63 LGBTQ+ Holiday Movies to Make Your Spirits Bright This Season
’Tis the season for inclusive Christmas rom-coms and MORE.
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Even if you relate harder to the Grinch than Buddy the Elf, there's no denying the magic of a mushy gushy holiday rom-com (because, let's be real: At least 96 percent of Christmas movies are cheesy AF, no?). While it is kind of catching on, there are still too few holiday films that feature characters who openly identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or queer. It's so rare that when, say, for example, an LGBTQ+ holiday movie revolves around a closeted character struggling to open up to their families, the result is...kind of a bummer. (Yes, we're giving you the side-eye, Happiest Season.)
Luckily, the times are a-changing (but not as quickly as they should, tbh). In 2020, both the Hallmark Channel and Lifetime released their first-ever LGBTQ+ holiday movies (The Christmas House and The Christmas Setup, respectively), and in 2021, Netflix's holiday selection included the platform's very first gay Christmas movie, Single All the Way. Since then, there have been even more... and all starring Jonathan Bennett (aka Aaron Samuels from Mean Girls) for some reason. Stay employed, king.
There are also a handful of Christmas movies with queer side characters, bless their hearts, that deserve a shout-out as well. We may or may not be getting creative with some of these picks. But sometimes, that's what you gotta do! As far as queering the narrative goes, this time of year makes it easy. As the queen Kristen Stewart once said, "all Christmas movies are pretty gay." Eventually, there will be a day when a queer holiday movie doesn't feel like a gift from Santa, but until then, please enjoy these LGBTQ+ holiday flicks, which will make your small lil Grinch hearts grow three sizes.
Pillion (2026)
While this "dom-com" starring Alexander Skarsgård and Harry Melling doesn't release in the United States until February, it is absolutely a Christmas movie and deserves to be entered into the history books as such. Letterboxd recently included this film in a list of naughty Christmas movies as well, if that's more specifically what you're looking for in these trying times. It will definitely fill the, err, gap left by Heated Rivalry in February.
The Christmas Baby (2025)
Hallmark has one Christmas movie about a lesbian couple this year. To be fair, that is better than Lifetime's zero and certainly whatever is going on with the Great American Family Channel. It's about a couple who finds a baby on their doorstep during the holidays and, after a crash course in motherhood, starts the arduous adoption process. See, homophobic audiences? These lesbians are not going to hurt you. They're mothers. They're safe.
Premieres December 21 on Hallmark+
A Keller Christmas Vacation (2025)
Jonathan Bennet, who is trullllly kind of single-handedly keeping the lights on for gay men on the Hallmark Channel, stars in this year's offering as one of three adult siblings on a European adventure.
Stream on Hallmark+
Oh. What. Fun. (2025)
Chlöe Grace Moretz's character is the middle child in this family Christmas movie. She brings her girlfriend, played by Devery Jacobs, home to Texas for the holidays. Her siblings are nonplussed, not because they're homophobic but because she has been bringing a different girl home every year since setting out on her own as an adult.
My Secret Santa (2025)
Okay, stay with me. This is essentially a heteronormative romantic comedy about a woman who disguises herself as a man to get hired as a Mall Santa and falls in love with her manager, a man. She does have assistance from a Halloween-loving gay couple, so there is some representation. I put this on the list, however, because it resembles the plot of Mrs. Doubtfire and Mulan and those narratives are inherently kind of queer whether they intend it or not.
Have You Heard of Christmas? (2022)
If you've missed actor, comedian, and Las Culturistas' host Matt Rogers doing his Christmas special live... do not fret! You can watch it on Paramount+ and Hulu. Sure, he's not a pop star. But he does know what Christmas is... do you??
Last Call At Maud's (1993)
Here comes the part of the program where I try to argue for something not overtly Christmas-themed. This is a documentary about lesbian bar culture. The titular bar in question, Maud's, made it a point to be open on Christmas so that women would always have a place to go no matter the time of year. Christmas is a perfect time, maybe one of the most important times, to celebrate the value of found family.
Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018)
Melissa McCarthy and Richard E. Grant star as co-dependent depressed gay besties in this chilly historical drama set in the early 1990s. If you count "winter in New York" movies like Inside Llewyn Davis as Christmas movies, then go ahead and add this to your repertoire.
A Home At The End Of The World (2004)
I just want to raise awareness of this movie starring Colin Farrell, Robin Wright, and Dallas Roberts as a throuple. There is a little bit of Christmas in it. But despite a dash of holiday cheer, some big feelings and a lot of happy domesticity, this is a sad movie. It is set during the AIDs crisis, and several characters die. So while I do recommend this underrated gem, keep that in mind before you press play.
High School Musical: The Musical: The Holiday Special (2020)
Listen, it's been a few years since High School Musical: The Musical: The Series ended and I'm still surprised and impressed that a show with that many LGBT characters got away with some of the storylines they did on Disney+. While the holiday special only features one same sex duet, between Frankie Rodriguez and Joe Serafini, the series went on to have about five or six canonically queer characters. It was so much more than what we expect from the House of Mouse these days. Let this special be your gateway!
The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978)
Screw it. The Star Wars Holiday Special is gay nerd heaven. It is the definition camp. Bea Arthur has a musical number. We're reclaiming this bizarre 97 minutes of so-bad-it's-good television this year.
Season's Greetings From Cherry Lane (2024)
The only LGBTQ+ story on Hallmark's docket last year was one of three sequels to Christmas on Cherry Lane, with Mike and Zain's romance again sharing the narrative with two other couples. (The whole point of the Cherry Lane movies is that different couples have fallen in love at the same house. It's wild to think that eight of the nine couples are straight. Anyway!)
A Nonsense Christmas with Sabrina Carpenter (2024)
The "Espresso" singer's holiday special is 100 percent for the girls and for the gays. With a Chappell Roan duet at bare minimum, you know that Santa Sabrina is going to deliver!
Last ExMas (2024)
Two girls who used to date trying to avoid each other over Christmas in their small town? And then another ex-girlfriend shows up? That's the messy stuff of dreams!
Meet Me Next Christmas
Of the handful of Netflix Christmas movies this year, only one has an LGBTQ+ character and he's the cousin of the romantic lead. However, he is a scene stealer and the film features Pentatonix and a drag competition. The latter is especially important given how politicized drag queens have become. If the Netflix movie helps folks see that it's a harmless art form, that's a win!
Carnage for Christmas (2024)
If you're in the mood for revenge, queue up this Christmas horror movie about a trans podcaster who returns to her conservative hometown and solves a murder.
It's A Wonderful Knife (2023)
Both the actors who play protagonist of this holiday horror take on It's A Wonderful Life, Winnie (Jane Widdop, a.k.a. Laura Lee on Yellowjackets), and their queer love interest named Bernie (Jess McLeod) are non-binary!
The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Special (2020)
While you're in the mood for singing, dancing, comedy, and variety, add this to your list and check it twice!
Female Trouble (1974)
This dark comedy directed by John Waters, icon of queer independent cinema, starts at Christmas and stars the incomparable Divine. It's faaar from wholesome, but like... duh??
Twinkle All The Way (2019)
Despite "twink" right in the title, this Lifetime movie also has but a classic background gay and legally married brother. His name is Lex, and we must stan him! Not only did this Lifetime movie feature an openly gay couple, but it also axed the typical closing shot of the male and female protagonists kissing and instead closed out the movie with a shot of a same-sex kiss—a refreshing first for the network.
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