Kids in bed? Christmas tree lit? Great – unwind from the day together with a mug of hot cocoa and one of these best Christmas movies for couples.
The kids are in bed, the Christmas tree is lit, and you want to cozy up with some hot cocoa, your husband, and a Christmas movie.
Not just any Christmas movie – but one that’s for adults (that both of you will enjoy).
And that isn’t completely cheesy (surprisingly hard to find!).
Heck, maybe even a movie that brings the two of you closer together.
Perfect! I’ve got just the one for you, below.
Best Christmas Movie List for Couples
My husband and I have watched a lot of Christmas movies.
And most of them didn’t make this list!
The ones that did are because they make my husband and I feel cozy, or think about life in new and interesting ways, or inspire us in some way as a couple.
(Or cause us to tear up together and snuggle closer after a long day).
Hint: This list of Christmas movies couples will enjoy was created by me, with input from my husband. If you're curious about a man's list of best Christmas movies for couples? Read to the end, where I share my husband's.
The Family Man
What would’ve happened if you never became a couple? Never got married? Never started your family?
Yeah, you might own nicer things, have fewer stains on the couches (this is not just us, right?!), and be all-go into your job.
But you would’ve missed out on so. Much. More.
That’s what Nicholas Cage gets a glimpse of during The Family Man.
This is seriously one of my top 5 Christmas movies of all time, and it’s such a great one to watch as a couple.
A Christmas Story Christmas
My husband and I were so excited when they came out with A Christmas Story Christmas.
It gave us a reason to re-watch the first one together (admittedly, we do that each year anyway), and then to reconnect as a couple with a great adult Christmas movie.
It’s the perfect story for couples who are parents trying to pass that magic onto their kids (without losing their sanity in the meantime!).
Scrooged
This is an adult, modern version of Charles Dickens' awesome story, A Christmas Carol.
Frank, the youngest TV executive in history, is quite greedy and miserly. He’s driven away his love and fired a person on Christmas Eve after they dared question his very questionable Christmas ads.
All of this spurs the three ghosts of Christmas to set him straight: Christmas past, Christmas present, and Christmas future.
A great watch to remind us all to be generous and loving with each other.
Just Friends
Did you guys start out in the “Friend Zone”? Or did you ever worry about getting stuck there with each other (my husband was worried about this!)?
Giggle along as you’re taken back to the teen years when poor Chris – friend-zoned for years – decides it’s time to declare his love to his best friend, Jamie.
It doesn’t turn out well.
In fact, it goes so badly, that he loses a bunch of weight, and becomes a bit of a player in his 20s.
His boss forces him to accompany a one-night-stand-ex (Samantha James) to Paris to sign her to their label (he reallllly doesn’t want to). Samantha ends up lighting the jet on fire, forcing it to land just an hour away from his hometown. In time for Christmas! For his first trip back in 10 years…
Enjoy.
Deck the Halls
Buddy, a car salesman, and his wife and girls move next door to Steve (who is quite orderly). They start off determined to get out of their debt and make a nice life for themselves.
But things turn completely when Buddy decides his goal in life is to put enough lights on his home so that you can see it from space (through a program like Google Earth).
Can it get a little cheesy? For sure. But it’s actually quite funny, too.
Buddy is so slick, that he sells an unsellable car to the car dealership’s owner (who, befuddled, declares “and I paid sticker…”).
Serendipity
Okay, okay – hear me out on this one. Because I’m including Die Hard next, so I thought I could sneak in this Christmas rom-com as well…right?
Maybe you get to watch this one together one night, and the next night, it’s Die Hard?
Jonathan and Sara meet while Christmas shopping for a black pair of cashmere gloves for his girlfriend, and for her boyfriend.
They spend time together at a place called Serendipity. One of Sara’s “things” is the word Serendipity – a fortunate accident…though she says she believes in fate and how it sends her signs.
She doesn’t give him her name as she leaves…but they both end up going back to the place called Serendipity for the scarf they realize he left behind.
Which means…they spend the rest of the evening together. But when she gives him her number at the end, the paper gets swept up into a ton of other pieces of trash, and she thinks that’s the sign that they shouldn’t be together. Instead, she has him write his name and number down on a $5 dollar bill, buys some Certs, and then she writes her name in the book and information in a book, then sells it to a used book store.
The two of them wait to see if they’ll ever get each other’s contact information again. By chance.
Die Hard
Which side of the debate are you on? Is Die Hard a Christmas movie (because it takes place during a holiday work party), or is it not (because it’s an action movie)?
Well, after years of being on the side that “it’s not a Christmas movie”, I’m adding it to my list.
After all – the action does take place during a holiday party, and the main character is returning to his wife to try and work things out during Christmas time.
(Okay, okay – my husband also twisted my mistletoe a bit on including this one…).
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
I just can’t create a must-watch Christmas Movie list for couples without including this movie.
It’s such a classic! I usually start watching it with my husband on Thanksgiving night while we’re all eating dessert.
I also used to watch this as a kid (who didn’t?), and now as a married couple with our own child, we enjoy it for so many other reasons. Like, who doesn’t have a bazillion things go wrong at their holiday gathering?
Just hilarious.
Psst: here's my take on Clark's various money mistakes from each of his National Lampoon movies.
Love Actually*
The first time I watched this movie was with a friend, and we determined it was too weird.
Then I watched it again with my husband (we were boyfriend and girlfriend at the time), and it’s become a treasured holiday movie that’s part of our annual traditions.
The movie follows 8 different couples as their lives unfold and tangle around one another over the Christmas holiday season.
*some nude scenes
It’s a Wonderful Life
My husband was shocked to learn – during one of our first married Christmases together – that I had never watched It’s a Wonderful Life before.
We really identify with how the couple goes through different seasons of time together (first friends, then dating, then married, then with kids).
And the storyline and theme are very touching (plus, you’ll understand the reference Clark makes in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation!).
Krampus
A horror Christmas movie?
Let me explain why this one makes the list.
Imagine this – my husband and I are on our honeymoon in Austria. We’re in Salzburg, and after a day of sightseeing, he wants to visit a pub and talk to the locals (one of his favorite things to do when we travel!).
I’m so jet-lagged, I stay in the hotel.
Two hours later, Paul comes rushing through the door and excitedly describes to me how a man dressed in a bull costume came barging into the pub as part of the Christmas celebrations!
That’s how we learned about Krampus – a horned figure who punishes “bad” children around Christmas time.
Now, we watch the movie Krampus each Christmas – usually a Friday night after Thanksgiving, as we like to watch the cozier, happier movies closer to the holiday.
The opening scene is really jarring as far as reflecting back some of the darker sides of the holiday (like competing and trampling over others for those Black Friday deals).
Well, that's my list of best couple's Christmas movies!
For what it’s worth, I gave my husband a bullet point list to write down his own list (he was SO excited) – here it is:
- Gremlins
- The Godfather
- The Muppets’ Christmas Carol
- Last Christmas
- Home Alone
- A Nightmare Before Christmas
- Mickey’s Christmas Carol
- Miracle on 34th Street
- Lethal Weapon
- The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
Amanda L Grossman
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