I guess I wrote the title that way to anger those that feel there is a “War on Christmas” and partly because those that think that way forget that there are actual people born in December. With that stated, here are the movies that are technically holiday movies, but I watch them throughout the year.

The Holiday (2006 – Columbia Pictures, Universal Pictures) Kate Winslett, Jack Black, Cameron Diaz, and Jude Law star in this holiday rom-com. The reason it fits into a holiday movie is due to it taking place a few weeks before Christmas and goes to New Years. Each romance is believable. You learn enough about each character that you can see why that character fell for the other character.

The Last Holiday (2006 – Paramount Pictures) Queen Latifah, LL Cool J, and Timothy Hutton. Queen carries this movie solely on her shoulders. She’s in the majority of the movie. I am not complaining. It’s brilliant. She makes being an average woman, cool, or at least tolerable. It’s a fun movie with a good message. Like most of these movies, it happens around the holidays.

While You Were Sleeping (1995 – Hollywood Pictures, Caravan Pictures) Sandra Bulock, Bill Pullman, and Peter Gallagher head up this cast. When is Sandra ever bad? Bill Pullman is at his most charming in this rom-com. It is the typical heard wrong mix-up comedy, but the characters are respectful and likeable that you overlook the troupe.

The Ref (1994 – Touchstone Pictures) Denis Leary, Judy Davis, and Kevin Spacey (I know, I know) I think my love for this movie steams from my CPTSD and staying with my brother and his girlfriend at the time. They were very much this couple. This is a comedy, first and foremost. Denis Leary is hilarious as the crazed burglar. That’s about all I can say without ruining too much.

Serendipity (2001 – Miramax) Kate Beckinsale and John Cusack star in this zany rom-com that starts at Christmas. Yes, this one and my last one are barely a holiday movie, but I was running low on films. This is an interesting take on destiny. Molly Shannon and Eugene Levy add to the humor of the story. Of course Jeremy Piven is in the film, who wouldn’t he be. It has a good flow and makes you think.

The Mighty (1998 – Chaos Productions, Miramax) Elden Henson, Kieran Culkin, Sharon Stone, Harry Dean Stanton, and Gena Rowlands are in this gritty movie that plays loosely with the holiday theme. It all occurs in the fall and winter, so it is a bonus one. Elden Henson was so good in this movie, he should have been nominated for an Oscar. It’s heartbreaking, but really good.