Movies like Dear Secret Santa (2013)
The best movies like Dear Secret Santa (2013) are 'Twas the Text Before Christmas (2023), A Cookie Cutter Christmas (2014) and Christmas on Windmill Way (2023). If Dear Secret Santa 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 Holiday (2006)7.1/10 from 5,835 votes
- NewestSincerely Truly Christmas (2023)Released 2023
'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 thisA Cookie Cutter Christmas (2014)
Two longtime rivals and elementary school teachers duke it out during the holidays in a Christmas cookie bake-off, but their real feud ignites over a shared interest in a handsome single dad. With both determined to win the prize and the romance, their competitiveness could jeopardize what matters most this Christmas season.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChristmas on Windmill Way (2023)
Mia Meijer gets ready for the Christmas Market Dutch Bake-Off and suspects that her grandmother, Ann, will walk away with the cherished Golden Rolling Pin thanks to her Kerststol, a traditional Dutch fruited Christmas bread. But Mia's world is rocked when she learns that Ann was having financial troubles and had to sell the land deed to the Windmill Way property in her family for generations. Making matters worse, the buyer is Mia's former boyfriend, property developer Brady Schaltz, who must let Mia and Ann know the Meijer family-owned heritage Dutch sawmill, renowned for the past 90 years for its fine millwork and beautiful wooden furniture, will be torn down to put up a luxurious resort.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & comedy
SnoozefestMovies 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 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 thisA Christmas Miracle for Daisy (2021)
Whitney Alder owns interior design firm Marietta Designs, which she runs with her friend Andi in the small town of Marietta, Montana. Whitney is designing Santa’s float for the annual Marietta Christmas Parade when a potential job opportunity comes her way: the full redesign of a landmark home by Christmas Eve.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & comedy
SnoozefestMovies 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 thisCatering Christmas (2022)
A fledgling caterer, Molly Frost, is hired by Jean Harrison, the perfectionistic director of the renowned Harrison Foundation, to cater this year’s annual Christmas Gala dinner. Things get complicated when Molly falls for Jean’s nephew, Carson, 30s, a travel photographer with no desire to take over the family’s foundation… until his aunt assigns him to the task of making sure the catered dinner goes perfectly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Merry Christmas Wish (2022)
Janie, a rising marketing executive living in The Big Apple, returns to her hometown of Woodland Falls when her Great-Uncle Randall passes away. Randall has even arranged for his farmhand, Dylan to help at the event, which is being held in the farm’s sprawling barn. Aware that her Manhattan boyfriend is anxious for her to return to the city so the pair can jet off to a previously planned holiday on the beach, Janie begins to feel an unexpected emotional tug about living life in a more authentic, meaningful way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisJingle Around the Clock (2018)
Elle decides to reunite her college friends for Christmas, but her plans are thwarted by an opportunity at work to spearhead a Christmas campaign relaunch. She's forced to team up with ad campaign "fixer" Max, who has a completely different take on the holidays. As the two work together, they find themselves falling for each other. With the help of a little Christmas magic, will Elle pull off the perfect Christmas reunion and find the love she’s been searching for?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Christmas Melody (2015)
Kristin has just had to close her small Manhattan clothing boutique to return to her Ohio home town and live in her parents' former home. It's an adjustment for Kristin and her young daughter— especially when she runs into her former high school rival. Kristen and Emily struggle to find their new normal with the help of the hunky local music teacher.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Little Christmas Charm (2020)
Holly, a jewelry designer finds a lost charm bracelet and teams up with investigative reporter Greg in hopes of finding the owner and returning it by Christmas Eve.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Biltmore Christmas (2023)
Contemporary screenwriter Lucy Hardgrove is hired to pen the remake of the holiday classic His Merry Wife!, which was shot at the renowned Biltmore Estate. Taking a tour of the grounds, she accidentally knocks over an hourglass, transporting her back in time to 1946, right when His Merry Wife! is being filmed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChristmas in Evergreen: Tidings of Joy (2019)
A skeptical writer shows up in Evergreen to get the scoop on the town's famed passion for Christmas during a search for a long-lost time capsule.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChristmas Under the Stars (2019)
When Nick is fired from his high-powered investment firm at Christmastime, he takes a job at a Christmas tree lot. There, he meets Julie, an astronomy teacher who’s always looked to the stars for hope. As the Christmas spirit washes over him—and he begins falling for Julie—the once self-centered Nick discovers the joy of helping others.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
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 thisA Glenbrooke Christmas (2020)
As Christmas nears, heiress Jessica Morgan seizes what seems like her last chance to experience a relaxed Christmas and heads off to the small town of Glenbrooke, where she meets a handsome fireman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Christmas Princess (2019)
A struggling chef living in a trendy New York borough, Jessica took over a small restaurant where she used to work as a waitress, but it’s growing tough to make ends meet. Prince Jack, who’s in the city for his family’s annual Christmas charity dinner, finds himself in need of a last-minute chef for the royal event when he meets Jessica. As their relationship evolves and a romance blooms, so do the obstacles. But as the event arrives, she decides to go through with the dinner, and may just get the best Christmas present of all… love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChristmas in Evergreen: Letters to Santa (2018)
Lisa's trip home to Evergreen for the holidays finds her shepherding an effort to save the town's beloved general store, fulfilling the wishes of a Christmas past and finding a romance full of Christmas magic.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChristmas Next Door (2017)
Eric Randall, an author of bachelor lifestyle books, is left in charge of his young niece and nephew for the holidays. Eric turns to his neighbor April, a lover of all things Christmas, for help.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFalling in Love at Christmas (2021)
Miranda and Paul, two business rivals who playfully despise each other, work together on a holiday gift-giving app, and unexpected feelings develop for one another.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & romance
The Princess Switch: Switched Again (2020)
When Duchess Margaret unexpectedly inherits the throne & hits a rough patch with Kevin, it’s up to Stacy to save the day before a new lookalike — party girl Fiona — foils their plans.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSincerely Truly Christmas (2023)
When a magical Christmas wish goes wrong and inadvertently gives Christina the ability to hear what gifts everyone wants for the holidays, she quickly learns that convincing reclusive one-hit wonder, Dan Copren, to step back into the limelight could make a lot of people happy. But to get to Dan, Christina must first link up with her handsome realtor, Robert, and help him figure out his son Oliver’s ever-changing Christmas wish list.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & romance
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: Similar story and style · both comedy & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Christmas Movie Christmas (2019)
Eve is a Christmas movie fanatic and dreams of having a movie-perfect Christmas with a movie-perfect boyfriend. On Christmas Eve, when Eve and her cynical sister Lacy make wishes to Santa, they wake up in Christmas Town and find themselves trapped inside a Christmas movie where they are the stars. But when things start to go wrong, and Eve's knowledge of all things Christmas movie fails to fix things, Eve and Lacy try to find a way out of the picture-perfect Christmas and back to reality.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisChristmas with a Prince: Becoming Royal (2019)
One year after Dr. Tasha and Prince Alec met and fell in love, Tasha is on her way to spend the holidays in San Saverre and get a taste of royal life. When Alex surprises her with a royal engagement, she spends her first magical days there trying to stay grounded while managing the task of planning a royal wedding. But when Miranda starts scheming to break the two up, it will take a big sacrifice and a Christmas miracle to make sure they get the holiday royal wedding of their dreams.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisŚwięta inaczej (2022)
Fed up with forced cheer, twelve-dish feasts and predictable gifts, one person rejects the usual Christmas ritual and flees to the unknown, finally doing what they truly desire instead of what they must. This holiday, nothing will be the same: the world turns upside down and even the wildest dreams may come true.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & comedy
Christmas Cupcakes (2018)
When their family bakery may have to close its doors right before Christmas, rival sisters Kim and Gina must team up in a national baking competition to win the grand prize. Thrown into a world of fierce competitors and a ticking clock, it will take a Christmas miracle to save the bakery, though they may discover a prize much larger than they had hoped for.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
A Christmas Recipe for Romance (2019)
The owner of a historic inn decides to enter a prestigious cooking contest to win funds for renovations and get free publicity, but she is a horrible cook. She recruits a renowned chef to help but the kitchen isn't the only thing heating up.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
The Christmas Chalet (2019)
A recently divorced mother books a chalet in a beautiful Christmas village in Vermont to try and rekindle Christmas magic for her teenaged daughter who feels like her family is ruined forever. When they arrive, they find that the house has been double booked and now they must share their family holiday with a grumpy writer who hates Christmas. Together, they’ll learn that a little Christmas magic heals even the most broken heart.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Like Dear Secret Santa and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Dear Secret Santa?
The closest matches to Dear Secret Santa are 'Twas the Text Before Christmas (2023), A Cookie Cutter Christmas (2014) and Christmas on Windmill Way (2023). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Dear Secret Santa?
Start with 'Twas the Text Before Christmas (2023), the closest match to Dear Secret Santa.
What is the highest-rated movie like Dear Secret Santa?
The Holiday (2006), rated 7.1/10 by 5,835 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Dear Secret Santa?
Sincerely Truly Christmas (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Dear Secret Santa?
Yes: 'Twas the Text Before Christmas (2023), A Cookie Cutter Christmas (2014) and Christmas on Windmill Way (2023).
How are movies similar to Dear Secret Santa chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Dear Secret Santa, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.