Here’s how all of our favorite Christmas movies might just exist in one universe

The holiday season is for getting home at the end of the day, plopping yourself on the couch, and putting on the Christmas movies you’ve seen hundreds of times before. Why do movies like Love Actually and Elf never get old? Mostly because they give us that warm glow that only comes from holiday goodness, but also because it seems like we learn something new every time we watch them, spotting things we hadn’t noticed before or realizing something that changes our whole perspective of the film.

I had one of those realizations when I was watching Love Actually the other night. The movie had gotten to that iconic scene where the Prime Minister, played by Hugh Grant, is knocking on doors looking for Natalie. Before he finds her, he stops at several wrong houses, including one with three very small girls. I couldn’t help but think, those girls remind me a lot of the little girls in The Holiday. And then, like dominoes, my mind let loose: What if our favorite holiday movies were actually all connected in some way?

There are two things you’re going to have to overlook if you want this imagining to make sense. The first is time. These movies span decades, but for the purposes of this game, we’re going to warp time a little bit so it all makes sense.

The second is actors and actresses. Instead, we’re focusing on the fictional characters, rather than the people who played them. With me so far? Okay, let’s go.

The little girls who answer the door in Love Actually are the daughters of Amanda and Graham from The Holiday. Two are from Graham’s previous marriage, who we met in the film, and one is the daughter of both Amanda and Graham, because of course they lived happily every after.

There’s another important kid in Love Actually, and that’s Joanna, who moves to America after singing an amazing rendition of “All I Want For Christmas Is You.” You know who else has an amazing voice? Jovie, from Elf. Joanna moved to New York and grew up to work at Gimbels, getting the nickname “Jovie” somewhere along the way.

Speaking of Elf, there are a lot of other connections sprouting from the film. For instance, we meet the snowman from the claymation Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer when Buddy chats with him outside in the snow, proving that the whole claymation universe is up in the North Pole. I also think it’s fair to say that animated movie The Polar Express has the same claymation reindeer and elves, just in high definition.

Then, there’s Santa. The Santa in Elf who is also the Santa in The Santa Clause, just a few years older.

And, finally, there’s The Grinch. If you remember from the very opening scene of the Jim Carey version of the film, we see that Whoville is located deep inside a snowflake. This snowflake just so happens to be in many of these movies. Which snowflake, you ask?

And there you have it! Turns out, all these Christmas movies are secretly connected. Or, could be, if you use your imagination and just a dash of holiday spirit.

(Images via New Line Cinema, Universal Pictures, Disney, and author)