A Christmas Movie Night for Grown-Ups

Search for Christmas movie-night ideas and it doesn't take long before the evening starts requiring a theme.

Themed food. Matching drinks. Decorations specifically chosen for the film. Possibly a printable ticket.

I'm tired already.

If doing all of that is your idea of fun, absolutely do it.

But none of it is required.

The film is allowed to be the theme.

Pick the one you find yourself wanting to watch every December.

Not the critically superior option.

Yours.

Christmas is one of the few times of year when repetition doesn't feel boring to me.

It feels comforting.

There are films where you recognise the music before you've properly started watching. You know the scenes that are coming. You probably know half the lines.

You don't need to concentrate particularly hard.

You can talk. Get another drink. Reach for something on the table. Miss five minutes because you've suddenly started discussing something completely unrelated.

It doesn't matter.

You know the film.

Familiarity isn't the enemy of a tradition. It's usually how one begins.

This is possibly the highest-return Christmas movie-night tip I can give you.

Turn off the big light.

Tree lights on. Christmas lights on. Lamps where you need them. Candles if you use them.

Done.

At our house, the Christmas lighting is part of the whole season anyway. As it starts getting dark, the lights come on automatically.

Use the Christmas atmosphere you've already created.

There is something wonderfully luxurious about deciding that you are absolutely not going anywhere.

Comfortable clothes. Blanket. Christmas socks, obviously. Phones somewhere they don't need constant attention. Something to eat within reach.

And no later reservation, visit or errand quietly putting an end time on the evening.

We tend to associate making an evening special with going somewhere.

Christmas is very good at proving the opposite.

Sometimes staying home is the plan.

This is one reason our Christmas Eve tradition works so well.

Bas and I exchange presents, put on a Christmas film and have picky bits.

There's no formal dinner interrupting the evening.

Food can sit on the table and we can keep taking little things as the film continues.

Later, the crisps or popcorn usually appear.

Popcorn is particularly difficult for me to resist.

For a normal Christmas movie night, you don't even need the full Christmas Eve spread.

Pick one savoury thing. Something crunchy. Maybe something sweet.

You are watching a film, not catering a premiere.

I do think there should be one little distinction between we've put the television on and we're having Christmas movie night.

But one is enough.

Maybe you open a bottle of wine you were saving. Make really good popcorn. Buy the ridiculous Christmas snack you spotted in the supermarket. Light the expensive candle. Make hot chocolate. Put your Christmas pyjamas on.

Choose one tiny luxury and let that be enough.

Pinterest can be dangerous here.

Suddenly a two-hour film requires three hours of food preparation.

There are snowman-shaped things. Reindeer made from pretzels. Elaborate boards where every ingredient has apparently been positioned using architectural drawings.

Again: lovely if you enjoy making them.

I don't need them.

I would much rather spend twenty minutes putting together things we actually want to eat and then sit down.

Christmas rituals should give you something to look forward to. They shouldn't create another deadline.

You don't need to decide every December which 47 Christmas films deserve your attention.

Pick a handful.

Ours naturally includes films such as Home Alone and The Santa Clause, with Harry Potter occupying its own Christmas-adjacent category.

Some years you'll add something new.

If you love it, it might come back next year.

Over time, a little rotation develops naturally.

Choose a film that gets promoted from Christmas film I like to Christmas has started film.

Don't put it on randomly in July.

Save it.

Wait until the tree is up, or until the first weekend in December, or whatever moment you've chosen.

Then watch it.

Sometimes making something special simply means not having it all the time.

If you're choosing a film for Christmas Eve, I would not personally use that particular evening to take a wild cinematic risk.

Christmas Eve is prime festive real estate.

I want comfort.

I want something I know.

I want the tree lights on, presents around us, picky bits within reach and a film that isn't going to ruin the mood by being unexpectedly terrible.

Try the new Christmas releases earlier in December.

Christmas Eve is for the one that has already earned its place.