Each winter, as the air gets chilly and the skin around my nose gets dry, I’m called to my most sacred tradition: watching every strange, sentimental Netflix holiday movie until I can no longer stand the sight of pine needles and fake snow. But over the years, as the Netflix Christmas Universe has expanded, something very strange has happened. A portal has been opened, unlocking multiple peppermint-scented, tinsel-coated dimensions in which all of us NCU fans are now trapped.
Translation: Some of these movies seem to exist in a shared universe, but some do not. We’ve seen characters from A Christmas Prince show up in A Princess Switch, and we’ve also seen Princess Switch characters watching A Christmas Prince. Vanessa Hudgens plays three identical characters in The Princess Switch movies, then shows up as the lead of A Knight Before Christmas — a movie that name-checks the kingdom in A Christmas Prince but never acknowledges the existence of Princess Switch. (This makes sense, because if it had, Hudgens’s Knight character would have had to contend with either having three doppelgängers or realizing that she looks just like Vanessa Hudgens.)
One could take the simple road and chalk all of this up to Netflix enjoying a little holiday self-promotion without thinking too deeply about the implications, but where’s the fun in that? Instead, I decided to do a deep dive on these movies and their links, in the hopes of unearthing some deeper truth. My conclusion? Time, reality, and life as we know it are but a fragile dream.
2024 Netflix Christmas Universe Movies
Let’s review the new entries first before diving into how we got here.
➼ Meet Me Next Christmas
Where and when does this take place?
Most of the proceedings take place in the five boroughs of present-day New York City, but our protagonist, Layla, hails from Poughkeepsie.
What perfectly plausible scenario happens in this movie?
Christina Milian plays Layla, a hopeless romantic and major Pentatonix fan. On Christmas Eve, Layla gets trapped in the world’s chattiest airport lounge and befriends not one but two hot, merry gentlemen. The first (Devale Ellis) advises her on the best way to eat an airport quiche (the tip: add sriracha), and the second, “Airport James” (Kofi Siriboe), charms her so hard that she vows to meet him at the Pentatonix Christmas concert next year … assuming she and her boyfriend break up.
This proposal might sound awkward, rude, and presumptuous, but the thing is, Layla’s boyfriend, Tanner, really sucks, and less than a year later, she catches him cheating on her right before their next Christmas — which gets her thinking about Airport James and their vow not to exchange contact information and instead let fate reunite them at a Pentatonix show. (Think: Serendipity, but instead of two characters hanging their fate on rediscovering one special copy of Love in the Time of Cholera, they’re counting on an a cappella concert to bring them back together.)
When she can’t find last-minute tickets, Layla hires a concierge named Teddy to help her look. Little does she realize, he just happens to be the other hottie she met in the airport lounge — and in a hot twist of fate, he remembers her face but can’t place where he first saw her. By the end, it’s up to Layla to decide which of these impossibly gorgeous men she wants to make out with at an a cappella show.
What part of this movie will make me question the very nature of reality itself?
A lot of this movie is actually a realistic, scathing indictment of our capitalist hellscape and how it’s made the buying process suck for just about everything — from concert tickets to designer purses. But there is an absurd running joke about how Layla is some clueless, trusting yokel when in reality, she hails from Poughkeepsie, which has its own unsavory reputation.
How does this movie connect to the larger Netflix Christmas Universe?
Actually, it doesn’t! I was both shocked and disappointed not to see a single link, and I was really looking.
Which random noteworthy people will I see in this movie?
Of course Pentatonix shows up, and they actually get a surprising amount of screen time. They become invested in Layla’s whole romantic saga, but the funniest part about their involvement is that this movie paints them as annoying weirdos who love to harmonize random sentences.
Also, Devale Ellis, who plays Teddy, previously starred in the comedy-dramas Sistas and Zatima, and Canada’s Drag Race alum Priyanka shows up for a lip-synching competition.
➼ Hot Frosty
Where and when does this take place?
We find ourselves in the small, snowy fictional town of Hope Springs, New York, seemingly in the present day.
What perfectly plausible scenario happens in this movie, and why does its title sound like a euphemism for something very dirty?
Lacey Chabert plays a restaurant owner named Kathy whose dilapidated house is a very loud visual metaphor for grief-induced self-abandonment. Her late husband died of cancer, and now everyone who’s ever met her is begging her to find a man, fall in love, and get her heater fixed. When one of her mom’s friends gifts her with a scarf, she places it on a realistically rendered snowman who comes to life after she leaves.
So, the “Hot Frosty” here is meant to imply, “A Frosty the Snowman Who Is Also Hot.”
Correct. But it’s actually a lot of fun! Dustin Milligan, who played Ted in Schitt’s Creek, stars here as the titular Hot Frosty — who winds up going by “Jack” while he befriends the whole town. The only person who doesn’t like him is the overzealous town sheriff, Nate (played by Craig Robinson).
What part of this movie will make me question the very nature of reality itself?
Hot Frosty doesn’t know what food is, but somehow, he can also read and write well enough to read Kathy’s late husband’s hospital notes and ask her, “What is cancer?” His body temperature is a steady 32 degrees, and he melts if he stays in warm places for too long, but he’s apparently fluid enough to walk around. Also, I understand why the movie didn’t cover this, but after learning what food is and how to eat it, he never seems to learn about, erm … waste.
Gross! Anyway, are there any NCU tie-ins?
In this case, yes. In one scene, when a friend of Kathy’s suggests that Jack really could be a snowman come to life, she shoots back, “Right. And I’m the queen of Aldovia.” It’s unclear whether she’s referencing Aldovia as a real or fictional place, but either way, the Christmas Prince tie is there.
But wait, there’s more: In another scene, Kathy sees a scene from Falling for Christmas, Netflix’s first Lindsay Lohan Christmas movie, and comments that Lohan looks “like a girl I went to high school with.” A product tie-in and a Mean Girls reference. So fetch!
Finally, we observe Kathy watching the Netflix Christmas movie Single All the Way — specifically, Jennifer Coolidge wearing that Glinda costume in the middle of a nativity play. Single All the Way has not been connected to any of the NCU films in the past, so this is a new link. History has been made!
Which random noteworthy people will I see in this movie?
This movie is chock-full of talent: You’ve got Craig Robinson and Joe Lo Truglio playing the local cops; American Housewife star Katy Mixon Greer playing Kathy’s friend, the local doctor; NCIS and Family Law alum Lauren Holly as a horny townie; Queer as Folk star Sherry Miller as a family friend of Kathy’s; and, perhaps most surprisingly, Selling Sunset star Chrishell Stause randomly showing up as one of Kathy’s best customers. If we’re lucky, this means Christine Quinn will be next.
➼ The Merry Gentlemen
When and where does this take place?
Another snow-capped fictional town called Sycamore Creek, present day.
What perfectly plausible scenario happens in this movie?
Britt Robertson plays a “Jingle Belle” dancer named Ashley, who loses her job to a younger dancer with, as she bitterly puts it, “perkier boobs.” Jilted by her dream job, Ashley leaves the Big Apple to come home to her small town, where she discovers that her parents’ music venue is so far behind on rent that their landlord is ready to replace them with a trendy new juice bar.
Chad Michael Murray stars as the inevitable hot handyman Luke — whom Ashley recruits into an all-male, Christmas-themed revue that she hopes will save the Rhythm Room from certain death. She also somehow ropes in her brother-in-law, her cab driver, and the bartender, along with a frequently drunk patron. By the end, Luke convinces Ashley that chasing her lifelong dreams in New York is silly, and it’s better to settle down at home with a hot man in plaid.
What part of this movie will make me question the very nature of reality itself?
All of these men are way too good at stripping to be amateurs.
Are there any NCU tie-ins?
Yep, a couple. First, we see Ashley watching A Christmas Prince. But then, we see her looking at an old, poorly headlined news clipping on the wall in the Rhythm Room: “Belgravia Royals Attend Rock Fest at Small Town Venue, the Rhythm Room.” Once again, we’re forced to ask if A Christmas Prince exists as a documentary in this universe, or if the Netflix gods are just messing with our minds.
Which random noteworthy people will I see in this movie?
Marla Sokoloff, a.k.a. Gia from Full House and Fuller House, plays Ashley’s older sister, whose main role in the movie is inspiring the ship show by revealing that a “doctor” she once dated was actually a stripper who dressed like a doctor. Sounds like our Gia! Meanwhile, Beth Broderick, a.k.a. Aunt Zelda from Sabrina the Teenage Witch, casts a sweet spell as Ashley’s mother, Lily.
➼ Our Little Secret
What perfectly plausible scenario happens in this movie?
Lindsay Lohan (!) plays Avery, who visits her boyfriend Cameron’s (SNL alum Jon Rudnitsky) family only to run into her ex Logan (Ian Harding, also seen in Hallmark’s Holidazed) — the former love of her life, who’s now dating Cameron’s sister Cassie. (All the siblings in this family have “C” names. It’s a Whole Thing.) Instead of doing the normal thing and cluing everyone into their old relationship, which ended a decade ago, Avery and Logan decide to keep their past a secret, which, of course, all but guarantees they’ll get back together.
What part of this movie will make me question the very nature of reality itself?
This movie has one of the funniest, weirdest stoner sequences of all time. Avery gets hangry at the Christmas-tree farm and chows down on some stale gummies she found in the jacket she borrowed from Cameron’s younger brother, Callum. Spoiler alert: They’re not Haribo. Of course, she gets asked to do a reading at the family church’s Christmas service and goes wildly off-script while the Virgin Mary statue talks to her. (Since when do weed gummies do that?)
When everyone gets home, Avery gets the munchies and eats almost all of the cookies Cameron’s mother, Erica (Kristin Chenoweth), baked for his arrival. Under normal circumstances, this would not be a big deal, but Erica is a mean mom to the extreme, so Avery panics and blames the family dog — whom Erica rushes to the vet for a stomach pump. Avery privately explains the situation to the vet, but in the end, she still winds up footing the almost $1,500 bill for his “services.”
Woof. Are there any NCU tie-ins?
Not a single one, and that confounds me.
Which random noteworthy people will I see in this movie?
Apart from those described above, we’ve got Scandal alum Dan Bucatinsky as Cameron’s brow-beaten father; Tim Meadows as Stan, a friend of Cameron’s family; Scrubs star Judy Reyes as Stan’s wife; and Chris Parnell, who pops in as the expensive veterinarian.
Past Netflix Christmas Movies
Now lets explore the the NCU timeline thus far.
➼ The A Christmas Prince Trilogy (2017–19)
Where and when does this trilogy take place?
Netflix’s first big Christmas property transported us all to the Disney-coded fictional kingdom of Aldovia in what appears to be the present day. (We know this because there’s a blogger in the house!)
What perfectly plausible scenario happens in these movies?
In A Christmas Prince (2017), a reporter goes undercover to get a big scoop on Prince Richard, gets tangled up in royal affairs, and falls in love with him instead. You know, as all good movie journalists eventually do.
A year later, Netflix followed up with A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding, in which Amber discovers the “joys” of having a wedding planned for her while exposing government corruption. It turns out, the king’s adviser Lord Leopold, played by Simon Dutton, is a slimeball.
Finally, in 2019, A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby gives us, you guessed it, a new family pet! Just kidding — it’s baby time! But if a stolen treaty isn’t recovered, the privileged infant will be cursed. Naturally, the treaty is recovered and signed in time to save Amber and Richard such a perilous fate. But wouldn’t it rule if they hadn’t and the next one of these was a Halloween installment? Shoulda, coulda, woulda.
What part of this movie will make me question the very nature of reality itself?
Amber and Richard name the royal baby … Elleri?
How does this movie connect with the broader NCU?
Oh, man, how doesn’t it connect?
A Christmas Prince shows up in the background of The Princess Switch when one of the Vanessa Hudgenses (or is it “Vanessas Hudgens”?) watches A Christmas Prince on TV. But then, in the sequel, The Princess Switch: Switched Again, Netflix fully bends the rules of time, space, and reality by plopping King Richard, Queen Amber, and Princess Elleri into the crowd at Queen Margaret’s coronation. Count Simon also shows up in The Princess Switch: Romancing the Star — which means that the Christmas Prince characters are canonically Netflix characters and “real-life” figures in the NCU. I’d say “make it make sense,” but the absurdity is just getting started.
➼ Christmas Inheritance (2017)
Where and when does this take place?
This one takes place in the present day, in a small New England town called — wait for it — Snow Falls.
What perfectly plausible scenario happens in this movie?
Ellen, an English heiress played by Eliza Taylor, plays Survivor in Snow Falls in order to prove to her rich daddy that she’s ready to take over the family business. (You know, a normal vetting tactic.) While testing out the simple life, she falls for the local innkeeper, played by the ever-charming Jake Lacy.
What part of this movie will make me question the very nature of reality itself?
I get that Ellen the “party heiress” is trying to prove to her dad that she can be responsible and frugal, but sending her to another country with $100 cash and no credit cards is wild. I don’t care if he somehow founded a company with that amount a million years ago; good luck doing that in this economy. (Or 2017’s.)
How does this movie connect with the broader NCU?
Although none of these characters show up in other movies in the flesh, you can see Christmas Inheritance playing in the background of both The Princess Switch and The Holiday Calendar.
Which random noteworthy people will I see here?
Andie MacDowell plays the woman who figures out that Ellen is “the party heiress.” Go, Andie, go!
➼ The Holiday Calendar (2018)
Where and when does this take place?
That’s unclear — it’s supposed to be somewhere in the U.S., but much of it was filmed in the idyllic Canadian town Niagara-on-the-Lake.
What perfectly plausible scenario happens in this movie?
Abby, a struggling photographer played by Kat Graham (Bonnie Bennett in The Vampire Diaries) inherits a wooden Advent calendar from her grandfather. Turns out, the calendar does more than decorate a room or dispense candy — it can predict the future. Also, she’s clearly meant to be with her BFF, Josh (Quincy Brown), who’s taken a break from traveling the world to come visit her, but she’s already dating a doctor named Ty (Ethan Peck). Relatable problems, am I right?
What part of this movie will make me question the very nature of reality itself?
Abby’s apartment might not be huge, but it’s also not exactly giving “starving artist.” High ceilings? Check. Color-coordinated furnishings and décor? Check. Pristine-looking hardwood floors? Check. Who knew “struggling” could look so luxe!
How does this movie connect with the broader NCU?
So far, Abby, Josh, and Ty have not shown up in any other Netflix originals, but you can spot The Holiday Calendar in the background of both Christmas Inheritance and The Knight Before Christmas.
➼ The Princess Switch Trilogy (2018–21)
Where and when does this trilogy take place?
We split our time between two “second” places — the Second City of Chicago (as indicated by the “Chicago” hat Vanessa Hudgens’s Stacy De Novo loves to wear) and Netflix’s second fictional European kingdom, Belgravia.
What perfectly plausible scenario happens in this movie?
This one’s my personal favorite.
In The Princess Switch (2018), Stacy De Novo, a Chicago-based baker, finds her doppelgänger in a woman named Margaret, who just happens to be [checks notes] the duchess of Montenaro! Cool! As required by international law for all doppelgängers who find one another, these two switch places for a few days to see how the other half lives. Parallel shenanigans and romances ensue: Stacy falls in love with Margaret’s betrothed, Prince Edward of Belgravia, and Margaret goes head-over-heels for Stacy’s best friend, Kevin. All of this culminates in a baking competition, which Stacy obviously wins — but not before their ruse is discovered.
Next up, in The Princess Switch: Switched Again (2020), Netflix bravely asks the question, “What if more Vanessas switched places?” This entry introduces Margaret’s evil cousin, Fiona, whose henchmen try to kidnap Margaret so that Fiona can pose as her and get crowned queen of Montenaro in her place. There’s just one problem: Margaret is actually Stacy. The two had already switched so that Margaret could get some more alone time with Kevin. In the end, all of the wrongs are made right and Margaret gets her crown.
In The Princess Switch: Romancing the Star (2021), we see another switch triangle — this time, in the service of archaeology. Well, sort of. As the Zemeckis-coded title might suggest, this one’s a bit of an adventure. Fiona, Margaret, and Stacy team up to recover the Star of Peace, a Vatican relic, before the Montenaro Christmas Festival. You know, triplet doppelgängers with ties to the monarchy must.
What part of this movie will make me question the very nature of reality itself?
I’m still not over how in The Princess Switch: Switched Again, the palace guards are dressed like nutcrackers in boxes. How high is the turnover for a security job that requires goofy seasonal costumes? I have a guess.
How does this movie connect with the broader NCU?
Apart from the Christmas Prince ties I mentioned, there haven’t been any new crossovers — yet. But there’s nothing stopping us all from forming a prayer circle and manifesting some!
➼ The Knight Before Christmas (2019)
Where and when does this take place?
Mostly in present-day Ohio, but one of our protagonists, a knight named [deep breath] Sir Cole Christopher Fredrick Lyons, comes from 14th-century England.
What perfectly plausible scenario happens in this movie?
Science teacher Brooke, played by none other than Netflix’s Christmas queen, Vanessa Hudgens, accidentally runs a man over with her car only to find out that he’s actually time-traveling royalty. (Don’t you love it when that happens?) The timing is perfect, because she’s basically lost faith in love, and this is about as absurdly romantic as it gets.
What part of this movie will make me question the very nature of reality itself?
I mean, all of it, but especially the implications of Sir Cole’s time travel. Would that not have rampant, centuries-long ramifications? We really don’t unpack that enough!
How does this movie connect with the broader NCU?
The Knight Before Christmas further confuses the rules of this shared universe. At one point, a character name-checks Aldovia, which is where A Christmas Prince takes place, so it seems that these two films must share a universe. So far, so good.
But. But!!! If The Princess Switch were also a part of this shared universe, Brooke would surely have seen her very famous doppelgänger, Queen Margaret, which would likely have merited a mention at some point during the proceedings. When Brooke and Sir Cole sit down to binge Netflix’s Christmas content, Princess Switch never comes up. It seems likely that Princess Switch is not a part of this universe, either in real life or as a Netflix series. At least, for Brooke’s sake, one would hope not.
➼ Holiday in the Wild (2019)
Where and when does this take place?
This one finds Rob Lowe and Kristin Davis at an elephant nursery in Zambia. Cute!
What perfectly plausible scenario happens in this movie?
Former veterinarian Kate (Davis) surprises her husband with a second honeymoon to Zambia only for him to reveal he’s no longer in love with her. But is she going to sit and cry about it? Absolutely not! She goes by herself and rescues a baby elephant with her flight’s pilot after an abrupt landing in the wild.
What part of this movie will make me question the very nature of reality itself?
I spent a long time wondering how the divorce papers made it to Kate all the way in Zambia. Did they call someone local to do that, or did some poor process server have to hop on a plane for, like, [Googles] 18 HOURS?! Man, I hope they at least got a free vacation out of it.
How does this movie connect with the broader NCU?
This movie turns up during the Netflix binge in The Knight Before Christmas.
➼ A Castle for Christmas (2021)
Where and when does this take place?
As indicated by Brooke Shields’s very plaid dress in the promotional images for this rom-com, it takes place in present-day Scotland.
What perfectly plausible scenario happens in this movie?
Shields plays a best-selling author, Sophie Brown, who flees her home in the U.S. to escape fan backlash after her latest book killed off its male lead. (Poor Sophie had just gone through a divorce, and it came out on the page.) Thankfully, her father’s native Scottish village, Dunbar, appreciates her work a lot more. Before long, Sophie’s decided she wants to buy a castle (as one does) but has to cohabitate with its cranky owner, Myles (Cary Elwes) for three months. We can all see where this is going, right?
What part of this movie will make me question the very nature of reality itself?
Who would buy a castle and agree to share it for three months with a complete stranger who is also very, very cranky and puts you in the shittiest room? Can you imagine? No thank you!
How does this movie connect with the broader NCU?
Mrs. Donatelli and Frank, a.k.a. Margaret’s personal assistant and Edward’s driver from The Princess Switch, show up at the B&B where Sophie is staying in Scotland.
Which random noteworthy people will I see here?
Drew Barrymore plays herself on her talk show, because why not?
Falling for Christmas (2022)
Where and when does this take place?
Present day Utah
What perfectly plausible scenario happens in this movie?
The very believably named snobby hotel heiress Sierra Belmont suffers a very believable skiing accident just days before Christmas and is diagnosed with amnesia, which lands her in the care of a hot cabin owner named Jake (Glee alum Chord Overstreet) and his daughter — far, far away from the luxury resort where she’d been staying before she forgot who she was. Naturally, this new brush with humble surroundings turns her into a better person.
What part of this movie will make me question the very nature of reality itself?
It’s hard to overstate how bad Sierra’s fall is at the beginning of the movie. I had to check my limb responses just watching it. For her to walk away with little more than amnesia stretches the concept of suspending disbelief until it almost snaps.
How does this movie connect with the broader NCU?
At one point, in Falling for Christmas, Sierra clicks into Netflix and sees a variety of holiday titles: A Castle for Christmas, Christmas Inheritance, The Princess Switch, Operation Christmas Drop, The Holiday Calendar, and a couple Christmas Prince movies.
Which random noteworthy people will I see here?
Lohan’s younger sister Aliana, a.k.a. Ali, shows up for a brief moment as Sierra’s stylist, while soap star, singer, and golfer Jack Wagner plays her hotel-mogul father, Beauregard.
➼ Best Christmas Ever! (2023)
Where and when does this take place?
This story unfolds in a fictional town called Hadley Falls, Utah — which might be the most convincing of all the made-up names on this list.
What perfectly plausible scenario happens in this movie?
Charlotte Sanders (Heather Graham) is a brilliant engineer whose dreams of becoming a famous inventor have been dashed by the crushing realities of life. Jason Biggs plays her sunnier husband, while Brandy Norwood, a.k.a. Brandy, plays the bane of her existence — her college friend Jackie Jennings, who sends out an annual Christmas newsletter rhapsodizing her perfect, unattainable life. Through a series of mishaps, Charlotte and her family wind up spending the holidays with Jackie and her family. Friends, countrymen, fellow binge-watchers … It’s time to learn a thing or two about how the grass always looks greener on the other side.
What part of this movie will make me question the very nature of reality itself?
The ending happens on a hot-air balloon that defies the laws of aviation by functioning like an airplane. How? And why? And again, how?
How does this movie connect with the broader NCU?
Falling for Christmas and The Princess Switch 3 both show up on the TV before the movie ends. Long live the NCU.