We’ve collated our favourite Christmas-related films as a team to provide some inspiration as we hurtle high-speed towards advent. From Muppets to Dead Poets Society, there’s surely something new to get you in the festive spirit!

Stella — The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)

Michael Caine gives a career defining performance as the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge in Disney’s musical adaptation of Dickens’ classic Christmas fable accompanied by the cast of The Muppet Show who play all supporting roles. For students wishing to claim they’ve read Dickens’ dated and proverbial finger-wag of a novel without cracking open the actual text, this faithful adaption promotes the same festive moral message with the added benefit of musical numbers! You can never go wrong with a Muppets’ movie and perhaps what the world needs now is not in fact love, sweet love but rather a remake of the 1995 Pride and Prejudice where Colin Firth reprises his role as Mr Darcy opposite Miss Piggy’s Lizzie Bennet.

“we all need a Mark Darcy in our lives – a universal Christmas wish”

Jaipreet — Bridget Jones’ Diary (2001)

There is no debate over Bridget Jones’ status as a Christmas film — Reindeer jumper? Turkey Christmas buffet? Kisses in the snow? A quintessential Christmas romance. A classic ode to the ‘frazzled English woman’, Bridget lives a bustling life of journalism and drinks with her pals which Sidge girlies might aspire to (hopefully minus the eating Branston pickle from a jar in despair). And which student wouldn’t relate to sitting on a train home for Christmas, with ‘Out of reach’ in the background as you reflect on the bleakness of the Cambridge dating scene. With an abundance of Daniel Cleavers in Cambridge, we all need a Mark Darcy in our lives – a universal Christmas wish.

Ismail — It’s A Wonderful Life (1946)

“A toast to my big brother George: the richest man in town.” The transformative power of this sentimental classic is definitely the strongest testament to the status it has held across generations as the best Christmas movie. Enchanting viewers of all ages no matter how many times they’ve seen it, the film leaves everyone swept up in a wave of optimism, suddenly brimming with aspirations and ready to dash into the streets with a greeting for every stranger. The emotional beats only hit harder as you grow up with the movie showing each Christmas, and whilst the beautiful ending is what sticks in most people’s minds, the expertly crafted hours preceding it are the perfect blend of warmth, sadness, hope, and despair.

Xin — The Holdovers (2023)

It’s a Christmas film, yes, but it’s perhaps unconventional in who it decides to portray. Like the title implies, it follows a group of misfits — holdovers —bundled together by chance, and who, despite their individual personalities, must find a way to enjoy the holidays together. The film perhaps resonates more with those whose experience of Christmas may not be as ‘typical’ as their peers. One for those who must hold feelings we’re not supposed to have during the time of cheer and jolly. One for those who may come out of the festive season feeling a little behind, like they’ve missed out on something. One for those whose Christmases have never been quite the same since a certain someone hasn’t been able to make it anymore. The Holdovers was made for them, and in doing so provides comfort to a group of people who might feel there’s little room left for them amid all the excitement of the holidays.

“Seize every ounce of freedom bestowed upon you before the start of ever-looming Lent”

Inês — Dead Poets Society (1989) by Peter Weir

A yearly, sacred holiday watch for me. This film contains all of the finest ingredients of a Christmas film. It’s set in beautiful, snowy Vermont and Robin William’s glinting eyes will make everyone, from your drunkenly jolly dad to your cool, disillusioned teenage cousin bawl their eyes out in festive unison. A film to be consumed, preferably, splayed out across a family sofa, hot beverage in hand and submerged under John Lewis blankets. This Christmas, watch this film and follow the wise Mr Keating’s advice, Cambridge students: carpe diem. Seize every ounce of freedom bestowed upon you before the start of ever-looming Lent. Because while supo essays are certainly noble pursuits, poetry, beauty, romance, love, are what we stay alive for!

Gina — Carol (2015)

While this may be a choice slightly influenced by my impending coursework deadline on Hollywood and melodrama, and it’s also debatable as a Christmas film, but Carol is one I will re-watch even outside of academia. A busy Christmas department store is the backdrop to the central couple’s first encounter, and their whole relationship is underscored by both the anticipation of the festive season and a healthy dose of sexual tension in an unfortunately disapproving society. The aesthetic of 50s decadence with furs, gloves and cigarettes evokes the decadence and commercialism of Christmas — and what is Christmas if it doesn’t feel like a mechanism of capitalism.