Miracle on C-Store Street

There’s a Christmas Movie for everyone. But the desire for delicious c-store snacks while watching crosses all demographics.

Christmas Movies have gotten so popular they’ve become a genre unto themselves, taking their place next to other great movie genres like rom-coms, action/adventure, film noir, westerns, horror, and, um, Marvel.

Streaming and niche cable (for the older demographic) combined to give the entertainment industry more outlets for more Christmas Movies. The demand isn’t dying. The consensus is that there are a thousand or so holiday movies available for viewing at any time, right now, in the world. Entertainment Weekly reports 116 new ones were released in 2023 alone.

The biggest genres are also capable of creating great sub-genres. The Christmas Movie has plenty.

At the top of the list (no pun intended) is Christmas horror. Essentials can be found here, if you need a primer to get started.

“Insider looks” at Santa and how things go down in his workshop is also a category unto itself. This results in an entertaining mix of Santa biographies, elf conflicts/power struggles/revolutions, and transitions of power between different Santas. Something is always threatening Christmas, but no worries— Christmas usually gets saved. At least in these movies.

The “Hallmark Christmas Movie” has become an identifiable type of its own, with certain key elements re-fashioned over and over again. The business/school/town must be saved before Christmas Eve! And a mismatched couple is going to fall in love, and help save it! And adopt those children! And find a will no one knew existed!

That sounds pretty hard to top, but let’s end with two other types, anyway. They serve as complements to each other.

First, there are the movies inspired the classic, It’s a Wonderful Life. In these movies, the main character gets to see what happens if they had never been born and how crummy it ends up, as a result. So they get pretty pumped at the end when they see how much they matter. That’s good!

Then there are the movies that work the other way, “borrowing” from Dickens’ classic, A Christmas Carol. Here the superficial/misguided/flat-out evil main character gets to wreak havoc until something happens to them that makes them see the error of their ways. Like ghosts! On Christmas Eve! It’s so cool when it works out that way!

So what does all this have to do with c-stores you say? Well, people snack when they watch movies, most certainly in the winter time when they are stuck inside. And where is the best place in the world to get snacks for any season? That’s right! The c-store.

In the spirit of the Christmas Movie, and the retailers who satisfy the snack cravings of their audiences, here are some suggested pairings/relationships between c-store snacks and a Christmas Movie genre.

Christmas Movie Type: Horror
What the heck snacks would you match up with Krampus or Black Christmas? Bloody Marys, probably. Additionally, you could have some blood-red fruit punch or black-colored soda to create an eerie ambiance. Don’t forget to include some creepy-looking gummy worms or snack mixes with strange shapes to keep with the theme.

Christmas Movie Type: Insider Looks at Santa’s Workshop
You know elves probably eat some crazy stuff, stuff that probably doesn’t even exist. So we’re going to go with one of the most popular insider looks of the North Pole, Elf. Everyone knows Buddy the elf likes spaghetti. So cook a big pot. And maybe buy some maple syrup and pop-tarts while you’re at it. At a c-store, of course.

Christmas Movie Type: Hallmark
Doesn’t it seem like someone is always drinking hot chocolate at a ski lodge or a ranch house bonfire or a town gazebo in these movies? So that’s a start. Chocolate-covered strawberries or heart-shaped candies. Probably. And someone always seems to be munching on a gingerbread cookie. Gee, that one was easy.

Christmas Movie Type: You’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone
Classic Christmas Movies like It’s a Wonderful Life and the first Miracle on 34th Street were made in the 1940’s. Almost before c-stores. Popcorn was too messy to let in theaters. Neither was Bazooka Joe Bubble Gum, the most popular snack at the time. But you might get a cone. And your drink served in a glass.

Christmas Movie Type: I’m a New Person, Because I Got Haunted by a Christmas Ghost
Let’s travel even further back in time, to the Merrie Old England of Scrooge. We’re talking some late 19th Century business here. What did those people eat? Did snacks even exist? What’s mutton?

Wait. There were no movies, either, unless you count some proto-nickelodeons. Okay. That’s a good question. What did they serve at nickelodeons? Well, as Bon Appetit explains: “…patrons purchased food and drinks from nearby restaurants and boldly carried their stash in with them… Theaters even allowed self-employed vendors to roam the cinema selling…popcorn and peanuts.”

Sounds like the Victorians needed more c-stores.

Speaking of which, just as everyone likes some kind of Christmas Movie, every operator likes to build profit. At SSCS, we’ve seen time and again that c-store growth occurs when the proper technology is deployed and supported to the fullest. At SSCS, that’s what we do, and have done for over 40 years. Maybe it’s time to give yourself the ultimate gift: profitability that grows. Give us a call at 1-800 972-7277 and let’s chat.