... and what better way than to check out some Christmas classics?
We've selected five essential seasonal features now showing on Netflix that everyone needs to see.
Happy viewing!
'The Holiday' (available on Netflix from December 7th)
The modern Christmas classic that is 'The Holiday' is coming to a small screen near you. Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet star as two women unlucky in love who swap homes and lifestyles for the Christmas season. Jude Law and Jack Black are the film's leading men. Also in the cast are Rufus Sewell, Edward Burns and legendary western star Eli Wallach. If you like your Christmas movies cheesy, funny and packed with feel-good factor, 'The Holiday' is essential viewing.
'About a Boy' (available on Netflix from December 7th)
It may not be the first film you think of when considering Christmas classics, but remember that a number of scenes in 'About a Boy' take place around Christmas. Additionally, the lead character Will's (Hugh Grant) luxurious lifestyle is all thanks to royalties from a hit Christmas song his father wrote. The film follows the unikely friendship that buds between him and a teenage boy named Marcus (a young Nicholas Hoult). Between 'Love Actually', 'Bridget Jones Diary' and this, Hugh Grant sure did well off Christmas movies, didn't he?
'Jack Frost'
You'll want to have tissues at hand for this Christmas classic. Michael Keaton stars in the title role as a rock musician who dies in a car accident on Christmas eve, only to come back to life as a snowman a year later. Now he'll get to spend the time with his son, Charlie (Joseph Cross), that he never got to have. The film flopped with the critics and at the box office when it was released twenty years ago, but it's now a staple of many homes when that time of year comes around.
'Last Holiday'
Christmas wouldn't be complete without a bit of heart from Queen Latifah. Upon learning she has a terminal illness, her character decides to quit work, sell off all her possessions, take up base jumping and live it up at a posh European hotel. If watching it recalls 'Maid in Manhattan', that's no coincidence, as they're both directed by Wayne Wang. The film was originally meant to star John Candy before he passed away, but Latifah's charm and humour make it work as her own star vehicle.
'Christmas with the Coopers'
The cast of this Christmas classic includes (*takes deep breath*) Alan Arkin, Alex Borstein, Timothée Chalamet, John Goodman, Ed Helms, Diane Keaton, Anthony Mackie, Steve Martin, Amanda Seyfried, Marisa Tomei, and Olivia Wilde. It consists of intertwined stories of four generations of Coopers which occur just before the annual family reunion on Christmas Eve.
