5 Christmas Movies from Black America and the Diaspora to Watch on Christmas Day

5 Christmas Movies from Black America and the Diaspora to Watch on Christmas Day

Editor’s Note: The following article is an editorial and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more Opinions on the Grio.

I love a good Christmas movie. I especially enjoy watching Christmas movies on Christmas Day when all the presents are unwrapped and the wrapping paper is spread everywhere. There’s nothing like the feeling of navigating a living room full of brand new toys for kids who already have too many, with a cup of hot chocolate (with marshmallows!) in a robe you only wear at Christmas. Oh, just me? Anyway, since I love watching movies, I think you might as well, and if you’re looking for a fun Christmas movie to watch, you’ve come to the right place.

To make it a little more entertaining, I decided to pick five Christmas movies that I watch and enjoy from across Black America and the Diaspora, which in this case means England and the African continent. If you have a full Christmas schedule, with guests, cleanup, and then Christmas dinner and cleanup afterwards, you may not get around to all of these tasks. And if you’re enjoying the vacation alone, which is also a mood, you can binge marathon all of these things throughout the day. However you want to celebrate, choose a movie, enjoy it and you know: Merry Chrimmuh.

1. “This Christmas”

While I have some issues with everyone who claims that Chris Brown’s musical version of “This Christmas” is better than Donny Hathway’s original, the movie “This Christmas” is a blast. It features the full cast of some of our favorite actors from the black community: Regina King, Delroy Lindo, Idris Elba, Chris Brown, Lauren London, Loretta Devine, Mekhi Phifer, Sharon Leal…etc. You get the picture.

There are a lot of Black people we know and love in this film. It’s set in Los Angeles, so it doesn’t snow and there’s a Soul Train line at the end. It covers a lot of bases. You saw it because we all saw it, and if you haven’t seen it, then go ahead and call it out. Maybe you’ll learn a thing or two about what you can do with baby oil! And I don’t mean that as a joke about Diddy.

2. “Meet me next Christmas”

This is a new film that’s good to add to your Christmas movie schedule. I’ve already written about how much I love the movie and how much I’m a fan of Christina Milian in cute, Lifetime-esque roles. I like it, I love it; I want more of it. But we have Devale Ellis and Milian wandering around New York City and falling in love, Pentatonix, and more than enough shenanigans to make the movie work. If you like Christmas movies that are about joy and love, sweetness and unexpected love, then this is for you. It’s my jam. Jam with me.

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3. “Christmas Angel”

Do you know what I love as much as Christina Milian Christmas movies? Christmas films with singers and rappers. “Christmas Angel” is just the thing for you. Your TV protagonists include singer DaniLeigh and Romeo Miller, the latter being a mainstay of romantic comedies. We have Skyh Black and Elise Neal. And somewhere in the middle of the country (I can’t say exactly where, but it’s a black place) a random mishap happens, right around Christmas time, with love and children and happiness and joy and hope for tomorrow and that Promise of good news and joy. It’s fun. Listen.

4. “Boxing Day”

This is a film set primarily in London where Boxing Day is celebrated, the day after Christmas and is important in England. Anyway, we have an American woman and her British-Jamaican boyfriend who are leaving America to spend the holiday in London, where she will meet his family for the first time. This film shows us the cultural mishaps when two culturally different worlds collide. We have accents and R&B and really flying outfits and dominoes. We see Big Ben and we see love at Christmas. It’s nice to see what Christmas looks and sounds like in other places around the world with some diasporic connection.

Speaking of which…

5. “A Wesley Christmas in South Africa”

If you’re interested in black films, then you’ll know the Wesley family from “A Wesley Christmas Movie.” Well, this time they boooo with “A Wesley South African Christmas,” which, as you can imagine, takes the Wesley family to Durbin, South Africa. The film follows businessman Todd Wesley (Terayle Hill) as he spends Christmas in Durban, South Africa due to a failed business deal. As soon as his family arrives, practical jokes ensue. And following Jasmine Guy, Dorien Wilson, TC Carson and a whole host of black people from America and South Africa having fun, being merry as Christmas and showing you what it’s like in a part of the motherland!

Wherever you are in the world, I wish you and your loved ones a Merry Christmas!


Panama Jackson theGrio.com

Panama Jackson is a columnist at theGrio and host of the award-winning podcast “Dear Culture” on theGrio Black Podcast Network. He writes very dark things, drinks very brown spirits and is pretty fast for an easy guy. His greatest achievement to date coincides with his greatest achievement to date as the Blackest, which was getting a call from Oprah Winfrey after she read one of his articles (greatest), but he didn’t answer the phone because it was on caller ID “Unknown” (Black First) stood).

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