The Best LGBTIQ+ Holiday Films

We wish we had more LGBTIQ+ holiday films to love! We also wish we had more holidays represented in films that we could love – not just Christmas.

Maybe by the end of 2024 we will have some new future classics to add to our list but until then we’ve curated this little list to help you get into the holiday spirit. And we all know that ‘holiday spirit’ can mean whatever we want it to mean. For us it’s staying home in our comfy clothes, laying on the couch and watching these films (preferably with a vanilla thick shake from Krispy Kreme Auburn. Too niche?).

Anyway… here’s the list.

Carol

THE sapphic classic.
Rooney Mara, Cate Blanchett and Sarah Paulson (brb we need a cold shower just writing their names) take our queer breath away in this romantic drama set over the Christmas/New Year season. This film is a gift! But not from Santa… from Mrs Claus maybe 😉.
Where to watch it: Netflix or Binge

Tangerine

Two sex workers tear across Tinseltown on Christmas Eve and we LOVE to see it!
The story taking place on Christmas Eve is as Christmassy as the film gets but we had to include it because it is the best kind of chaotic and it’s critically-acclaimed and we just really love this film.
Where to watch it: Apple TV or Google Play

Rent

Chosen family, love and loss. This musical has a place in our hearts 4 eva!
Set over the Christmas/New Year period and with the HIV/AIDs epidemic as the backdrop, Rent (based on the award winning broadway musical of the same name) is a LGBTIQ+ classic with a cult following.
Where to watch it: Apple TV or Google Play

Spoiler Alert 

Spoiler Alert (starring Jim Parsons, Ben Aldridge and Sally Field) follows the relationship of Michael and Kit and how it changes when one of them falls ill. It is part romance, part comedy, part drama, part Smurfs? Oh and part Christmas.
Where to watch it: Binge

Let It Snow

Let It Snow goes for a modern-day Love Actually vibe with its big ensemble (and star-studded) cast and intertwined stories. With Kiernan Shipka (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), Joan Cusack (School of Rock), Shameik Moore (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) and more, this heartwarming flick is on its way to Christmas movie staple material.
Where to watch it: Netflix

Happiest Season

C’mon Kristen! C’mon lesbian Christmas rom-com!
Okay so, not only is Abby (Kristen Stewart) planning to meet her girlfriend Harper’s (Mackenzie Davis) family for the first time, she is also planning to propose… No judgement but that is a big weekend.
Side note, can Dan Levy be our gay best friend too?
Where to watch it: Binge

A New York Christmas Wedding

This 2020 Christmas film beautifully speaks to an old faithful queer question: was I actually in love with my childhood best friend? As her festival wedding draws near, Jennifer (Nia Fairweather) is visited by an angel and show what could have been, had she not denied her feelings for an old friend.
Where to watch it: Binge

Single All the Way

Equal parts cheesy and heartwarming, this Netflix Original rom-com is a gay twist on a Christmas classic – the fake relationship to avoid parental judgement while home for the holidays. Starring Michael Urie and Philemon Chambers, this film also boasts cameos from queer icons Kathy Najimy and Jennifer Coolidge!
Where to watch it: Netflix