54 Christmas Movies With Lesbian, Bisexual, Queer or Trans Characters

Lesbian Christmas movies: the final frontier. In a Christmas Movie landscape dominated by heterosexual workaholic girl-bosses returning to their hometowns in power suits and falling for heterosexual males who do artisan/manual labor, for many years nary a lesbian or bisexual woman, let alone a non-binary person, dared to make an appearance. It’s usually been hard to find any LGBTQ+ Christmas movies at all, but in recent years gay men have been emerging out of the corners into the Christmas spotlight in droves and also, occasionally, a wee lesbian, queer or trans woman or a non-binary person has earned a few minutes under the mistletoe. In 2020, Clea Duvall’s Happiest Season starring Kristen Stewart broke records for Hulu, and subsequent years have even brought some queer stories from Lifetime (Under the Christmas Tree, 2021) and Hallmark (Friends & Family Christmas, 2023, The Christmas Baby, 2025). Although we’ve rarely found ourselves in the mainstream Christmas movie spotlight, we have shown up as side characters and in indie films here and there, and in this genre it seems we’ll take what we can get!

This list is in chronological order and includes every Christmas and Hanukkah film with LGBTQ+ women and/or non-binary characters, even if they are mediocre — and the vast majority of the cinema films on this list could be described as somewhere on the continuum from “bad” to “mediocre.” Even minor queer characters are included because yes we are that desperate. It does not include short films that are under 30 minutes, but there are four films that hover in that space between “short” and “feature length.”

We’ve got a few new titles coming up for the 2025 Christmas season — that we know of, there will certainly be more revealed as the season grows closer and you inform me that there’s a lesbian sister in this or that Hallmark production — that we wanted to get on your radar ASAP. But rest assured we will be updating as events warrant!

Movies described as “sapphic stories” are those with queer lead characters who have the A-plot of the story centered on them.

dir. Mars Horodyski, 2025 // W Canada // sapphic story

Firefighter Dani Reed (Holly Devaux) re-starts her late mother’s “Holiday Heroes” fundraiser after she rescues a family just before Christmas — and along with her sister, supportive Dad and charming photographer Sasha (Kyana Teresa), she ends up finding love, purpose, and the “courage to step into real leadership.” Hot lesbian firefighters tho!

Stream A Firefighter’s Christmas Calendar on W Canada

dir. Eva Tavares, 2025 // Hallmark // sapphic story

Ali Liebert (Bomb Girls, all the other queer Christmas movies) and Katherine Barrell (Wynonna Earp) star as Erin and Kelly, a lesbian couple who are understandably quite surprised to find a baby boy on their doorstep days before Christmas. Amid a busy holiday season for their business, they find themselves falling for this little man and wanting to keep him — but the foster system is a complicated one to navigate. This is a really wild premise for a lesbian Christmas movie, truly cannot wait to see how this turns out.

Stream The Christmas Baby on Hallmark+

dir. Michael Showalter, 2025 // Prime Video // sapphic characters

Michelle Pfeiffer is Claire Clauster, the ambitious mother who thanklessly creates a perfect Christmas for her family every holiday season. But this year, with her husband and grown children all distracted by their own seasonal dramas, they head out for a dance show and leave Mom behind, and Mom takes this opportunity to go on her own very special cross country journey, leaving her clan behind to improvise the holiday all on their own. Queer actor Chloë Grace Moretz plays her lesbian daughter who has a vegan girlfriend (Devery Jacobs). Local favorites Joan Chen and Danielle Brooks also star!

Stream Oh. What. Fun on Prime Video

dir. Christin Baker, 2025 // tello movie // sapphic story

In a world in which the concept of a “bestselling lesbian Christmas author” exists, a bestselling lesbian Christmas author is struggling from writers block after losing her mother and experiencing a sudden breakup. She escapes to her hometown for the holidays in search of inspiration — and finds something even more exciting — Callie, a single Mom running the local bookstore.

The Christmas Writer is streaming on tello.

dir. Jennifer Love Hewitt, 2024 // lifetime tv movie // sapphic side character

Jennifer Love Hewitt is Andie, who runs a holiday decorating and planning service with her mother. After her mother’s death she has to carry the torch herself while doing her first Christmas without her mother. Andie’s best friend is a lesbian and also Kristin Chenoweth is in the movie.

Stream “The Holiday Junkie” on Lifetime.

dir. Imogen McCluskey, 2024 // stan original // sapphic lead

This wild gem of an Australian Christmas movie finds Stephanie, who loves blazers, planning to eschew family Christmas for her mental health in favor of attending her boyfriend’s posh little family gathering. But then her beloved dog, Nugget, falls ill, and she finds herself back home after all, sparks flying with a lesbian veterinarian.

Nugget is Dead? is streaming in Australia on Stan

dir. Peter Benson, 2024 // hallmark tv movie // sapphic side character

This Christmukkah surprise finds Leah (Emily Arlook, who you may recognize from Grown-Ish), who is Jewish, spending her first Christmas with her boyfriend’s family in Connecticut. A longtime fan of the holiday, her excitement to celebrate it is dampened by Grahama’s uptight family and unwelcoming Mom, delivering a Christmas that wasn’t quite what she’d hoped for. Sidney Quesnelle plays her boyfriend’s gay sister, Maddie.

Stream Leah’s Perfect Gift on Hallmark Now.

dir. Maria Crespo & Moises Romera, 2024 // sapphic leads

Aitana returns home to see her family for the first time in three years, excited for them to meet her wife and their new baby — only to find her family, in their Spanish countryside villa, have moved a Romanian refugee, Nadia, into Atiana’s bedroom, giving her Atiana’s clothes and family heirlooms. “A twisty thriller that locates the uncanny in the reflexive cordiality of the holiday season,” You are Not Me promises “a dark and disturbing dispatch from the most irrational realm: family.”

Rent You Are Not Me on YouTube.

dir. Sarah Rotella, 2024 // sapphic story

This Christmas rom-com follows Maggie and Julianne, ex-girlfriends who traversed very different paths after a bitter breakup and now find themselves both home for the holidays and reunited. The town comes complete with enthusiastic meddling gossips, hijinks, holiday magic, a cute diner and ghosts of exes past. Diva Magazine calls it “refreshingly laid-back, filled with joy, authenticity and relatable moments.”

Rent Last Exmas on Google Play or stream it for free on Kanopy.

dir. Marni Banack, 2024 // hallmark tv movie // sapphic side character

Queer actor Katherine Barrell (Wynonna Earp) co-stars in this time travel Hallmark Christmas movie where a workaholic divorce lawyer (Eva Bourne), destined to spend Christmas alone, is catapulted back to 1999 with the help of her magical Uber driver (aforementioned Kat Barrell), where she realizes all she gave up to focus on her ambitious career! Her sister, Alexa (Alex Hook), is a lesbian.

Stream A 90s Christmas on Hallmark Now

dir. Micheal Middelkoop, 2024 // viaplay // sapphic character

This Dutch black comedy finds a large family “in yet another Christmas dinner full of misunderstandings, accusations, bickering and maybe even in the escalating hostage of an attention-seeking adolescent son.” The family includes middle child Jos, 28, who “changes the world around with her tolerance and open mindedness — until her girlfriend wants to have a threesome.”

Stream (this is not) a chritstmas movie on viaplay

dir. Alexandra Swarens, 2024 // tello movie // sapphic story

Bailey (Alexandra Swarens) and Sam (Mak Shealy) meet unexpectedly on a lonely Valentine’s Day in their small Ohio town when Bailey makes an erroneous delivery for a cancelled Galentine’s Party to Sam’s apartment, where she works as a computer programmer. She’s lonely, and they bond over pastries and strike up a holiday-related friendship that has the potential for something more. (This is being marketed as a Christmas movie but Christmas is given equal bidding to a bunch of other holidays too!)

Rent The Holiday Club on Tello.

dir. Rhonda Baraka, 2024 // OWN movie // sapphic characters

Olivia is thrilled when her lesbian sister announces her engagement and intention for a Christmas wedding and even assigns Olivia the task of planning the whole thing? But she’s annoyed when they hire her ex-boyfriend to be the photographer. As you can imagine, heterosexual romance ensues! Meanwhile the lesbian becomes a bridezilla, so.

You can stream Mistletoe & Matrimony on HBO Max

dir. B.Danielle Watkins & Onyx Keesha, 2024 // tubi original // sapphic story

A group of lesbian and gay friends head to Miami for a destination Christmas — only to find that their AirBnB double-booked their rental, and they’ll be sharing their holiday with complete strangers. On their instagram, B.Ok Productions describes the film as “double booked and double the drama, this isn’t your typical snowy Christmas—it’s a Miami getaway filled with sun-soaked secrets, rekindled romances, and holiday magic like never before!”

Stream “Mixed Christmas” on Tubi.

dir. Anne Wheeler, 2023 // hallmark tv movie // sapphic story

Humberly Gonzalez and Ali Liebert star in the Hallmark Channel’s very first lesbian Christmas movie. In which photographer Dani (Humberly Gonzalez), overwhelmed by Christmas events and a surprise visit from her parents, asks lawyer Amelia (Liebert) to be her fake girlfriend. If you’ve read any lesbian romance novels, then you are well aware that what begins as a pretend relationship always ends with something more!

Stream “Friends and Family Christmas” on Prime Video

dir. Breanne Williamson, 2023 // sapphic story

Jenn gets dumped just a few months before her thirtieth birthday and right around the holiday season — but an unexpected houseguest turns that all around. This indie, starring and written by Breanne Williamson, is 42 minutes long — somewhere between short and feature length.

Stream “Aging Out” On YouTube

dir. Stacey N. Harding, 2023 // hallmark tv movie // sapphic side characters

Round and Round is a time-loop delight of Hanukkah magic filled with Jewish humor and one very small lesbian character. The protagonist Rachel (played by queer nonbinary actor Vic Michaelis) is forced to relive the seventh night of Hanukkah repeatedly until she gets it right. Her sister, Shoshanna, is gay and pregnant and married to a woman named Bex.

You can rent or stream Round and Round on Prime Video.

dir. Jonah Fiengold, 2023 // prime video tv movie // sapphic character

After their son, Graham (some man) cancels his plans to come home for Christmas, the Stroop family goes ahead and invites his ex Ali (Leighton Meester) to their Minnesota family Christmas celebration. Then, of course, Graham shows up after all and all hell breaks loose! More importantly, Graham’s sister Mindy is the best character in the film because she is a lesbian. Unfortunately she is not the main character.

Stream Exmas on Prime Video / Freevee or on Kanopy

dir. Paul and Alicia Schnieder, 2023 // tello movie // sapphic story

Our friends at lesbian film/TV company Tello debuted this film which answers the question “what happens when a single mom and a country girl fall for her ex-husband’s beautiful and sophisticated wedding planner?” The answer is; “she’ll need some Christmas magic to fix the chaos that ensues.” Drew got high and watched this movie for you and had a pretty nice time. There are a lot of horses and Rivkah Reyes is hot.

Stream Holiday I Do on tello..

dir. Tyler MacIntyre, 2023 // sapphic characters

This “queer Christmas slasher” with loads of LGBTQ+ characters, including a Cool Lesbian Aunt played by scream queen Katharine Isabelle, centers on Winnie (Jane Widdop, Yellowjackets), who saves her town from a psychotic killer on Christmas Eve only to be depressed and suicidal a year later. Then she is drawn into a parallel universe where she learns that without her, things would suck a lot more, and also now the killer is back and she’s gotta team up with the (queer) town misfit Bernie (Jess McLeod) to ID him and get back to real life. According to Kayla, the film contains “a queer love story that’s stocking stuffer candy sweet if not as developed or sharp as I tend to prefer my queer relationships on-screen.”

Stream It’s a Wonderful Knife on Shudder.

dir. Robin Givens, 2022// BET+ tv movie // sapphic characters

It’s the Miles sisters’ first Christmas without their mother, which means they’ve gotta win their town’s annual Christmas Church Cook-Off in her honor — but when social media influencer Aaliyah (Kara Royster) moves in next door, she poses a formidable challenge to the Miles’ crown. She also develops a romantic spark with Tisha (Porscha Coleman), a single mother of a college-age son who’s been out of the dating game for a minute, and their story is actually really cute!

Stream The Christmas Clapback on BET+ or Pluto.

dir. Christin Baker, 2022 // tello tv movie // sapphic story

Becca Winters (Dia Frampton) has just finished her starring run in a popular Broadway musical and is heading home for the holidays, where her meddling mother TIlly (Hayat Nesheiwat) and her best friend Lucille (Janet Ivy) are planning more than just Christmas dinner: they wanna reignite the high school romance between Lucille’s non-binary kid Sam (Andi René Christensen) and Becca. Sam is bartending at their family’s bar, Sheridan’s, and is initially wary of the girl who hurt them three years ago. But it doesn’t take much to warm her right back up!

Rent Merry and Gay on tello.

dir. Daryl Wein, 2022 // prime video tv movie // sapphic side characters

This Christmas rom-com starring queer actress Shay Mitchell and the beloved Zoey Deutch asks the age-old question, “what if two men were at Tiffany’s at the same time and their packages got mixed up and the wrong man went home with an engagement ring?” It’s actually completely idiotic BUT more importantly for our purposes here, Zoey Deutch’s Rachel owns a bakery with her best friend, Terri, a lesbian played by Twenties‘ Jojo T. Gibbs. We also are gifted with a few brief glimpses into Terri’s marriage with Sophia (Batwoman‘s Javica Leslie) and well, honestly, the movie is pretty okay!

Stream Something from Tiffany’s on Prime Video.

Dir. Alexandra Swarens, 2022 // sapphic story

Taylor’s taken a lot of space from her family so she’s quite surprised when they insist she come home for Christmas and bring her girlfriend, Jess — but Taylor can’t muster up the courage to tell them that she and Jess broke up. Instead, she hires an out-of-work actor to pose as her girlfriend and join her for an extended improv exercise with her family. Sort of like The Proposal but low-budget and gay and the family has a much smaller house.

Stream “Looking For Her” on Tubi.

dir. Rusty Cundieff, 2022 // VH+1 TV Movie // sapphic characters

VH+1’s A New Diva’s Christmas Carol didn’t live up to the glory of the original, but regardless it’s very star-studded and there are lesbians! Aphrodite (Ashanti) is the diva in question, a star who hates her job as the mean judge on a reality TV talent search style TV show hosted by Mel B. She’s reluctantly assigned to mentor young singer Brianna (McKenzie Small) whose girlfriend has a limp from a car accident and needs medical care she can’t afford —yes, Tiny Tim is a Black masc lesbian in this movie! Most importantly you should know that the Christmas Ghosts are rebranded as Celestial Guides and they are played by Vivica A. Fox, Eva Marcille and Robin Givens.

You can rent A New Diva’s Christmas Carol on YouTube

dir. Lisa Rose Snow, 2021 // lifetime tv movie // sapphic story

Under the Christmas Tree is famously Lifetime’s first-ever lesbian Christmas movie! Elise Bauman is marketing whiz Alma Beltran, who crosses paths with a Christmas Tree Salesperson (?) Charlie while on the hunt for the prefect tree for the Maine Governor’s Holiday Celebration right in Alma’s backyard. What begins with sparring leads to sparking and romance with the help of Ricki Lake, the town’s pâtissière extraordinaire, who is an inspirational figure to all.

Stream Under the Christmas Tree on Prime Video

dir. David I. Strasser, 2021 // hallmark tv movie // sapphic side characters

Janel Parish of Pretty Little Liars fame plays event planner Paige in this clunky cookie cutter film. Paige returns home to throw an Around the World party at her family’s inn — and while she’s home she meets “a charming father-son duo” “whose presence brings about tension and joy.” You know the cliche! But also — there are is a cute side lesbian storyline between a Paige’s lesbian assistant and local musician, Mia.

Stream a Coyote Creek Christmas on VOD.

dir. J.E. Logan, 2021 // lifetime tv movie // sapphic side characters

Fashion photographer Gaby Jones (Tatyana Ali)’s shot at her dream magazine job is in doubt when her editor suggests she’s not ready for the position — but she could mayhaps improve her chances by attending a Christmas Photography Retreat in a Cute Christmasy Town in the Forest. A little snafu at the cabin reservation desk leads her to have an unexpected hot photographer roommate. This is all very cute and well and good but the unexpected situation of interest to us here is that her lesbian photographer friend from NYU, Dani (played by Paula Andrea Placido of The L Word: Generation Q and Hacks), is also at the retreat with her partner, Amelia (Rivkah Reyes), and both lesbians are trying to plan the perfect proposal. While they’re not the central focus of the film, Dani and Amelia get a surprisingly significant amount of screentime!

Stream Picture Perfect Holiday on Lifetime Movie Club

dir. Prarthana Mohan, 2021 // prime video tv movie // sapphic character

Emma (Hayley Orrantia) and her Dad (Dermot Mulroney) have lots of beloved Christmas traditions that improve their holiday disposition despite the absence of her mother. But this year she’s in for a nasty surprise: her Dad is dating her high school nemesis, Mona from Pretty Little Liars! Luckily she has a queer BFF, Charlyne (played by non-binary actor Emilie Modaff) to help ease the pain of this terrifying blow.

Stream Christmas is Cancelled on Prime Video.

dir. Michael Robinson, 2021 // hallmark tv movie // sapphic side character

Jamie brings his pal Emily home for the holidays to pretend like they are legitimately dating which is fine or whatever, what’s more important is that Jamies’ sister, Becca (Alison Wandzura), is a divorced lesbian and single Mom, thus putting the “lesbian” into this Christmas movie. “She’s able to halt Jamie’s incessant whining with her wry verbal smackdowns!” writes Heather Hogan. “She’s got her own subplot and is more than just a sounding board for the main characters! And she has one scene with Jamie that actually made me laugh out loud for real!”

Stream An Unexpected Christmas on VOD.

dir. Christin Baker, 2021 // tello movie // sapphic story

Heather writes that Christmas at the Ranch is a “horse girl holigay rom-com that feels like fan fiction in the way all the best Hallmark Christmas movies do.” In this actual lesbian Christmas movie, workaholic Haley (Laur Allen) goes home for Christmas, finds out her Meemaw is in debt and also meets the new horse-hand, Kate (Amanda Righetti). Between Haley’s money smarts and Kate’s horsey skills, perhaps this ranch can be saved and also lesbian love.

Stream Christmas at the Ranch on Tubior rent on tello.

dir. Lisa France, 2021 // lifetime tv movie // sapphic side characters

Emma (Mary Antonini) and her BFF Liz (Nadine Pinette) own an “artisanal Christmas ornament store” and when a big-time design guru (???!) falls for Emma’s art, she’s gotta cancel her trip home for Christmas. This is a big bummer for her Dad ’cause Mom died literally last year and he is sad and lonely. Emma’s ex, Aaron, is home from Army visiting with Emma’s Dad and when he finds out Emma’s not coming home, he grabs his cousin Sarah (Solange Sookram) and heads into the city to bring her back! This is relevant to you because aforementioned Liz has a thrilling romantic spark with recently mentioned Sarah, who of course runs a soup kitchen.

Rent or Buy You Make It Feel Like Christmas on Prime Video

dir. Maclain Nelson, 2021 // hallmark tv movie // sapphic characters

Three estranged sisters come together in their Mississippi hometown to see their Mom and fulfill their father’s dying wish: a Christmas scavenger hunt to find a prized family heirloom. AND IN THE PROCESS THEY ALSO FIND EACH OTHER. Queer actress Ali Liebert plays the lesbian sister, who is making a website for her family woodshop following the closure of her own business in Boston. She meets a girl and they flirt throughout the film, which honestly is terrible but YMMV!

Stream Every Time a Bell Rings on Hallmark+.

dir. Camille Griffin, 2021 // sapphic side characters

This “ambitious but muddled mix of Christmas comedy and apocalyptic drama” centers on a family in a posh English country estate who’ve gathered for the hoilday as a giant toxic cloud sweeps across our wretched neglected planet with the intent of killing everybody! Amongst these humans are Bella (Lucy Punch) and her girlfriend Alex (Kirby Howell-Baptiste). Queer actress Lily-Rose Depp is also featured as the much younger girlfriend of a doctor who is friends with the family.

Rent or Buy Silent Night on Prime Video or Stream on AMC+

dir. Scott Hillman, 2021

Picture this: you’re a park ranger and a young person in a suit arrives in your parking lot carrying an axe. You approach them. What is your first question? If you said “what are your pronouns?” you’d be correct!!! This is one of many magical moments in low-budget indie flick The Magical Christmas Tree. (The second question is “I’m wondering what you’re doing with that axe,” obviously.) Pace is an accountant in Los Angeles with a mean boss who is visited off-screen by the ghosts of Christmas past and decides to throw a holiday celebration after all, thus requiring Pace to drive into the mountains to find the perfect tee. As their journey progresses, they find a non-binary elf named Buddy and romance ensues!

Stream The Magical Christmas Tree on Tubi.

dir. Luca Guadagnino, 2021 // sapphic characters

This tight, atmospheric and precise Christmas indie (it’s about an hour long) from Call Me By Your Name’s Luca Guadagnino stars John C. Reilly as a Santa Claus-ish character resting for a night at a fancy ski resort where a few interconnecting stories are at play. One of them involves the hotel’s overseer, Babette (Hailey Gates) and her apparently tortured romance with her ex-girlfriend, Julia (Francesca Figus), who works at a hotel boutique.

Stream O Night Divine on Zara’s YouTube channel.

dir. Clea Duvall, 2020 // sapphic story

The pitch for this film seemed fantastical from the outset — Kristen Stewart was starring in a lesbian Christmas rom-com made by Clea Duvall? REALLY?!?! Indeed, at the end of a year full of broken dreams (2020), Hulu brought Happiest Season to us all in December. Stewart plays Abby, who gives in to the Christmas spirit she usually resists by heading home to spend the holidays with her girlfriend Harper (Mackenzie Davis), who informs her en route that she’s not exactly out to her family. The winning cast includes Dan Levy as Abby’s best friend, Aubrey Plaza as Harper’s ex-girlfriend and Alison Brie as Harper’s uptight sister.

Stream The Happiest Season on Hulu.

dir. Otoja Abit, 2020 // sapphic story

This wacky trip of a lesbian Christmas movie sees Jenny (Nia Fairweather), nervous about her engagement to her fiancé, David, when a guardian angel Azraael (Cooper Koch) shows up to give her a vision into the future she could’ve lived but did not — in which she ended up with her childhood best friend, Gabrielle (Adriana DeMeo). “Instead of some far-off Snow White Christmas Village, it’s an queer Afro-Latina looking for love in a very not whitewashed New York,” wrote Carmen in her review.

Stream A New York Christmas Wedding on Tubi and Prime Video

dir. Catherine Cyran, 2020 // hallmark tv movie // sapphic side characters

Jessica (Katrina Law), finds herself in co-charge of orchestrating a perfect New England Christmas for the recently orphaned nieces and nephew of her CEO, who’s away on business and otherwise would be shipping the kiddos back to boarding school. Her help in this mission is Max, the kids’ other uncle, who is not very paternal. Most important to all of us here today is that Jessica’s BFF, Zoe (Morgana Wyllie), is a lesbian, and she has herself a little romantic subplot with a HOT BARISTA.

Stream Christmas With the Darlings on Hallmark.

dir. Tamika Miller, 2020 // BET tv movie // sapphic characters

“After being estranged for nearly three years, the Davenport sisters — Diedre (Asia’h Epperson), Tammy (Candiace Dillard) and Nicole (Brave Williams) — reunite at the family home, just in time for Christmas. But it’s not the holiday spirit that brings everyone home, it’s the promise of collecting a share of their parents’ lottery winnings…which they can only get if they repair the relationships between them. That’s easier said than done, though: Diedre carries some serious emotional scars over having sacrificed so much for sisters when they couldn’t even be bothered to attend her wedding to her wife, Belinda. But all the work on repairing their relationships might be for naught when the winning lottery ticket turns up missing.” — Natalie.

Stream The Christmas Lottery on BET.

dir. Paul Feig, 2019 // sapphic side character

The lesbian character in Last Christmas is so incredibly minor that if you only half-watched this movie, you could miss her entirely! Directed by Paul Feig (The Office, Bridesmaids), Last Christmas is the story of aspiring singer Kate Andrich (Emilia Clarke), who works at a year-round Christmas store owned by “Santa” (Michelle Yeoh) in London and feels suffocated by her depressed mother, Petra (Emma Thompson), who dotes on her but ignores her sister, Marta (Lydia Leonard), a very successful lawyer who is gay but fears coming out to her parents. Kate meets a hottie named Tom (Henry Golding) and their romance is central to this movie that is brimming with talented actors and yet none of them can transcend the absolutely absurd plot! Also there are cameos from Patti LuPone and Sue Perkins?

Stream Last Christmas on Netflix

dir. Theresa Bennett, 2019 // freeform tv movie // sapphic side characters

This genuinely adorable Freeform Christmas flick stars Aisha Dee as Jess, who unfortunately dies right after a great first date with Ben (Kendrick Sampson), but then finds herself still hanging out as a ghost! This is great news for her lesbian best friend, Kara (Kimiko Glen) and for Ben — at least at first. It’s a weird little plot that somehow works, but what works best for me personally is the romance between Kara and Ben’s sister, Mae (Jazz Raycole). Plus I mean, it’s Aisha Dee and Kimiko Glen! A treat!

Stream Ghosting:The Spirit of Christmas on Freeform.

dir. Christin Baker, 2019 // tello movie // sapphic story

Another entry in the “intersecting stories” Christmas film genre but this time it’s “intersecting LESBIAN stories.” There’s Sue (Dominique Provost-Chalkley), a musician and Janey (Janelle Marie), her formerly-long distance girlfriend. Kenna (a deaf character played by a deaf actress, Sandra Mae Frank!), who is opening a brewery and Lou (Jessica Clark), a welder she hired for the project. And finally, Iris (Emily Goss) and Mardou (Laur Allen) — Iris is set to marry Mardou’s brother, but he leaves her alone at the altar. “The movie has everything you could want from a cheesy holiday movie,” wrote Valerie in her “Season of Love” review. “Mistletoe mishaps, zero-stakes drama, happily ever afters.”

Rent Season of Love on Tello.

dir. Luke Snellin, 2019 // netflix tv movie // sapphic characters

This decent rom-com promises less wholesome activity than your typical Christmas film, weaving together stories from an intersecting group of teenagers in Laurel, Illinois on a very snowy Christmas Eve. One of these little stories involves Dorrie (played by non-binary actor Liv Hewson of “Yellowjackets”), a lesbian who works at Waffle Town and is having a secret affair with a cheerleader. So you know, come for the lesbian, stay for Joan Cusack driving a truck wrapped in tin foil.

Let it Snow is streaming on Netflix.

dir. Alexandra Swarens, 2019 // sapphic story

Ainsley (Alexandra Swarens), a somewhat aimless twentysomething, returns from Los Angeles to her small hometown for the holidays and finds herself facing some unexpected lingering trauma in this lesbian Christmas movie. Sophie (Olivia Buckle), a popular cheerleader from Ainsley’s high school, has changed since Ainsley last saw her and is even friends with Ainsley’s Mom — but it’s hard for Ainsley to see past the girls they once were. As Sophie and Ainsley keep being in the same place at the same time, a romance begins to spark!

Stream City of Trees on YouTube.

dir. Steven K. Tsuchida, 2018 // sapphic character

Life-Size 2 follows Grace, a twenty-something former socialite at the helm of Marathon Toys, erstwhile manufacturer of Eve Dolls, now that her mother’s been sent to jail. Tyra Banks returns as Grace’s favorite childhood toy Eve, here to usher her through the new slings and arrows of her life. Heather refrained from spoilers in her review because “you deserve to experience the absolute ecstasy of watching Tyra Banks commit to the bananapants wide-eyed wonder of this role again, without being spoiled on all the Easter Eggs.” That said, the queerness of the lead character is very much not central or even center-adjacent to anything that happens in the film but you know we took what we could get in 2018.

Stream Life Size 2 on Fubo.

dir. John McPhail, 2017 // sapphic character

What says “the spirit of Christmas” more than a zombie apocalypse movie musical?? Nothing, that’s what. And that’s exactly what Anna and the Apocalypse is. Starring queer Dickinson actress Ella Hunt, and featuring a prominent lesbian character Steph played by queer actor Sarah Swire, the movie is a bloody romp. While sometimes the big picture metaphor gets a little muddy, it boils down to encouraging you to live in the moment and appreciate what you have because you never know when a deadly pandemic will break out and separate you from the people you love the most. The music is a delight, and Ella Hunt is phenomenally talented, and the movie is campy and fun and may or may not make you cry just a little. Tis the season for watching teens bash zombies over the head with giant candy canes! — Valerie Anne.

Stream Anna and the Apocalypse on Tubi.

dir. Noble Julz and Onyx Keesha, 2017 // sapphic story

This very low-budget holiday flick (at times it’s hard to hear the dialogue) follows a group of Atlanta-based queer friends who share a cabin for Christmas: Smith and her wife Chris, their children, her best friends Lindsay and Brighton, and her new coworker, Angel. There’s also a lot of Christianity in this film. We Need a Little Christmas is notable for being focused entirely on a group of Black lesbians, which is a rare treat!

Rent We Need a Little Christmas on LesFlicks.

dir. Nathan Ives, 2016 // sapphic characters

Six couples “come to terms with love and its countless complications” over one night in the same fancy hotel in Manhattan, which is a way of saying that six couples talk to each other in hotel rooms for 1.5 hours. Local favorite queer actress Jasika Nicole and beloved gay-for-pay queen Tracie Thoms play a lesbian couple at a crossroads over whether or not to have kids.

You can stream a Christmas in New York on YouTube

dir. Todd Haynes, 2015 // sapphic story

Have you heard about the movie Carol, it’s about this woman Carol? Played by Cate Blanchett? I believe she has an affectionate “affair” with Therese, who has a stupid boyfriend and wants to be a photographer. Waterloo is involved. So is Sarah Paulson. We have written no less than 63 posts about this film right here on this website!

Stream Carol on HBO

dir. Sean Baker, 2015 // trans story

This is not a lesbian Christmas movie, but it is a Christmas-adjacent movie about two trans women sex workers of color and this queer list felt incomplete without making note of it. Sin-Dee (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez) and Alexandra (Mya Taylor) get out of jail and right back into their chaotic Los Angeles existence on Christmas Eve. Alexandra’s prepping for an upcoming performance and Sin-Dee is prepping to cause a bit of drama regarding her boyfriend, Chester, cheating on her. Naming it the #2 best Christmas movie of all time, Vulture writes that in a list primarily occupied by “prosperous white families,” Tangerine serves as “a corrective to that tradition: “It’s a film as vital, alive, and in touch with the holiday as more traditional entries — an invitation to other filmmakers to redefine what a Christmas movie can be, and as much a story about the importance of human kindness as the one that tops the list.”

Stream Tangerine on Netflix.

dir. Kirk Jones, 2009 // sapphic characters

When Frank Goode’s children all cancel their plans to come home for Christmas, Frank hits the road on his own, planning to visit each of his kids, which will of course entail finding out WHO THEY TRULY ARE. For example Rosie (Drew Barrymore), who picks him up in a limo takes him to her fancy alleged apartment where he meets her “friend” Jill (Kate Moennig)— but it’s all a show! Because also, she’s bisexual! The Christmas element of this film is pretty light, as is the queerness, but it has its moments and it’s always fun to see queer actresses playing queer roles.

Stream Everybody’s Fine on Tubi

dir. Chris Columbus, 2005 // queer story, sapphic characters

While not strictly a Christmas movie, the beloved film adaptation of the Broadway musical does open and close on Christmas Eve in a very deliberate way, and it’s chock-full of LGBTQ stories and characters. Set in the Lower East Side in the late ’80s amid the growing HIV/AIDS crisis, lesbian couple Maureen (Idina Menzel) and Joanne (Traci Thoms) and their legendary “Take Me or Leave Me” made this film a notable root for theater kids all over the world. How could a night so frozen be so scalding hot? There’s only one way to find out and that way is “watching this movie” and maybe also listening to the original Broadway cast recording!

Rent “Rent” on Prime Video.

dir. François Ozon, 2002

This French dark comedy musical centers a family of eccentric women and their employees after their family patriarch is found dead in the isolated cottage where they’ve chosen to spend a very snowy Christmas. One by one each woman finds her situation under scrutiny. “This movie feels gay and then it gets explicitly gay and then it gets explicitly gayer,” writes Drew Gregory. “By the end it’s unclear if anyone is straight!”

dir. John Waters, 1974

While technically not a lesbian movie or a Christmas movie, this John Waters masterpiece demands inclusion due to its iconic Christmas scene and iconic lesbian characters. Of course, the Christmas scene is Divine’s tantrum about not receiving cha cha heels. And the lesbianism is found most prominently in Edith Massey’s Aunt Ida. “The world of the heterosexual is sick and boring,” she says and truer words have never been committed to screen. Christmas movies are traditionally wholesome so if you’re looking for some queer counterprogramming, look no further than the Pope of Trash himself.Drew Gregory

Rent Female Trouble on Fandango at Home.