I’m in the “Die Hard is a Christmas movie” camp, but only slightly.

Yes, it takes place during Christmas, and some of that comes into play in the plot. However, you could swap out Christmas for a corporate party to celebrate a major deal closing, merger, etc. John could be going out to LA to visit that old police buddy who he mentions retired out there and needs to stop by the office to give a birthday gift to his wife for one of their children.

The fact that it’s Christmas is more like a fun wrinkle rather than being central to the plot. Despite this, it’s still a Christmas movie to me.

Now, Gremlins, that’s a full-on Christmas movie.