It’s been a strange and eventful year to say the least, but if one thing can help salvage the mess that is 2020, it has to be Christmas. Undoubtedly the holiday season will be different this year, however, one thing that hasn’t been taken away is our ability to curl up in some fluffy pyjamas and waste away a dark December afternoon binging LGBTQ+ Christmas movies.

From late nights to lockdowns you may feel as though you’ve seen everything there is to see, however there are a few gems that you may not have seen and others that are definitely worthy of a re-watch. Here are some of our top picks for films that are as gay as Christmas!

The Christmas Setup (2020)

Lifetime’s first LGBTQ+ Christmas movie, The Christmas Setup, which stars real-life married couple Blake Lee (Parks and Recreation) and Ben Lewis (Arrow, The Handmaid’s Tale), is about a New York City lawyer Hugo (Lewis) who goes to Milwaukee with his best friend, to spend Christmas with his mom. Fortunately, Hugo’s mom likes to play matchmaker and arranges for him to run into his old crush Patrick (Lee), who’s home from his high-powered job in Silicon Valley. Grab the Hugo to your Patrick, because you’re going to want to snuggle in with this film.

Happiest Season (2020)

This new release follows the story of Abby, Kristen Stewart, and Harper, McKenzie Davis, a lesbian couple dealing the ups and downs of visiting conservative relatives over the Christmas period. Directed and co-written by Clea DuVall, Happiest Season is not one to be missed! 

Dashing in December (2020)

Looking for queer cowboys, feel good scenes, and Christmas delights? Well move over Brokeback Mountain, because Dashing in December is the feel-good gay cowboy movie we have been looking for. Starring Juan Pablo Di Pace and Peter Porte, Dashing in December follows a New York businessman who falls for the gruff ranch hand after returning to his rural roots for Christmas.

Carol (2015)

Do we even need to mention this one? Since its release in 2015 it has quickly become a staple in Christmas viewing for many queer women for many reasons, but Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett certainly help. The romance film is set in 1950s New York and sees a department-store clerk fall, Mara, in love with an older married woman, Blanchett. 

Let It Snow (2019)

When a snowstorm hits a small town on Christmas Eve, a group of high school seniors finds their friendships and love lives unexpectedly colliding.

Make The Yuletide Gay (2009)

A university student is out on his college campus, but hasn’t told his parents that he’s gay. When he goes home for Christmas, his closeted act seems to be going fine until his current boyfriend shows up unannounced!

Tangerine (2015)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEVuXWEBAP8

On Christmas Eve, trans sex-worker, Sin-Dee Rella, is released from a 28-day prison sentence. Upon being released, she finds out from her friend Alexandra, that her pimp/boyfriend has been sleeping with a white cis woman. This causes Sin-Dee into going on a trek across Los Angeles to find the unfaithful pair. Despite not following the “traditional” narrative, even when it comes to LGBTQ+ Christmas movies, Tangerine is not only set during the holiday season but at its core is a movie about family.

Season of Love (2019)

A queer lady holiday romantic comedy that follows the lives of three very different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely interrelated tales all set right before Christmas through New Years.

Lucky Fares (2014)

One of the Three Kings and Santa Claus spend Christmas in jail, talking about what their future will be like in a world like this. This is a short film on social exclusion and the impossibility to be oneself in a hard world.