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From ‘Gremlins’ and ‘Die Hard’, to ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ and ‘The Bishop’s Wife’, there’s a Christmas film for everybody.
In recent years festive movies have become big business, with a huge number released on streaming platforms.
Netflix even has its own Netflix Christmas Universe (or NCU), comprising multiple films with fun crossovers, returning stars and ‘Easter eggs’ for sharp-eyes fans to enjoy.
This burgeoning industry has seen filmmakers look to Scotland for the kind of snowy landscapes and picturesque castles beloved by American viewers.
As well as these newcomers, Scotland has also provided the backdrop for a number of celluloid Christmas classics over the years.
So, here are 10 festive films set in Scotland - and not all of them involve a beautiful American woman falling in love with a hunky member of the Scottish aristocracy (don’t worry though, several of them do).
1. Hector (2015)
Jake Gavin's drama stars Peter Mullan as a homeless man who makes his way from Scotland to London every Christmas. As the journey unfolds, his past and how he came to be making the annual voyage is slowly revealed. It's not exactly feelgood festive fun but it has a deceptively warm heart. | Contributed
2. Christmas in the Highlands (2020)
The enjoyably silly 'Christmas in the Highlands' was shot at a range of locations in Scotland, including Glamis Castle and Edinburgh's Christmas Market. It stars Brooke Burfitt as American woman sent by an evil corporation to buy a perfume formula from a quaint family of Scottish aristocrats, including handsome Earl-in-waiting Dan Jeannotte. You don't have to be a genius to predict what happens next, but the heroine being mugged by a reindeer is certainly a surprising plot twist. | Contributed
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3. Christmas in Scotland (2023)
It's another 'American visitor meets a Scottish laird-type and falls in love with him against the odds'. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. This time the American is Jill Winternitz' installation designer who helps a small Scottish town put on a Christmas light show to win a 'Best Christmas Village' festival. Will she also light up the heart of the wealthy heir who sees Christmas as an inconvenience? Try to ignore the fact that a very similar plot has been used in at least two other festive flicks and you'll have a blast with 'Christmas in Scotland'.. | Contributed
4. Anna and the Apocalypse (2017)
For those who like their Christmas films with a little blood splatter, John McPhail's Christmas zombie musical film is a welcome break from the normal saccharine festive celluloid fayre. Ella Hunt is remarkable in the titular roll of a school leaver leading the charge against an invasion of zombies in the fictional Scottish town of Little Haven. | Contributed