The holidays might look decidedly different this year due to the pandemic, but one thing will never change: the cheesiness of cliché holiday movies. Whether you love or hate them, the slew of holiday movies released at the end of every year is sure to keep you entertained.

Heat up some hot chocolate (or sip on a glass of wine — whatever your holiday poison is, we don’t judge around here) and get cozy with predictable romance plots, cheerful holiday tunes, and cliché seasonal puns, all wrapped up in several holiday movies for you to binge on this festive season.  

Holidate

Starring: Emma Roberts, Luke Bracey, Jessica Capshaw, Manish Dayal, Kristin Chenoweth

The Plot: After a chance meeting, two holiday haters – Sloane (played by Roberts) and Jackson (played by Bracey) – decide to be each other’s plus-ones for every holiday gathering over the year. Whilst the movie spanned an entire year of festives that included Easter, Cinco de Mayo and Saint Patrick’s Day, the plot was as cliché as rom-coms could get. Still, amidst the predictable singledom battle lies dreamy Australian accents, an idiosyncratic amount of swearing for a holiday movie, and wonderful side characters, making it a spectacular feel-good holiday watch.    

Operation Christmas Drop

Starring: Kat Graham, Alexander Ludwig  

The Plot: It wouldn’t be cheesy holiday movies season without at least one workaholic heroine falling for someone they initially couldn’t stand the sight of. Whilst this holiday flick is based on a real-life military tradition, it doesn’t stray far from the traditional cheesy rom-com predictability. Overworked congressional assistant Erica (Graham) is sent to evaluate a U.S. Air Force base in Guam, where she meets Captain Andrew Jantz (Ludwig), who pilots the program. You probably can guess where this goes next.

The Princess Switch: Switched Again

Starring: Vanessa Hudgens, Sam Palladio, Suanne Braun, Nick Sugar   

The Plot: With this sequel to 2018’s The Princess Switch as well as last year’s Knight Before Christmas, Hudgens is slowly but surely becoming a festive staple for Netflix. This follow-up to the beloved original sees Hudgens back to perform another life swap, before a third lookalike (all played by Hudgens, if you haven’t already caught on) arrives to amp up the holiday drama. Hudgen’s spectacular performance pulling off three characters is a standout amongst the jolly tunes and ornately decorated halls.

Mariah Carey’s Magical Christmas Special

Starring: Mariah Carey, Ariana Grande, Jennifer Hudson, Tiffany Haddish    

The Plot: Queen of Christmas, Mariah Carey, has launched her very own special Yuletide film in a Christmas special with Apple TV+. Besides an amalgamation of familiar festive musicals performed by the songstress, there’s also lots of dancing in high spirits, cameos from other top A-listers, and even a feature from Snoopy, Charlie Brown, and the Peanuts Gang. Now, repeat after us: “All I want for Christmas is…”

The Christmas Chronicles 2

Starring: Kurt Russell, Goldie Hawn, Darby Camp, Julian Dennison, Judah Lewis      

The Plot: Taking place ten years after the first movie, Russell and Hawn return to reprise their roles as Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus respectively. Another magical adventure is in store for Kate Pierce (played by Camp), who has now grown into a cynical pre-teen, and her brother Teddy (played by Lewis). Gigantic Christmas trees, masses of adorable elves, and a rouge-elf-turned-evil-teenager makes up this spirited holiday drama.

Feature image courtesy of Netflix.