24 October · 62 days to ChristmasThe advent calendar opens 1 December →

Christmas gifts and curled receipts pile across a returns counter with a striped horn, split purple egg and spent sparkler. A calendar with red circles hangs above, beside an empty festive arcade.

Christmas-adjacent · 2020

Holidate

Name: Holidate
Released: 2020
Duration: 104 min
Cast: Emma Roberts, Luke Bracey, Kristin Chenoweth, Frances Fisher, Andrew Bachelor

32/100Festive FactorWhy it scores 32 ↓

UK certificate 15104 min
Comedy · Romance

A year of holidays with Christmas only at either end, so it counts as festive on a technicality.

On Netflix · UK subscription →

Plan this film night ↓Can the kids watch? ↓

+ Add to a list

Explore this film 11 sections

The CineClaus Christmas score

Festive Factor

A different kind of Christmas.

Two paper elves inspect a miniature returns counter piled with parcels and receipts. A purple egg, striped horn and spent sparkler sit below a calendar with red rings. — A little magic in the making.

Five ingredients make the Festive Factor.
Open an ingredient to find out more.

Christmas in the storyChristmas is only the occasion.10/30

What we ask: Take Christmas out. Does the plot survive? Worth up to 30 of the 100 points.

A world dressed for ChristmasVisibly Christmas for the final act.5/20

What we ask: How much of the running time is visibly Christmas? Worth up to 20 of the 100 points.

The little seasonal details4 of the 10 kinds of Christmas icon we count turn up on screen.6/15

What we ask: How many kinds of Christmas icon turn up on screen: trees, lights, snow, carols and the rest? Worth up to 15 of the 100 points.

A Christmas heartHow far the ending rests on goodwill, family and belief: incidentally.5/20

What we ask: Does the ending depend on what Christmas means: goodwill, family, redemption, belief? Worth up to 20 of the 100 points.

A returning traditionA December regular (25,000+).6/15

What we ask: Is it actually watched at Christmas in the UK? Worth up to 15 of the 100 points.

64/100

Cosiness Rating Rating

Mixed in tone. Mild threat. A happy ending.

How we score →

What do these scores mean?

Festive Factor measures how Christmassy a film is. Five ingredients add up to 100: story (30), setting (20), seasonal details (15), emotional heart (20) and returning tradition (15).

Cosiness is a separate score for warmth of tone, sense of safety, visual comfort, a reassuring ending and how easily you can settle into it.

How the Festive Factor works →

Your next film night

Where to watch

United KingdomChecked 24 Oct 2026

Netflix

Included with a subscription

Open Holidate on Netflix (opens in a new tab)

Streaming changes constantly and we cannot promise it is still right - check the service before you settle in. Streaming availability information provided by Streaming Availability API by Movie of the Night (opens in a new tab).

The story

About Holidate

Two singles, both fed up with being the odd one out at family occasions, meet in the post-Christmas gift-returns queue and strike a deal: they will be each other's no-strings plus-one for every holiday of the coming year. From New Year's Eve through Valentine's Day, St Patrick's Day, Easter and Halloween the arrangement works rather too well, and by the time Christmas comes round again the pact has turned into something neither of them planned.

The CineClaus verdict

A year of holidays with Christmas only at either end, so it counts as festive on a technicality.

Emma Roberts and Luke Bracey have a scratchy chemistry that carries the first hour, and the digs at seasonal commercialism land more often than the gross-out gags, which mostly don't. The last act is overstuffed and the outcome is never in doubt after that first meeting in the returns queue.

One for a December night in with friends who like their romcoms crude and their Christmas in small doses.

The family desk

Can the kids watch?

Our take: heavy swearing throughout and a sex scene with partial nudity put this out of bounds for children; keep it for older teenagers and adults.

Content advice & accessibility

Our age guidance: Editorial, separate from the official 15 certificate, and never looser than it.

A first look

Watch the trailer

Official trailer from Netflix.

A striped party horn, purple egg halves and spent sparkler sit between piles of Christmas parcels and receipts. A blank calendar with red rings hangs beside a clear teal centre.

Trailer

Holidate

Watch on YouTubeNothing from YouTube loads until you press play.

The people behind the film

Cast and crew

The faces in front of the camera, and the people who brought the story to life.

Main cast

In billing order

A woman with blonde hair swept to one side, resting her cheek on her hand and speaking, in a black polo neck with a microphone in front of her.

Emma Robertsas Sloane

Head and shoulders photograph of a man with swept-back light brown hair and stubble, wearing a white t-shirt, in front of an orange and gold backdrop.

Luke Braceyas Jackson

A smiling woman with blonde hair and long drop earrings, wearing a sparkling teal top, in front of a green backdrop.

Kristin Chenowethas Aunt Susan

An older woman with long, wavy blonde-grey hair and red lipstick, in a sparkly beaded top and dark blue wrap, looking off to the side.

Frances Fisheras Elaine

Andrew Bacheloras Neil

A man with swept-up dark hair and a trimmed beard, wearing an olive collared shirt, looking at the camera against a bright blue backdrop.

Manish Dayalas Faarooq

Jessica Capshawas Abby

A man in a dark sweater holding a microphone and gesturing as he speaks on stage, with a neon sign and brick wall behind him.

Alex Moffatas Peter

Behind the camera

Directed by

John Whitesell

Original score

Dan the Automator

Writing & production credits

Writer: Tiffany Paulsen

Photo credits

Portraits via Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence, approved for this page by a person. Sources and full photographer credits:

Emma Roberts · Gage Skidmore · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (opens in a new tab).

Luke Bracey · Eva Rinaldi · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 2.0 (opens in a new tab).

Kristin Chenoweth · Gage Skidmore · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (opens in a new tab).

Frances Fisher · PhilipRomanoPhoto · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab).

Manish Dayal · Martin Kraft · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (opens in a new tab).

Alex Moffat · Lisa Gansky from New York, NY, USA · Source image (opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 2.0 (opens in a new tab).

Step into the story

Filming locations

The real places behind Holidate. Choose one to explore.

Find it on the mapGwinnett Place Mall, Duluth

Map shows the selected place. Drag to explore; use + and − to zoom.

The covered entrance of a large brown shopping centre seen from an empty car park, with a retail sign on the left and a grey sky above.

Location photograph
MikeKalasnik (Wikimedia Commons, opens in a new tab) · CC BY-SA 2.0 (opens in a new tab)

Filming location

Gwinnett Place Mall, Duluth

A large section of this shopping centre was taken over in June 2019 and dressed for the holidays, with the food court closed to shoppers during filming.

Open in OpenStreetMap ↗ (opens in a new tab)Scene source ↗ (ozmagazine.com, opens in a new tab)

A little more Holidate

Film facts &
behind the scenes

For the fans who stay after the credits.

On set

A whole year of holidays in 34 days

The story hops from one holiday to the next across twelve months, but the crew shot it in only 34 days, according to a Netflix spokesperson. Filming began in May 2019, so most of the festive cheer was staged out of season.

Read the story

Source: ozmagazine.com ↗ (opens in a new tab)

On set

Table read just three days before cameras

The cast sat down for a table read of the script three days before the first day of shooting, which left very little time between hearing the jokes aloud and filming them.

Read the story

Source: ozmagazine.com ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Movie magic

A working shopping centre dressed for the holidays

The production took over a large section of a real shopping centre in June 2019 and decorated its shops for the festive season. Part of the food court was closed to the public while the crew worked in the middle of summer.

Read the story

On your next watchThe shop windows and walkways, where the seasonal dressing is entirely set decoration.

Source: ozmagazine.com ↗ (opens in a new tab) · atlasofwonders.com ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Movie magic

Why the writer picked a city that loves holidays

Screenwriter Tiffany Paulsen set the film in a city whose seasons change dramatically, because the story needs a full year of dates. She also liked how much that city makes of its holiday traditions, from seasonal lights to its St Patrick's Day customs.

Read the story

Source: looper.com ↗ (opens in a new tab)

And at a glance

The Christmas in it: Spans a full year of holidays, so Christmas is one stop among many.
Releases and certificates: 28 Oct 2020: On streaming. Arrived on Netflix as a streaming original.

Sources & a note on these facts

Each production story is linked to its source, in our own words. Ending details stay behind a spoiler reveal.