The world of a movie is a fascinating thing. A film's timeframe can capture anywhere from a single day to many, many years. Characters can fall in love, advance in their careers, have children, and die all in the same movie. Life comes with all kinds of events, and movies mirror that fact.
When it comes to holidays and special occasions, Christmas is probably the one with the most screen time. Halloween is a close second. What happens when multiple holidays and events find their way into a single movie? Here are ten great ways to find out.
Holidate
Netflix Original that plays to the rom-com genre and adds an unexpected edge. Emma Roberts is a lonely single named Sloane, and Luke Bracey is a seemingly carefree bachelor named Jackson. These two cross paths at a shopping mall after their respective disastrous Christmases.
They make a pact to be each other's "holidates"--a term inspired by Sloane's aunt (played by Kristin Chenoweth). Jackson and Sloane commit to accompany each other to major holiday gatherings, but nothing more. They go through Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, Independence Day, Halloween, and Thanksgiving together before making a commitment to their relationship the next Christmas season.
Miracle On 34th Street (1947)
The original Miracle on 34th Street stars Natalie Wood as young Susan, Maureen O'Hara as mother Doris, Edmund Gwenn as Kris Kringle, and John Payne as Fred. The film famously begins with its Thanksgiving festivities, even though it also counts as a Christmas movie.
Kris Kringle runs into some trouble for claiming to be Santa Claus, but Susan (usually a doubter, like her mom) believes in him and encourages her mother to find the magic of the holidays, too, including true love.
Miracle On 34th Street (1994)
The 1994 version of Miracle on 34th Street is still widely regarded as a Christmas movie, but it takes after its predecessor with a November beginning. Susan (Mara Wilson) looks out her New York apartment window at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Throughout the film, the little girl is intrigued with Santa Claus, even though her mother (Elizabeth Perkins) does not believe.
Through Kris Kringle's grueling string of events, Susan watches her mom fall in love with a handsome man named Bryan (Dylan McDermott), carrying the film all the way to a beautiful conclusion and the bright hope of New Year's. The newer story retains the beautiful spirit of the original Miracle on 34th Street.
The Santa Clause
Tim Allen plays Scott Calvin, a divorced dad who accidentally becomes the next Santa. The movie opens with Scott spending time on the holidays with his son, Charlie. The scene involves some quality father-son time and a burnt turkey.
As the sarcastic dad accepts his new job as Santa, the movie progresses beyond that first Christmas and includes Thanksgiving as well as the warmer months (like during Charlie's soccer game where his mom takes him away from his dad). Although not all of the events in this movie are cheery, The Santa Clause creates an interesting universe which leaves viewers asking more questions about Santa.
When Harry Met Sally
There couldn't have been a better couple than Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan for Harry and Sally. The 1989 film is one of the most celebrated rom-coms of all time. It has a serious tone that asks what happens when two would-be lovers take more than a decade to get together.
From the fresh colors of fall leaves to the bright future of New Year's Eve, quite a few occasions into one wonderfully romantic movie.
Meet Me In St. Louis
Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) allowed Judy Garland to inhabit yet another iconic character in Esther Smith, a musical gal and eventual lover of John Truett (Tom Drake). Esther and her sisters are heartbroken that her father wants to move the family from St. Louis, Missouri to New York.
The Smiths observe several special occasions and holidays together, including Halloween, Christmas, and of course, the 1904 World's Fair. The film was directed by Vincente Minelli, whom Garland would marry shortly after the movie (and divorce in 1951).
The Shop Around The Corner
The Shop Around the Corner is the 1940 film which eventually inspired You've Got Mail. The classic was based on the work of Hungarian playwright Miklós László from 1937. The play, Illatszertár/Parfumerie, also inspired a Judy Garland film, Good Old Summertime, in 1949.
In The Shop Around the Corner, Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullavan play employees of a Budapest general store. Both characters don't know that they are each other's pen pals. Though the movie is often associated with Christmas, the holiday is more of a backdrop that allows the film to cover additional events as the characters draw closer.
You've Got Mail
You've Got Mail is the 1998 answer to The Shop Around the Corner. Meg Ryan's character, Kathleen Kelly, runs a small bookstore called The Shop Around the Corner, but her business is threatened by a big box bookstore that Joe Fox (Tom Hanks) and his family are building.
Joe and Kathleen are both unhappy in their relationships, so they take to the still-new Internet and find love on AOL. They eventually discover that they've found each other there. Though the movie has a glimmer of Christmas, it also has a touch of Halloween/fall as well as the breeze of a spring day, making it the perfect picture to watch any time of the year.
While You Were Sleeping
While You Were Sleeping is known as a glorious Christmas-adjacent rom-com, but it also features a New Year's celebration and an almost-wedding. Lucy (Sandra Bullock) dreams of a relationship with Peter, the guy she sees every workday at her Chicago train ticket booth.
Lucy gets her chance at a life with Peter when she saves the man from death on the train tracks. While Peter is in a coma, his entire family believes Lucy when she claims to be his fiancée. Lucy can't help but fall for Jack (Bill Pullman), Peter's attractive brother. True love wins out in this romantic film that is always a great choice.
Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn (1942) is an enduring Irving Berlin musical that takes the hospitality of an inn and matches it with the spectacle of the theatre. Jim (Bing Crosby) guides guests through every holiday imaginable with musical performances and decorations that never cease to amaze audiences.
There is also a love triangle featuring Crosby's character along with those played by Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds, and Virginia Dale. The songs are just as famous as the film, especially "White Christmas," which is also associated with the 1954 movie of the same name.
