5 LGBTQ holiday movies: 2021 edition
Who doesn’t love a good Christmas movie? LGBTQ representation in family holiday films has come quite a long way in recent years. Waiting to see what we’ll be served each year is high on our list of Christmas priorities. 2021 was no different.
This year, there was an abundance of Christmas offerings featuring a wide variety of LGBTQ themes to choose from. So grab a bucket of popcorn and snuggle up on the couch, as we cue up some of the best LGBTQ Christmas releases of 2021!
Single All The Way (Netflix, release date Dec 2, 2021)
Single All The Way is exactly what your 2021 holiday needs. It’s the adorable story of Peter (Michael Urie) and his best old buddy Nick (Philamon Chambers) as they trek back to Peter’s hometown for Christmas together. Nick and Peter have been besties for some time, and they live together, so it’s not unusual for them to spend holidays together with their families.
Except, of course, they’re not just besties. They both harbor deep unrequited feelings for each other and they need some help sorting it all out. Enter Peter’s mother (Kathy Najimy) and her matchmaking ways. She is determined to put an end to her darling son’s never-ending single status and takes matters into her own hands.
She sets Peter up on a blind date with the ever-hunky and sweet-as-pie James (Luke McFarlane). As Nick watches Peter enter into what seems to be the most perfect match for him, a melancholy sadness sets in and he realizes he wants Peter for himself. Will the clueless dumbasses get their act together and move their relationship from besties to lovers? You’ll have to watch and see (spoiler alert, go read our review!)
Single All The Way is available to stream on Netflix now.
The Bitch who stole Christmas (VH1, release date Dec 2, 2021)
The Bitch Who Stole Christmas is a dragtastic Christmas extravaganza! This exceptionally camp television film is the story of Olivia St. Lapel (Krysta Rodriguez), a reporter at a fashion magazine on a mission. In order to score the promotion of her dreams, Olivia goes undercover to chase the story that she believes will get the job done!
Olivia goes undercover as Maggie Zine. As soon as she reaches her destination, she immediately joins forces with the other queens in the area and they get up to a whole lot of mischief of the best kind. If they can win the annual Winter Ball contest, Olivia will get her promotion.
The film features a whole host of Drag Race queens, including Ru Paul! If drag is your thing, this holiday movie is definitely for you.
Watch “The Bitch Who Stole Christmas” live on VH1 using iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, Chromecast, and Web. Also available on Philo, fuboTV, Sling TV, DIRECTV STREAM, Hulu Live TV, and YouTube TV
The Christmas House 2: Deck Those Halls (Hallmark Channel, release date Dec 18, 2021)
The Mitchell family is back with another Christmas tale for the ages. This year, they’re doubling the fun and the malarky! Mike (Robert Buckley) and Brandon (Jonathan Bennett) end up getting pitted against each other in a house decorating contest that sets the backdrop for the good ole competitive Mitchell Christmas spirit.
Apart from the house decorating contest, Brandon and Jake (Brad Harder) have adopted a second child, Mike wants to propose to Andi (Ana Ayora), and Phylis (Sharon Lawrence) and Bill (Treat Williams) are rehearsing for the local theater Christmas production.
It’s a joyful story of a family that gets caught up in the whimsy of Christmas cheer as they try to make memories that will last a lifetime. Definitely a cookie-cutter Hallmark holiday film, but also definitely worth watching!
You can watch The Christmas House 2: Deck Those Halls as well as its predecessor The Christmas House on the Hallmark Channel.
Under The Christmas Tree (Lifetime, release date Dec 19, 2021)
Under The Christmas Tree is the lesbian rom-com you didn’t know you needed this year! It’s the journey of Charlie (Tattiawna Jones), who is appointed by the Governor of Maine to find the best Christmas tree for Maine’s symbol of Christmas this year. Fortunately for Charlie, she doesn’t have to wait too long before she locates the most perfect tree.
It’s located on the property of the Beltran family, who conveniently own a Christmas-themed store. Despite the fact that the Beltran parents seem okay with the idea of letting the tree go, their daughter Alma (Elise Baumann) has other ideas. As the fight over Charlie’s quest to possess the tree continues, it becomes clear that this isn’t just about a tree.
Charlie and Alma like each other in the I-want-to-kiss-you-silly kind of way. And well, how perfect is that at Christmas? Charlie finds the perfect tree and the perfect girl just in time for the holidays.
You can catch Under the Christmas Tree on the Hallmark and Lifetime channel, as well as Philio, FuboTV, and Sling.
Christmas at the Ranch (Telli, release date Dec 1, 2021)
Haley (Laur Allen) is a workaholic from the big city. When she gets an SOS call from her brother about their family ranch, Haley heads home. Her intention is to convince her family to sell the darn thing. It’s in financial trouble and Haley thinks selling is the best way to solve this problem. When she gets there, Haley has a change of heart.
She meets Kate (Amanda Righetti), a ranch hand that works on the farm. As Haley settles into her routine at the farm, Kate becomes something she can’t walk away from. The two women are wildly different but are definitely exactly what each other needs.
Kate, and being home, makes Haley remember why the ranch means so much to her family in the first place, and decides that maybe, just maybe selling isn’t the right course of action!
You can watch Christmas at the Ranch on both the Lifetime and Hallmark channels.
