Congratulations…you made it to the other side of a maxed-out credit card and a living room full of wrapping paper for yet another year! Now that that’s out the way, you can get down to enjoying the true Christmas pastime: Posting up with your family members to enjoy a few films and movies before everyone has to fight through TSA to make their way home again.
Suggested Reading
Fortunately, our melanin-deprived ilk don’t have a monopoly on Christmas stories, so here are 13 Blackity-Black Christmas films television shows and specials to pick from if you have no intention on leaving the crib tonight.
The Kid Who Loved Christmas (1990)
Executive-produced by Eddie Murphy and starring Sammy Davis Jr. and Cicely Tyson, this forgotten Christmas gem also features an original score by Stanley Clarke. The movie tells the story of a social worker who helps a jazz musician adopt a kid who, as you can tell by the title, loves Christmas. It hits all the right notes: cute kid, handsome guy, good music and snow.
The Preacher’s Wife (1996)
This is the official Christmas film of black grandmothers everywhere. It has most of your Big Mama’s favorite black folk: Denzel Washington, Whitney Houston, Courtney B. Vance, Jenifer Lewis and Loretta Devine. The only person missing is holy Tyler Perry (not the R-rated raunchy P that we got in “Mea Culpa.”)
The Last Holiday (2006)
Queen Latifah gives an inspired performance as a woman who thinks she is near death and decides to live with intentionality during her last holiday season. LL Cool J licks his lips ferociously in a supporting role.
This Christmas (2007)
I hate the Chris Brown cover of Donny Hathaway’s classic that is the centerpiece of this film, but I can’t help but love this movie. Idris Elba and Regina King are standouts in this star-studded film about the importance of family and unconditional love.
The Best Man Holiday (2013)
Christmas is not just for kids—and this is decidedly not a kids’ Christmas movie. But if you like melanin and sentimentality in your holiday, you’d be hard-pressed to find something better than this.
Almost Christmas (2016)
The auntie. White folks have aunts. We have Aunties.
She is more than just your mother’s sister; she is the family parliamentarian, spiritual adviser and life coach. This, in addition to the difficulty of holidays after losing the family matriarch, is what Almost Christmas nails perfectly. But Mo’Nique steals every single scene she is in as May, a foulmouthed, Jesus- and wig-loving black auntie.
Jingle Jangle (2020)
This movie came and went in 2020, but I fear it has gotten lost in the haze of COVID. It has great music, great dancing, and even better acting. It’s on Netflix and should be in heavy rotation in every Black household during the holidays.
Good Times, “Penny’s Christmas” (1977)
There were several Christmas episodes featuring TV’s Evans family, but this one is my favorite. It features a young Janet Jackson, who steals a necklace because she wants to give Willona a Christmas present. Of course, she learns that presents are not what Christmas is about—it’s love.
Fat Albert’s Christmas Special (1977)
I almost hesitated to include this because, ya know: Cosby. But this was a staple in most black homes every year during Christmas, so … I’ll include it and throw my hands up in despair.
A Different World, “I’m Dreaming of a Wayne Christmas” (1990)
Whitley is busy being Whitley and tries to make a good impression on Dwayne’s mother by getting her an expensive Christmas gift. Things go wrong, of course, but the reason why I adore this episode is because Patricia Louise Holte (you might know her as Ms. Patti LaBelle ) plays DeWayne’s mother and absolutely kills every scene she is in, then, for good measure, murders the Christmas song at the end.
Martin, “Scrooge” (1996)
Funny and surprisingly heartwarming. This is Martin’s take on the Christmas Carol, and I was taken aback by how much this episode touched me as a kid. I was accustomed to laughing at the show, but I was not ready to feel.
The Boondocks, “A Huey Freeman Christmas” (2005)
Damn, I miss this show, and this, along with “Return of the King,” is a stand-out episode. Huey takes it upon himself to push back against the commercialization of the holiday and writes a play that is true to the genesis of the birth of Jesus. The result is the wokest Christmas episode of all time.
The Snowy Day (2016)
This is destined to become a holiday classic. It features the voice acting of Regina King and Laurence Fishburne with the best Christmas song Boyz II Men has given us since “Let It Snow.” The fact that a major plot point revolves around a Black grandmother’s baked mac and cheese a makes this, possibly, the blackest Christmas special ever produced.
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