Cozy Movies for Cold Winter Days
There’s nothing quite like the slow trudge of a cold winter to make you want to turn off the lights, draw the curtains, and curl up under the biggest, warmest blanket you can find. As the days get shorter and the temperature plummets, pour yourself a mug of hot chocolate or tea, collapse on your couch, and enjoy some seasonally appropriate cinema.
Love Actually (2003)
We’re kicking things off with the classic Christmas Rom-Com, Love Actually. It’s an easy-to-love romp through the interconnected lives of an ensemble of Londoners, from a romance-challenged caterer to a 10-year-old “in love” to a messy bachelor of a Prime Minister in the weeks leading up to Christmas. It’s cozy and sweet and endearing and pretty much every famous UK actor pops up at one point or another. Also pairs well with Bridget Jones’s Diary or The Holiday for a double feature.
Little Women (2019)
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Little Women is a holiday film. A warm adaptation of a warmer book absolutely drenched in childhood nostalgia. A well-worn childrens’ copy of Louisa May Alcott’s beloved book brought to life. Wonderfully written and acted with sweeping views of the Massachusetts countryside. Sisterhood. Love. Tragedy. The joys and woes of growing up. Say “yes” and let’s be happy together, Jo! Timothy Chalamet begs. Me: *ugly cries*
The Holdovers (2023)
If you’re strong enough to leave your couch and brave the cold (or the “emotional cold,” for my warmer weather friends) I highly recommend popping into a movie theater to see The Holdovers, a new movie about a cranky teacher, angsty student, and grieving mother spending the holidays together at a boarding school in God’s Country, Western Massachusetts. It’s a classic character-driven indie film with a beautiful script and fantastic acting. It’ll make you laugh. It’ll make you cry. It’ll make you feel all warm and gooey and fuzzy inside.
Good Will Hunting (1997)
The extreme Massachusetts vibes of The Holdovers inspired me to rewatch Good Will Hunting, another extremely Massachusetts film about an angsty Bostonian janitor turned mathematics prodigy who bonds with a patient psychology professor, played by the always warm, always wonderful Robin Williams. It’s a Boston-classic with strong autumnal vibes and a feel-good ending. Very emotional. Very dad core. Highly recommend.
Happiest Season (2020)
Alright, another Christmas one, but make it gay! You might remember the hype surrounding Happiest Season, the Christmas Rom-Com starring and directed by celesbian icons Kristen Stewart and Clea DuVall. Are Kristen Stewart and her onscreen girlfriend in love? Yes. Does she go home for Christmas with her girlfriend? Yes. Do her girlfriend’s parents know she is gay? No! Drama ensues!! Standard-issue holiday Rom-Com with a twist featuring super-cool Aubrey Plaza to boot.
ET (1982)
Is ET a Christmas movie? No. But I checked and it’s kind of a Halloween movie, and in any case, it’s the perfect feel-good classic for a cold weather pick-me-up. Relive or reclaim your childhood with the adventures of a ten-year-old boy and his extraterrestrial bestie. Before you know it, you’ll be “phoning home,” too.
Spirited Away (2001)
If you somehow haven’t seen Spirited Away, you’ll definitely want to bump this one up to the top of your list. In it, a young girl wanders into and is trapped in a dreamy, fantastical spirit world, embarking on a quest (much like ET!) to find her way home. The story is whimsical, but it’s the animation that makes it so cozy and compelling, with painted frames of towns and landscapes so beautiful they’ll make you want to cry.
Home Alone (1990)
Pretty self explanatory. There’s a boy. He is left home alone. Antics ensue. It’s pretty much the pinnacle of the laugh-out-loud Christmas comedies, with a near-infant (by which I mean elementary school aged) Macaulay Culkin playing abandoned Kevin, who must protect his home from robbery by the *checks notes* Academy Award-winning star gangster of Goodfellas, Joe Pesci? Fun for the whole family!
Past Lives (2023)
This one’s for the girlies who like to cry while ruminating on the evolution of love, romantic and platonic, across oceans and over time. In other words, like, totally chill. But for real, Past Lives is one of the most tender, thoughtful movies I’ve ever seen. I smiled and I cried and I left the theater completely and totally in my feels. Very much left me feeling like love is both the most painful and most beautiful thing in the world.
A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
As a self-identified Scrooge, this old-school classic is the only pure Christmas movie that gets me in the holiday spirit. There’s just something about that beloved, scrappy little Charlie Brown Christmas tree that brings tears to my eyes every time. And when the kiddos sing and dance, I can’t help but hum along.