14 Christmas films about men who love men to make your yuletide extra gay
Here are some festive gay films for your watchlist. (Bet+/Nicely Entertainment/Netflix)
The countdown to Christmas is on and while holiday movies have historically been dominated by cishet, white couples, there has been progress in recent years with lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans representation.
From Hallmark feel-goods to a 1971 Christmas drama starring none other than Golden Girls star Rue McClanahan, here some of the gay holiday films that should be on your watch-list for the festive period.
The Holiday Exchange (2024)
Having starred in previous gay holiday romcoms for Lifetime and Hallmark, husbands Taylor Frey and Kyle Dean Massey return with The Holiday Exchange, which captures their version of 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.
Meet Me Next Christmas (2024)
Second on our list of gay Christmas movies is this enjoyable, feel-good Netflix offering. Although a straight will-they, won’t-they romance is at the heart of the film, 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.
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, while the queer representation comes from Mike (Jonathan Bennett) and Zian (Vincent Rodriguez III).
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 to get his snooping family off his back. However, his mother has other plans and sets him up on a blind date with a spinning instructor (Luke Macfarlane). The icing on the cake is Jennifer Coolidge as Aunt Sandy. No list of gay Christmas movies would be complete without it.
A Jenkins Family Christmas (2021)
The Jenkins family is preparing for their first Christmas after the death of their father, trying to stay jolly and keep their festive traditions alive. But there’s a surprise in store when Kenny (Anthony Chatmon II), brings his boyfriend, Logan (Derek Chadwick) along even though he’s yet to come out to his mother. With family tension hanging in the air, the couple’s relationship is put under pressure.
The Holiday Sitter (2022)
Sometimes you need an overly sweet gay Christmas movie to get through the winter blues. The Holiday Sitter features workaholic bachelor Sam (Mean Girls star Jonathan Bennett) babysitting his niece and nephew over the holidays only to realise he’s totally out of his depth. To solve the problem, he recruits handsome neighbour Jason (George Krissa) – and sparks fly. This was the first queer-led film broadcast on the Hallmark Channel.
The Christmas House (2020)
Gay actor Jonathan Bennett seems to have been brought into the world to create queer festive joy. Before The Holiday Sitter, he starred in The Christmas House which was Hallmark’s first gay Christmas film. Brandon (Bennett) and Jake (Brad Harder) are trying to enjoy the holidays, but hanging over them is their so-far-unsuccessful attempts to adopt a child. A sequel, The Christmas House 2: Deck Those Halls followed 12 months later.
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).
As the countdown to Christmas gets underway, Hugo is made to choose between staying for love or leaving for his career.
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”.
Dashing in December (2020)
Christmas and cowboys come together in Dashing in December. Businessman Wyatt (Peter Porte) arrives at his family’s Colorado ranch in the hope of convincing his mother (Hollywood legend Andie MacDowell) to sell the land with their popular Winter Wonderland attraction. It’s all going according to plan until hunky ranch-hand Heath (Juan Pablo di Pace) throws a spanner in the works and an unexpected romance blossoms.
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 Ebenezer (Ben) Scrooge (David Pevsner), to make him see the error of his ways.
Alongside making peace after underpaying his staff, Ben must come to terms with how he lost his partner Bill (Christopher Allen) to AIDS and mourn him properly, as well as finding his place in the local LGBTQ+ community.
Make the Yuletide Gay (2009)
This romcom is exactly what you’d expect from a film with this title. Olaf Gunnunderson (Keith Jordan) is an out-and-proud gay student who clambers back into the closet when he’s home for the holidays. But he’s shaken to his core when his boyfriend Nathan (Adamo Ruggiero) shows up unannounced.
The Family Stone (2005)
This comedy-drama follows the tight-knit Stone family as Everett’s (Four Weddings star Dermot Mulroney) new girlfriend, Meredith (the legendary Sarah Jessica Parker), comes home to meet the in-laws. While visiting, she meets her boyfriend’s gay deaf brother Thad (Tyrone Giordano) and his partner Patrick who are hoping to adopt a child. Around the dinner table, a debate about nature versus nurture unfolds.
The cast also includes Luke Wilson, Rachel McAdams (Mean Girls) and veteran star Craig T Nelson.
Rent (2005)
Jonathan Larson’s 1996 musical was adapted for the screen in 2005, continuing the legacy of this tale of bohemians navigating sexuality, drugs and paying their rent in New York – all under the shadow of the AIDS pandemic. Alongside big musical numbers is the relationship between gay philosophy professor Tom (Jesse L Martin) and Angel (Wilson Jermaine Heredia). The film kicks off on Christmas eve, and although much of it is bitter-sweet, the story is about finding light in the darkness.
Some of My Best Friends Are… (1971)
Mervyn Nelson’s film takes place on Christmas Eve of 1971 in the mob-owned Blue Jay Bar, in Manhattan’s famous Greenwich Village. As local gays and lesbians arrive to celebrate the festivities with their chosen families, this slice-of-life drama opens up into conversations about the patrons’ lives and relationships as they reflect on the year that’s passed.
The film captures the meaningfulness of queer connection in moments of loneliness. because, after all, Christmas is all about celebrating together. Look out for Golden Girls star Rue McClanahan and legendary British actress Sylvia Sims.
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