Tradition is what makes some of the best Christmas movies, but sometimes it’s refreshing to do things a little differently. With this in mind, Austin Film Society (AFS) has compiled a three-part series for Austinites looking for something to do on some of December’s busiest days: it offers some Christmastime movies that don’t usually make the holiday cut, with all the nostalgia of their rightful places in classic film history.

AFS reprises its “Home For The Holidays” film series on the following dates:

• The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg, December 24-27
• The Thin Man, December 24, 25
• Eyes Wide Shut, December 25, 26

The longest run of all three films, spanning the whole series, goes to The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg, a visually playful musical notable for its continual recitative — that is, the characters always sing instead of speaking, and never break into a showstopping, singalong-ready number. This 1964 musical ends in December of the prior year, on Christmas Eve.

The oldest film of the bunch, made in 1934, is the most explicitly Christmas-themed. The Thin Man follows a couple’s Christmas trip to New York as it turns into an unexpected murder mystery. This masterpiece transcended its Christmas-film status as one of the best early comedies, regardless of the season.

For those sitting out or recovering from the Christmas madness, Eyes Wide Shut may provide a soothing-if-scathing anti-consumerist salve. A dark comedy by Stanley Kubrick, starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, this more recent classic also has an edge, and Christmas is presented more as an obligation and an overarching tone than something to celebrate.

Aside from the riddle of what these December movies share, they all provide lots of layers of light and dark; a singing romance during wartime, a silly murder mystery, and a juxtaposition of a religious tradition and a secret society. That’s what the winter solstice is all about.

All screenings take place at the AFS Cinema, at 6406 N I-35 Suite 3100. AFS is screening a number of other films outside its holiday series during the same time frame. Tickets (starting at $11) are available at austinfilm.org.