With Halloween in the rearview and Thanksgiving prep underway, Netflix is now rolling out its annual slate of new holiday movies, and first up is “A Merry Little Ex-Mas,” a movie that combines so many seasonal rom-com cliches that it borders on parody. However, these elements are presented with such an earnest sincerity that it’s highly reminiscent of a Hallmark flick.
This new tinsel-covered romantic comedy also serves as pure nostalgia bait for millennial viewers with Alicia Silverstone (star of “Clueless”), Olivier Hudson (series regular on “Dawson’s Creek”) and Melissa Joan Hart (“Sabrina the Teenage Witch” herself) leading the cast list. I suspect these known names might be enough to convince Netflix viewers to watch along.
But when it comes to “A Merry Little Ex-Mas,” it’s a matter of managing your expectations. If you’re looking for a fresh holiday rom-com that breaks beyond the boundaries established by countless other Christmas-themed movies, you won’t find that here. But if you’re looking for a seasonal stream that makes for suitable fodder when wrapping gifts or hanging fairylights around your home, it’s warm and watchable.
What is ‘A Merry Little Ex-Mas’ about?
Katie (Alicia Silverstone) and Everett (Oliver Hudson) are a former married couple, nine months separated and on the verge of finalizing their divorce (though they prefer the Gwyneth Paltrow-coined term “unconscious uncoupling”). They plan to spend one last Christmas together with their combined family unit before going their separate ways.
But these plans for one last holiday spent together with their (now grown-up) kids are thrown into turmoil when it’s revealed Everett has a new girlfriend (Jameela Jamil), and Katie becomes a Grinch shade of green with jealousy. Over the course of the season, the two try to navigate their new dynamic, while at the same time, some old feelings start to resurface.
Should you stream ‘A Merry Little Ex-Mas’ on Netflix?
Between its cast list of late 90s/early 2000s stars and numerous dated pop culture references (a British character arrives on the scene in full Hogwarts attire, Katie tells her kids to "#LightenUp" when they react with disinterest), “A Merry Little Ex-Mas” feels like a direct-to-DVD holiday movie from two decades ago that Netflix just happens to have dug up and decided to release in 2025. There is certainly nothing new or shiny on display here.
No prizes for guessing how things conclude, and the journey to get to the predictable endpoint is a collection of genre tropes from a sledding mishap to picking out a tree. The movie even exists in a fictional town seemingly designed around the season, called Winterlight. The type of small town where every single home, shop and town square is decked out in so many twinkling lights it seems the residents have raided the Walmart decoration aisle. How Winterlight survives during the rest of the year is a mystery.
At one point, Jameela Jamil's Tess even quips that she feels like she's "in one of those American movies" about a big-city girl arriving in a "charming wintry town" and falling in love over the holiday. It's clearly supposed to be a meta joke about "A Merry Little Ex-Mas" itself, but it's a rare moment of self-awareness — the rest of the Netflix original sticks to a bland playbook.
There’s really not much more to say about “A Merry Little Ex-Mas.” It has a few charming moments, many worn-out jokes that land with more of a groan than a chuckle, and a commitment to seasonal spirit that Christmas obsessives would likely call cute, but I’d label grating. It’s another Netflix holiday movie that I doubt anybody will be adding to their annual watchlist, but if you want a dose of sugary seasonal sweetness, it’s at least inoffensive.
This flick also represents the start of Netflix’s holiday movie season, with plenty more seasonal flicks on the way, including “Jingle Bell Heist” (Nov. 26) and “My Secret Santa” (Dec. 3). And if you can’t wait to stream more movies perfect for this time of year, Netflix recently added 27 Christmas movies and shows to its content library.
Watch "A Merry Little Ex-Mas" on Netflix now
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