Newly Released Christmas Films You Haven’t Heard of To Watch This Festive Season

December 20 2022 - 05:51pm

Admittedly, there is an oversaturation of Christmas films these days. And more festive films get released every year, with almost all being a copy-paste of previous ones.

But since it’s a joyous season to spend with your loved ones, it wouldn’t hurt to have some feel-good movies to enjoy.

If you're tired of re-watching Christmas classics like It's a Wonderful Life, Home Alone, The Santa Clause, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Elf, among others, here's our list of 2022 Christmas film releases you haven't heard of that could be worth watching.

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1. ‘A Hollywood Christmas’

A Christmas film that reflects the making of a Christmas movie, A Hollywood Christmas revolves around a coming-of-age Hollywood filmmaker Jessica (Jessika Van), who's famous for her Christmas film genre.

A charming network executive Christopher (Josh Swickard), comes threatening to stop production of Jessica's newest Christmas film.

With the help of her assistant, Reena (Anissa Borrego), Jessica strives to save her Christmas film while living in one herself. She also struggles with her emerging feelings for her nemesis, Christopher. Will Jessica and her Christmas film see a happy ending?

A Hollywood Christmas scores an above-average rating of 5.2/10 on IMDb, with good reviews. One commenter remarked, “Good for a bad Christmas movie.”

You can watch the film on HBO Max and Prime Video.

2. ‘A New Diva’s Christmas Carol’

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Based on the timeless tale, A Christmas Carol, this holiday film sees Aphrodite, famous for her iconic performance of a love song, grow sour many years into the future.

She is a mean judge on Pop The Question and side-heartedly agrees to coach breakthrough contestant Brianna, who represents love and purity.

Aphrodite gets visited by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future to help her rediscover her love for life.

A New Diva’s Christmas Carol stars acting legends Vivica A. Fox, Robin Givens, Eva Marcille, Darlene Cooke, Catherine Burdon, and Robyn Alomar, along with the singer Ashanti as the lead character Aphrodite.

The film rates 5.8/10 on IMDb, with one viewer remarking that it is an okay movie but not as good as the original A Diva’s Christmas Carol (2000) starring Vanessa Williams.

You can stream it with Philo or FuboTV.

3. ‘Le Pupille’

Le Pupille, known as The Pupils in English, is an Italian short Christmas film (37 minutes) that follows the rebellious young girls of a Catholic boarding institution. The events are covered just before Christmas during a time of war and scarce resources.

Le Pupille has an impressive score of 7.1/10 on IMDb, with one reviewer commenting, 'The best Christmas story!' and adding, 'An adorable Christmas story, never sappy or sentimental, where the Dickensian meets the ineffably Italian. Alice Rohrwacher (the director and writer) admirably combines humor, irony, tenderness, musicals, pictorials and comics to once again deal with power, religion and micro politics.'

Keeping it short and sweet, Le Pupille is available to stream on Disney+.

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4. ‘Christmas in Paradise’

Christmas in Paradise stars Hollywood icons Kelsey Grammer, Elizabeth Hurley and Billy Ray Cyrus.

The movie tells a charming tropical tale of three quirky sisters who follow their estranged father, James (Grammer), to the Caribbean to convince him to return home for Christmas.

They enjoy a little sun, splash and fun, making it a Christmas to remember. But their father has his own past to deal with, which prompted him to hide out on the islands.

Hurley plays one of the daughters, Joanna, alongside Nathalie Cox as Caroline and Naomi Frederick as Paulina. Billy Ray assumes the role of Jimmy, a laid-back hippy musician in the Caribbean.

Christmas in Paradise rates 3.5/10 on IMDb and is available to stream on Prime Video and Apple TV+.

5. ‘#Xmas’

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#Xmas is a Hallmark Christmas rom-com about a business owner who decides to use social media over the holidays to expand her company's online presence.

Jen Taylor (Clare Bowen), the creative manager behind the décor business JEN.UINE is encouraged by her sister Ali (Anna Van Hooft) to take her brand online. Jen reluctantly agrees because she believes her life is far from perfect.

Ali motivates her sister to enrol on a designer/decorator follower competition where the winner gets co-branded and offered an opportunity as a resident designer with Hygge for a year.

Jen submits her video featuring her imperfect life but with a perfect backstory, complete with her loving husband and children and Ali and her family. As a result, their online sales skyrocket, and the video passes elimination rounds, getting them closer to winning the Hygge competition.

#Xmas also casts Brant Daugherty, Karen Kruper, Sebastian Stewart, Lillian Doucet-Roche, Greg Kean, Matt Clarke, Preston James Rocha, William MacDonald, Erin Aubrey and Donia Kash.

It gets an average score of 5.9/10 on IMDb, with fans praising Daugherty’s amazing performance.

6. ‘Holiday Heritage’

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A perfect movie about family love and unity, Holiday Heritage sees Ella (Lyndie Greenwood) journeying with her ex-boyfriend Griffin (Brooks Darnell) to celebrate Christmas and the traditional Kwanzaa with her family.

Griffin helps Ella to mend fractured relationships within her family and appreciate the importance of their sacred celebration.

Holiday Heritage also features Holly Robinson Peete, Darlene Cooke, Kiera Meeks, Charlotte Plummer, Jennie Esnard and Jennifer De Lucia.

It has a ranking of 5.8/10 on IMDb. One fan who gave a high score of 8/10 appreciated the movie’s combination of Christmas and Kwanzaa by saying, “I learned so much about Kwanzaa, and I thank this film for that. The rituals were all brought out in great detail.'

Holiday Heritage is Hallmark's first-ever Kwanzaa movie as the network continues its initiative to broaden the scope of the festivity.

7. ‘A Tiny Home Christmas’

A far-fetched storyline but still watchable. A Tiny Home Christmas is a rom-com about Blair (Rebecca Dalton), who reluctantly combines forces with her ex-boyfriend Mason (Christopher Seivright) and former co-star of a home design reality show.

Blair and Mason embark on a project to construct a tiny home for the needy in the community, in return saving her family’s contracting business. In the process, their old sparks are rekindled in time for Christmas.

A Tiny Home Christmas ranks 5.3/10 on IMDb and is free on the Roku Channel.

8. ‘Time for Him to Come for Christmas’

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This may be the best Christmas rom-com of the year, featuring a twist that none in the audience sees coming.

Four days before Christmas in Seattle, Elizabeth Athens (Holland Roden) gets a voice message from an unknown number. The man makes a plea for his lover Madelyn to give him another chance. He requests her to meet him on Christmas Eve at “their spot”.

Elizabeth tries to track down the caller to inform him of the voicemail error. Her mission leads to surprises and twists, including Lizzie's blast from her past.

The film also casts Meghan Gardiner as Madelyn, Tyler Hynes (Josh), Steve Bacic (Carter), Dion Karas (Charlotte), Iris Quinn (Sharon), David Lennon (Andrew), Karen Kruper (Celeste), Adam Lolacher (George), Jessica Garcia (Marnie) and Jay Hindle (Peter).

Time for Him to Come for Christmas has a perfect audience rating of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and 7.7/10 on IMDb.

You can find it on Prime Video and Apple TV+.