Split image of A Christmas Story, Die Hard, and Jingle All the Way

As if 2022 hasn’t already been such a stacked year for movies, a surprising amount of holiday movies also are getting released this year, including Spirited, which marks Will Ferrell’s first Christmas movie since Elf. Spirited could be the new instant classic Christmas movie that audiences have been waiting years for, as so few festive releases in the past decade have been well-received.


In fact, it seems as if there are just as many holiday films that ruin the holiday as ones that get viewers into the Christmas spirit. Whether it’s because of bigoted reindeer, unlikeable and materialistic characters, or simply debating whether a particular action flick is a Christmas movie, Redditors lost their Christmas cheer after watching these films.

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Gremlins (1984)

 Kate rings the fire alarm in Gremlins 2

Ellisrsp thinks Gremlins totally ruins Christmas, noting, “Thanks to Phoebe Cates’ somber monologue in Gremlins, many children in the mid-80s found out that Santa doesn’t exist.”

Many Christmas movies ruin the truth about Santa for children, as the narrative that adults stop believing in Santa even though presents miraculously still show up under the Christmas tree doesn’t quite add up. However, while any high-achieving kid would ask questions about those movies, Gremlins outright tells children that Kris Kringle doesn’t exist. In Kate Beringer’s (Cates) monologue about why she hates the season, she explains how she learned that Santa doesn’t exist, which surely left many young viewers shell-shocked.

Christmas With The Kranks (2004)

Luther and Nora Krank at the tanning salon with Father Zabriskie in Christmas wit the Kranks

Tim Allen is best known for playing Scott Calvin in the actual classic Christmas movie The Santa Clause, and he’ll even reprise his role in the upcoming Disney+ series The Santa Clauses. But a decade after the unique holiday film, Allen starred in Christmas with the Kranks, a comedy about a couple who decide to go on a cruise instead of taking part in the community’s festivities.

Did_I_Strutter thinks the movie ruins Christmas, noting, “I always thought that the whole point of the movie was really strange. It seems like the movie sets up an interesting idea and then works against itself at the end.” The entire concept is flawed, as the couple is intentionally rude when faced with anything Christmas-related, which doesn’t actually have anything to do with their cruise.

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation 2 (2003)

Cousin Eddie and the cast of Christmas Vacation 2

Averysuspiciousguy points to the almost unheard-of sequel to the classic Christmas Vacation, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation 2, that ruins the holiday season. The Redditor explains, “You mean there’s another Christmas Vacation movie… only no Griswolds… and focused purely on Cousin Eddy?” The user then criticizes some of the original actors for agreeing to be in the movie.

In some territories, the movie has the subtitle Cousin Eddie’s Island Adventure, as it’s wholly based on the tertiary character. There’s no doubt that Cousin Eddie is a hilarious character in the original Christmas Vacation, but a whole movie with him in the lead role is intolerable. As a result, the film has one of the lowest IMDb scores imaginable, as it sits at a miserable 2.7.

Die Hard (1988)

John McClane in a vent in Die Hard

It isn’t so much the film itself that ruins Christmas for PhilipLiptonSchrute, but the endless debates surrounding Die Hard over the holiday season. The Redditor comments, “Everyone always debates whether or not it’s a Christmas movie, when the real conversation we should be having is why anyone bothers watching it at all.”

The user clearly isn’t a fan of Die Hard, and they’re even less of a fan of the conversations it ignites. However, the 1988 film is still great for any viewer who wants to watch a fun movie set during the season without all the sappy sentimentality, regardless of whether the plot is or isn’t a Christmas movie.

A Christmas Story (1983)

Peter Billingsley as Ralphie in Pink Bunny Costume in A Christmas Story

Though A Christmas Story was originally a dud, it has become a classic holiday movie that most households watch annually. However, this user resents the film and thinks it totally ruined all their Christmases. The Redditor explains, “It’s because of that very movie that I never got not just a BB gun but any kind of play gun when I was young. I’ve always hated the movie for that reason.”

The user is referring to the fact that Ralphie begs and pleads with his parents for a BB gun for Christmas, but he’s constantly told, “You’ll shoot your eye out.” And though he doesn’t end up shooting his eye out, when he does finally get the gun, he does inevitably injure himself.

Home Alone 4: Taking Back The House (2002)

Marv and Vera get caught in the flooded mansion in Home Alone 4

A deleted user thinks that Home Alone 4: Taking Back the House not only ruins the Christmas feeling but also ruins Home Alone itself. The Redditor adds, “It sounds like Home Alone fan fiction by someone who wants to ruin Home Slone for everyone.” The aesthetic of Home Alone 4 is almost the very antithesis of the Christmas feeling.

Instead of feeling warm and cozy, most of the film is set in a cold-looking and empty mansion, and the director and crew didn’t even try to hide the fact that it’s clearly a soundstage. However, the film does have a pocket of fans, and some even think it’s better than the original Home Alone. In fairness, the series got even worse with its following releases.

Jingle All The Way (1996)

Turbo Man Holds a Turbo Man toy in Jingle All The Way

MalignantFanAccount believes that the Arnold Schwarzenegger-led movie Jingle All the Way ruins Christmas. The Redditor argues, “Jingle All the Way is actually extremely dark and cynical for a Christmas-themed movie. Bad as it is, I have come to appreciate it largely for Arnold going full Arnold.”

All the characters in the 1996 film are completely materialistic, and even though that might be the premise of many holiday films, by the end of those movies, the characters generally see the errors of their ways and learn the real meaning of Christmas. But that is not the case for Jingle All the Way, which hilariously embraces how unlikeable every single character is. Jingle All the Way is so bad it’s good, and despite knowing how bad it is and how it totally ruins Christmas, it doesn’t keep fans from watching it every single year for ridiculous one-liners like “Put the cookie down!”

Four Christmases (2008)

Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn at a family gathering in Four Christmases.

TactlessCactus thinks the romantic comedy Four Christmases brings down everyone’s holiday spirit. The Redditor posits, “No chemistry between Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon, no humor, and a complete lack of warmth or happiness or anything you’d normally watch a Christmas movie for.”

Four Christmases isn’t the only Christmas movie Vaughn has starred in, as he also starred in Fred Claus, which is almost like a frat boy version of the incredible black comedy Bad Santa. Unfortunately, Vaughn is zero for two, as Fred Claus was critically slammed, too. Vaughn has another holiday movie, as Christmas with the Campbells will be available to stream on AMC+ in December, and it’ll hopefully be a third-time lucky situation for the actor.

Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie (1998)

An elf patting Rudolph in red nosed reindeer

NoHandBananaNo notes the major problems with Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie, and that it totally brings down everybody’s Christmas cheer. The Redditor explains, “Those reindeer are straight-up racist/ableist or whatever you call people who are bigoted about other people’s noses.”

Though child audiences would never know it at such a young age, the film sets such a bad example for kids and teaches them all the wrong lessons. Rudolph is about the titular red-nosed reindeer as he is essentially bullied by other reindeers and even Santa because of his nose, but they all suddenly love him when they need him and when he’s the only one who can save Christmas.

One Magic Christmas (1985)

The family collect a Christmas tree in One Magic Christmas

Appropriate_North893 recalls One Magic Christmas, one of the most tragic and dispiriting holiday movies ever, as the film that most ruins Christmas. The Redditor mentions, “My wife loves it, but I feel like One Magic Christmas (despite the uplifting ending) is a BLEAK Christmas movie for most of its runtime.”

The 1985 movie is about a woman whose husband is laid off right before Christmas, and despite being the sensible one of the two, she is criticized for not having any Christmas spirit. Even despite the film’s somewhat happy ending, it’s still bittersweet, and it still leaves viewers feeling absolutely morbid. It’s a Wonderful Life is a somber Christmas movie with a happy ending done right, and One Magic Christmas is almost the exact opposite.

NEXT: 10 Heartwarming Quotes From It’s A Wonderful Life

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