Movies like A Merry Little Ex-Mas (2025)
The best movies like A Merry Little Ex-Mas (2025) are The Holiday (2006), EXmas (2023) and Your Christmas or Mine? (2022). If A Merry Little Ex-Mas hooked you with its romance and comedy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Apartment (1960)8.2/10 from 2,848 votes
- NewestMerv (2025)Released 2025
The Holiday (2006)
Two women, one American and one British, swap homes at Christmastime following bad breakups. Each woman finds romance with a local man but realizes that the imminent return home may end the relationship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEXmas (2023)
When Graham decides to surprise his family by traveling home for Christmas, he is shocked to discover them already celebrating with an unexpected guest of honor, his ex-fiancée, Ali. The two exes battle it out to see who the family will pick to stay through Christmas Day and who must go.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYour Christmas or Mine? (2022)
Students Hayley and James are young and in love. After saying goodbye for Christmas at a London train station, they both make the same mad split-second decision to swap trains and surprise each other. Passing each other in the station, they are completely unaware that they have just swapped Christmases.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYour Christmas or Mine 2 (2023)
They've swapped Christmas – again. Can Hayley and James' relationship survive another turbulent family Christmas or has their future together gone off-piste?!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like this12 Dates of Christmas (2011)
In an attempt to win back her ex-boyfriend Jack on Christmas Eve, Kate ends up ruining her blind date with Miles, a handsome guy she's been set up with. In a strange twist of fate, Kate is magically given the chance to re-live Christmas Eve twelve times!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHoliday in Handcuffs (2007)
A ne’er-do-well thirty-something attempts to appease her family by kidnapping herself an attractive boyfriend for the family Christmas. Despite unlikely odds and dysfunctional family moments, the two fall in love and share a magical Christmas.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNever Kiss a Man in a Christmas Sweater (2020)
Single mom Maggie is facing Christmas alone until Lucas crashes into her life and becomes an unexpected house guest. Together they overcome Christmas while finding comfort in their growing bond.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mistletoe Promise (2016)
A chance meeting between two strangers who share a disdain for Christmas results in The Mistletoe Promise, a pact to help them navigate their holiday complications - together. But as they spend more time with each other and experience the magic of Christmas the phony couple discovers there may be more to their contract than business.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove Hard (2021)
An LA girl, unlucky in love, falls for an East Coast guy on a dating app and decides to surprise him for Christmas, only to discover that she's been catfished. But the object of her affection actually lives in the same town, and the guy who duped her offers to set them up if she pretends to be his own girlfriend for the holidays.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJust Friends (2005)
While visiting his hometown during Christmas, a man comes face-to-face with his old high school crush whom he was best friends with – a woman whose rejection of him turned him into a ferocious womanizer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Kindhearted Christmas (2021)
Jamie owns a sightseeing and tour company in the small town of Cooperville, New York. Navigating the holidays with enthusiasm is trickier for Jamie since her husband Matt passed. Matt loved Christmas and found unparalleled joy in giving to others. While reminiscing with family, Jamie realizes the town desperately needs someone with Matt’s genius for thinking of the small gestures that bring genuine happiness to the holidays.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMerv (2025)
When their beloved dog Merv loses his spark after their split, Anna and Russ are forced into the world's most awkward co-parenting arrangement. Hoping to shake Merv out of his funk, Russ takes him to Florida for a much-needed getaway-only for Anna to show up unexpectedly. As Merv slowly gets his groove back, turns out fixing their dog's broken heart may lead to a few sparks of their own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisSingle All the Way (2021)
Desperate to avoid his family’s judgment about his perpetual single status, Peter convinces his best friend Nick to join him for the holidays and pretend that they’re now in a relationship. But when Peter’s mother sets him up on a blind date with her handsome trainer James, the plan goes awry.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like this'Twas the Text Before Christmas (2023)
Addie is a New York City chiropractor mistakenly receives a text from “Nana.” The accidental text turns into a loving friendship between the matronly Nana and Addie who now communicate regularly. Nana invites Addie to spend the holiday in Vermont. It is picture-postcard perfect and exactly as Nana described except for one surprise. Nana’s single son, James, a traveling doctor is also home for the holidays. Over three consecutive years, James and Addie are together during the holidays, though it isn’t until they are both single that they begin to see each other in a different light.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDear Christmas (2020)
Natalie Morgan is an author and host of a popular podcast, Holiday Love, which shares true stories of holiday romance with its listeners. While to the outside world and her listeners everywhere see Natalie is an expert on romance, she's never truly experienced a romance of her own. As Natalie prepares to embark on a promotional tour for her new book, she stops back home to spend Christmas with her family and to celebrate her parent's 50th anniversary where she unexpectedly begins to experience her own holiday romance as sparks ignite with local firefighter, Jack.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisElf (2003)
When young Buddy falls into Santa's gift sack on Christmas Eve, he's transported back to the North Pole and raised as a toy-making elf by Santa's helpers. But as he grows into adulthood, he can't shake the nagging feeling that he doesn't belong. Buddy vows to visit Manhattan and find his real dad, a workaholic.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA December Bride (2016)
Aspiring interior designer Layla is dreading the Christmastime wedding of her cousin who’s marrying Layla’s ex-fiancé. Although Seth is the one responsible for introducing the bride and groom, she begrudgingly accepts his offer to be her date as she’s out of options. Seth gets carried away at the reception and announces they’re engaged, forcing a mortified Layla to keep up the pretense.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisChristmas in Homestead (2016)
Jessica is one of the most famous actresses in the world, leading a glamorous – if tabloid worthy – life. But all that is thrown for a loop when she goes on location to shoot a holiday themed film in the Christmas-obsessed town of Homestead, Iowa. While a romance brews between her and Matt, a local inn keeper who is a single dad, she also gets a taste of small-town life and rediscovers the true meaning of Christmas.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Christmas Inn (2018)
With the holiday season in full swing, Jen Taylor is about to score a big promotion at the San Francisco ad agency where she works. But her life is unexpectedly turned upside down when she inherits a cozy inn in Alaska from her aunt. When she goes to inspect the property and meets handsome town attorney Steve Anderson, she's surprised to find that nothing is what she expected. The small town community is full of fun and festive Christmas traditions and soon, Jen starts wondering if the inn might just be the place she belongs, and if Steve could be the Mr. Right she has been waiting for.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNoelle (2019)
Kris Kringle's daughter, Noelle, sets off on a mission to find and bring back her brother, after he gets cold feet when it's his turn to take over as Santa.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Apartment (1960)
Bud Baxter is a minor clerk in a huge New York insurance company, until he discovers a quick way to climb the corporate ladder. He lends out his apartment to the executives as a place to take their mistresses. Although he often has to deal with the aftermath of their visits, one night he's left with a major problem to solve.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & romance
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisChocolat (2000)
In the winter of 1959, a single mother and her young daughter arrive in a rural French town, where they open an unusual chocolate shop that disrupts the moral fiber of the strictly Catholic townsfolk and mayor.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLove Actually (2003)
Eight very different couples deal with their love lives in various loosely interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLolita (1962)
Humbert Humbert is a middle-aged British novelist who is both appalled by and attracted to the vulgarity of American culture. When he comes to stay at the boarding house run by Charlotte Haze, he soon becomes obsessed with Lolita, the woman's teenaged daughter.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhile You Were Sleeping (1995)
A transit worker pulls commuter Peter off railway tracks after he's mugged, but—while he's in a coma—his family mistakenly thinks she's Peter's fiancée, and she doesn't correct them. Things get more complicated when she falls for his brother, who's not quite sure that she's who she claims to be.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDelivery by Christmas (2022)
When a spiteful coworker sabotages her deliveries, a courier and a helpful customer must race to return Christmas presents to their intended recipients.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisSurviving Christmas (2004)
Wealthy executive Drew Latham has no close relationships and becomes nostalgic for his childhood home as Christmas approaches. When he visits the house and finds another family living there, he offers the residents a large sum of money to pretend they are his parents.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisSnow Cake (2006)
A drama focused on the friendship between a high-functioning autistic woman and a man who is traumatized after a fatal car accident.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSummer Storm (2004)
Tobi and Achim, the pride of the local crew club, have been the best of friends for years and are convinced that nothing will ever stand in the way of their friendship. They look forward to the upcoming summer camp and the crew competition. Then the gay team from Berlin arrives and Tobi is totally confused. The evening before the races begin, the storm that breaks out is more than meteorological.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCockles and Muscles (2005)
Crustacés et coquillages is a fresh French comedy film with numerous surprise turnarounds and about the tolerance of a family of four. The family spend an idealistic summer vacation together where each of the family members gets involved in a new or old relationship.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like A Merry Little Ex-Mas?
The closest matches to A Merry Little Ex-Mas are The Holiday (2006), EXmas (2023) and Your Christmas or Mine? (2022). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after A Merry Little Ex-Mas?
Start with The Holiday (2006), the closest match to A Merry Little Ex-Mas.
What is the highest-rated movie like A Merry Little Ex-Mas?
The Apartment (1960), rated 8.2/10 by 2,848 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like A Merry Little Ex-Mas?
Merv (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like A Merry Little Ex-Mas?
Yes: The Holiday (2006), EXmas (2023) and Your Christmas or Mine? (2022).
How are movies similar to A Merry Little Ex-Mas chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside A Merry Little Ex-Mas, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.