When I was in my 20s, I would roll my eyes at my grandma and mom watching Hallmark Christmas movies. The acting was bad, the plots were identical, and the cringe factor was high. But once I hit my mid-30s, something shifted. The familiar story arcs were comforting; the sub-par performances were endearing; and I appreciated the over-the-top positivity compared to all the negativity on the news.
And apparently, I’m not the only millennial with this change of heart. Amanda Hess, culture critic for The New York Times, recently detailed a similar story in a piece titled “How I Aged Into the Bad Christmas Movie.” However, many millennials are also cord-cutters, meaning they don’t have cable and, therefore, don’t have the Hallmark channel. But fear not: Netflix has jumped on the cheesy holiday movie bandwagon. Keep reading for my top picks of Netflix Christmas movies you have to watch this year.
RELATED: Hallmark Channel Just Revealed Its Line-Up of All-New Christmas Movies.
1. Our Little Secret
Netflix
Lindsay Lohan made her big comeback in 2022 with Netflix’s Falling for Christmas. The movie tells the story of a rich heir to a ski resort who loses her memory while skiing and is cared for by a kind widower who has an equally sweet daughter. I thought it was fine. The setting is picturesque, and it checks all the boxes of a cheesy Christmas movie.
However, Lohan’s latest holiday flick blows it out of the water. This year, she stars in Our Little Secret, which presents the familiar romantic comedy trope of exes who reunite years later when they each show up to the same family Christmas with their current partners.
While I love this new career choice for Lohan, I can’t say that her acting is what sets this movie apart. Instead, it’s the rest of the cast. Kristin Chenoweth plays Lohan’s current boyfriend’s stuck-up, hard-to-please mother, a role in which she is hilarious. The ex-boyfriend is played by Pretty Little Liars alum Ian Harding, who’s completing charming.
Our Little Secret is truly funny, sentimental, and an overall great Christmas movie.
2. The Merry Gentlemen
Netflix
Big fan of Magic Mike? This one’s for you. The Merry Gentlemen stars millennial heartthrob Chad Michael Murray as a small-town handyman who’s doing work on the Rhythm Room, the local bar/music venue that’s down on its luck.
When the bar owners’ daughter (Britt Robertson) gets canned from her big New York City dancing gig in a faux Rockettes production, she returns home for the holidays (of course she does) and hatches a plan to create a “gentlemen’s revue” to save her parents’ pride and joy.
Enter Murray and a bunch of other hunky, shirtless men gyrating to Christmas carols. That’s really all you need to know.
3. Hot Frosty
Netflix
Hallmark fans will be delighted to see the network’s Christmas movie darling Lacey Chabert crossing over to Netflix in Hot Frosty. The sexy snowman who comes to life (duh!) is played by Dustin Milligan, who you may remember from his role as the hunky veterinarian on Schitt’s Creek.
Said snowman helps Chabert’s character rediscover love after she’s lost her husband, all set against a cozy small-town backdrop. And I’d say it’s safe to estimate that Milligan is shirtless more than he’s clothed if that sways your decision on whether or not to watch.
RELATED: 6 New Netflix Shows Everyone Will Be Watching This December.
4. Meet Me Next Christmas
Netflix
This rom-com tackles a trope that we’re seeing more and more of in movies and books. Man and woman meet. Man and woman feel a spark during meeting but must return to their respective lives in other parts of the country. Man and woman make a pact to reunite at a specific location at the same time next year.
In the case of Meet Me Next Christmas, Christina Milian’s Layla connects with a sexy man when she’s stuck in the airport after her flight is delayed. They agree to find each other at the Pentatonix Christmas Eve concert the following year.
But when the show is sold out, Layla hires an equally sexy personal concierge (Teddy, played by Devale Ellis) to procure her a ticket so she can meet her prince charming. But is she really chasing the right soulmate? Hmmm….
5. That Christmas
Netflix
Not everything on Netflix is romantic, though. If you want to inspire some childlike wonder this holiday season, check out That Christmas, Netflix’s new animated holiday film based on the book by Richard Curtis.
Set in the quaint English village of Wellington-on-Sea, a major holiday blizzard means everyone’s holiday plans get upended—including Santa. It’s like the cartoon version of The Holiday meets Rudolph.