If you’re anything like me and want to keep the festive times rolling, there are plenty of holiday-themed activities you can engage in, including but not limited to watching all the Christmas movies your heart desires. However, you may want to watch something more specific to the season of Christmastide. Too many Christmas movies and shows think the decorations need to go down, and the fun needs to stop by midnight on December 26th. As someone actively trying to change the narrative regarding how people in the US celebrate the Christmas season, I think that’s ridiculous. So, I assembled a brief list of five movies you can comfortably watch from December 25th to New Year’s Eve to Three Kings Day.

Enjoy!

One: While You Were Sleeping (1995)

In this holiday romantic comedy, Sandra Bullock stars as Lucy, a kind but lonely young woman who has fallen in love with the man she sees at the train every morning, although they’ve never spoken. On Christmas Day, she rescues the man and helps take him to the hospital, where she is accidentally mistaken for his fiancee. Peter, the man in question, is in a coma and can’t object. The man’s family is immediately warm and welcoming, except for his brother, Jack (Bill Pullman), who is suspicious of and romantically attracted to Lucy.

This story begins just before Christmas and spans the entirety of Christmastide and at least some of January, so it’s a perfect watch to keep the holiday spirit going. It also has a well-deserved spot on my list of must-watch Christmas movies.

Two: 1000 Miles from Christmas (2021)

Raúl is a grumpy auditor who hates Christmas, but is forced to perform an audit in a Christmas-obsessed town in remote Spain. While in this town, he forms a love-hate relationship with the local teacher, Paula, who is trying to break a world-record for staging the largest live Nativity ever. As a former accountant, I loved watching someone grudgingly perform an inventory count, but I promise non-accountants will still enjoy this movie. The Wikipedia account barely does this movie justice. It’s a sharper, funnier version of a Hallmark movie.

“1000 Miles from Christmas” is a Spanish movie that spans the 12 days of Christmas, beginning in mid-December and culminating in the massive Nativity on what I guessed is January 6th, or Three Kings’ Day. It may be on New Year’s Eve – I had a hard time confirming it. There are a lot of interesting references to Spanish culture and traditions, including the 12 grapes on New Year’s Eve, which has recently become popular in the US.

I’ll probably write a longer blog post about this movie in the future because I think it deserves a little extra love for its unique blend of humor, wit, and much-welcome holiday cliches.

Three: The Twelve Days of Christmas (1995)

I was going to write this movie off as an excuse to milk the awful song into a 30-minute animated special, and it mostly is, but there was some creative storytelling worth noting. In this short film, a young man falls in love with a young lady, and is tasked by her father of bringing the correct present for each of the twelve days of Christmas. Long story short, our boy succeeds.

Four: Last Holiday (2006)

I love this movie.

Queen Latifah stars as Georgia, a meek woman who’s too shy to even sing out loud in her church choir. One day, she receives the (incorrect) diagnosis that she has only a few months left to live, and after a brief spiral, she decides to grab life by the balls and blow all her savings on the best vacation of her life. She flies to Prague, books the fanciest room at the Grandhotel Pupp in Karlovy Vary, and embraces every experience that comes her way.

Queen Latifah exudes so much charm and charisma that you’ll find yourself rooting for and living through her. This movie takes place during the Christmas season and through the new year, and I have a tradition of watching it every New Year’s Eve. I highly recommend doing the same.

Five: The Twelve Days of Christmas (1993)

It’s dumb that this movie has the same name as the other short animated special, but I guess the good news is you go into this movie knowing what it’s about. In this special, a Knight wants to win the heart of a princess and decides to do so by getting her everything on her Christmas wishlist. Unfortunately, the princess’ wishlist gets switched with the answers to the king’s crossword puzzle, and as a result, the Knight’s poor servant fetches the princess everything on the wrong list.

I first watched this show as a child, and it’s been a minute since I’ve rewatched it. If you need a movie to keep your nieces and nephews occupied during the last few days of December, I think this one could be a good contender.

Special Mention: Literally any movie about New Year’s Eve

The 12 Days of Christmas begins on December 25th and ends on January 5th, which is also referred to as Twelfth Night. New Year’s falls right in the middle of that period. While you may have a hard time finding movies about Twelfth Night (as in the holiday, not the Shakespearean play), there are plenty of movies that take place during or prominently feature New Year’s Eve.

Any of these films should be enough to keep you all entertained for the remaining days of Christmastide. If you know of a good movie or show you think I missed, let me know about it, and I’ll give it a watch.

Happy New Year, everyone!