As the weather gets chillier and Halloween seems like a distant memory, there’s a noticeable shift in movie genre for the holiday season. The upcoming Thanksgiving and Christmas season has many people putting aside the horror movies and opting for more romantic and emotional content.
The holiday season is that one time of year where watching cringe-worthy romance and star-crossed love stories is perfectly acceptable. Romantic holiday movies tell the tale of finding true love, reuniting families and finding oneself, and they go well with a fuzzy blanket and a cup of hot chocolate. The best part is that there are plenty of movies to choose from and they’re all available on Netflix.
10 Christmas Catch (2018)
The title of this movie is a fun play on words in regards to its storyline. It’s a fun mix of comedy, romance and crime. Sort of. The movie centers around a female cop who is on the trail of a suspected diamond thief. In order to catch him, she goes undercover.
While undercover, she breaks the rules and starts to develop feelings for the suspect. As time goes on and so does the investigation, she starts to realize that maybe the suspect isn’t to blame and the real criminal is still out there.
9 Let It Snow (2019)
Let It Snow released on Netflix in 2019 and has an array of well-known actors, one being Kiernan Shipka, who plays Sabrina Spellman in the supernatural horror show The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Another recognizable face is Jacob Batalon. He played Ned, the trusted best friend and sidekick to Peter Parker in the MCU.
Actors aside, the movie is a mix of comedy, romance and the shenanigans that teenagers get into. A group of high school students find themselves trapped in a small town after a snowstorm. As the day turns to night, they discover friendships and love. But will things stay the same the next morning?
8 Christmas Wedding Planner (2017)
Christmas Wedding Planner has an interesting spin of events when it comes to the main characters. A wedding planner is just beginning her career and is in charge of planning her cousin’s wedding. The theme: Christmas Eve. Having arrived late to a related party, her aunt points out a certain guest, that guest being the bride’s ex-boyfriend.
She’s told to keep an eye on him and he is later revealed to be a private investigator looking for information on the fianceé. Suspicious and flirty events occur that lead the planner to work with the P.I. As they uncover some dirt, they also uncover hidden feelings.
7 Christmas With A Prince (2018)
Who doesn’t dream of meeting a handsome prince at work? That’s the start of the story in Christmas with a Prince. The female lead character is a pediatric specialist who has dedicated her life to keeping the children in her care healthy, but she has a new childish patient.
The prince breaks his leg and to keep away from paparazzi, he asks to be kept in the children’s ward. The doctor initially refuses, only remembering how much of a spoiled brat he was in their childhood. But with no other choice, she takes care of him and love starts to blossom.
6 Operation Christmas (2020)
Fair warning: a couple of these holiday romance films have one actor in common. The 2020 film, Operation Christmas stars Kat Graham in the leading role. Many might remember her from her hit character, Bonnie, from The Vampire Diaries. But now, she’s hung up her witches hat and is, instead, looking for romance.
As the title eludes to, the storyline is loosely based on the real-life U.S. Air Force humanitarian mission of the same name. Erica (Graham) is a congressional assistant assigned to go to an Air Force base in Guam to determine its closure. Her guide, an Air Force commander, shows her the importance of the base and their tradition of air dropping gifts. Romance soon blossoms.
5 The Princess Switch (2018)
Rember the switcheroo scheme in The Parent Trap? The Princess Switch has the same idea, but it involves royalty. In reality, the movie’s storyline concept came from Mark Twain’s novel, The Prince and the Pauper. A talented baker named Stacy (Vanessa Hudgens) just broke up with her boyfriend and is feeling the holiday blues. Her best friend signs them up for a baking competition in the Kingdom of Belgravia.
She soon meets someone she never expected, Lady Margaret Delacourt, Duchess of Montenaro (Hudgens). The catch? They look identical. Margaret is desperate for time away from royalty and suggests a switch. Their switch in lives also leads to new love.
4 The Holiday Calendar (2018)
The Christmas romantic comedy film, The Holiday Calendar stars Kat Graham, once again in the lead role. This movie takes the tradition of the advent calendar to new extremes. Abby is given an advent calendar by her grandfather and thinks nothing of it. The calendar soon proves to be magical and whatever it reveals happens in real life.
The calendar leads to her finding a new boyfriend, while her friend, Josh (Quincy Brown), is keeping his feelings secret from her. As the storyline continues, the calendar might just lead her to her true love.
3 A Christmas Prince (2017)
A Christmas Prince is a popular romantic holiday movie that received two sequels. The 2017 movie is a fun watch for anyone who was a fan of the 2004 movie series, The Prince & Me. An American journalist is given the task to travel to Aldovia to cover the press conference of the prince. She is to uncover if the reckless playboy and prince plans to abdicate the throne.
In a turn of events, when he doesn’t show, she snoops around and becomes the tutor to the princess. Now assuming a new identity, she must keep herself hidden in order to find out the truth. Along the way, she and the prince start to fall in love.
2 The Knight Before Christmas (2019)
Vanessa Hudgens stars in another romantic holiday movie titled The Knight Before Christmas. The storyline for this movie is perfect for a fairytale. Brooke (Hudgens) has lost all hope in finding the perfect one. One snowy night, she accidentally hits someone with her car.
That someone happens to be a knight sent to the future from the 14th century. This might sound similar to another popular rom-com movie. Brooke takes his story as being the ramblings of someone with a concussion and believes he lost his memory. Sympathizing with him, Brooke tries to protect him and help regain his memories, but she is unaware that he’s the knight in shining armor she always wanted.
1 Holidate (2020)
Holidate is the story of a planned agreement becoming something more. Sloane (Emma Roberts) and Jackson (Luke Bracey) loathe the holidays because they are the subject of everyone’s meddling for being single. These two strangers meet and come up with a plan.
They decide to go into a platonic relationship as each other’s plus-ones for the entire year. No more meddling on Valentine’s Day or Christmas. But what was once a platonic relationship might not last, as they start to have feelings for each other.
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