Discussing the draw of holiday movies

By Megan Mack

Published November 22, 2024 at 2:45 PM EST

Four smiling people stand together in a radio talk studio: (from left to right) a woman with shoulder-length curly dark hair wearing a black turtleneck and a brown leather skirt; a women with red hair in a ponytail wearing a blue tank top, black sweater, and jeans; a man with a dark beard and mustache wearing a red baseball hat, a red, orange, and blue sweater, and jeans; a man with short red hair and a red and grey beard and mustache wearing a red t-shirt, green flannel shirt, and jeans. — (from left to right) Vanessa Cheeks, Kathy Kingsley, Matt DeTurck and Dan Howell on "Connections" on Friday, November 22, 2024

A smiling man sits in front of a microphone at a table in a radio talk studio: he is wearing a red baseball cap, a black short sleeved t-shirt with yellow lettering and a black short sleeved button down shirt with a red, yellow and green pattern. — Guest host Matt DeTurck on "Connections with Evan Dawson"

According to Samba TV (via USA Today), more than 50 million American households watched a much-beloved holiday film last year by December 10, and approximately 77 percent of adults have said that they watch at least one Christmas film every year.

With more than 100 brand-new holiday films being released this year alone — between streaming, TV, and in theaters — and the warm, golden glow of nostalgia beckoning towards the familiar, how do people decide which films they want to watch? What does a new film need to be in order to add it into your holiday rotation? And what part of one's personal traditions include watching a holiday movie solo, with friends, or family?

Guest host Matt DeTurck discusses it all with film fans:

Vanessa Cheeks, co-founder and organizer of the Anomaly Film Festival
Kathy Kingsley, program coordinator for the University of Rochester English Department, mom, and film fan
Dan Howell, organizer and "man of many lightbulbs" for the Anomaly Film Festival