In an episode set in 1966, one guy’s Christmas plans are ruined when a neighbor volunteers his home for use in a TV special, and a pair of friends begin to develop feelings for each other in an episode set in 2000.
Where to watch: Hallmark+
Happy Holidays (December 21st)
Jessica Lowndes plays Mia, an editor for the Seattle Tourism Board’s webpage who finds company on vacation in a stray dog… and then in shelter owner Max. We don’t actually know who’s playing the love interest yet, since it will be the yet-to-be-announced winner of the Hallmark reality series Finding Mister Christmas , and the lead role is the prize. Fun? May be?
Where to watch: Hallmark Channel
24 Carat Christmas (December 21)
Jewelry designer Trish (Samantha Marie Ware) sends some engagement rings to the wrong person, so now it’s up to her and very sweet best man Book (Curtis Hamilton) to track them down in time for their Christmas Eve wedding.
Where to watch: OWN