The holidays are upon us. The days are short. The weather is cold. What better way to kick back and relax than to inhale all the cheesy, and very flawed Christmas shenanigans that Netflix has to offer? Assuming that you don’t have unlimited free time (neither do I, but I’m an A+ student of procrastination and avoidance), I’m here to tell you what’s worth the watch, and what should head to the three dollar bin at your local CVS.
The Best
The Holiday Calendar – Any Vampire Diaries fans out there? Well, your favorite witch has returned, this time, with a little Christmas magic. By far the best of all the festive films Netflix has to offer, this is a cutesy tale of two best friends in a very will-they-won’t-they scenario. Each twist and turn of their holiday maybe-romance is seemingly determined by an advent calendar, a beautiful family heirloom passed down to Abby, played by Kat Graham (more popularly known as Bonnie).
Bottom line? 5 out of 5 candy canes
The Princess Switch – I have to be upfront about this, I probably only loved this one so much because I am a diehard High School Musical fan, and Vanessa Hudgens always has a place in my heart. This movie is quite literally The Lizzie McGuire Movie, just Christmas themed. If you’re into that kind of absolutely impossible, super ridiculous plot line, well, this movie is for you. I’m ashamed I liked it so much, but I did, and that’s that.
Bottom line? 4.5 out of 5 candy canes
A Christmas Prince – Apparently, this Netflix original took the streaming world by storm last year, but since I’m always a year late and a dollar short, I just got in on the secret a few weeks ago. This movie follows an aspiring reporter to a foreign country, looking to make her first big undercover break, when she accidentally falls in love with a prince. I was only disappointed with the ending, which left so many questions unanswered, but discovered that a sequel, A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding, was released last week, and I will report back with details ASAP.
Bottom line? 4.5 out of 5 candy canes
The Mediocre
Christmas Inheritance – This movie was a tough one for me to rate. It’s definitely not as good as the three mentioned above, but, it made me feel the most Christmassy, if that makes any sense. Rich, party-girl heiress is forced against her will to find virtue in her father’s small hometown, surviving for a week with only 100 dollars cash. She finds herself working to pay for board in a beyond cozy bed and breakfast, and guess what? She maybe falls in love with a man who is not her fiancé.
Bottom line? 4ish (I want it to be more but I’m agreeing that decimals are annoying) out of 5 candy canes
Merry Kissmas – Two insanely attractive people kiss upon first meeting each other in an elevator that apparently dictates fate. The lead has to weigh her options: take a huge risk on a total stranger, or marry her wildly self-absorbed choreographer fiancé? Arguably far too much teeter-tottering, and a kind of extraneous dog situation, I think I maybe only enjoyed this one so much because the male lead is like, so handsome.
Bottom line? 3.5 out of 5 candy canes
Christmas Wedding Planner – Beautiful girl quits her day job to become a wedding planner. Her first gig is her cousin’s wedding, but major trouble is afoot when her cousin’s ex-boyfriend is inexplicably hired to investigate the potential wrongdoings of her soon-to-be husband. Wedding planner and PI fall into a bickery love-to-hate-you type of thing, and the ending is superbly strange.
Bottom line? 3 out of five candy canes
Christmas With a View – Two good-looking workaholics who are also talented chefs. The guy? Famous. The girl? Bound to a messy business deal with her sleazy boss. The moral of the story? Not thrilling, but there’s love and food and Christmas, so it’s not the worst thing ever.
Bottom line? 3 out of 5 candy canes
The Horrendously Bad
That seems harsh. It is. But, the only movie I’ll put into this category makes even the mediocres seem Oscar worthy.
Christmas Crush – I’m ashamed to even admit that I made it through this entire film. All but maybe five minutes of this movie take place in a high school gym, where the two leads celebrate their class reunion on Christmas Eve??? The male lead is Jonathan Bennett (more commonly known and much more loved as Aaron Samuels in Mean Girls), and I wanted to love it, but wow, I just couldn’t. It’s a really bad knockoff of Just Friends, and I would say that you’re far better off with Ryan Reynolds if this type of plot interests you.
Bottom line? None for Gretchen Weiners
So yeah, I’ve done the watching for you! If you’ve seen any of these and feel similarly/differently, sound off in the comments. Also, am I missing anything that I need to see?
xoxo Netflix and chill(y days)
laughingatleighann.com 
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