Your Christmas or Mine?

Your Christmas or Mine? follows new lovers James (Asa Butterfield) and Hayley (Cora Kirk), who, on “Christmas Eve-Eve”, part ways to spend Christmas with their families. However, just before their trains are about to leave, they each have the idea to surprise the other by showing up at their house for Christmas, which results in the two essentially swapping Christmases. With snow on the tracks preventing James and Hayley from simply heading back home, the couple are forced to spend Christmas with each other’s families, which is made even more complicated by the secrets the two have been keeping from one another.

It’s a solid premise, but unfortunately Your Christmas or Mine? falls short in the way it uses its ideas. This miscommunication-driven plot opens up a lot of possibilities for comedy and drama, but more often than not it takes the easy way out, resolving plot threads too quickly without mining them for as much hilarity or conflict as it perhaps could have. This leaves the film as a whole feeling somewhat hollow and undercooked, which is a shame because the writing is otherwise decent, propped up by a talented cast bringing their A-game to their performances.

Another problem with Your Christmas or Mine? is its heavy reliance on exposition; nine times out of ten it’s content to tell rather than show, with essential character beats communicated through long conversations that derail comedic and dramatic momentum and don’t give the fun characters room to show their engaging personalities. It’s not the worst thing in the world, but, again, it makes the film feel oddly underdeveloped, not making the most of its various narrative devices and storytelling elements: hearing a character talk about their tragic backstory is fine, but it doesn’t make for interesting cinema. 

Overall, Your Christmas or Mine? is fine as far as Christmas flicks go, but it’s also just fine. It had a lot of potential for some solid comedy and compelling relationship drama but generally squanders that to deliver a safe, but ultimately unfulfilling festive comedy. It’s serviceable, and could probably do the trick as something saccharine to put on during the season, but with so many others vying for that all-important Christmas Day spot, Your Christmas or Mine? is more of a stocking stuffer than the wishlist topper it wants to be.

Umar Ali

Your Christmas or Mine? is released on Amazon Prime Video on 2^nd December 2022.

Watch the trailer for Your Christmas or Mine here: