My dad was arguing that it wasn't because being set at Christmas isn't enough, and said a bunch of things typical of a Christmas movie to have; while I countered with a list of things that happen in Die Hard that met his criteria.

"Someone needs to receive a gift."

"McClane was gifted a machine gun."

"There needs to be a miracle."

"It's a miracle John survived."

"It needs to capture the feeling of Christmas."

"Have you never spent time with your relatives at Christmas? It feels just like being held hostage at Nakatomi Plaza."

This is such an exhausting topic. Anyone saying it isn't a Christmas movie either hasn't seen it recently enough to remember it or they're being contraian. It takes place during Christmas, a Christmas party even. It has Christmas music woven into the soundtrack. The b plot is the main character fixing his marriage (a common theme of Christmas movies is fixing families).

To be honest, I sort of would view people arguing that it isn't a Christmas movie like people arguing Red One isn't a Christmas movie because it is primarily an action movie. Red One is more obvious due to the marketing and the fact it's literally about saving Santa after he is kidnapped, but it's still very moreso an action movie than other similar titles (The Santa Clause also has a kidnapped Santa subplot and a team of elite elves rescue him, but it is much more minor).

Even Plex agrees:

In the same way that tomatoes are fruit and bananas are berries.

I thought this was a closed deal? Of course it is a Christmas movie.

There are 2 kinds of people, those who say die hard is a Christmas movie, and those who are wrong.

I mean if a movie like It's A Wonderful Life can be a Christmas movie, despite most of it not having anything to do with Christmas, then so can Die Hard.

Gremlins is also a Christmas movie.

So is Mortal Kombat from the 90s. It’s all about people fighting to be number 1. Just like Christmas shopping.

In as much as home alone and Batman is a Christmas movie.

subtract chrismas from the plot: you have no chrismas party filling a finished floor of the office tower with future hostages; you have no cross-county traveling hero to save-the-day. becomes a six page script and an easy in-and-out for snape and co.

I don't wanna be the party pooper here, but Die Hard is a specifically American Christmas Movie. I'm not saying that other people can't or shouldn't enjoy it as a Christmas Movie if so inclined.

But as a German what we "traditionally" watch as Christmas Movies/Shows is something completely different (though also varying greatly from region to region and family to family. I for one still enjoy "Weihnachten bei den Hoppenstedts" a lot my father mostly insists on seeing "Familie Heinz Becker feiert Weihnachten". A movie a lot of people consider to be a Christmas Movie as far as I can tell is "Drei Haselnüsse für Aschenbrödel".

Again I'm not saying that people can't consider "American" Christmas Movies as their own or make them their traditions a friend of mine insists that "In Bruges" is the ultimate Christmas Movie. I just think saying "We all agree" is making it to simple

Edit: Read some more comments and maybe I misunderstood the premise. I'm not saying "Die Hard is not a Christmas Movie" what I'm trying to say is "Christmas Movies are what people make their Christmas Movie regardless of if they are Christmas-y" if I started watching Shrek at every Christmas it would be my Christmas Movie. But I feel what OP wanted to say was "There are Movies that are considered Christmas Movies because of the content and Die Hard should be considered one of them".

Diehard is 100% a Christmas movie, however, Die Hard 2 which also takes place at Christmas time, is NOT a Christmas movie, as the fact that it's Christmas is coincidental and not at all integral to the plot.

Why Die Hard is a Christmas Movie:

• there's a grinch who spoils the party
• "You're, uh...?" "Clay. Bill Clay." (checks directory to see if naughty or nice)
• need help? call a plump do-gooder (the cop at the donut shop)
• anxiously expecting a vehicle to land on the roof
• "It's Christmas, Theo! It's the time of miracles, so be of good cheer!"
• a good guy climbs down the chimney / elevator shaft

The real Xmas movie is Eyes Wide Shut

No and I'm tired of people pretending it is. Now, Gremlins on the other hand.

I think its important to establish why it's a Christmas movie. I consider it one not just because it's Christmas time in the movie but because it's heavily Christmas themed the entire movie. For this exact same reason I think other movies also fall into this category like gremlins and terrifier 3.

Why is it always Die Hard? 29 Alternative Christmas Movies That Aren't Die Hard

The last thing it seemed like many perceived they had in common was Tiger King.

Now it's support for murder as a necessary means of change.

This is progress.

Yippee Kai Yay, motherfucker.

No, we agree that “Die Hard is a Christmas movie” is a fun proposition to entertain, either because it’s edgy and freaks the mundanes with its audacious disregard for cherished norms, or (more recently) because it’s a fun meme, with own line of commercially available ugly Christmas sweaters and knowingly ironic greeting cards. Though the meme eventually will become so overexposed that quoting from Die Hard on Christmas will become as basic and mid as dressing up in a Santa costume and drunkenly making an arse of yourself with several hundred similarly attired dudes.

Do we really have to do this every year?

So is Gremlins.

Hell yeah! Of course, best Christmas movie ever. Multicasting it over the corporate network since last Monday and won't kill the process before 2025!

now i've got a machine gun ho ho ho!

Well, yeah. What else would it be?

Every movie that's set during Christmas is a Christmas movie. I'm watching Eyes Wide Shut with my wife tonight

Bruce thinks it’s a Bruce Willis movie.

… he gets a pass.

Haters will say this is fake:

One of my friends had this take on it:

Die Hard can't be a Christmas movie because Die Hard is actually good.