The ultimate LGBTQ+ Christmas movie guide, from 2009’s Make the Yuletide Gay to the present day
Here are the best LGBTQ+ Christmas films to watch, including I Hate New Year’s, The Christmas Setup and Happiest Season. (Tello/Lifetime/Hulu)
Here are the best LGBTQ+ Christmas films to watch, including I Hate New Year's, The Christmas Setup and Happiest Season. (Tello/Lifetime/Hulu)
The countdown to Christmas is on and there’s no better time than the holidays – or should we say, holigays – to indulge in a festive LGBTQ+ film: we have a list of 30 for you to choose from, as well as where to watch them.
Historically, festive films have focused on cishet, white couples. However, the Christmas film genre is becoming increasingly diverse in storytelling thanks to gay Christmas movies and lesbian holiday films as well as movies featuring wider LGBTQ+ representation.
From a ranch drama to fake dating tropes to queer chosen family, here are 30 Christmas LGBTQ+ movies to get you in the holiday spirit.
A Keller Christmas Vacation (2025)
This year, Christmas for the Keller family will be different. With their three adult children, the family are embarking on a tour of European Christmas Markets, all while trying to reconnect over 10 days.
The festive experience is particularly tough for Dylan (Mean Girls star Jonathan Bennett), who is reeling after his partner, William (Anand Desai-Barochia), turns down his marriage proposal.
Watch A Keller Christmas Vacation on Hallmark+.
The Christmas Baby (2025)
Santa usually drops off presents, but when a baby boy is left on Erin (Ali Liebert) and Kelly (Katherine Barrell)’s doorstep a few days before Christmas, it’s not the gift they were expecting.
The pair are thrust into parenthood, all while trying to track down the infant’s family. As the countdown to Christmas continues, the couple are left questioning whether this was a festive blessing after all.
Watch The Christmas Baby on The Hallmark Channel.
The Firefighter’s Christmas Wish (2025)
Fire and snow may not be an obvious match, but in The Firefighter’s Christmas Wish, unexpected pairings are all the rage. The film chronicles firefighter Dani Reed (Holly Deveaux) saving a family and reigniting her late mother’s ‘Holiday Heroes’ fundraiser.
When charming photographer Sasha (Kyana Teresa) walks into Dani’s life, she finds a renewed sense of love, purpose and courage.
Watch The Firefighter’s Christmas Wish on W Network.
The Holiday Exchange (2024)
Husbands Taylor Frey and Kyle Dean Masse, gay Lifetime and Hallmark holiday rom-com legends, return with a new take on the festive experience.
The film charts Wilde (Frey) shaking up the holidays by swapping houses with Oliver (Rick Cosnett), which in turn leads them to meeting locals who turn their lives around.
Watch The Holiday Exchange on NicelyEntertainment.
Meet Me Next Christmas (2024)
Sure, this feel-good Netflix film may centre on a straight will-they-won’t-they romance, but it’s Pentatonix and drag queens who steal the show.
Queer band members Scott Hoying and Mitch Grassi offer plenty of humorous quips as this romantic tale whisks viewers through New York to a sold-out Christmas concert.
Watch Meet Me Next Christmas on Netflix.
The Holiday Club (2024)
Christmas-hating Sam and festive-lover Bailey seem far from a good match. Set in a small Ohio town, the two women meet on Valentine’s Day and bond over their shared love of pastry.
As the holidays pass by, one Christmas the pair connect like never before and finally admit the truth about how they feel.
You can watch The Holiday Club on Tello.
Christmas on Cherry Lane (2023)
Three couples face turning points in their lives as they head home to Cherry Lane for the holidays. This Hallmark Channel movie follows a young couple expecting their first child and another couple trying to adapt to their empty nest.
However, the queer representation comes from Mike (Jonathan Bennett) and Zian (Vincent Rodriguez III).
Watch Christmas on Cherry Lane on Hallmark+.
A Holiday I Do (2023)
A small-town single mother unexpectedly falls for her ex-husband’s wedding planner. Her blooming feelings, however, are thrown into chaos by the fearsome bridezilla.
Directors Alicia and Paul Schneider’s film charts Jane’s efforts to navigate the Christmas chaos in a sweet portrait of chosen family, as hope for a merry Christmas brings lovers together.
Watch A Holiday I Do on Tello.
Friends & Family Christmas (2023)
The fake dating trope is at the heart of Anne Wheeler’s Hallmark original movie. Friends & Family Christmas follows the traditional plotting with a sprinkling of sapphic pining.
Photographer Dani is surprised by a visit from her parents and ropes in lawyer Amelia, who has recently broken off her engagement, to help her get through the festivities and outwit her prying parents.
You can watch Friends & Family Christmas on the Hallmark Channel.
Notes of Autumn (2023)
Notes of Autumn is the answer to what if The Holiday were gay? When both pianist Ellie (Ashley Williams) and author Leo (Luke Macfarlane) are hitting a creative block, they decide to switch places.
This leads to Leo meeting Matt (Peter Porte), someone who unexpectedly reinvigorates his life.
Watch Notes of Autumn on Hallmark+.
A Christmas to Treasure (2022)
Coming home for the holidays can be stressful. However, A Christmas to Treasure sees six friends reunite for a nostalgic childhood treasure hunt.
When Austin (Taylor Frey) and his former best friend Everett (Kyle Dean Massey) reconnect, it’s not long before unrequited feelings resurface and sparks fly.
Watch A Christmas to Treasure on Lifetime.
The Holiday Sitter (2022)
Sometimes you need an overly sweet, easy-to-watch gay Christmas movie. The Holiday Sitter sees workaholic bachelor Sam (Jonathan Bennett) out of his depth babysitting his niece and nephew over the holidays.
He recruits handsome neighbour Jason (George Krissa) to help, and sparks fly. This was the first queer-led film broadcast on the Hallmark Channel.
Watch The Holiday Sitter on ITVX.
Looking for Her (2022)
When Taylor (Olivia Buckle) heads home for the holidays, her family is thrilled to finally meet her girlfriend, Jess. However, the pair are no longer together.
To prevent disappointing her family, Taylor decides to hire an actor to play the part and holds open auditions to pick the right person.
You can watch Looking for Her on Tubi.
Merry & Gay (2022)
Broadway star Becca (Dia Frampton) returns to her small town for Christmas. There, she meets up with her high-school sweetheart, Sam (Andi René Christensen).
Their two meddling mums decide their kids are perfect together, so they begin to plot to bring them together permanently.
You can watch Merry & Gay on Prime Video.
Christmas at the Ranch (2021)
Cowboys and lesbians! What more could you want? This Hallmark-esque film follows Hayley (Lindsay Wagner) desperately trying to save her family’s ranch from closure.
However, her plan is scuppered when she gets distracted by ranch hand Kate (Amanda Righetti) and sparks fly in the stables.
You can watch Christmas at the Ranch on Prime Video.
Christmas is Canceled (2021)
Christmas is Canceled gets off to a wild start when Emma (Hayley Orrantia) finds out her father is dating her high school frenemy, Brandy (Janel Parrish). She decides that Christmas is officially cancelled.
As she embarks on an outlandish mission to end the affair, Emma’s queer bestie Charlyne, played by non-binary actor Emilie Modaff, is there to talk her down.
You can watch Christmas is Canceled on Apple TV.
A Jenkins Family Christmas (2021)
The Jenkins family is preparing for their first Christmas after the death of their father, trying to stay jolly. But Kenny (Anthony Chatmon II) brings his boyfriend, Logan (Derek Chadwick), along.
There’s just one issue: Kenny hasn’t come out to his mother. With family tension hanging in the air, the couple’s relationship is put under pressure.
Watch A Jenkins Family Christmas on Channel 5.
Single All The Way (2021)
Ugly Betty‘s Michael Urie stars in Netflix’s first gay holiday film, as a single man who convinces his best friend (Philemon Chambers) to pose as his boyfriend.
However, his mother has set him up on a blind date with a spinning instructor (Luke Macfarlane). The icing on the cake is Jennifer Coolidge as Aunt Sandy!
Watch Single All The Way on Netflix.
Under the Christmas Tree (2021)
Lisa Rose Snow’s feature directorial debut premiered on Lifetime, the platform’s first lesbian Christmas movie.
The film follows Charlie (Tattiawna Jones) trying to find a Christmas tree for the governor of the state of Maine. Things get complicated when she spots the perfect one in business-owner Alma’s (Elise Bauman) yard.
You can watch Under the Christmas Tree on Prime Video.
Happiest Season (2020)
Abby (Kristen Stewart) and Harper (Mackenzie Davis) head to a family Christmas in this festive romcom. Clea Duvall’s Happiest Season sees Abby drop the bombshell she’s not out to her parents and they have to pretend to be just friends.
Happiest Season marked a watershed moment as the first lesbian Christmas romcom produced by a major Hollywood studio, TriStar Pictures.
You can watch Happiest Season on Sky.
The Christmas House (2020)
The Christmas House is another cinematic portrait of queer festive joy starring Jonathan Bennett. The film was Hallmark’s first gay Christmas film.
Brandon (Bennett) and Jake (Brad Harder) are trying to enjoy the holidays, but their so-far unsuccessful attempts to adopt a child hang over them. A sequel, The Christmas House 2: Deck Those Halls, followed in 2021.
Watch The Christmas House on Channel 5.
The Christmas Setup (2020)
The Christmas Setup was Lifetime’s first LGBTQ+ festive movie and stars real-life couple Blake Lee and Ben Lewis as a pair of budding lovers. The film follows New York lawyer Hugo (Lewis) returning home for the Christmas season when his mother (Fran Drescher) sets him up with his high school crush, Patrick (Lee).
Since the film’s release, Lee and Lewis have called on Lifetime to “tell a story that centres around a trans or a non-binary person or queer people of colour”.
Watch The Christmas Setup on Prime Video.
Dashing in December (2020)
Businessman Wyatt (Peter Porte) arrives at his family’s Colorado ranch in the hope of convincing his mother (Andie MacDowell) to sell the land with their popular Winter Wonderland attraction.
However, Dashing in December introduces a gay spanner with ranch-hand Heath (Juan Pablo di Pace) attracting Wyatt’s attention.
Watch Dashing in December on Apple TV.
I Hate New Year’s (2020)
Rising singer Layne Price (Dia Frampton) has writer’s block and decides to head home to a wintry Nashville for New Year’s Eve. There, she reunited with her best friend Cassie (Ashley Argota), who’s ready to confess her feelings.
Things grow thorny when Layne bumps into an ex. Christin Baker’s musical romantic comedy is the perfect palate cleanser for the holiday season.
You can watch I Hate New Year’s on Tello.
City of Trees (2019)
When twenty-something Ainsley (Swarens again) reunites with people from her past, she is made to confront the past she ran away from and the unresolved feelings she’s buried for years.
Although this was made on a small budget, the film has a lot of heart, with lesbians wrapped up in cosy jumpers and the Christmas spirit.
You can watch City of Trees on Prime Video.
Season of Love (2019)
Christin Baker’s romantic comedy follows the connected plot of three queer couples as they fall in love over Christmas.
Like a LGBTQ+ Love, Actually, the film was created as a response to the lack of queer representation in festive films.
You can watch Season of Love on Tello.
Shared Rooms (2016)
Three interconnected stories are woven together in the holiday season. A married couple welcomes home their gay nephew, a hookup turns to love, and two friends finally face their feelings.
Themes of love and romance are encapsulated in Rob Williams’ triptych of gay men at different stages of their lives.
Watch Shared Rooms on Roku.
Carol (2015)
Todd Haynes’ Carol remains the most beloved lesbian Christmas movie. Starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, this romantic drama is based on Patricia Highsmith’s 1952 novel The Price of Salt.
The film charts the forbidden romance between a woman going through a divorce and a younger photographer. Their intimate relationship has a devastating impact that ripples across both women’s lives.
You can watch Carol on Netflix.
Scrooge & Marley (2012)
In this queer spin on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, three spirits and the ghost of a former partner visit gay bar owner Scrooge (David Pevsner) to make him see the error of his ways.
Alongside making peace with his staff after underpaying them, Ben must rediscover his place in the local LGBTQ+ community.
Watch Scrooge & Marley on Prime Video.
Make the Yuletide Gay (2009)
Make the Yuletide Gay, living up to its title, follows Olaf (Keith Jordan), who retreats back into the closet when he’s home for the holidays.
However, his peaceful Christmas is thrown off when his boyfriend Nathan (Adamo Ruggiero) shows up unannounced.
Watch Make the Yuletide Gay on Prime Video.
