There are so many delightful traditions at this time of year.

Decorations go up. Families get together. Colorful cookies are baked!

One of the recent additions to the Yuletide festivities is arguing over whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie. Regardless of where you stand on the dispute, one thing cannot be debated—the film’s events took place during the Nakatomi Corporation’s 1988 Christmas party.

Hans Gruber might have ruined that night with his greed, and John McClane certainly saved the day, but it was likely that the Nakatomi Corporation never had another office Christmas party after that.

I have liked watching movies that align with the seasons since I was a kid.

As a teenager, it never made sense to watch films like Hot Dog: The Movie (about skiing) during the summer or Summer School during the winter. I could never live out a fantasy about being the lead character if something as simple as the weather ruined my daydreams.

That’s why I will only watch baseball movies during summer, football movies during the winter, and cricket flicks—well, I’ll be honest, I’ve never watched a movie about cricket since no filmmaker has ever made a movie that an American like me would (1) understand and (2) enjoy.

Besides, if you told us Americans that it was a cricket movie, we’d likely show up expecting some bug named Jiminy.

This is NOT a “Best of Christmas Movies” list. You can find those elsewhere.

I aim to suggest five crime fiction movies for you to watch this Christmas season besides Die Hard (in no particular order).

Five is not too many for you to watch over the next three weeks. To start, I’ll give you an easy one you’ve likely seen multiple times. I’ll make the list progressively more challenging as we go down it.

If you’ve seen them all, consider yourself a holiday crime junkie. Let’s be friends!

The Blockbuster

Time for Action!

Laugh Worthy

The Classic

Under the Radar

What did you think?
Have you seen them all?

I’m hoping to make it an annual thing. I would love to come back next year with five new recommendations.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!