Asa Butterfield and Cora Kirk’s 5 favourite Christmas movies

Goats. Snowball attacks. Naked sauna trips. These are the makings of a top tier Christmas film, it turns out, according to Asa Butterfield and Cora Kirk, stars of ‘Your Christmas Or Mine 2’, the new sequel to last year’s hit festive British romcom.

“It’s like ‘Your Christmas or Mine 1,’ plus Austria,” explains Kirk. “Plus a goat,” adds Butterfield.

More specifically, while the first charming Christmas comedy saw a young couple accidentally forced to spend Christmas with each other’s families, this follow up sees them return to spend the holiday together in a luxury resort in Austria - only for another manic mix-up to make them swap their accommodations, which happen to be on opposite ends of the hotel star scale… and cause a little mayhem under the mistletoe.

What did being in Austria this time around bring to the on-set experience? “Having real snow rather than fake snow, which we had in the first one, was a treat. We could actually throw snowballs at each other. Well, I could actually throw snowballs at Cora,” says Butterfield.

For Kirk, perhaps unsurprisingly, that was less of a highlight. Instead, she spent her free time hiding in the sauna.

“There is this really famous big spa in Soelden, where we were, and it's like the spa of spas - the Aqua Dome. There's a section within the spa called Sauna World, so I went there on my day off. You've got to be naked in the spas in Austria, because everyone's naked. So I was wandering around having the best time. It was phenomenal,” recommends Kirk.

“I went there a couple times,” adds Butterfield. “Yeah. separately!” clarifies Kirk.

So, that’s how we make the Christmas movie magic off-screen. How about on-screen? What do the stars think makes a festive film favourite?

“You've gotta have snow, you've got to have winter jackets.” says Butterfield, “A Christmas soundtrack, obviously. A bit of drama, some comedy; a bit of love.”

“You’ve got to have some sort of running. We run a lot in this film. You need a Christmas montage. A little bit of fizz. And a tacky outfit. Sorry, but Natalie Gumede who plays Kaye in the film - her tacky Christmas outfits are just fabulous.”

With that in mind, allow the Christmas movie stars themselves to handpick their five favourite Christmas films, painstakingly debated and then gift wrapped in a special seasonal ShortList, just for you…

1. Elf

“Elf has to be in the top five. It’s just genius. Will Ferrell would be one of my dream dinner guests, dead or alive. Will Ferrell, in Elf, specifically, playing Buddy,” says Butterfield. But would he serve him sweets for Christmas dinner? “Oh that’s absolutely fine. He can serve me sweets.”

2. The Snowman

“The Snowman, for me, the toppest of top Christmas movies. I watch it every Christmas Eve,” says Kirk, “ I used to have it on cassette, do you remember cassettes? I had The Snowman on cassette, and I'd listen to the music before I went to sleep. That, for me, is Christmas. On the ‘We’re Walking In The Air,’ bit, was usually when I fell asleep. It was kind of weird.”

3. Die Hard

“Die Hard is up there,” says Butterfield. “It is a Christmas film. I mean, it is. It's set at Christmas. I think that's where you have to draw the line. Why would it not be?”

4. The Nightmare Before Christmas

“The Nightmare Before Christmas! That's up there for me. How could we forget about that? I mean, it's brilliant. It's just really brilliant,” says Butterfield.

"This is Halloween, this is Halloween, Halloween, Halloween… It’s the best because it combines Halloween and Christmas, and they are my two favorite festive days,” adds Kirk, “Skeletons make for a good Christmas film.”

5. Harry Potter

“Let’s include all of them in one. All of them, back to back. all of them. I watch them at Christmas. They all at least touch on a bit of Christmas, or Christmas Eve. They’re just so good,” argues Kirk as to their spot on the ShortList.

“There's a thing on social media that is now one of my Christmas traditions, that I started this year: if you start from eight weeks before Christmas, and watch one every Sunday, it takes you to Christmas Eve. It's kind of a simple algorithm. I don't know why I've never done it before, but social media said it's a thing, so I'm gonna jump on that boat,” she adds.

To be determined: Wall-E

“Is Wall-E a Christmas film?” asks Butterfield, “No, don't be daft,” says Kirk.

“ I know it's not Christmas themed, but it’s the sort of film you watch over Christmas. If the Harry Potter movies are being counted, then Wall-E's also a Christmas film,” reasons Butterfield.

“No it's bloody not,” says Kirk.

Definitely not included: The Polar Express

“Oh, and I don't like I don't like the Polar Express. I find it creepy,” says Kirk.

Your Christmas Or Mine 2 is streaming now on Prime Video.

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