Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020)

Although Christmas is a time of year for love and cheer for all, holiday cinema has not always represented diverse communities. Being a holiday with Christian origins, much of its media consists of straight white families or straight white romances. Luckily, modern years have been bringing with them plenty of POC and LGBTQ+ representation that the holidays so desperately need. Here are just a few to get you started!

Notice: If watching with children, it would be good to do some more research on these films, depending on the age of your child. Number 2, Jingle Jangle, is technically the only one marketed towards children, and several others may not be child-friendly at all.

After being diagnosed with a terminal illness, an introverted woman breaks out of her shell and flies off to Europe in order to complete her bucket list with her remaining time.

Jingle Jangleis the perfect example of a diverse Christmas movie done right.

For far too long, most Christmas films, especially from the likes ofHallmark, have been overwhelmingly white. Black Christmas movies are few and far in between to find — so it is wonderful to see more representation on the screen just in time for the holiday season.

The film begins with a grandmother, (Phylicia Rashad) reading a whimsical Christmas story to her grand kids. She tells the tale of the brilliant inventor Jeronicus Jangle (Justin Cornwell/Forest Whitaker). Long ago, Jangle used to be the most esteemed toy-maker in the land — running a little shop named Jangles and Things, where families from all over would come to buy his marvelous toys. Guided by his genius, and his notebook full of inventions, Jangle was at the top of the world.