Best Christmas romcoms from Love Actually to The Holiday

'Tis the season to kick back on the sofa armed with popcorn and mince pies

Bill Nighy stars in Richard Curtis' 2003 rom-com Love Actually (Rex Features)

It's Christmas time and that means one thing - festive romcoms ft. snow, glittering lights, mistletoe smooches and lots of feel-good fuzziness.

These movies fit the bill like presents in a stocking, so kick back for a night in front of the fire and share the schmaltzy love.

Love Actually

The star-studded cast for this popular festive movie includes *deep breath* Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Martin Freeman, Keira Knightley, Bill Nighy, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Colin Firth, Emma Thompson, Billy Bob Thornton and Andrew Lincoln – all of whom are connected to each other in various ways, experiencing their own holiday season problems and realising that love is all around. Featuring *that* Prime Minster dance.

Bridget Jones’ Diary

When Harry Met Sally

The quintessential romcom about friendship turning into love asks the age old question – “Can men and women ever really just be best friends?” The New Year’s Eve party scene at the end in the midst of a Christmassy New York makes us go all gooey inside. Of course, there’s that unforgettable fake orgasm scene too.

The Holiday

Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Jack Black and Cameron Diaz star in this feel-good hit about two women who swap homes over Christmas to escape their relative troubles and end up finding love in the process. The late Eli Wallach’s scriptwriter Arthur Abbott accepting a lifetime achievement award is arguably the highlight – we challenge anyone not to go “awww”.

Serendipity

This schmaltzy film about fate stars with a pair of gloves while Christmas shopping in New York. A man and a woman randomly meet and sparks fly, but they decide to rely on ‘what will be will be’ and see if they will find each other again without exchanging names or numbers. Yes, it’s all very silly, but good festive fun.

The Family Stone

Meeting the parents is always a nerve-wracking experience, but when your boyfriend’s family could not be more different from your own, it’s an altogether more terrifying one. Straight-laced businesswoman Meredith (Sarah Jessica Parker) finds she is a fish out of water when she attends her other half’s eccentric family’s Christmas celebration – let the laughs begin.

The Family Man

In a similar vein to Christmas classic It’s A Wonderful Life, workaholic Jack sees what his life could have been like had he made a different decision 13 years ago. It begins on Christmas Eve, when a ghost posing as a gunman tries to convince him to take a good hard look at his life…

Four Christmasses

Both Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon’s characters have divorced parents, so they decide to celebrate with all four of them separately on Christmas Day. That’s four Christmasses and far too much of a supposedly good thing, but it’ll remind you of the importance of family.