Christmas is once again sneaking up on us at record speed, so no excuse not to be prepared. Things are obviously going to look pretty different when it comes to the holiday this year, but there’s one thing we can always count on: new Christmas movies.
And this year, it appears we’ll be getting a whole sleigh-full of gems. Here are the ones we’re most excited for!
1. Holidate (now streaming on Netflix)
If there’s a weird upside to Christmas gatherings being more restricted this year, it’s that you don’t need to worry about your family pestering you about having a boo, or needing to line up a date for your work Christmas party! But eventually, those will be things we need to face once more. Luckily, we have Holidate, which appears to be a field guide to surviving Christmas while single.
Starring Emma Roberts, Luke Bracey, and a whole slew of recognizable faces, the movie follows Roberts’s Sloane, who makes a pact with a random, naturally very swoon-worthy stranger named Jackson. To avoid the scrutiny of being single during the holidays, they agree to be each other's "holidate" for every major occasion throughout the entire year, vowing that neither of them will become romantically invested. We all see where this is going, right? It’s going to be exactly what we need. And extra luckily, we don’t have to wait until Christmas for it!
2. The Princess Switch: Switched Again (November 19 on Netflix)
Nothing beats a good “actress playing herself as twins” movie. It’s always the most fun to see two wildly different sides of one person. Last year, Netflix and Vanessa Hudgens gave us the gift of The Princess Switch. It went over so well that, this year, we’re getting a sequel – and a THIRD Vanessa Hudgens!!! – with The Princess Switch: Switched Again.
The sequel will tell of the story of how “Duchess Margaret unexpectedly inherits the throne & hits a rough patch with Kevin, so it’s up to Stacy to save the day before a new lookalike — party girl Fiona — foils their plans.” The official trailer just dropped this morning; check it out below!
3. Happiest Season (November 25 on Hulu)
There are a lot of stacked casts in the world. But Happiest Season might just have the most stacked cast for a holiday film this year. Starring Kristen Stewart, Mackenzie Davis, Dan Levy, Aubrey Plaza, Mary Steenburgen, Alison Brie, Victor Garber, AND Ana Gasteyer, this movie truly seems poised to bring joy to the world.
Happiest Season follows a woman named Abby (Stewart), who plans to propose to her girlfriend, Harper (Davis), at Harper's family holiday party. But it turns out Harper hasn’t come out to her conservative family. The movie is set to release on November 25, exactly one month before Christmas.
4. Christmas Carnival (December 13 on Hallmark Channel)
Listen, it’s basically impossible to choose just ONE Hallmark Christmas movie to look forward to. They’re releasing 40 new ones just this year. So really, sign us up for all of them. That said, if we absolutely HAD to wait for just one, it’s probably Christmas Carnival, set to premiere on December 13. Why this one? Well, it has Tamera Mowry-Housley, Antonio Cupo, and time travel. It’s the perfect Christmas rom-com recipe.
According to the official synopsis, “Emily (Mowry-Housley) is a top newscaster who has achieved her career dreams but still has regrets about the guy (Xavier) who got away five years earlier. When the Christmas carnival comes to town, a ride around the carousel takes her magically back in time to the carnival five years before... giving her a second chance at love before she must return to Christmas present.”
Keep your eyes peeled for a trailer!