5 Less Familiar Christmas Movies

This list is designed to point you in the direction of some Christmas films you may not have come across. Some are on TV this year and if they are, then I will add the showing times. There are a couple of more recent ones and one that dates from 1947, so you’re bound to find something you enjoy. So, settle down with a hot chocolate and your choice of any of these films.

Falling for Christmas (2022)

Streaming on Netflix

This film is chiefly noteworthy for the return of one of the best young actresses of the late 90s/early 2000s, Lindsay Lohan. She plays Sierra Belmont, the spoilt heiress to a chain of hotels, who is used to having her every need met as she lazes around in her father’s hotel, waiting for her equally spoilt boyfriend, Tad Fairchild, an ‘influencer’ to whisk her off in his car. The film starts with Tad taking Sierra to the top of a mountain to propose to her. This goes disastrously wrong and leads to Sierra being knocked out and developing amnesia. She is rescued by the owner of a failing hotel, Jake Russell (played by Chord Overstreet) who agrees to look after her until she gets her memory back. Jake’s daughter, Avy, played by Olivia Perez, who bonds with Sarah, is a young actress who exhibits the same kind of winning personality that Lohan herself showed as a child star. Tad, meanwhile, finds himself bonding with a local ‘character’ who helps him to survive in the sub-zero conditions. It is a great way of spending an hour and a half where you don’t have to think, but as a bonus it is always engaging, often very funny and, I think, uniformly well-acted. Also look out for a great call back to Mean Girls that made me laugh out loud.

A Christmas Number One (2021)

Showing on Sky Cinema Christmas at 14:10 on December 24

I reviewed this film last year, and if you want to read my full review, then you can find it here However, it is simply a film whose soundtrack, mainly written by Guy Chambers, is crying out for a CD release. There are boyband pastiches that are absolutely hilarious, and a central song, Christmas Morning, co-written with Iwan Rheon who sings one of the versions, that is one of the best festive songs of the last decade. One of the plot strands tugs at the heartstrings in a way that few other Christmas films do. It is a marvellous way to spend two hours, and you can’t ask more of a film than that.

Lost at Christmas (2020)

Showing on BBC2 at 02:15 on December 25

First of all, please ignore the grossly unjust score of 5.0 on IMDB. It is way better than that. The plot revolves around a mismatched pair of travelling companions who find themselves stranded in the Highlands. They find a hotel which initially seems to lack any Christmas cheer at all, but unexpected things happen in the festive season. Yes, the plot may be a little predictable in places, but it has real heart with just a little bracing cynicism to offset the sweetness. However, it is the cast that makes this special. First off, you have Clare Grogan, famous for Gregory’s Girl and still touring with her band, Altered Images. Then, for Doctor Who fans, you have a three for one, covering nearly all of the series history. Sylvester McCoy (7th Doctor), Fraser Hines (Jamie) and Caitlin Blackwood (Amelia Pond) all appear in this film and provide a huge amount of fun. This hidden gem was one of my favourite films last Christmas and I can’t wait to see it again.

If You Believe (1999)

This is a Lifetime Television production starring Ally Walker and a very young Hayden Panettiere who many of you will recognise from the TV series Heroes, where she played Claire Bennett. Like many seasonal films it relies on a loose retelling of A Christmas Carol, in this case centred upon Susan Stone, a cynical book editor who fails to get any joy from anything in life including Christmas. After a bump on the head, she finds herself visited by Suzie (Panettiere), her carefree seven-year-old self who tries to encourage her to enjoy life once again as she used to. The film’s strength is the relationship between the two leads, which always feels believable and emotionally involving. I can’t find any showings on British Television this Christmas, but it is well worth tracking down one way or another.

The Bishop’s Wife (1947)

Available on Amazon Prime

I have recommended this film on various platforms at various times, and I make no apology for doing the same again. The Bishop’s Wife features two actors whose very presence lifts proceedings in even the weakest of films. In this case, they provide the icing on the Christmas cake for one of the best seasonal films of all. It is, in my own, perhaps controversial, opinion superior to It’s a Wonderful Life, which it outperformed at the box office on release. The two actors in question are David Niven, playing Bishop Henry Brougham, who prays for guidance to help with fund raising for a new cathedral, and Cary Grant, playing Dudley the angel who is sent in answer to that prayer. Soon, however, Henry regards Dudley as anything but the answer to his prayers as the two protagonists clash over the real path that Henry must tread. The stakes are raised when Julia Brougham, the title character beautifully played by Loretta Lynn, becomes the object of Dudley’s magical affections. Could Henry end up losing his wife in a very unfair fight? This is an absolute delight, and a film I return to year after year as the perfect comfort watch. It is definitely a divine comedy!

I hope you enjoyed this article and that you enjoy these films if you search any or all of them out.

Merry Christmas viewing!