Is ‘Die Hard’ A Holiday Movie? Here’s Why The Answer Is Yes!

It's a question that seems to come up in conversation every year: Is Die Hard A Christmas Movie?

As someone who has spent time critically thinking about this subject (don't judge me!) I thought I'd bring back an article I wrote outlining why I think "Die Hard" is actually a Holiday movie, despite what naysayers may believe.

Every year people go through their favorite holiday movie lists, and inevitably it's all the same; "It's A Wonderful Life," "Elf," "The Grinch," "Rudolph," "Frosty The Snowman," "Miracle on 34th Street," "Home Alone," etc. But the one movie that gets left off the list, all too often, in my opinion, is my favorite holiday movie, "Die Hard!"

And usually, when I mention that to people, they look at me like I have five heads, and feel the need to tell me that there is no way "Die Hard" is a holiday movie. Well, I am here to make the argument that it most certainly is.

Point #1: The entire movie takes place at a company Christmas party.

It might just be the worst company Christmas party in history, but it's still the holiday season! Decorations, Christmas music, and even the utterance of the traditional "Ho Ho Ho" can be seen and heard all throughout the movie.

Point #2: It shares the plot of many an already-accepted Christmas tale. 

Compare it to the plot of a couple of other undeniable holiday favorites, and I ask you to show me the difference. Take "Home Alone" and "The Grinch," for instance. The plot of both of those movies involved unhappy crooks trying to rob innocent holiday revelers of their belongings, only to be foiled by either a cute kid or an inventive hero (in the case of "Home Alone," Kevin is both!) Bruce Willis's John McClane is the definition of an inventive hero in this movie, and Alan Rickman's Hans Gruber is definitely an unhappy crook, especially by the end of the movie.

Point #3: Christmas ornaments are used to save the day in all three movies!

Kevin sets traps for Harry and Marv using Christmas tree decorations in "Home Alone." A rogue ornament that pops off the tree wakes Cindy-Lou Who and busts the Grinch. And John McClane used holiday packing tape to strap a hidden gun to his back so [SPOILER AHEAD] he could shoot the bad guys at the end of "Die Hard!"

Nothing gets me into the holiday spirit more than the dad from "Family Matters" walking Bruce Willis through how to escape Alan Rickman's squad of Euro-disco machine-gun-toting bad guys, and seeing things blow up. Merry Christmas!