8 Christmas Movie and Beer Pairings

The only thing better than getting cozy with Christmas movies is opening up some Christmas beers with them! Here are six movie and beer pairing ideas just in time for the holiday weekend.

Updated 12.18.22

Ho-ho-ho beer and movie fans! Christmas is coming up mighty fast, and if you’re like me, you’re counting down what few days are left. The holiday is on a Sunday this year, so I’ll definitely be be putting on a holiday movie and popping open a festive craft beer this weekend to celebrate. Isn’t adult Christmas the best?

It turns out both Hollywood and craft breweries love the holidays, so there’s a ton of choices to sift through this year. If you’re having trouble deciding what to watch and drink this year, read on for some Christmas movie and beer pairings sure to make the season bright.

8 Christmas Movie & Beer Pairings

Please note that I get no money from any movie studios or breweries for promotion here on Beer-Flicks. I’m just a nerd in Seattle who wants to share some holiday spirit in the way of honest reviews plus beer and movie pairing suggestions. Santa, if you’re listening, I think that totally puts me on the nice list.

Pelican Brewing’s Bad Santa with Bad Santa (2003)

“You’re an emotional fucking cripple. Your soul is dog shit. Every single fucking thing about you is ugly.”

Believe it or not, Bad Santa is a rather heartwarming movie overall. Or at least, it has heartwarming moments.

Willie (Billy Bob Thornton) and Marcus (Tony Cox) are longtime thieves who spend every holiday season working as a Santa and his elf at the shopping mall of their choice. After weeks of clocking the place, they then rob it blind on Christmas Eve. This year’s a bit different, however. Not only is Willie in the most self-destructive and depressed state he’s ever been in, but Marcus is fed up, the mall loss prevention detective is closing in, and to there’s a friendly yet incredibly naive kid named Thurman Merman (a phenomenal performance by then-child actor Brett Kelly) who seems convinced Willie is actually Santa. If you haven’t seen it, you’ll just have to trust me on the heartwarming stuff.

For this gloriously fun, dirty, and yes, heartwarming, Christmas story, I suggest Pelican Brewing’s own Bad Santa Cascadian Dark Ale.

In less-skilled hands, both the movie and the beer might be too dark and heavy. Instead, every 7.5% ABV sip only starts dark and toasty before the light, smooth maltiness takes over. There’s a little refreshing hop bitterness on the finish too.

Don’t think much harder about it; Willie wouldn’t.

Wicked Weed’s Milk & Cookies with Home Alone 2 (1992)

The full title of this movie is Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, and in this case, location definitely matters. Young Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Caulkin, but you knew that) once again finds himself separated from his family during Christmas. Only this time, he’s all alone in the Big Apple. New York is one of those cities that does the holiday season right, and whether Kevin’s romping around FAO Schwarz or setting up booby traps for the wet bandits, it’s impossible not to feel the magic.

Especially during a scene in the Plaza Hotel, where Kevin stays in a fancy hotel room stocked with all kinds of treats. There’s a shot where a cabinet in the room swings open to reveal the biggest, most delicious cookies you’ve ever seen. It’s enough to make you disappointed with real-life hotel amenities for years to come, and it’s also why I’ve chosen to pair this Christmas movie with Wicked Weed’s Milk & Cookies Stout.

I’ve written about this luxurious beer before as part of the North Carolina brewery’s Guilty Pleasures Stout pack. But it’s exactly how I imagine those cookies in Kevin McCallister’s hotel room to taste if they came with an 8.5% ABV.

Drake’s Santa’s Brass with The Santa Clause (1994)

As a kid in the ’90s, The Santa Clause was the most plausible Christmas movie ever. For me, Santa is Scott Calvin (Tim Allen). You know, that guy who accidentally startled Santa to the point that he fell off a roof and died, then put on his suit and took over his job and life. Wait, is this actually a dark thriller?

No, it isn’t! Startling as the setup may be on the surface, The Santa Clause is a downright charming and witty movie. I mean, this one answers all the questions: how Santa could endure for so many years, how Santa could get around the world in a single night, how Santa gets into houses without chimneys and fireplaces, etc.  Sure the sequels aren’t great, but The Santa Clause is built to last. Moving past the Christmas surface though, this movie is really the often bittersweet, funny, and touching tale of an unconventional family learning to be whole.

In lieu of some of Judy’s 1,200-year-old hot chocolate, start off the movie the right way with a beer like Santa’s Brass from Drake’s Brewing in California. This belly-warming Barleywine is aged in both bourbon and port barrels for rich, woody dark fruit and molasses notes. Add that to the whispers of vanilla and caramel already in the base beer, and the whole thing is one jolly experience.

It is 14.8% though, so set a good example and save this boozy brew for an all grown-up Santa Clause movie night. Hey, the kid in it is like 35 now anyway.

Little Full, Lotta Sap with National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1985)

I somehow never saw the whole thing until my boyfriend put in on one night years ago, but National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is now a beloved staple of my holiday movie lineup. There’s a little bit of everything here: quirky extended family members, an impressive home light display, and of course, everything going wrong until the last minute.

Now, I was tempted to choose some kind of eggnog beer because of the multiple times we see Clark sipping it away, but to be perfectly honest, I haven’t tried many that are that great. So, I’m choosing to honor one of Clark Griswold’s many memorable blunders. Instead of going to a lot, farm, or designated Christmas tree forest area like a normal person, Clark chooses to go deep into the forest and chop down a truly gigantic pine tree. It takes over half the living room and is clearly a nuisance. But of course, it’s endless optimism that once again saves the day: “Looks great! Little full, lotta sap.”

Which brings us to the beer pairing. Kros Strain is a talented little microbrewery out of Nebraska with a big reputation for IPAs. Their Little Full, Lotta Sap is an easy-drinking 6.5% IPA brewed with Chinook, Simcoe, Centennial and Cascade hops for huge flavors of citrus and conifer, backed with hints of berry. But the mouthfeel is where it truly shines. Full-bodied and softly sticky, this thing really does taste like it has a “lotta” pine sap in it. The whole experience is just darn enjoyable, much like the Christmas movie I’m pairing it with.

It’s not Griswold’s eggnog, but if you feel like pouring it into a glass, moose mug glasses are totally a thing.

New Trail Ugly Sweater with Just Friends (2005)

Don’t be fooled by the early 2000s Ryan Reynolds (back when they were still trying to turn him into a romantic lead post-Van Wilder) and rom-com atmosphere — as far as weird Christmas movies go, Just Friends takes the cake.

After having to make an emergency landing in New Jersey on their way to Paris, L.A. music mogul Chris Brander (Reynolds) and his over-confident yet horridly untalented client, Samantha James (Anna Faris) find themselves stuck in Chris’ hometown for the holidays. It doesn’t take Chris long to find out his high school crush and former best friend, Jamie Palamino (Amy Smart), is also in town, and he’s determined to try winning her over again.

I know, I know — it sounds like a total Hallmark movie. But would a Hallmark movie have a drugged-up toothpaste-eating scene, excessive sibling violence, and Anna Faris singing the most off-key, sincere song about forgiveness you’ll ever hear? Actually, it’s hard to choose between that and the “Be Yourself” song sung by Chris’s mother (July Hagerty). The movie’s basically one-third song, and all of them are so bad they’re good. Take that, Hallmark!

Like the movie, Ugly Sweater IPA (from Pennsylvania’s New Trail Brewing) isn’t what it appears to be on the surface. Yes, it’s a hazy, but it’s brimming with unique green grape and white gummy bear flavors thanks to massive quantities of New Zealand Nelson Sauvin hops (backed with Citra and Mosaic). It’s even brewed with white wheat and oats for a ridiculously full-feeling body. But the real kicker? It comes with an 11.2% ABV! And yes, there are a lot of ugly Christmas sweaters in the movie too.

Transient Artisan Ales Only I Didn’t Say Fudge with A Christmas Story (1983)

“My father worked in profanity, the way other artists might work in oils or clay. It was his true medium. A master.”

There are a lot of memorable moments to pick out in A Christmas Story, but one of the best has to be when Ralphie (Peter Billingsley, in an incredible child acting performance) accidentally swears in front of his old man (Darren McGavin). Despite having heard the offending word numerous times from dad himself, Ralphie is too afraid to tell that to his mother and instead passes the blame off on a friend of his. If you’ve seen the movie, you know what happens next.

You also know that this clever Christmas movie delicately dances around actually saying any profanity out loud. Michigan’s Transient Artisan Ales pays homage to that with their Only I Didn’t Say Fudge, an Imperial Milk Stout with a 10% ABV and luscious chocolate undertones. Holy fudge is it delicious.

By the way, Billingsley also appears in 2003’s Elf as a North Pole elf! And that’s what we call a segue.

Tommyknocker Maple Nut Brown Ale with Elf (2003)

As a 13 year old, I went to go see Elf with my friends back in 2003. We hopped over the crosswalk when leaving the theater, and that was just the first of almost two decades of Buddy the Elf impressions. Case in point: Seattle SantaCon was the other weekend, and it seemed like every tenth person chose to forgo a Santa suit in favor of Buddy’s trademark green jacket and yellow leggings.

For those who’d prefer to get in the Elf spirit with some suds, Maple Nut Brown Ale from Colorado’s Tommyknocker Brewery is an excellent choice. It’s an easygoing 4.5% ABV brew that dances with hints of baking spice and just whiffs of maple. If Buddy the Elf (Will Ferrell, for those living under rocks) wasn’t such an oddball, he’d prefer this drinkable stuff over his plateful of spaghetti smothered in maple syrup. For the rest of us, the beer is certainly the more refreshing choice.

By the way, my favorite aspect of Elf is easily Peter Dinklage as children’s author Miles Finch. The guy may not be the “angry elf” Buddy naively mistakes him for, but he sure is a cotton-headed ninny muggins. From demanding the interior of his private car “be 71 degrees exactly” to criticizing vegetable-based children’s story plot lines that end up being curiously similar to his own, Miles is the cherry on top of this quirky Christmas movie.

DuClaw Brewing Spruce Willis Yippee Ki-Yay Mother#^@%*& with Die Hard (1988)

The late ’80s action flick also happens to be my all-time favorite Christmas movie, and I will gladly fight anyone who says it doesn’t belong among the tippity-top of the classics. Die Hard isn’t one of those action-thrillers that just happens to take place around Christmas — it IS Christmas.

Seriously, the entire thing’s framed around an office holiday party on Christmas Eve, and the music score’s sprinkled with sleigh bells. And, hello, it’s also the story of people coming together on Christmas and going after the things that truly matter! Whether that’s reconciling with your spouse in a stress-fueled atmosphere or hacking into the basement safe of an office tower, the little moments of joy abound. Plus like any good holiday flick, it’s endlessly quotable (Alan Rickman’s droll reading of “Now I have a machine gun. Ho. Ho. Ho.” is my personal favorite).

Baltimore’s DuClaw Brewing Co. gets it, and they named their Spruce Willis Yipee-Ki-Yay Mother^@%*& after one of the movie’s most famous quotes of all. That is actually what it says on the can, by the way. But the real goods are what’s inside. An 8.2% ABV Imperial IPA brimming with notes of grapefruit, wintergreen, and resinous pine, this one is a refreshing departure from the ocean of juicy hazies out there. Kind of like how Die Hard feels refreshing after tons of ooey-gooey traditional Christmas movies.

As the brewers describe Spruce Willis, “The last thing this beer wants is to be a hero, but it doesn’t have a choice.”

Happy holidays!