Spread The Holiday Cheer With Glambergirlblog’s Christmas Watch List

As much as I love Halloween, the holiday season is a close second, so I can’t believe I never wrote a blog entry about my holiday watch list. I must be thinking about the times I mentioned my favs on social media. When I think about what I like to watch around the holidays many of the mainstream films come to mind. My go to’s include: “Elf,” “Home Alone,” “The Grinch,” “The Family Stone,” “Nothing Like The Holidays,” and “Four Christmases,” but this list I’m about to give you are my B-side hits that might not get as much love. (*Note: where to watch listings are found during the time this article was written. 

Love Letter To Christmas
Christmas is such a romantic holiday to me. This can be the time when you introduce your significant other to your family or when you fall in love for the first time. Combined with the lights and the music, Christmas really can provide a love letter to those who choose to accept it. These are mines.

Dash & Lily
Christmas and New York. It doesn’t get any better than that for me. There really is something magical about the holidays combined with the city that never sleeps. Netflix’s new holiday series Dash & Lily perfectly captures it. This is a recent addition to my holiday watch list, but I think it’s something I will revisit every year. Lily loves the holidays while Dash doesn’t. The two cross paths thanks to a red notebook and the magic of Christmas takes over. Think of a hint of “Serendipity” when watching this one. Where to watch: Netflix

A Different World – “I’m Dreaming of a Wayne Christmas” (Season 4, Episode 11)
Whitley (Jasmine Guy) and Dwayne (Kadeem Hardison) are finally a couple and Dwayne is bringing Whit home to Brooklyn for Christmas. The first girl he brought home in fact. Only thing is Adele (Patti LaBelle), Dwayne’s mom, isn’t too keen on her son’s relationship with Whitley so she does everything she can to impress his mom. A bunch of high jinks ensues before Whitley and Adele finally come to common ground. The ending always brings a tear to my eye and that’s why it’s on my list. Where to watch: Amazon Prime

“Happiest Season”
Another new addition to the holiday movie catalog is the Clea DuVall directed (co-written along with Mary Holland) film “Happiest Season.” This movie was originally suppose to have a theatrical release but went to streaming because of covid. It has since become the highest-streamed premiere weekend film for Hulu and serves as one of the few holiday films with a same-sex couple as the lead. Harper (Mackenzie Davis) is bringing her girlfriend Abby (Kristen Stewart) home for the holidays, but she hasn’t come out to her conservative family and wants Abby to “play straight” as well until she can come out. The subject matter can hit hard to those in the LGBTQ+ community with similar stories, but there are many highlights in the film that balance the hard parts out. I really loved this movie. Where to watch: Hulu

Black Christmas
My new favorite Christmas genre is horror holiday films that are dark comedies. I always find humor in any genre I watch especially if I watch the film a number of times. Two of these films are new to me and one I’ve watched several times. Let’s get into them.

“Better Watch Out”
I watched this film over the weekend and I was equally stressed out with anxiety and thoroughly amused. In “Better Watch Out” Luke’s (Levi Miller) parents are going out to a Christmas party and his usual babysitter, Ashley (Olivia DeJonge) is coming over. Luke (12!!!) thinks he has a chance with Ashley (she’s about to move away for college) and chats with his pal Garrett (Ed Oxenbould) about his plan to make his move. Just when you think this film is going one way it goes left, then right, then left again. What a thrill ride this was. If you want a holiday film minus the over-the-top holiday cheer then this is the film for you. Where to watch: Amazon Prime or Tubi

“Mercy Christmas”
I’ll admit I watch a lot of dumb movies. Sorry to the writer, directors, and the entire creative teams involved but some movies have to be made as jokes. “Mercy Christmas” I feel is one of those. Michael Briskett (Steven Hubbell) works for an overbearing boss and is an outcast at work. He invites the office to his house for a Christmas party and no one shows up until Cindy (Casey O’Keefe), a beautiful co-worker, comes just when Michael was ready to call it a night. The two bond enough for Cindy to invite Michael home for Christmas. Only thing is Cindy and her family are cannibals and Michael has no idea what he’s about to get into. You got to watch it to see how this ends. Where to watch: Amazon Prime

“Silent Night, Deadly Night” (1984)
I first saw “Silent Night, Deadly Night” years ago. It randomly came on cable and I would watch it whenever I saw it on, but since then I have never seen it. This is such an ’80’s horror movie and if you are a horror lover like me then you know what I mean. Bobby’s (Robert Brian Wilson) parents were murdered by a deranged man dressed as Santa when he was a child, so he grew up having serious traumatic breaks around Christmas and anything to do with Santa. This turns him into a crazed Santa dressed killer himself. It’s a deep cut ’80’s gem. Where to watch: Amazon Prime $1.99 (rent)

Feeling Nostalgic
Everyone’s inner child comes to life during Christmas and I’m no different. If we’re being honest my inner child comes to life often if I’m feeling down. You can ask my family and they’ll tell you how much I stayed in front of the TV when I was younger so when I think about many happy memories a lot of them come from the feelings I got watching something on TV. Two of these gems revert me back to my childhood in the best way and another is just good TV.

Victorious ‘A Christmas Tori” (Season 3, Episode 1)
I was way past the targeted age for Victorious when it aired on Nickelodeon, but thankful for me my youngest niece was in that demographic and that’s how this show even came on my radar. I’m a 90’s kid so new-age Nick wasn’t my thing, but man is Victorious hilarious. As an adult, I can recognize the adult humor in a lot of these kids’ shows and that’s probably to get the parents to sit through many of them. The Christmas episode of Victorious has plenty of those jokes, an original holiday song, and holiday cheer. Watch this with the little ones in your life or with your inner child. Where to watch: Netflix

“To Grandmother’s House We Go”
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were a huge part of my childhood. I loved them in pretty much everything they did and when they were young they were busting out the made-for-TV films. “To Grandmother’s House We Go” is one of those. The girls play Sarah and Julie, twin daughters to overworked, single mom Rhonda (Cynthia Geary). The girls decide to give their mom a break by running away to grandma’s house only unbeknownst to them they get kidnapped. It’s not as scary as it sounds. It’s pretty humorous and it brings me right back to childhood. Where to watch: Amazon Prime $2.99 (rent) $7.99 (buy)

“The Nutcracker Prince” (1990)
Sugar Plum fairies, winter wonderlands, toy soldiers, and Pyotr Tchaikovsky. The music from “The Nutcracker” gives me instant Christmas feels, but the 1990 animated film “The Nutcracker Prince” makes my heart grow three sizes every time I watch it. The story of The Nutcracker, from what I understand watching this movie, is about Clara getting gifted a nutcracker from Uncle Drosselmeier. She is told the story about how the nutcracker came to be and later dreams of a wondrous world where the nutcracker comes to life and he must defend a kingdom against the rat king. This one really brings me back. Where to watch: YouTube

Have you watched any of my non-mainstream holiday picks? What are some of your favorite programs to watch during the holiday season? Let me know in the comments below so I can add to my list.

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Photo: Netflix