Home for Christmas on Netflix could become your new holiday must-watch

No spoilers for Home for Christmas
On Saturday I wrapped presents and started watching a series that Kristy Puchko at Pajiba recommended. It’s a Norwegian holiday romcom called Home for Christmas, or Hjem til Jul. The premise is that a 30-year-old nurse is being pressured by her family to couple up and have kids. Johanne is pushed to the kids area at family dinners and won’t earn a seat with the adults until she has a partner. She has a full life with a great career, friends, family and patients she cares about, but her family constantly nags her about the fact that she’s single. At the beginning of Advent Johanne tells her family that she has a boyfriend, thus earning an extra seat at the table. She then sets out on a 24-day quest to find one. Speed dating, terrible internet dates and hijinks ensue.

I went into this series of six thirty minute episodes expecting a cute European twist on a Lifetime movie, with some more modern elements. I came away absolutely delighted and hoping for a second season. It’s uplifting, funny, heart-warming and full of Christmas cheer yet it avoids being predictable or schmaltzy. There are so many cute secondary characters who pop up at key moments, some with rich backstories. There are also multiple references to Love Actually, which is Johanne’s favorite Christmas movie. It’s like the filmmakers are acknowledging that modern classic while giving more realistic twists to the sometimes hackneyed romances. (See Kristy’s review for a better explanation of this, and a breakdown of the Love Actually plotlines that Home for Christmas nods to.)

I started watching Home for Christmas in English because I didn’t expect to pay much attention to it and it was easier. I ended up watching the last two episodes in Norwegian and it was richer. I recommended this to my mom and she binged it in a day too! It’s very likely that we’ll rewatch this together over Christmas break. We usually watch Hallmark and Lifetime movies together, but this wonderful series is worth so many rewatches.

If you’ve already seen Home for Christmas or don’t mind reading spoilers, Kristy has theories and questions about the series in this follow-up article.

Have a wonderful holiday everyone and thank you so much for reading, commenting and listening!

photos credit: Stefan Borup / Netflix via Netflix press

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