My family and I are basically the masters of weird movies. This Christmas, we decided to watch the classic holiday movies (‘Home Alone,’ ‘It’s a Wonderful Life,’ etc.) as well as some more unpopular ones. I watched them and reviewed them so you don’t have to.

Happiest Season
‘Happiest Season’ is the story of a woman going to meet her girlfriend’s family in a quaint little town. Hilarity and tons of misunderstandings ensue. This movie has a surprising amount of conflict for what I assumed to be a light-hearted comedy. However, this was definitely the best movie we watched this season. Check it out on Hulu!
Overall rating: Five out of five… Christmas trees? I really enjoyed this movie! The ending was a bit disappointing, but Dan Levy made up for it throughout the entire film.
Holiday-ness: This has the perfect amount of holiday cheer!
Did my mom cry?: Yes, she did. Several times, too. I definitely, totally, 100% did not cry once or twice so don’t bother asking.

Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer
I’m sure you’ve heard the song under this name, but have you seen the hour-long animated movie? If you haven’t, you’re missing out. Before watching, prepare yourself for disappointment and then set your standards even lower than that. The animation is terrible but in the cringe-worthy way that makes you want to keep watching. This movie has many musical numbers that will probably not get a spot on your holiday playlist but are fun to listen to nonetheless.
Overall rating: Three out of five Christmas trees. That’s being generous.
Holiday-ness: Pretty Christmas-y, with a few odd digs at consumerism thrown in. There’s a long scene that takes place in a court room and, while Santa is present, it’s an odd direction for the story to go.
Did my mom cry?: No, she did not. I would be concerned if she did. 

Holidate
This Netflix Original was released in late October. My family and I were expecting a typical Christmas movie, but this story actually follows the characters from New Year’s to Independence Day all the way to Christmas. It follows a woman who desperately wants to find a date for the holidays so her family will stop pestering her about finding a boyfriend. She meets a willing stranger who looks a little bit like Ryan Gosling to be her fake boyfriend. I’m sure you can guess what happens next.
Overall rating: Five out of five Christmas trees, five out of five Easter eggs, five out of five fireworks. Basically, it was very good.
Holiday-ness: If you’re one of those people who likes Christmas but isn’t super into it, you would probably enjoy this. It’s funny and features Christmas just enough to call it a Christmas movie.
Did my mom cry?: Absolutely. 

Dashing in December
This movie was produced by Paramount but the writing was so incredibly terrible that it felt like a Hallmark movie. This film is about a cold businessman returning home for the holidays and falling in love with a curly-headed ranch hand. Like any made-for-TV movie, there were plenty of plot holes. However, if you can look past the low quality, the story is pretty sweet and heartwarming.
Overall rating: Three out of five Christmas trees. The storyline is sweet, but if you’ve seen any low-budget Christmas movie you’ve pretty much seen this one. There’s nothing particularly special about it.
Holiday-ness: This movie is almost too Christmas-y. There’s a snowy ranch, a decked-out log cabin, and basically everyone is dressed in buffalo plaid.
Did my mom cry?: Yep. Three times, all over the main character’s dead father, who had relatively no impact on the plot. The fact that movie as bland as this one sparked such a reaction would serve as a surprise to no one who has ever met my mother. 

Love the Coopers
I thought this movie was going to be a comedy, so I was a bit surprised by the story. If you like movies with several intersecting storylines, then you’d enjoy this. This movie features quite a few well-known actors, such as Ed Helms, Diane Keaton, John Goodman and the voice of Steve Martin.
Overall rating: Four and a half out of five Christmas trees. This is a good movie, but at the end I wanted more… something.
Holiday-ness: Lots of Christmas themes! Christmas food, presents, and even a Saint Bernard with a red ribbon.
Did my mom cry?: She definitely did.

If you’re going to pick one of these movies to watch this holiday season, I’d definitely make it ‘Happiest Season.’ However, I’d definitely feel way better about wasting my time on some of these if readers did, too! If you happen to watch any of these, leave a comment with your review and whether or not your mom cried as well.