New Year’s Eve is often synonymous with countdown parties, champagne toasts, sumptuous feasts, and—best of all—cutie movies marathons. If all the holiday party planning and gift hunting have left you more exhausted than joyful, snuggling up on the couch with a mug of hot cocoa and watching a feel-good flick can be a good idea to ring in 2023 on a relaxing note. Below, we’ve compiled a list of cutie movies that are perfect for your NYE celebrations.

Here are 5 cutie movies to watch on New Year’s to celebrate the holiday with family and friends.

cutie movies

When Harry Met Sally (1989)

In our cutie movies list, we cannot include this comedy. Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan star in this modern classic about friends who test their theory that friends can’t have sex with each other, over several years. Written by Nora Ephron and directed by Rob Reiner, When Harry Met Sally was named the 23rd best American comedy ever, and the 25th best romantic film, by the American Film Institute.

Arguably the greatest romantic comedy ever made in history, this movie is certainly worth a watch for all the hopeless romantics out there. It tells the story of two best friends, Harry and Sally, who have known each other for years and gradually realise their love. The drama is famous for its witty script, enjoyable plot—and of course—the iconic New Year’s Eve smooch, but it’s the chemistry between the two actors that really makes the movie a classic. It all ends with an oft-quoted declaration of love moments before the clock strikes twelve.

Waiting to Exhale (1995)

Whitney Houston, Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine and Lela Rochon headlined Forrest Whitaker’s Phoenix-set romantic drama about four female friends and their relationships with men. Based on a novel by Terry McMillan, Waiting to Exhale was a massive hit, garnering solid reviews and making over four times its budget at the box office.

More important, the movie hinged on a stellar cast of black women, and while it explored experiences unique to them, it still appealed on a universal level — people of all colors and backgrounds get screwed over by their exes. And even though the story was being told by four black women, it showed women that in spite of fractured relationships, joy, peace, love and kinship are always a possibility. This is why we include this movie in our cutie movies list to watch during the holiday season.

The Holiday (2006)

Written, directed, and produced by cinema powerhouse Nancy Meyers, the movie follows two women, Amanda (Cameron Diaz) and Iris (Kate Winslet) as they swap homes– and soon, lives — over the holiday season in order to escape heartbreak. However, their lives are soon upside down as they experience love, friendship, and holiday cheer on opposite continents.

The movie covers both the highs and lows of the Christmas period, something many people can struggle with as the happy-and-bright attitude of the festive season can be so pervasive. It also comes with fantastic winter wardrobe inspiration for both the freezing English snow and the warm Los Angeles climate. Overall, the movie is a love letter to the importance of both romantic love and true friendships over the holidays: it’s a festive favorite for a reason! If you’re creating your cutie movies list to tide you over the Christmas season, The Holiday should be on your watchlist.

Trading Places (1983)

This loose adaptation of Mark Twain’s 19th-century novel The Prince and the Pauper, where Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy play financially disparate men who switch lives, was rightfully compared to the classic comedies of Preston Sturges and Frank Capra upon its release. The plot centers around a grotesque bet made by Mortimer and Randolph Duke, brothers and the owners of Winthorpe’s firm, Duke and Duke. After a run-in between Winthorpe and Valentine, in which Valentine is falsely accused of trying to steal Winthorpe’s briefcase, the Duke brothers make a bet on whether nature or nurture is the determining factor in an individual’s life.

The premise of the bet is that if they elevate Valentine from poverty, giving him all the things that Winthorpe has (money, a job, a network, and social status) —he will soon begin to act like a wealthy, entitled, successful elite. On the other hand, they wager, if they take away all that Winthorpe has, he will turn into a homeless, jobless, thieving degenerate.

Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001)

Renée Zellweger is a million-watt movie star in Sharon Maguire‘s funny, beloved rom-com based on an equally cherished book by Helen Fielding. This classic cutie movie begins with Bridget Jones’s determination to kick start the year by keeping track of all the New Year’s resolutions with a diary, and ends with the sweetest moment she shared with her Mr Right, Mark, on New Year’s Eve. With the perfect balance of heartfelt comedy and bittersweet narrative, Bridget Jones’s Diary certainly deserves a spot on your holiday movie binge-watch list.