One of the best parts of Christmastime is having a festive movie marathon. But as much as kids love the classics like The Nightmare Before Christmas and Home Alone, Christmas is the perfect time to teach kids about more than just fun Christmas Eve antics and adventures.
Having a warm and joyful Christmas is a privilege, and there are so many people out there who don't get to enjoy it like others do. Whether they're homeless, overworked, or are spending the holidays with bigoted or abusive family members, a good way of giving back is learning about them, so we might learn to help them. There are also countless people who aren't the cookie-cutter idea of a Christmas-celebrating family — the white, able-bodied, hetero/cis normative nuclear family you see in commercials.
Christmas movies that teach children about feminism, equal rights, diversity, culture, and kindness, are all around us. So here are just a few of our favorites.
'My One Christmas Wish' on Amazon Prime
If you’re looking for a nice twist on the “looking for the perfect Christmas” story, this is it. Based on a true story, California college student Jackie Turner has the brilliant idea of putting an ad on Craigslist for a mom and dad during the holidays. My One Christmas Wish is the perfect heart-warming holiday tale. If you’re as sick of the “Hey white man, please save our kids” trope as we are, then this movie puts an interesting spin on it.
Jackie is in charge of helping troubled teens work out their anger, and put their passion into creativity instead. But unlike white savior films like The Ron Clark Story or Dangerous Minds, Jackie understands the girls she’s teaching because she came from a similar background. Even then, she still understands the privileges she has over them as an adult with an education, a home, and a job under her belt. This humbling plot line, and the incredibly Christmassy atmosphere of this movie, will warm your heart during even the coldest nights.
'Last Holiday' on Amazon Prime
Starring the one and only Queen Latifah, Last Holiday is a fun movie about treasuring every moment of your life and making it your own. After a heartbreaking diagnosis from her doctor, Georgia Byrd is determined to throw away her shyness and knock out every item on her bucket list during one last vacation. Base jumping, black diamond skiing, expensive spa treatments, dinners fit for a millionaire — she does it all. Not only is Last Holiday about a Black woman who stops at nothing to live her life the way she wants to, but the movie also teaches us that life is too short to wait around for it to come to you.
Unfortunately, many chronically and terminally ill folk out there aren’t given the chance or funding to do what they want with their lives. Georgia shows us that you shouldn’t wait until you’re dying to do everything you’ve always dreamed of, but if you do, then just enjoy it anyway. This is a bit spoiler-y folks, but if you’re scared this movie will majorly bum you out at the end … then don’t worry, it won’t. Trust us.
'An American Tail' on Amazon Prime
For our winter lovers out there, the animated classic An American Tail is not the saccharine Christmas film you think it is, in fact, Christmas isn’t even mentioned at any point in the movie. But the movie does give off snowy and chilly vibes, as well as an important social justice message about immigration and the lives of immigrant children. Our main character, Fievel, and his family are Russian immigrants who have freshly moved to New York City. The mice have been promised several things that real-life immigrants hope for: great wealth, a large clean home, and more freedom than you know what to do with, but in real life and in the movie, we see this has been greatly exaggerated.
Slums, con men, diseases, and poverty — immigrants face all of this and more, as does Fievel (who also faces some evil cats). That being said, there’s a warm glow to this movie that will spark some hope in your heart. Movies like this make you want to work even harder to make this world a better place for impoverished children and immigrants. Speaking of…
'Mrs. Santa Claus' on Amazon Prime
A musical about the brains behind Mr. Claus? Finally. In an attempt to convince her husband to take a new Christmas Eve route, Mrs. Santa Claus becomes stranded in 1890s New York City with one of her reindeer after attempting a test drive of the route herself. After her sudden trip through time, she is invited to stay with a Jewish family who don’t celebrate Christmas and befriends many interesting and wholesome characters throughout the holiday.
During her stay, she befriends a suffragette who sets up a strike and protests against the working conditions in Mrs. Claus’ new job. While Mr. Claus tries to work out how to get his wife back, Mrs. Claus wastes no time striving for a better future for her new melting-pot friends. Childhood poverty, antisemitism, immigration rights, and women’s rights are just a handful of issues discussed in the movie, but in the most positive and Christmassy way you could imagine.
'Sailor Moon S: The Movie' on Amazon Prime
When we think of festive films, we tend to think of North American and British Christmas movies, like Love Actually and Miracle on 34th Street, but Japan has some amazing holiday movies that can’t be missed. Check out Tokyo Godfathers for older teens and adults. But we can’t mention anime without mentioning one of the anime pioneers. One of the first mainstream anime series to feature a female lead as a superhero rather than a damsel, Sailor Moon should be on every young girl’s to-watch list.
In her second film, Sailor Moon — also known as Usagi, must battle a queen who plans to freeze the Earth. Loosely based on The Snow Queen fairy tale by Hans Christen Andersen, it’s easy to see that Frozen fans will adore this film. Though the movie follows the standard hero versus villain structure, Sailor Moon shows real compassion for the queen and why she is so angry at the world. The powerful “snow magic” isn’t only for evil in this film: friendship and love come from it too. Be sure to look out for Santa Claus where you least expect him!
