12 holiday movies that stand out
Movie critic Lawrence Toppman's holiday movie picks
The following article appeared in the December 10, 2025, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with smart and original local news for Charlotte. We offer free and paid subscription plans. More info here.
🎙️ New on the pod: 12 offbeat holiday movies that might deserve a spot on your yearly watch list 🎄
If you’ve already had your fill of “Elf,” “Home Alone” and the many versions of “A Christmas Carol,” Ledger arts critic Lawrence Toppman has a fresh stocking of holiday movie ideas for you — and almost none of them are the usual suspects.
In a recent talk at The Sharon at SouthPark (you can listen to the whole talk on The Charlotte Ledger Podcast), Toppman laid out his ground rules: He has to have actually seen every movie he recommends, and he’s skipping the classics you already trip over on cable. Instead, he’s chasing something else: films that feel human, surprising and genuinely moving — not the ones that seem like they rolled straight off a holiday-movie “assembly line,” as he calls it.
He also takes a broader view of “the holidays,” starting way back in early November and moving all the way through Christmas. His off-the-beaten-path recommendations:
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to The Charlotte Ledger to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.