Christmas movies have become their own unique genre of film boasting feel-good vibes and family hijinks – but it’s only in recent years that the highly traditionalist genre has embraced LGBTQ+ characters and plot elements.
Thankfully, this is a match made in heaven. LGBTQ+ Christmas movies open up the genre to a constantly under-represented audience. In this comprehensive overview, we’re going to count down the best gay Christmas movies of all time. So, if you’re looking for a taste of inclusivity and a perfectly gay Christmas, then keep reading!
We’ve got something for everyone on this list, so strap in for a wild swing through the genres. We’ve got some indie lesbian Christmas movies, some happy gay-centric wholesome family fun, and a Ru Paul musical. Read on for the 16 of the best gay Christmas movies!
1. Happiest Season
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Release Date: November 25, 2020
Family Friendly: Yes!
Where To Watch It: Hulu
Happiest Season is an excellent lesbian Christmas movie. It’s about Abby, played by Kristen Stewart, and Harper, played by Mackenzie Davis, an adorable couple who have been living together in Philadelphia. While on a Christmas tour, Harper asks Abby to come home with her for the holiday season – unfortunately, she’s not out to her very conservative parents, so she and Abby have to pretend to be roommates for the Christmas Holiday and hijinks ensue!
To add a few more complications to the mix, Abby is looking to propose this holiday season! Watch as Abby and Harper have to navigate competitive sisters, sexy exes, and Harper’s father’s campaign.
This movie only came out last year but it’s a rewatchable, instant classic. Stewart‘s awkward charm really comes through as Abby. Also, Dan Levy steals the show as Abby’s BFF John who gives her sage advice about everything.
The dialogue is excellent and the pacing is great for this first entry to the list. Happiest Season is sure to become a holiday season staple to watch over and over again while debating how much more screen time Aubrey Plaza deserved!
2. Single All The Way
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Release Date: December 2, 2021
Family Friendly: Yes!
Where To Watch It: Netflix
Two best friends, a meddling family, New Hampshire, and Jennifer Coolidge – mix it all together and you have a perfect recipe for a great gay Christmas movie. Single All The Way is a Netflix flick with Michael Urie starring as Peter, the constantly single LA social media exec who secretly wants to devote his life to plants.
After a devastating breakup, he brings home his best friend Nick instead of a boyfriend intent on pretending they’ve finally become a couple. Their ruse is derailed quickly in the film because (surprise) Peter’s mom set him up with a blind date this Christmas.
Clearly, Peter and Nick are meant to be together, but will they realize their true feelings for each other? You’ll have to watch to find out!
It’s a fun Christmas movie with a ton of gentle twists and turns to keep you interested. Michael Urie is great as Peter and his family does the just right amount of meddling.
3. The Christmas Setup
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Release Date: December 12, 2020
Family Friendly: Yes!
Where To Watch It: Lifetime and Amazon Prime Video
The Christmas Setup is a holiday film about an overbearing mom who wants to set up her son with his old school-mate. There are a few stumbles and fumbles along the way, but it ends up being very heart-warming.
It’s a landmark movie for being the first gay-centric Lifetime film to come out around Christmas time. It’s a light-hearted romantic comedy that explores themes like the true value of wealth and the meaning of happiness.
The Christmas Setup is one of those holiday movies with the kind of feel-good moments we’re all looking for around this time of year.
4. Under The Christmas Tree
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Release Date: December 19, 2021
Family Friendly: Yes!
Where To Watch It: Lifetime
When Charlie finds the perfect Christmas tree for the Maine Governor’s holiday celebration in Alma’s backyard, Alma bristles at the unwanted attention. Charlie should have known better than messing with marketing whiz Alma Beltran, but sparks fly and tensions mount as they clash over the enchanting tree in Lifetime’s second LGBTQ+ Christmas film and their first-ever lesbian romance movie.
With a little bit of holiday magic, and help from the town’s pâtissière extraordinaire, will Charlie and Alma find their way together in the style of all good holiday movies? Watch to find out! If you are in the mood for lighter fare this could be a good movie to throw on while baking Christmas cookies or snuggled up next to a cozy fire.
5. The Christmas House
Genre: Ensemble Comedy
Release Date: November 22, 2020, with a sequel coming out December 18, 2021!
Family Friendly: Yes!
Where To Watch It: The Hallmark Channel
The Christmas house is a family Christmas movie about parents Bill and Phyllis who call on their two sons to help them decorate their house inside and out with Christmas cheer, a tradition they had every holiday season when the boys were younger. Now they are going to revive it one last time before they sell the house.
Their sons feel conflicted about selling their childhood home but throw themselves into it anyway. One brother is a Hollywood type who cares more about his career than his family life and the other brother is gay, married, and waiting to hear from an adoption agency. We don’t want to give away endings, but you’ll like how this one turns out!
The Christmas House was the first Hallmark Christmas movie to prominently feature a gay couple as just part of the family. It was so popular that it spawned a sequel – The Christmas House 2: Deck Those Halls which is coming out this year!
6. The Jenkins Family Christmas
Genre: Family Drama
Release Date: September 10, 2021
Family Friendly: Yes!
Where To Watch It: Black Entertainment Television
After the death of a family patriarch, Baneatta struggles to present a perfect façade to the world as her family falls apart around her during the Christmas holiday. The movie takes place over two days: Christmas eve and Christmas day and shows the ins and outs of a complicated time in the lives of the family.
This movie also involves a coming-out subplot where the son of Baneatta is trying to introduce her to his boyfriend but she keeps finding excuses to keep from acknowledging them. It’s painful to watch and can be hard on anyone who has just come out or had to deal with trauma from that kind of rejection from a judgmental family member.
The Jenkins Family Christmas was produced by Black Entertainment Television. It’s one of the first of what we hope is going to be a whole lineup of black entertainment with gay and lesbian representation.
7. The Family Stone
Genre: Ensemble Comedy
Release Date: December 16, 2005
Family Friendly: Yes!
Where To Watch It: Amazon Prime Video
The Family Stone is a movie set around Christmas and boasts a star-studded cast. It’s about a family from Connecticut that congregates for the holidays. This is the first holiday where Everett, the eldest son, is bringing home his girlfriend from New York City, Meredith for his family’s judgment.
Poor Meredith is not ready for the pressure of the Stone family and is instantly an outsider. And as funny as this movie is, there are serious moments like when Meredith makes a clumsy comment about what it’s like to grow up gay and the family shuts her down. The Stone family has a gay son who is also deaf – and they have his back instantly.
The Family Stone is zany and realistic, and some of the antics might even remind you of your own family. It’s a great movie to watch after a long day of Christmas shopping to unwind and feel good.
8. Christmas At The Ranch
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Release Date: December 1, 2021
Family Friendly: Yes!
Where To Watch It: Tello Films
Christmas At The Ranch is a lesbian Christmas movie about a city slicker named Haley who has to go home to save her family ranch. Once home, she clashes with the rough and tumble ranch hand, Kate. But, oh no! They have to work together to save the ranch and maybe fall in love in the process? Christmas movie perfection!
Haley wants to sell and head back to her job where she’s been given a career-making assignment. But once she’s back on the ranch, she starts to remember how much the place means to her and her family and how much she missed it.
Christmas At The Ranch is the usual Hallmark Christmas movie with simple plot lines and lots of romance and Christmas spirit. Like most Christmas movies, it ends sweetly and reminds us that even when things seem bleak, there can still be happy endings.
9. Dashing In December
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Release Date: December 13, 2020
Family Friendly: Yes!
Where To Watch It: The Paramount Network
Wyatt Burwall comes home to Colorado to try and save his family ranch and finds himself drawn to the ranch hand Heath Ramos. The chemistry is palpable and this movie is steamier than its network peers.
Dashing In December also gets real as it explores what life is like for a gay man in a small town. Our main characters were gay men coming up in rural Colorado, they talk about struggling as teenagers and how they still aren’t free to be themselves in public. This touch of gravity adds a little more to this Christmas magic-filled affair.
By the end, you find yourself really rooting for the couple to make it – and isn’t that all you need from a good romantic movie?
10. Carol
Genre: Drama
Release Date: January 15, 2016
Family Friendly: No
Where To Watch It: Amazon Prime Video
Carol is not a lesbian Christmas movie per se, but it is an LGBTQ+ movie that is set in the Christmas season. It follows the titular Carol as she has an affair with an aspiring photographer played by Rooney Mara. This movie is a little more substantial than your typical Christmas movie so be prepared for something with a bit more to it than the usual super sweet, feel-good Christmas movie script.
Carol follows the story of a woman going through a rough divorce and struggling with how her sexuality is viewed in the harsh light of the 1950s. All set against the backdrop of the Christmas Holidays of 1952. It’s an interesting movie with excellent performances. It was even nominated for some Oscars.
If you are looking for a great movie with a lavish setting and a hint of holiday flavor then Carol is the movie for you.
11. The Bitch Who Stole Christmas
Genre: Drag Show
Release Date: December 2, 2021
Family Friendly: No
Where To Watch It: VH1
Unlike the other entries on this list, RuPaul’s The Bitch Who Stole Christmas is not nearly as family-friendly. While the jokes might sail right over the kid’s heads, this one might be better kept PG13. It’s a raunchy romp with the camp dialed up to 11 and packed to the nines with cameos – it’s the draggiest Christmas movie out there!
The storyline follows Olivia, a journalist, as she tries to get to the bottom of a Christmas-obsessed small town called Tuckahoe and befriends the town’s misfits at the run-down Tuck Inn. RuPaul stars as her boss and the cast is studded with queens.
Olivia goes undercover as Maggie Zine to try and win the Winter Ball and save the Tuck Inn from a gang of cut-throat housewives, all while getting to the bottom of a sinister secret that can destroy Christmas fore-evah!
If you are a fan of RuPaul’s Drag Race then this is the Christmas movie for you. It’s got the right amount of sass and sparkle with sight gags and lots of twisty drama!
12. Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas
Genre: Family Drama
Release Date: December 1, 2021
Family Friendly: Yes!
Where To Watch It: The Roku Channel
Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas is a Christmas special continuing where the series Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist left off. Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas follows Zoey, a software programmer who can hear people’s thoughts in song. In this Christmas special, Zoey tries to make a great Christmas for her family despite this being the first without her father.
Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas features performances by Jane Levy and Skylar Astin as well as John Clarence Stewart and Michael Thomas Grant. It’s a musical and a great way to spend a wintry day in. It’s possible to watch this piece as a stand-alone movie, you don’t need to come in knowing all about the series.
13. City Of Trees
Genre: Indie Film
Release Date: December 12, 2019
Family Friendly: No
Where To Watch It: Amazon Prime Video
City Of Trees is a quieter film than many of the others on this list. It’s a lesbian movie set at Christmas that follows Ainsley, a twenty-something, who comes home for the holidays and is plagued with self-doubt about her choices. She reconnects with old friends and old flames.
This is not a loud, cheesy, corny Christmas movie. It’s an indie flick with a much more grounded aesthetic. It feels more like a home movie than some of the other big-budget Christmas movies on this list.
It’s a lot more humble and understated than the others, but this movie has a unique charm. It definitely captures the feeling of coming back to your childhood home for Christmas and reconnecting with that side of yourself.
14. A New York Christmas Wedding
Genre: Romance
Release Date: August 21, 2020
Family Friendly: No
Where To Watch It: Netflix
A New York Christmas Wedding is the story of Jenny who gets a second chance at love. She and her fiancé argue over their Christmas eve wedding. She goes out for a run and meets her guardian angel who offers to give her a glimpse into another life with her first love.
Jenny then wakes up in a different apartment with her childhood best friend, they are now a lesbian couple trying to get married. After some time in this reality, Jenny is given the choice of whether to go with her fiancé in one reality or her childhood sweetheart in the other. You’ll have to watch to see which she chooses!
A New York Christmas Wedding is a movie about the choices we make and the different paths we could have taken. It’s the kind of movie you’d watch over hot cocoa or while making Christmas dinner.
15. Season Of Love
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Release Date: November 30, 2019
Family Friendly: Yes!
Where To Watch It: Tellofilms.com
Season Of Love follows three different loosely associated couples as they navigate the struggles of LGBTQ+ couplehood around the holidays. It’s been hailed as the “Love, Actually” of lesbian movies.
The plot revolves around three couples, an established one, a new one, and one that hasn’t quite started yet. But through the course of the holiday, they all come together in their own ways. This movie is extremely heart-warming with just the right amount of will-they-or-won’t-they!
16. Let It Snow
Genre: Teen Comedy
Release Date: November 8, 2019
Family Friendly: Yes!
Where To Watch It: Netflix
Let it Snow is the only teen movie on this list. It centers around a group of teenagers all of whom are handling their own trials and complications as they party on Christmas eve and a snowstorm hits their small town. The movie is based on a novel in three parts by John Green, Lauren Myracle, and Maureen Johnson.
The plot follows several teenagers as they navigate the holiday season and deal with crushes and crushed hearts. There is a gay teen who is secretly hooking up with the popular cheerleader – a lesbian storyline that should be cliched but works well in this picture.
Unlike the others on this list, Let It Snow is made for the younger generation to get into the Christmas Spirit. It’s the perfect way to get teenagers and twenty-something to look up from their phones and join in on the fun.
Final Thoughts
These days there are a lot more LGBTQ+ characters in Christmas media. For a long time, LGBTQ people were barred from these wholesome Christmas spaces and it was a miracle to see a gay side character or a lesbian plot line. It’s great to see some change in that regard.
And the best part is that there isn’t just one kind of LGBT Christmas movie. From what we can see on this list, there are tons of different genres to choose from. There is now a range of movies for LGBTQ+ people to rewatch every Christmas.
It’s about time we have our own Christmas movies with the exploding of the genre. Make the yuletide gay with any one of these 16 movies that are sure to put you in the mood to have a great Christmas. And check out our LGBTQ Christmas song list, too!
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