Already Maxed out on Holiday Romance? Here's Your Guide to Holiday Movies With Serious Girl Power
The only man these leading ladies need is Santa Claus—if that.
The formula for writing and portraying women in holiday movies is so clear that McSweeney’s has even written a satirical commentary about it: More often than not, the high-powered big-city career woman or small-town small business owner goes home to save the farm or family business or bravely goes abroad, and ends up throwing her career away for love while finding her holiday spirit.
When you first meet her, the holiday movie heroine seems to have a lot of things going for her, but, while it’s not always clearly stated, the fact that she doesn’t have a man is usually a big problem, either to her or the people in her life. Which creates a bit of an underlying message in a lot of holiday movies: She can’t have a happy holiday until she finds romance.
And in films where she is already having a happy holiday on her own with a bustling work and social life, those stories often end with romance taking over. And it becomes pretty clear the plot was never about her wedding-planning business or successful bakery.
Related: The Best Hallmark Christmas Movies Of All Time, Ranked
OK, that was a downer. But here’s the good news: Thankfully, not all holiday movies on streaming services or Hallmark center totally around romance. In a few films, the women clearly have well-rounded lives. They might find love, but there is more going on in their orbit than who’s under the mistletoe.
There are holiday movies featuring single moms, women who just want to treat themselves for Christmas (with no man in mind) and even a woman who leaves her toxic hetero-marriage and falls in love with another woman. That last one might be about love, but a man doesn’t save the day or come to a woman’s rescue in any way, so it counts.
Here’s your guide to some women you should get to know this season. Happy holidays!
Related: The Best Christmas Movies On Hulu
Happiest Season, 2020
Hulu
It takes a while to see the strong side of the women in this film. But when it does happen, it's electric. And unforgettable. This hilarious, yet touching, film about a lesbian couple who hit a rough patch is a can't-miss.
Godmothered, 2020
Disney+
Disney+ made an effort again to squash holiday movie tropes with Godmothered. It starts out fairytale-esque, but veers off-course. By the end, the aspired fairy Godmother at the center of this story realizes that a happily ever after doesn't have to involve romance. Finding self-love and rediscovering your love for your job, life or familiar is just as valuable.
Let It Snow, 2019
Netflix’s anthology holiday film is jam-packed with storylines, but one or two make it worth watching. The biggest, by far, is the rich female friendship between two small-town girls, Addie and Dorrie, whose big plot point at the end is the resolution of their relationship after a rift, as Addie realizes she doesn’t need her dumb boyfriend. She just needs her best friend. As an added bonus, Dorrie’s love interest is another girl, Tegan, which is not super common for the holiday options we’re usually offered.
My One Christmas Wish, 2015
Glee’s Amber Riley stars in this movie about a young woman who grew up in a home that was hardly loving. She doesn’t have anyone to spend the holidays with, so she places an ad on Craigslist for a family for the holidays. She gets an overwhelming number of responses and decides to help other people who want the same thing.
Noelle, 2019
Disney+
Disney+’s first live-action original movie is a holiday movie, which makes sense, considering families across America are tuned into the brand-new streaming service right now. It’s a story about how the role of Santa Claus is passed down through the generations of the Kringle family. But the next in line, Nick (Bill Hader) goes missing just before his first Christmas. His sister, Noelle (Anna Kendrick), is up for the task, but she’s always been told that women cannot be Santa. It’s Christmas cheer mixed with some light criticism of the patriarchy.
Last Holiday, 2006
Queen Latifah plays a woman who is told she has three weeks to live, so she goes on an all-out vacation to Europe to live out her final days in style. If you need a reminder for self-care this holiday season (maybe without the extreme circumstances), this is a good one to pop on.
Carol, 2015
This 2015 flick was not marketed as a Christmas movie, but ask any queer women in your life, and they’ll give you the date of their Carol holiday watch party. Based on the 1952 Patricia Highsmith novel The Price of Salt, the story follows Carol Aird (Cate Blanchett), a married woman from the New York City-adjacent suburbs, and Therese Belivet (Rooney Mara), who works at a department store during the holidays. The two fall in love and carry on an affair, which includes a romantic cross-country trip between Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
Mrs. Santa Claus, 1996
Angela Lansbury stars as Mrs. Santa Claus in a film just as delightful as the first few words of this sentence make it sound. She even sings her own anthem that includes the lyrics: “The moment has come to beat my own drum, because I want the world to know there’s a Mrs. Santa Claus.” She’s driving the sleigh this time.
A Christmas Miracle, 2019
Hallmark’s new holiday movie features Tamera Mowry-Housley as a single mom who searches for the perfect Christmas miracle to write about this season. She’s helped by her son and a photographer, who happens to be the attractive Brooks Darnell. But romance is not the center of the storyline, which is always refreshing. In fact, Mowry-Housley, who served as executive producer on the film, prioritized creating a character single moms could identify with.
Bridget Jones’s Diary, 2001
At first glance, this movie seems like the opposite of female empowerment. Bridget, played by Renée Zellweger, is completely obsessed with losing weight and her attractive boss, played by Hugh Grant. But any true fan might suggest that all of that is a guise to get us to look deeper at Bridget, who’s whip-smart, a good journalist and clearly doesn’t need any man (even if one of their names is, as it happens, Mr. Darcy). Mark Darcy’s reindeer “jumper” alone makes this a holiday movie must. Case closed.
Related: How to Watch A Christmas Story Christmas
Miracle on 34th Street, 1955
This 1955 classic focuses on Doris Walker, a single mother with a high-powered job in Manhattan, which for 1955, is a feat in itself. Doris, played by Maureen O’Hara, has raised her daughter, Susan (Natalie Wood), to be practical and has discouraged fantasy, such as Santa Claus. When a man claiming to be Kris Kringle himself turns up in their lives, both mother and daughter have to make room in their family for magic.
Related: 12 Classic Christmas Movies to Watch This Year
How the Grinch Stole Christmas, 2000
If anyone says Cindy Lou Who is not an empowering character, then clearly they have not watched the Jim Carrey version of this story, in which the little girl is basically the crux of the whole plot. She saves her town, the Grinch’s heart and her own materialistic family from the clutches of holiday capitalism.
Last Christmas, 2019
Universal Pictures
Game of Thrones alum Emilia Clarke plays Kate, a woman struggling to find her place in the world. It's impossible to explain why this movie is on this list without spoiling the ending, however (though the trailers pretty much already do), so we won't say anything else!
Black Christmas, 1974
Warner Bros.
There are actually three versions of Black Christmas (the original and two remakes) and they all feature strong women. They all tell a similar story: a group of sorority girls must fight off a masked killer on or around Christmas. That said, the 1974 version is probably the best—the classic slasher and its Final Girl actually inspired John Carpenter's 1978 masterpiece Halloween.
Related: The Best Alternative and Unconventional Christmas Movies
The Christmas Chronicles 2, 2020
Netflix
Where would Santa be without Mrs. Claus? Where would Kurt Russell be without Goldie Hawn? Probably stuck in a chimney and a lot less happy. We'd all be a lot less happy too!
Related: The Best Christmas Movies on Netflix
Falling for Christmas, 2022
Netflix
Lindsay Lohan stars as a spoiled hotel heiress (maybe—just maybe—inspired by her real-life frenemy Paris Hilton?). While she doesn't start out as a great role model, she loses her memory in a skiing accident. While she has amnesia, she stays a a nearby lodge and learns to be self-sufficient.
Krampus, 2015
Universal Pictures
When the titular monster descends upon a dysfunctional family's Christmas celebration, it's up to two moms (Toni Collette and Allison Tolman) to keep their children safe. Both moms prove that they're literally willing to die to fight off Krampus' Christmas-themed monsters—but it's the grandma Omi (Krista Stadler) who may be the real MVP of them all.
A Bad Moms Christmas, 2017
Netflix
The "Bad Moms" are back, this time dealing with their own moms who are visiting for Christmas and want everyone to stop being bad moms. Not surprisingly, the bad moms decide to keep being bad and have Christmas their own way.
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, 2018
Disney
Mackenzie Foy stars in this reimagining of The Nutcracker. In this version, she plays a young girl who goes on a fantastical adventure while searching for a key her late mother left for her.
Jumanji: The Next Level, 2019
Sony Pictures
This sequel to 2017's Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle sees the first film's cast reuniting for Christmas break. When Spencer returns to Jumanji, Marta takes charge and once again becomes Ruby Roundhouse to save her boyfriend.
Love Actually, 2003
Universal Pictures
This film features a variety of stories set during the Christmas season. While the movie is a series of different romances, every female lead character is fully developed and perfectly independent with or without their respective love interests.
Batman Returns, 1992
Warner Bros.
While Batman is the title star of this Christmas-themed superhero film, Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman steals the show. After being murdered by her boss, she returns from the grave to exact justice.
Die Hard, 1988
While there's some debate over whether or not Die Hard is a Christmas movie (spoiler alert: it is), there's no denying that John McClane's estranged wife Holly Gennero (played by Bonnie Bedelia) has some serious survival instincts of her own.