The best lesbian Christmas films to watch now
Searching for the perfect Sapphic film to watch this festive season? Our lesbian correspondent Daniella Parete Clarke weighs in
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! That’s right, it’s Carol season – the season formerly known as Christmas, until 2015, when Cate Blanchett waltzed onto screen in the Todd Haynes-directed romantic drama, wearing a luxurious mink coat and motioning to Rooney Mara’s sales-clerk character Therese that she likes her Santa hat.
From as early as 1 November, queer women everywhere begin making the Yuletide gay, which involves rewatching the film and celebrating its brilliance on social media.
While you can’t improve on perfection, maybe you’re more of a Hallmark-movie fan, a musical-theatre person, or you want to lose yourself in something whimsical. In the spirit of giving season, we’re sharing our selection of the best lesbian Christmas films, sure to satisfy a variety of tastes.
Watch with your family, your wife, or perhaps your small-town highschool sweetheart, who is teaching you, a big-city high-powered businesswoman, the true meaning of holiday cheer.
Carol
Obviously! Todd Haynes’ Carol, the film adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s The Price of Salt, has everything: stellar performances, a perfect cast, sumptuous cinematography and festive queer joy.
The slow pacing and slightly sombre atmosphere mean that it’s not for everyone (if this is you, may we suggest some of the other entries on this list?), but it’s a classic for a reason, and the cornerstone of Sapphic Christmas pop-culture offerings.
I will rewatch every December, and I might get “flung out of space” tattooed on my body.
Watch: Amazon Prime
O Night Divine
Photo by Afif Ramdhasuma on Pexels
What do you mean you’ve never heard of the Luca Guadagnino-directed Zara-produced short film with a lesbian subplot and John C Reilly as Father Christmas? Yeah, me neither.
Thankfully, this wintertime treat is available on YouTube and has a runtime of only 40 minutes, so a December evening when you’re short on time is the perfect opportunity to right that wrong.
Guadagnino’s whimsical short takes place at a hotel in the Swiss Alps, and features a romance between a bitchy femme concierge and her ex girlfriend, who reappears just in time for Christmas.
Watch: YouTube
Happiest Season
This 2020 lesbian Christmas rom-com caused quite a stir when it was first released, mainly because it was the first of its kind to be produced by a major Hollywood studio. It’s directed by Clea DuVall (of But I’m a Cheerleader fame) and has an absolutely stacked cast, including Kristen Stewart, Aubrey Plaza, Alison Brie and Dan Levy.
Stewart’s character is excited to meet her girlfriend’s family and attend their holiday gathering, but she discovers upon arrival that her girlfriend is still firmly in the closet when she’s back at home. Antics (lesbiantics?) ensue.
While the plotline isn’t perfect, and the leads have… minimal chemistry, I consider any season when I get to see Stewart and Plaza on my screen to be a very happy one indeed.
Watch: Amazon Prime (rent or buy)
Merry & Gay
Photo by Anna Shvets on Pexels
In Merry & Gay, a 2022 romance, Broadway star Becca returns to her hometown for Christmas, where she is reunited with Sam, her childhood sweetheart – prompting their mums to hatch a plan to get them back together.
A non-binary romantic lead puts a twist on the familiar formula, and there are plenty of surreally funny moments (Becca’s big-city job is playing Monica in Friends The Musical, and the film opens with a long and inexplicable musical number about coffee).
Upon first viewing, I couldn’t tell if it was the most insane film I’d ever seen or if I was just slightly jolly with holiday spirit(s). Regardless, it was certainly an entertaining experience.
Watch: Amazon Prime
Rent
The 2005 film adaptation of the Jonathan Larson musical follows a year in the life of a group of artists and friends in 1980s New York, and is bookended by Christmas Eve celebrations. As part of a plot that touches on sexuality, drugs, money troubles and the AIDs crisis, Idina Menzel and Tracie Thoms appear as on-again-off-again girlfriends.
While not tremendously Christmassy or Sapphic in content, the film is one to consider if you’re a fan of musicals, or bored of watching the same holiday movies every year.
Watch: Apple TV+
Friends & Family Christmas
Photo by Katrin Bolovtsova on Pexels
Last year’s Friends & Family Christmas was the first ever lesbian Hallmark Christmas film, and the plot is brimming with all the usual clichés and cheesiness. Photographer Dani and lawyer Amelia appease their overbearing parents by fake dating… until their scheme leads to real feelings.
If one thing is clear, it’s that plenty of Christmas-movie producers no longer care if their main characters are queer, just so long as one is creative and the other is corporate (the two genders, after all).
On all accounts this is a fun and heartwarming addition to the Hallmark cinematic universe, and one I will be forcing my mum to watch with me this evening.
Watch: Hallmark Channel