Listicle: 10 anti-Christmas shows and films to binge in heavenly peace

Christmas + time-loop = a gem of a Spanish movie. Grinchy Chuy, born on Christmas, is cursed to wake up over and over to find he’s lived a full year, but is doomed to remember only Christmas Day. Imagine being stuck on loop the day aunties, sisters, parents and kids bring all the drama to dinner, and you’re trying to right every wrong.

Don’t love thy neighbour like yourself. Or invite them over if you don’t know them well. In this Christmas horror movie, a family invite their young neighbours for Christmas Eve dinner. But the couple is possessed by demons, making the night more frightful than festive. There are mind games and outright gory attacks. The plot’s not bad for a mood-killer.

Some Santas prefer taking to giving. A team of scamsters pose as Santa and his elf every year. One year, they plan to rob a shopping mall on Christmas Eve. Of course, nothing goes quite right. Of course. Billy Bob Thornton, playing Santa, is hilarious. Of course, there’s an emotional turnaround in the end.

Specifically, S9, E10 or Miracle on Evergreen Terrace (1997). Bart accidentally burns down the Christmas tree (gifts too). To cover up, he spins a story of how a thief stole everything. Springfield rallies to get the family a new tree. The show plays fast and loose with campy cliches every Christmas. The best ones feature rotten billionaire Mr Burns.

Single ladies (and the people who know them) will relate to this two-season Italian comedy show. Nurse Gianna lies to her parents about having a boyfriend, then races against time to find a suitable man by Christmas. So far, so Hallmark. But this show, based on the Norwegian series Home for Christmas, showcases how awful family gatherings can be when everyone only sees you as half of a whole. There’s panic, missteps and mistletoe.

Family, reunions, history and secrets. The Spanish show sets up the perfect disaster. It’s set in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, and tackles an extra-marital affair, war and the consequences of it, the bond between sisters, and a pivotal character coming out of the closet. The story spans three eras. And it all begins on Christmas Eve.

Dealing with family at Christmas is no bag of toys. Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon play an unmarried couple who must make four family stops because both have to visit their divorced parents’ homes on Christmas Day. The lies and excuses haven’t worked. Then, a snowstorm hits and things become a frosty mess, with a fear of inflatable castles thrown in.

A Christmas that brings tidings of death. And heaps of revenge and bloody scenes. It begins when an unknown assailant adds a military-grade drug to a family’s Christmas punch. The festive gathering becomes a carnage as the crowd flies into unstoppable rage at Christmas dinner. It’s up to one man to stop the madness. Does resentment count as a present?

This Christmas horror comedy brings folklore to the fore. Austro-Bavarian myth states that Krampus is a fearsome, horned demonic beast who punishes naughty children on Christmas. The film follows a dysfunctional family, whose squabbles make a young boy lose his festive spirit, which then unleashes the wrath of Krampus himself.

On the list not only because it begins on Christmas Eve, but also as a tribute to Matthew Perry who, as Chandler, made this a Christmas movie for ’90s kids. New York City Police Department detective John McClane arrives in Los Angeles, hoping to reconcile with his estranged wife, Holly, at a party held by her employer on Christmas Eve. Then, a baddie takes everyone hostage. Winter Wonderland, Let it Snow, Christmas in Hollies and Ode to Joy are all a part of the soundtrack.