For an LGBTQ+ Christmas film tonight, start with Single All the Way for festive matchmaking or The Holiday Sitter for a romance built around babysitting. Choose Happiest Season if you want more family tension. When we checked in September 2026, the first two were streaming in the UK and Happiest Season was available to rent or buy.
Sometimes you want a familiar romcom formula and a couple to root for. Sometimes you want the messier business of going home. These four cover both.
| If you want | Choose | The setup |
|---|---|---|
| Friends and family matchmaking | Single All the Way (2021) | A fake-boyfriend plan interrupted by a blind date |
| Romance with domestic mishaps | The Holiday Sitter (2022) | A bachelor minding his niece and nephew |
| Two women and a fake relationship | Friends & Family Christmas (2023) | Parents set them up; they play along |
| A sharper family gathering | Happiest Season (2020) | A girlfriend whose parents do not know |
Single All the Way: start here for the familiar pleasures
A man plans to pass his best friend off as his boyfriend on a Christmas visit home, until his mother sets him up with someone else. Michael Urie and Philemon Chambers lead, with Luke Macfarlane, Jennifer Coolidge and Kathy Najimy in the cast. Michael Mayer directed it for Netflix. The BBFC rated it 12 for sex references and language.
It is our first suggestion for anyone browsing gay Christmas films without anything more specific in mind. It has meddling relatives and a friendship that the family can see is becoming something more. You do not need a novel premise every December.
The Holiday Sitter: romance arrives with the babysitting
A workaholic bachelor babysits his niece and nephew before the holidays, recruits help from the handsome man next door and ends up in a romance he had not planned. Jonathan Bennett and George Krissa star in the Hallmark Channel film, and Ali Liebert directed.
This is the pick for watching an orderly life become less orderly. The childcare gives the two leads a reason to spend time together, which is a more practical route to romance than another grand speech.
Friends & Family Christmas: for the fake-dating tradition
According to Hallmark's synopsis, one woman has moved to New York for an art career and the other is an entertainment lawyer getting over a broken engagement. Their parents set them up, and they agree to pretend to be dating to keep everyone happy for the holidays. Spending time in each other's worlds does the rest. Humberly Gonzalez and Ali Liebert star, and Anne Wheeler directed.
Pick this when you want a lesbian Christmas romance built around a recognisable seasonal formula. The only question is when a convenient arrangement becomes an inconvenient one.
Happiest Season: for an evening with more friction
Happiest Season · Film guide →Clea DuVall directed this 2020 romantic comedy drama, in which a woman takes her girlfriend home for Christmas to a family who have no idea the two are in a relationship. Kristen Stewart and Mackenzie Davis lead, with Mary Steenburgen, Victor Garber, Alison Brie, Aubrey Plaza and Dan Levy in the cast.
That makes it a different proposition from a film chosen for festive ease. The family dynamics may be the part you find most involving, or exactly what you would rather leave off the screen tonight. It is rated 12 for infrequent strong language and moderate sex references, and the BBFC notes verbal references to homophobic behaviour that the film clearly does not endorse. If coming-out pressure feels close to home this year, start elsewhere on the list.
Pick the kind of evening you want
For easy browsing, begin with Single All the Way or The Holiday Sitter, both listed for UK streaming in our September 2026 check. For fake dating between two women, Friends & Family Christmas, if you can find it. Keep Happiest Season for a night when family conflict is part of the appeal.
