The Ultimate Holiday Rom-Com Drinking Game
Take two sips when a dead spouse is mentioned.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! No, not summer. Not Christmas, either. Well, not in the way you might think.
It’s holiday romance season! You know, when Hallmark, Lifetime and Netflix release literally dozens of formulaic cinematic marvels with names like The Knight Before Christmas, Write Before Christmas, Random Acts of Christmas, Check Inn to Christmas and, just for something different, Twinkle All the Way.
These movies are, with very few exceptions, terrible. But they’re also incredibly fun and undoubtedly the best thing about the holiday season as an adult. Especially when you can pair them with alcohol!
With that in mind, here is a drinking game that will improve your experience of holiday romances by at least 150%. Apologies to your liver in advance…
Take a sip when…
-The movie title features a holiday pun.
-Generic shots of New York City are shown. (Take an extra sip when the movie is not, in fact, set in New York City).
-The movie takes place in a fictional European country. (Take an extra sip if the name of the country ends in “via”).
-A dead parent or grandparent is mentioned.
-Someone spills their hot cocoa.
-Someone wears red, green or flannel.
-The leads almost kiss but don’t.
-A main character is a chef, architect, interior designer, personal assistant or journalist.
-The characters build snowmen, decorate a Christmas tree or bake Christmas cookies. (Take an extra sip if it involves a COMPETITION).
-You hear a Christmas carol.
-Someone says the L word (love, duh).
-The characters are snowed in.
-The Christmas ball/festival is in trouble and the lead has to save the day.
-Someone writes a letter to Santa.
-Santa is an actual character who actually exists.
Take two sips when…
-The lead has a Christmassy name like Noelle, Krissy, Chris, Holly or Nick.
-Someone wears cute Christmas pyjamas. (Take an extra sip if TWO characters wear matching cute Christmas pyjamas).
-The movie stars someone who was big in the ‘90s/’00s. (Finish your drink if that person happens to be Lacey Chabert.)
-There’s a meet-cute involving the characters literally bumping into each other.
-The story is a retelling of a Jane Austen novel or a fairy tale.
-A dead spouse is mentioned.
-There’s a token annoying/cute child or whimsical/grumpy old person.
-Someone is outraged over the idea of a FAKE Christmas tree, or refusing marshmallows in hot cocoa.
-The drama and conflict arises from real estate negotiations.
-The characters break into song.
-Two characters have to pretend to date for truly ridiculous reasons.
-Two characters start out hating each other but end up loving each other.
-Someone gives or receives a homemade gift.
-The leads go ice skating or have a snowball fight and wind up falling all over each other.
-Christmas magic (like, actual magic) causes trouble and/or makes everything better in the end.
Finish your drink when…
-Someone drinks cider or eggnog.
-Someone has amnesia.
-There’s a dog!
-There’s actually a lead who isn’t white.
-There’s a love triangle but the third character is so reprehensible you question the lead’s sanity for dating them in the first place.
-One of the leads is a Christmas ghost or angel.
-The leads fight over something that is definitely not worth fighting over.
-There’s major miscommunication that means the conflict could easily be solved with one conversation.
-There’s a December wedding which is of course Christmas-themed.
-Anything remotely sexual is hinted at, mentioned or joked about.
-A workaholic has to go to a small country town and for some mysterious reason never wants to leave again.
-Someone who hates Christmas ends up discovering the True Meaning of the holiday and embraces it.
-There’s a kiss under the mistletoe.
-They say the title of the movie IN the movie.
-The movie is actually good.
Jenna Guillaume is a Sydney-based writer who loves all things TV and pop culture. She tweets @JennaGuillaume, and her new book, ‘What I Like About Me’ is available now.