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The Merriest Christmas Movie Drinking Game

As the weather gets colder and snow starts to fall, we all just want to stay tucked away inside with our favorite holiday blanket and a steaming cup of hot chocolate. While this sounds like an ideal winter night, what about inviting your friends and family over for some holiday festivities that might involve some holiday spirits? If you’re looking for the ultimate Christmas movie drinking game, then you’ve found the right place to spice up your winter activities. 

The first step is to select your favorite Christmas movie. Trust me, I know this is probably the hardest part, but there are so many options to choose from and no matter the plotline the rules of the game will still apply. So if you’re looking for a movie that makes you wish you were standing under the mistletoe, go with The Holiday. If you’re looking for some classic childhood nostalgia and the classic New York Christmas, then I’d go with movies like Home Alone. But if you’re looking for a mix of humor and holiday feels, Elf would probably be your best bet. You can’t forget your sparkling holiday sips, which are essential to this movie night. So go grab your drink of choice, festive shot glasses if you have them on hand, and follow the guidelines below!

Someone says ‘Merry Christmas.’ 

In any holiday classic, the movie places our characters going about their lives just a few days before Christmas Day. Whether they’re going last minute Christmas shopping or running into their childhood true love, the words ‘Merry Christmas’ are bound to be exchanged. When you hear this phrase, go ahead and take a drink. 

It starts to snow.

It wouldn’t be a true holiday movie if there wasn’t snow on the ground, and your favorite characters weren’t having the ideal white Christmas. As those snowflakes start to gently fall from the sky and create a big fluffy blanket on the ground, make sure to take a drink (and maybe make a pretend snow angel). 

Christmas music is playing in the background.

I take it back — it wouldn’t be a true holiday movie if there weren’t some Christmas classics playing in the background. If you start to hear “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” “All I Want for Christmas is You” or any jolly tune, take a drink. 

There’s a mistletoe moment.

Every good holiday movie needs a picturesque moment under the mistletoe with the main characters. Maybe their encounter is a coincidence, or it’s fate bringing them together in their hometown just in time for the holidays. Either way, this romance is a necessity in any holiday movie, so when you see it, take a drink.

Bah Humbug.

There is always that one character who never believes in the magic of Christmas. Either they never got their favorite toy train from Santa when they were a kid, or they didn’t believe he was ever real. But, by the end of the movie they always are gifted with the toy they’ve always wanted and are excited to celebrate the holidays after all. So when this happens, take another drink. 

Someone bakes cookies.

Classic Christmas sugar cookies? Say no more. A holiday movie never fails to show us how the characters make these homemade recipes from scratch and frost these confectionery sweets to perfection. Of course, they create all the shapes you can imagine, from a snowflake, snowman, Christmas tree and of course the staple star. Anytime you see the characters engaging in this sweet activity, you can take a drink.

Someone decorates a tree.

Last, this fundamental and festive activity almost always makes it onto your TV screen. In any holiday movie, it is probably a few weeks or days before Christmas so of course our characters need to go pick out a tree. But that’s not even the most important part (decorating it is). Of course, they have an assortment of red, green and homemade ornaments and the shiniest star to put on top. But then they need to gather around and take a moment to admire the glistening figure in front. (I almost forgot to mention, you can take a drink now).

Juliana is a writer for Spoon University's National Writers Program. She reports on all things food and any new foodie trends circulating social media.

Before joining Spoon University, Juliana was a staff writer for her university's student-run newspaper, the Suffolk Journal, when she was attending Suffolk University in the heart of Boston. She wrote a variety of articles that covered Arts, campus life, student clubs, and News. She is going to be a junior at Endicott College in the fall with a major in Journalism.

Juliana loves going on walks, working out, hanging out with family and friends, and watching her favorite TV shows in her spare time. Some of her favorite foods come from recipes rooted in her family's Portuguese culture.