🎄 Updated May 18, 2026
Christmas movies are usually built around comfort: warm lights, family dinners, awkward homecomings, old feelings, and the hope that love can still find a way before the year ends. For a long time, lesbian movies rarely gave sapphic viewers a place inside that cozy holiday formula.
That is why lesbian Christmas movies feel special to me, even when they are simple, low-budget, or a little predictable. Sometimes I do not need a groundbreaking story. I just want two women falling in love under holiday lights, reconnecting with an old flame, or finally choosing honesty in a season that is supposed to be about coming home.
In this guide, I separate true Christmas lesbian movies from winter or holiday-adjacent sapphic films. Some titles are pure festive rom-coms, while others simply carry the emotional atmosphere of December: snow, memory, loneliness, family pressure, and second chances.
Best Christmas Lesbian Movies
Last ExMas (2024)
Our Rating: ⭐⭐⭐✨ (3.7/5)
Release Date: 2024
Director: Sarah Rotella
Cast: Shaeane Jimenez/Elena Milo
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video
Review: Maggie and Julianne are former high school sweethearts who unexpectedly cross paths again when they both return to their hometown for Christmas. The setup is classic second-chance romance: old feelings, small-town gossip, emotional misunderstandings, and the question of whether two people can meet again as adults without repeating the same mistakes.
What I like most is that the movie does not try to be bigger than it is. It is cozy, simple, and built around the comfort of watching two women slowly soften toward each other again. The chemistry works, even when the story follows a familiar holiday-romance path. It is not revolutionary, but it understands exactly why sapphic viewers keep asking for more lesbian movies with happy endings, especially during the holidays.
The Holiday Club (2024)
Our Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4.8/5)
Release Date: 2024
Director: Alexandra Swarens
Cast: Makaela Shealy/Alexandra Swarens
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video
Review: With her 2024 Christmas release, Alexandra Swarens offers still another lesbian holiday romance. Bailey loves the holidays; Sam finds them intolerable. Their paths cross over doughnuts in a little Ohio town on Valentine’s Day when one is lonely and sparks flare. Every holiday draws them closer; nevertheless, love is anything but simple.
This movie is a real charmer — warm, gentle, and very cozy. The pacing is slow, but that actually helps the relationship feel more lived-in. One of my favorite moments happens in the record store, where the conversation has that soft, wandering, almost-before-love quality I always enjoy in romantic films.
Swarens’s annual delivery of one of these films really inspires me. She makes the holiday season joyful and guarantees that every Christmas we will have a wonderful, poignant urban lesbian love story to savour.
Love Classified (2022)
Our Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4.1/5)
Release Date: 2022
Director: Stacey N. Harding
Cast: Melora Hardin/Arienne Mandi/Katherine McNamara
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video, Tubi (free with ads)
Review: This moving family drama excels in its realistic view of love. As Franki and Taylor, Arienne Mandi (known from “The L Word: Generation Q”) and Katherine McNamara produce lovely chemistry. While the familial dynamics give richness to this holiday romance, the beach scene aptly captures those butterfly moments of new love. Seeing LGBTQ+ love tales spun so organically into a family story is energising.
Looking for Her (2022)
Our Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4.0/5)
Release Date: 2022
Director: Alexandra Swarens
Cast: Olivia Buckle/Alexandra Swarens
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video
Review: Director Alexandra Swarens presents a delightful holiday feast ideal for winter evenings consumed with cocoa. The movie deftly employs the mistletoe custom (“Meet me under the mistletoe”) to give its account of family acceptance and love’s tenacity emotional appeal. It deals with separation and dishonesty, but it stays warm throughout to result in a fulfilling reunion.
Under the Christmas Tree (2021)
Our Rating: ⭐⭐⭐✨ (3.7/5)
Release Date: 2021
Director: Lisa Rose Snow
Cast: Elise Bauman/Tattiawna Jones/Wendy Crewson
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video, Lifetime app
Review: This is one of those pure comfort lesbian holiday romances where the simplicity is part of the appeal. The plot is not complicated, but I honestly do not think it needs to be. There is no heavy coming-out trauma, no cruel family rejection, and no need to punish the characters for wanting love. Around Christmas, that kind of soft, accepting fantasy can feel surprisingly healing.
Christmas At The Ranch (2021)
Our Rating: ⭐⭐⭐✨ (3.8/5)
Release Date: 2021
Director: Christin Baker
Cast: Amanda Righetti/Lindsay Wagner
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video, Tubi (free with ads)
Review: This little holiday romance has real appeal even if it doesn’t innovate anything. Having Van Pelt from “The Mentalist in a lesbian romance gives star power; Laur Allen gives her character as urban power broker Haley subtle refinement. For those looking for holiday season comfort viewing, it is the ideal light entertainment.
Happiest Season (2020)
Our Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4.0/5)
Release Date: 2020
Director: Clea DuVall
Cast: Kristen Stewart/Mackenzie Davis
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video, Hulu
Review: Happiest Season is probably the lesbian Christmas movie that made the biggest mainstream splash, and I understand why. It has the familiar holiday-rom-com ingredients — family pressure, a secret relationship, awkward dinners, old wounds, and the hope of a happy ending — but it puts a sapphic couple at the center of that very recognizable Christmas chaos.
I do not think the movie is perfect. Harper’s choices can be frustrating, especially when Abby keeps being pushed into silence in a house where everyone else gets to perform the “perfect family” image. But that discomfort is also what makes the film memorable. For many queer viewers, the holidays are not just cozy lights and gifts; they can also bring pressure, hiding, and the fear of disappointing people you love.
What keeps Happiest Season watchable for me is Kristen Stewart’s vulnerability as Abby, the sharp comic relief around her, and the fact that the film still gives us a mainstream sapphic holiday story with a hopeful ending. It is messy, sometimes uneven, but still important as one of the most visible lesbian Christmas rom-coms.
Season of Love (2019)
Our Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4.0/5)
Release Date: 2019
Director: Christin Baker
Cast: Jessica Clark/Sandra Mae Frank
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video, Tubi (free with ads)
Review: Consider “Love Actually” with a sapphic turn-about. Beginning a wedding gone awry, this wonderful Christmas ensemble work blossoms into three linked lesbian love stories. Seeing Dominique Provost-Chalkley (our dear Waverly) in a different gay character is an extra holiday delight for those of fans of “Wynonna Earp.”
This movie is unique because of its unabashed lesbian universe, where coming out results in joy instead of strife. Although some would find the all-lesbian ensemble implausible, isn’t just what our holiday entertainment needs? Pure, happy escape with lots of queer representation.
Winter or Holiday-Adjacent Sapphic Films
Moonlit Winter (2019)
Our Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨ (4.4/5)
Release Date: 2019
Director: Dae Hyung Lim
Cast: Kim Hee-ae/Yûko Nakamura/Kim Sohye
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video, Viki
Review: This Korean winter romance shows how subtly yet powerfully lesbian stories may be told. Following four women’s linked lives between Japan and Korea, the film employs Otaru’s snow-covered terrain to create a stunning picture. Kim Hee-ae gives especially remarkable performance, giving every scene complexity. The film is ideal for careful holiday viewing because of its subdued attitude to loneliness and connection.
Related: If this quiet Korean winter story appeals to you, you may also like my Korean lesbian movies guide or my list of sad lesbian movies and tragic sapphic films.
City of Trees (2019)
Our Rating: ⭐⭐⭐✨ (3.9/5)
Release Date: 2019
Director: Alexandra Swarens
Cast: Alexandra Swarens/Olivia Buckle/Kate McIntyre
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video
Review: Having seen many lesbian films, I am always thrilled to find a jewel that defies the necessity for shouting its messages from the rooftops. That sort of treasure is exactly “City of Trees”.
Writing, directing, and starring in this wonderfully nuanced picture, Alexandra Swarens shows herself to be a triple threat here. Following her hit with “Looking for Her,” Swarens keeps proving her ability to gently capture real lesbian stories.
Carol (2015)
Our Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨ (4.6/5)
Release Date: 2015
Director: Todd Haynes
Cast: Cate Blanchett/Rooney Mara
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video, available for rent on Apple TV, Google Play
Review: Against the lovely setting of 1950s Christmas, “Carol” is a masterwork in subdued lesbian narrative. Blanchett and Mara have an electrifying connection shown by subtle gestures and long looks. The way the movie examines feminine mentoring growing into love intrigues me most; Carol wakes Herse to her own potential rather than merely catching her heart. The emotional trip of the characters and the social differences of the era are wonderfully captured in the costume design and photography.
If this is the kind of sapphic winter atmosphere you love most, I also made a guide to movies like Carol for more quiet, elegant, emotionally restrained lesbian films.
FAQ About Lesbian Christmas Movies
What is the best lesbian Christmas movie to start with?
If you want a mainstream holiday rom-com, start with Happiest Season. If you want something softer and more indie, try Looking for Her, Under the Christmas Tree, or Season of Love.
Are there lesbian Christmas movies with happy endings?
Yes. Many lesbian Christmas movies are built around comfort, reconciliation, and happy or hopeful endings. Titles like Looking for Her, Under the Christmas Tree, Season of Love, and Last ExMas are good choices if you want festive sapphic romance without a tragic ending.
Is Carol a Christmas lesbian movie?
Carol is not a traditional Christmas movie, but it is often included in sapphic holiday watchlists because its romance begins around the Christmas season and its winter atmosphere is central to the film’s emotional memory.
Where can I watch lesbian Christmas movies?
Availability changes by country, but lesbian Christmas movies often appear on Prime Video, Hulu, Lifetime, Tubi, Apple TV, and smaller LGBTQ+ streaming platforms. I recommend checking each title individually before the holiday season because streaming rights can change quickly.
More Lesbian Movies to Watch After Christmas
If you want more cozy sapphic films after the holidays, I would start with my lesbian movies with happy endings guide. For quieter, more emotional viewing, my sad lesbian movies list may fit better. And if Carol is the reason you came here, I also have a separate guide to movies like Carol.
Related Lesbian Movie Guides
- Lesbian Movies With Happy Endings
- Movies Like Carol
- Sad Lesbian Movies and Tragic Sapphic Films
- Best Lesbian Period Dramas and Historical Films
- Lesbian Movies on Hulu
- Lesbian Movies on Tubi
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