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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).
5. A Merry Scottish Christmas (2023)
It's back to TV movie territory for 'A Merry Scottish Christmas', which does at least try to do something different, being less reliant on the familiar festive romance tropes. Lacey Chabert and Scott Wolf play estranged siblings Lindsay and Brad who they travel to Scotland at Christmas to reunite with their mother Jo. They are unaware that a big family secret is about to be revealed. | Contributed
6. Comfort and Joy (1984)
A festive classic from acclaimed director Bill Forsyth, who also made 'Local Hero', 'Comfort and Joy' stars Bill Paterson as a Scottish DJ who gets dumped by his girlfriend just before Christmas. Looking for meaning in his life he gets tangled up in the battle between two rival Glasgow ice cream families and resolves to settle their dispute. | Contributed
7. Saving Christmas Spirit (2022)
The spirit in the title of this familiarly-plotted film is the whisky that handsome heir to the Scottish manor Duncan McAvoy, played by James Robinson, hopes can save his business. Ashley Newbrough plays the attractive American archaeologist Lucy Stewart who is in town to find some ancient ruins and finds love (and a nice manor house to live in) instead. | Contributed
8. A Christmas Carol (2018)
Think you've seen every version of Charles Dickens' classic 'A Christmas Carol'? Think again. Stuart Brennan stars as Scrooge in a contemporary retelling of the story set in Scotland. | Contributed