There’s always something special about watching Christmas movies during the holiday season. Of course, there is something extra special about Black Christmas movies because of the touch of comedy and the focus on family that these movies have. And you will always want to watch the best Black Christmas movies whenever your time permits you to do so.
Luckily for you, you no longer have to skim through hundreds of Black Christmas movies. That’s because we have a list that can help get you started so that you can watch these 30 best Black Christmas movies with your family and friends during the holiday season. Now, let’s get things rolling.
Best Black Christmas Movies
When it comes to the holiday season, nothing beats watching a good Black Christmas movie because of how the themes are always so meaningful. You get all things rolled into one, such as family, comedy, and fun, all while these movies incorporate the true meaning of Christmas. And that’s why we have come up with a list of the best Black Christmas movies to watch this holiday season.
1. The Holiday Calendar (2018)
Released by Netflix in 2018, The Holiday Calendar follows the story of a struggling photographer who saw her fortunes twisted and turned around when she inherited an old family advent calendar. She realized that this calendar had magical properties that allowed it to predict the future. Due to the calendar, she was able to find success in her profession as a photographer while also finding true love in the process.
The good thing about this Black Christmas movie is that it allows you to see a different side of holiday movies in the sense that the focus was more on individual success and the life lessons that came along with it. Of course, nothing completes a good Christmas movie than a little holiday magic.
2. Almost Christmas (2016)
One of the things you will love about Almost Christmas is the fact that it revolves around fatherhood and how a single father has to keep his entire family together following the recent death of his wife. It shows the value of family and the things that parents are willing to go through for the entire family.
Of course, Almost Christmas comes with a star-studded cast that features notable names such as Danny Glover, Gabrielle Union, Kimberly Elise, Oscar winner Mo’Nique, Nicole Ari Parker, Keri Hilson, Jessie Usher, Omar Epps, and Romany Malco. You will be sure to love the cast and the lessons of the family it has in store for any viewer looking to watch an amazing Black Christmas movie.
3. Miss Me This Christmas (2017)
A woman named Regina was in the middle of coming to terms with the fact that she was getting divorced. The divorce was going to be finalized on Christmas day, and that meant that the holiday season was going to be a tough one for Regina.
She resolves to stay at the Chesterton Hotel, where she and her ex got married. However, she finds love while staying in the hotel. This became the center of the conflict as she was still accepting her divorce and was not in the best position for romance. As such, this movie is unique on its own because of how it focuses more on romance than on family. Still, it gives us a strong Christmas vibe that goes well with the theme of romance.
4. Black Nativity (2013)
The best part about Black Nativity is that it is actually a musical drama that features plenty of talented actors. Of course, it also features notable rapper Nas, who plays an important role in the film and is more than enough to convince people to watch the movie, even though he might not be the star.
Black Nativity revolves around a young teen named Langston, who was raised by a single mother. Because the young boy wanted to spend time with estranged relatives, he decided to go to New York in time for Christmas with the Rev. Cornell Cobbs. But he decides that the Rev. has strict rules that he is unwilling to follow. Langston resolves to return home to his mother in a journey that is all about healing and faith.
5. The Best Man Holiday (2013)
While The Best Man Holiday doesn’t look like a tearjerker at face value, you will soon understand that this is a very emotional film that you should prepare for because of how it comes with a lot of different touching and dramatic moments.
The Best Man Holiday follows the story of Lance Sullivan, who is set to retire from a career as a professional football player in the NFL, all while he was trying to make sense of the sadness that he felt due to his ill wife. He then reunited with his college friends for the holidays, as they rediscovered some of the rivalries and romances that were long forgotten when they left college years ago.
6. The Preacher’s Wife (1996)
While most people do think that Denzel Washington is a real angel, he actually plays one in The Preacher’s Wife. This film is a wholesome family comedy that stars Washington as an angel helping out a struggling Baptist preacher in a poor New York City neighborhood. And you will instantly love Whitney Houston’s voice here, as she actually won an award in her role.
The Preacher’s Wife is actually a remake of the 1947 Bishop’s Wife film. However, there are some differences. For instance, this film is set in New York and is more of a comedy than the classic film it was based on.
7. Friday After Next (2002)
Friday After Next is actually a comedy that explores Ice Cube’s character Craig, who goes home to his old neighborhood together with his friend Day-Day. Then the unthinkable happened when a ghetto Santa breaks into the duo’s apartment to steal all of their presents and anything else he could fit into his sack.
After that, what Craig and Day-Day did was to take jobs as security guards in the local mall in the hopes that they don’t get evicted from their apartment. In short, the film is a comedy classic that is full of laughter. On top of that, because it’s a Christmas movie, you get to see trifling relatives that add to the overall comedic twist.
8. A Diva’s Christmas Carol (2000)
A Diva’s Christmas Carol is a modern-day version of Scrooge, as we see the egoistic character Ebony Scrooge, a singer, losing her holiday spirit, who gets visited by the ghost of Christmas past in the hopes of making her realize what Christmas is all about.
Basically speaking, A Diva’s Christmas Carol tells a story that is similar to the classic Dickens story but gives it a more modern twist to make it fit with the times and to allow more people to relate to the story.
9. A Madea Christmas (2013)
A Madera Christmas is a Christmas version of Tyler Perry’s Madea character, who has appeared in a lot of different movies and television shows such that we can no longer count how many times Madea has appeared on the screen.
But the difference here is that this film is all about a Christmas story instead of the usual comedic twist that you see in Madea films. The story is all about Madea traveling to her niece Eileen’s small town to visit Eileen’s daughter. This film focuses on family acceptance during the time of Christmas as Eileen wasn’t aware that her daughter had married a white college classmate, who she knows her mother will actually judge.
10. This Christmas (2007)
This Christmas follows the story of family matriarch Ma’Dere Whitfield, who sought to reunite her entire family for a Christmas celebration. It was supposed to be their first Christmas in a span of four years, which is a lot for any kind of family of six children.
However, considering that it has been a long time since the family got together, secrets were uncovered throughout the entire occasion, as the events that unfolded throughout the film threatened to kill the holiday spirit and ruin the Christmas celebration of the entire Whitfield family. In short, the movie focuses on the importance of family and on reconnecting with one another in the hopes of accepting everyone in the family for who they are.
11. The Perfect Holiday (2007)
The Perfect Holiday follows the main character Nancy, who is actually a divorced mother of three children, as she felt lonely during the holidays. Realizing that her mother is lonely, the youngest daughter Emily hatches a plan to make her mother happy again by asking a struggling department-store Santa Claus to try to cheer her up.
Benjamin, who plays the role of the department-store Santa Claus in the film, is actually a struggling songwriter. Using his talents to his advantage, he knew the exact words to say to Nancy to make her happy. And the entire romantic story sets off from there.
12. Last Holiday (2006)
Last Holiday stars Queen Latifah, a legend in the movie industry in her own right. Her character is introverted saleswoman Georgia Byrd, who discovers that she has a terminal illness. Realizing that she needed to live the remainder of her life to the fullest, she takes out all of her savings to go to Europe.
In Europe, she lives like a millionaire who charms everyone she meets along the way. She began living a less cautious life because she needed to live to the fullest. However, the one person she really wanted to charm was Sean Matthews, the man she had long been crushing on.
13. Holiday Heart (2000)
Holiday Heart follows the story of drag queen Christian, who had just lost his police officer lover. He eventually meets the 12-year old Niki and her drug-addicted mother, Wanda. He eventually stepped in as Niki’s father figure because he realized that the child needed him.
And while Christian does pose as a father figure to Niki, Wanda falls in love with her drug dealer. The whole dynamic poses a threat to the family setup of the trio, as the drug dealer’s relationship with Wanda may endanger the young girl and destroy Christian’s makeshift family.
14. The Wiz (1978)
The Wiz is a 70s classic that is actually a Black spin-off of The Wizard of Oz story. This is a movie that was adapted from a Broadway play and starred Diana Ross and the late great Michael Jackson. While The Wizard of Us isn’t a Christmas story, The Wiz is quite different because of how it carries subtle themes of Christmas.
The film’s story revolves around Dorothy, who gets transported to the Land of Oz during a Christmas snowstorm. That is how the film starts as this is actually a great musical that the entire family can enjoy during a holiday evening.
15. Fat Albert’s Christmas Special (1977)
Those who grew up during the 70s would be familiar with Fat Albert because he was a staple in the animated series scene. Of course, like a lot of different popular animated shows, Fat Albert also has a Christmas special that premiered back in 1977.
Fat Albert’s Christmas Special isn’t even 30 minutes long, but it’s pretty memorable and nostalgic to those who grew up in the 70s. This Christmas special revolves around Fat Albert and the kids staging a production of the Nativity in their legendary junkyard clubhouse.
16. The Kid Who Loved Christmas (1990)
The Kid Who Loved Christmas tells the story of a young boy named Reggie, who is actually an orphan. This boy was about to be adopted by a jazz musician, but the musician died right before the adoption was supposed to be finalized.
Because of the death of the jazz musician in a car accident, the social worker did not approve of the adoption of Reggie. From there, you can see how much of a tearjerker this movie is going to be as it tells the story of an orphan who just wants a family.
17. Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020)
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey follows the story of a toymaker who was actually betrayed by his apprentice and was sort of broken. He seemingly lost hope in life following the betrayal, as he lost all the joy in his heart.
However, the toymaker realized that there was still plenty of happiness left in his life when he was introduced to his granddaughter during the holidays. The brightness of the young girl sparked joy in his heart once again.
18. A Dream for Christmas (1999)
A Dream of Christmas tells the story of asking more what you bargained for and regretting the things you gave up for just to pursue your own ambition. What happens here is that an ambitious married woman realizes that she wants to be single again because she wants to enjoy life outside of the constraints of marriage.
Her wish of becoming single actually came true, and she got everything she wanted in life. However, she realized that she wanted her husband back because it was then and there when she found out that not even her own personal ambitions could fill the gap in her heart.
19. Twas the Chaos Before Christmas (2019)
Twas the Chaos Before Christmas is your usual chaotic holiday movie wherein a simple mistake opens up the entire plot of the film. What happens in this movie is that two different families were booked in the same vacation home for Christmas by mistake.
Because they both wanted to stay in the same home and were not willing to let the other family get their way, they attempted to celebrate the holidays together. And this is where the chaos begins as the two families need to resolve their issues to enjoy Christmas.
20. Christmas Hotel (2019)
Christmas Hotel has a simple plot that revolves around a small-town girl-turned-city woman wanting to bring a large hotel chain to her small town. What happens is that the childhood crush that she left behind in her hometown was actually against the hotel being there.
That is where the conflict arises as the protagonists need to settle their differences with one another, as one side wants the hotel in the town while the other wants the town to stay as it is.
21. Merry Liddle Christmas (2019)
Merry Liddle Christmas revolves around family, but in a dysfunctional way. What happens here is that a successful yet single entrepreneur invited her family to her new home for the holidays. However, because of how dysfunctional and messy her family can be, she has to deal with the drama that they carry along with them. And, to make things worse, she needs to prepare a film of a video shoot of her home while her family makes it more difficult for her to do so.
22. Holiday Rush (2019)
The amazing thing about Holiday Rush is that it tells the story of how you need to be more content with what you have in life. After all, not every blessing can be counted by looking at the material things that you have and the luxurious life you are living.
Holiday Rush is all about a widowed DJ who was fired from his high-paying job. As such, he needed to convince his spoiled children that they needed to leave their luxurious life behind and learn to live with less during the holiday season while also learning what Christmas is all about.
23. Operation Christmas Drop (2020)
Operation Christmas Drop isn’t exactly what you would call a Black movie, but it does star Kat Graham, who is part Black. Nevertheless, you will still love the story of this film as Graham plays Erica Miller, who works for a politician. She was to go to a tropical air force base to stop a Christmas operation from happening.
It was in the air force base where Miller clashes with Captain Andrew Jantz, who was hoping to drop Christmas presents over a location he believed needed to be happy in time for Christmas.
24. A Family Reunion Christmas (2019)
A Family Reunion Christmas tells the story of a group of singing sisters who just want to keep their singing act together before a church Christmas pageant. Meanwhile, Grandpa teaches the kids the true meaning of Christmas so that they will learn to value the things that are really important during the holiday season.
25. Snowbound for Christmas (2019)
Snowbound for Christmas is all about romance. Rachel, an aide to a company executive, accompanies her boss on a trip. However, while staying in a five-star hotel, both Rachel and her boss, who she actually secretly likes, were trapped in the hotel. The unfortunate incident allows the two to get closer, as both Rachel and her boss realize that they actually have romantic chemistry going on.
26. A Christmas Tree Grows in Colorado (2020)
A Christmas Tree Grows in Colorado is another romantic tale wherein a woman, who is in charge of her small town’s Christmas celebration, is in search of the best tree to use as a Christmas tree for the said celebration. This is where she needs to win over a firefighter who owns the best spruce tree on his property so that she can convince him to make him give the tree up for the sake of the town.
27. The Christmas Doctor (2020)
The Christmas Doctor is a film about a traveling doctor who was assigned to the clinic of a small town. There in that town, she starts to feel at home and even makes a new friend. However, she realized that it wasn’t only a friend that she made, as she eventually finds love in the small town where she was assigned.
28. A Christmas Duet (2019)
A Christmas Duet is all about the duo of Averie and Jessie, who haven’t played music together in a very long time. The two eventually reunited, as it appeared as if fate brought them back together in time for Christmas. Of course, the magic of Christmas was what allowed the two to try to get close to one another again in his romantic Christmas film.
29. A Christmas Miracle (2019)
A Christmas Miracle is yet again another romantic Christmas movie. The story revolves around a magazine reporter who was following a lead for a story about a Christmas miracle. It was while she was doing her job that she found romance with a colleague. However, this is not merely a romantic story because she actually takes it upon herself to try to create a Christmas miracle for a lonely musician, as she was in search of a good Christmas miracle to write about.
30. Christmas Everlasting (2018)
Christmas Everlasting is the story of a lawyer who just found out that her sister tragically passed away. This forces the lawyer to handle her sister’s estate as he finds out that her sister left behind an eccentric will that he needed to fulfill.