Is Die Hard a Christmas Movie?

December 22, 2025 · in Film, Culture, Commentary
Is Die Hard a Christmas Movie?

Is Die Hard a Christmas Movie?

Or: How to Accidentally Argue Yourself Into Nonsense

Every December the same argument pops up again.

“Die Hard isn’t a Christmas movie.”

Usually said very confidently.
Almost never followed by any actual criteria.

So rather than arguing vibes, nostalgia, or what someone’s mam watched on RTÉ in 1997, let’s do this properly and set some rules.

To do that, we need a control.

The Control Group: Home Alone

Home Alone is a Christmas movie.
This is not controversial and I’m not entertaining emails about it.

Which makes it perfect as a benchmark.

Why Home Alone Qualifies

  • It is explicitly set at Christmas
  • The family separation is caused by Christmas travel
  • The entire conflict exists because it’s Christmas
  • Christmas music exists inside the world of the film
  • The themes are family, forgiveness, reconciliation
  • Remove Christmas and the film literally does not exist

No Christmas.
No movie.

That’s our baseline.

The Actual Test

A film qualifies as a Christmas movie if:

  1. It is set during Christmas
  2. Christmas is structurally relevant, not just decoration
  3. Removing Christmas breaks or seriously degrades the plot
  4. Christmas themes meaningfully shape character arcs

That’s it.
No genre clauses. No vibes exemptions.

Tier 1: Christmas Is the Engine

(The Home Alone Tier)

These films do not function without Christmas.
Remove the holiday and the story collapses.

This is the gold standard.

Tier 1 Canon

  • Home Alone
  • Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
  • The Nightmare Before Christmas
  • It’s a Wonderful Life
  • The Muppet Christmas Carol
  • National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
  • The Family Stone
  • Miracle on 34th Street
  • Elf
  • Jingle All The Way
  • Bad Santa
  • Surviving Christmas
  • The Santa Clause (trilogy)
  • How the Grinch Stole Christmas
  • Scrooged
  • The Polar Express
  • The Life of Brian (A little bit of a joke example)

If Christmas is removed, these films either don’t start or don’t resolve.

No edge cases.
No stretching.

Some Christmas films and specials don’t need a framework, tiers, or arguments.

If you grew up in Ireland, these are just… Christmas.

Tier 1.5: Cultural Certainties

These aren’t here because of structure or logic.
They’re here because of repetition, timing, and memory.

  • Father Ted – “A Christmassy Ted”
    Possibly the most quoted piece of Christmas television in the country.
    If this isn’t a Christmas staple, neither is Christmas.

  • The Snowman
    Technically British, but effectively adopted.
    No dialogue, pure vibes, unavoidable every December.

  • An American Tail
    Not a Christmas film by any formal definition.
    But in our house, it was always on around Christmas.
    Family, hardship, hope, reunion… it earns its place through association.

  • The O.C. – The Chrismukkah Episodes
    Absolutely not Irish and not structurally Christmas.
    Just permanently linked to Christmas evenings on Channel 4.
    A very specific seasonal memory from a very specific era.

  • Christmas Day Soaps
    Emmerdale, Coronation Street, EastEnders.
    Something absolutely horrific always happens.
    Deaths, affairs, explosions, long-buried secrets.
    A national tradition built on emotional whiplash.

  • Stranger Things (Seasonal Releases)
    Not traditionally a Christmas thing… until now.
    Netflix leaning into the season properly this year.
    It already lives in that nostalgia / small-town / lights-in-the-dark space,
    so a Christmas-themed run feels earned.
    Genuinely looking forward to this.

These sit outside the argument entirely.
They’re not structural Christmas films…
they’re cultural fixtures.

Tier 2: Christmas Actually Matters

Christmas is not the theme, but it does work.

Die Hard (1988)

This should not still be controversial, but here we are.

  • Office Christmas party creates the setting
  • Building is empty because it’s Christmas
  • Family tension caused by Christmas travel
  • Christmas music is used diegetically
  • Emotional reconciliation happens because it’s Christmas

Remove Christmas and the plot degrades badly.

Not “it feels different”.
It actually breaks.

Die Hard 2

Same logic.
Christmas Eve travel chaos is the whole pressure cooker.

Lethal Weapon (1987)

The one people conveniently forget.

  • Set at Christmas
  • Opens with Jingle Bell Rock
  • Christmas parties throughout
  • Found-family themes
  • Redemption arc peaks at Christmas

If Die Hard is on trial, Lethal Weapon is already convicted.

Gremlins

  • Mogwai is a Christmas gift
  • Rules are broken because of Christmas
  • Horror escalates directly from the holiday

If Gremlins counts, this argument is already over.

Tier 3: Christmas Is the Vibe

Christmas is present, visible, and doing emotional or symbolic work…
but it is not the engine.

These films feel like Christmas films, but the story still functions if the holiday is removed, replaced, or reframed.

Tier 3 Examples

  • Love Actually
    Set at Christmas, heavy festive iconography, emotional beats boosted by the season.
    Remove Christmas and the stories still function.

  • Just Friends
    Christmas provides the setting and awkwardness, not the cause.
    The conflict exists independently of the holiday.

  • The Jacket
    One key night is Christmas night, framing vulnerability and isolation.
    Emotional context, not narrative engine.

  • Batman Returns
    Entirely set at Christmas, soaked in winter imagery.
    Themes are amplified by the season, but not dependent on it.

  • Iron Man 3
    Christmas backdrop and tone, recovery and isolation themes.
    Plot does not require the holiday.

  • On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
    Christmas appears, matters emotionally, but is not structurally required.

  • Edward Scissorhands
    Christmas heightens the tragedy and imagery.
    Emotional punctuation, not causation.

  • Eyes Wide Shut
    Christmas lights everywhere, doing ironic and symbolic work.
    The plot is psychological, not seasonal.

  • Trading Places
    Christmas frames the payoff and moral contrast.
    The bet causes the story, not the holiday.

  • Meet Me in St. Louis
    One iconic Christmas section and song.
    Seasonal chapter, not a Christmas engine.

  • The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
    Eternal winter and an explicit Father Christmas appearance.
    Christmas functions as symbolism and a turning point, not the cause of the story.

These are Christmas films by association, not causation.

Tier 4: Devil’s Advocate

(Taking the Piss on Purpose)

This tier exists to show what the anti–Die Hard argument actually turns into when applied consistently.

If your standard is:

  • “There’s a Christmas scene”
  • “There’s a tree”
  • “It’s December”

…then the definition collapses.

Goodfellas

  • One scene set at Christmas
  • No narrative weight
  • Zero structural relevance

If this counts, words have lost all meaning.

First Blood

  • Snowy town
  • Winter vibes
  • A Christmas tree in the police station

That’s the argument.

Other Tier 4 Greatest Hits

  • The Godfather
    Has a Christmas scene. Absolutely not a Christmas film.

  • Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
    Has a Christmas scene and jumpers.
    Nobody actually believes this is festive cinema.

  • Heat
    Christmas decorations appear briefly in LA.
    This is where the argument fully implodes.

This is what “Die Hard isn’t a Christmas movie” sounds like when taken to its logical conclusion.

Tier 4 isn’t a category.
It’s a warning.

So Why Does Die Hard Get Singled Out?

Because this argument isn’t really about Christmas.

It’s about genre.

Rom-coms get a vibes-based pass.
Action films are expected to justify themselves.

If Love Actually qualifies on atmosphere alone,
Die Hard qualifies on structure, causality, and theme.

By stricter rules, not looser ones.

A Quick Note on “Christian Films”

People sometimes argue about whether Home Alone is a Christian film.

It is.

So is every Christmas movie.

Christmas is a Christian holiday.

You don’t need scripture or angels on screen.
If your story is about:

  • forgiveness
  • reconciliation
  • grace
  • family coming back together

You’re already operating inside that tradition.

Even if it involves burglars, terrorists, or someone falling off a building.

Final Verdict

  • Home Alone sets the standard
  • Tier 1 defines the engine
  • Die Hard passes the test
  • Lethal Weapon deserves more respect
  • Batman Returns is goth Christmas perfection
  • Tier 4 exposes bad arguments

This debate survives almost entirely on vibes and nostalgia.

Which is fine.

Just don’t pretend it’s logical.

Yippee-ki-yay mother fuckers. 🎄