There were so many Hallmark Christmas movies released this year, which left me with both excitement and anxiety. I look forward to these releases every year but where to begin? Which ones are worth watching? I decided to stay organized I would watch as many as possible and review them, so you can pick and choose which movies are worth your time.
We Wish You a Married Christmas | Rating: 2/5
The couple in this movie had zero chemistry, which made this unwatchable. I couldn’t even finish it. Becca and Robby are a married couple that doesn’t seem to even like each other and their therapist sends them on a Vermont getaway. The premise is cute so I’m still giving it a 2/5, but again, these two we’re just not compatible on screen.
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A Cozy Christmas Inn | Rating: 2/5
I love Jodie Sweetin so I had high hopes for this one but the storyline was lacking for me. Jodie plays Erika, who has to travel to Alaska to acquire a bed and breakfast that of course is owned by her ex. It just seemed like such a stretch for me and I didn’t find the bed and breakfast charming enough.
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Noel Next Door | Rating 4/5
This was such a cute take on the Scrooge story. Jeremy is a cranky divorcee struggling to come to terms with his stroke, and Noel is an optimistic single mom doing her best. The main characters had so much chemistry and I love a good enemies-to-lovers troupe. The child in this movie was not a great actor which threw me a little but overall it was super cute. Noel also works at a diner and I love any movie with a diner setting.
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Ghosts of Christmas Always | Rating 4/5
I have a soft spot for Ian Harding from his PLL days so I was excited about this one, and it didn’t disappoint. I liked how this movie focused on the three ghosts (of Christmas past, present, and future) as main characters and less on the person they are sent to haunt. There is a twist that I didn’t see coming that explains how Peter and Katherine (Christmas present) are connected, and I enjoyed the flashbacks. Overall it was more of a unique storyline and I really enjoyed it.
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Lights, Camera, Christmas! | Rating: 4/5
This movie centers on a Christmas rom-com being filmed in a small town in Colorado. I knew I would like it because that is the premise of one of my favorite books, and I always enjoy the movie star meets normie troupe. I felt like Kerry (the fashion designer slash shop owner) was a strong, layered female lead and I don’t think we get a lot of those in Hallmark films. Brad and Kerry had great chemistry and they made sense to me, together. Overall I found it to be cute and better than expected!
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A Maple Valley Christmas | Rating: 3/5
I liked how this film was set in Montana, on a ranch, so the scenery was beautiful and gave a cozy feeling. Erica is taking over her mother’s farm, with her sister, and Aaron comes to town to make a deal for the farm next door- throwing a wrench in Erica’s plans. This storyline has been done before but I did enjoy the on-screen chemistry between the two leads. My issue is that Erica’s character could be so bratty at times. She couldn’t give Aarron or her mother the benefit of the doubt and just shut down when things didn’t go her way.
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A Kismet Christmas | Rating: 3/5
This story centers around a recipe for Kismet cookies that help people find their one true love, which I thought was a cute, unique idea. Sarah and Travis are childhood friends that reconnect when Sarah comes back to her hometown to promote her book about said Kismet cookies. I liked that Sarah was a bit awkward since most leads are unrealistically perfect. Overall it was a cute story but not all that captivating.
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The Royal Nanny | Rating: 3/5
For some reason, I always like it when Hallmark movies are set in Europe, even with the forced English accents. Claire plays the equivalent of a secret service agent that goes undercover as a nanny for the royal family. Claire was such a strong female lead and I liked the dynamic between her and the children’s mother (the Princess). Of course, she falls for Prince Collin while watching over his niece and nephew. It was all very ‘First Daughter” but a little too cheesy for me at times.
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Our Italian Christmas Memories | Rating: 3/5
Beau Bridges as the grandfather makes this whole movie. He is the only character that matters to me. I did love the whole Italian family, including Anna, the main protagonist. They band together to recreate an old family recipe to help the grandfather with his dementia, all whilst Anna falls for her grandfather’s doctor. I would have rated this higher but honestly, it was so sad to see the grandfather struggle and I generally watch Hallmark movies to escape feelings like sadness.
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Christmas at the Golden Dragon | Rating 4/5
This one has the same format as Valentine’s Day where they show a few storylines and the characters are intertwined with each other. I love this type of move, personally, since I think it makes it interesting and you really need to pay attention to keep the characters straight. Romy and Rick’s parents own a restaurant called The Golden Dragon and they decide to sell the space and that Christmas Eve will be their last day open. Patrons of the restaurant band together to keep them open one more day. I felt like this film had an actual plot which some others lack. My favorite storyline was between the workaholic Veronica and Nate, the single dad. I felt like their pairing was very effortless and didn’t feel forced. Overall this one was super cute and I would recommend it!
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Long Lost Christmas | Rating: 4/5
This movie is about an interior designer, Haley, that goes on a mission to find her long-lost uncle. She ends up in a quaint Colorado town where she befriends both her cousin and uncle. Of course, she falls for a local and usually, this storyline bothers me since it’s so unrealistic but the chemistry between Haley and Blake made their romance seem charming. The end gets kind of messy when Haley finally confronts her uncle about abandoning her mother. This one was almost a 5/5 for me but again, it made me sad at times so it wasn’t quite perfection.
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Three Wise Men and a Baby | Rating: 3/5
My favorite thing about this movie is how all three men seemed to enjoy these roles. I feel like we’ve seen these actors time and time again and they all seemed to thrive in these comedic roles. The firefighter brother is left with a baby to take care of temporarily, and his two brothers “help him” yet none of these men know how to parent. I liked that this storyline was so different for Hallmark- the main relationship was between the brothers, and it didn’t have a romantic focus. I would have given this a 4/5 but I felt like Taylor and Stephen’s relationships were so forced. The only one that I thought was cute was Luke and Sophie (the baby’s mother).
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Time for Him to Come Home for Christmas | Rating: 3/5
I was excited to see Holland Roden acting again and I really loved her character, Elizabeth. She receives a voicemail from a man looking to meet a woman at “their spot” before Christmas. Elizabeth partners with her former best friend, Josh, to find the mystery woman and reunite this couple. There is a tragedy in this movie that ties these characters together and complicates Elizabeth and Josh’s relationship. These two had so much chemistry but I still found this movie to be a little too sad for my preference.
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Haul Out the Holly | Rating: 3/5
Lacey Chabert is the queen of the Hallmark Channel and I usually enjoy the movies she’s in, so I was excited about this one. She plays Emily, a recently single gal that goes to see her parents for Christmas and comes to find out they are moving to Flordia. This storyline was so unrealistic to me but I moved past it. Her parents leave and Emily is reunited with an old friend, Jared, who is the head of the HOA and keeps ticketing Emily for her home not being festive enough. The neighbors basically band together to help Emily get her house up to code and I liked that this movie was more of an ensemble cast and the neighbors were all hilarious.
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#Xmas | Rating: 3/5
#Xmas is about Jen, an interior designer, trying to get more customers by entering a design contest and posing as a family influencer. Her best friend, Max, pretends to be her husband and of course catches feelings. I really liked the cast as a whole in this one, but I felt like Max and Jen were best friends, I didn’t see any romantic chemistry between them so that part didn’t seem believable.
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A Tale of Two Christmases | Rating: 3/5
I found it confusing from the beginning that Emma was living out these two parallel Christmas fantasies. Once I just decided to get over my confusion I did end up enjoying this for the most part. I found Drew to be the most charming character and he stood out to me as the protagonist, over Emma. She just couldn’t communicate properly and made poor decisions in my opinion. All in all, it was cute, just not my favorite.
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A Fabled Holiday | Rating: 2/5
I just could not get into this movie. I always like it when childhood best friends reconnect later in life, as Talia and Anderson did, but I felt like the other characters that were at the gingerbread lodge were distracting and overall the plot made zero sense. I felt like the main actors’ chemistry was non-existent. Still giving it two stars since I finished it lol.
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Christmas Class Reunion | Rating: 5/5
Finally a perfect score! This was by far the best Hallmark movie I’ve seen this year. I loved the chemistry between Devin and Elle and I felt like it was very realistic that she wouldn’t end up with her high school crush, but someone more unexpected. I loved their whole friend group and I think an ensemble cast just makes for a better movie. So cute!
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Hannukah on Rye | Rating: 4/5
I don’t think Hallmark has done very many Hannukah movies so this seems long overdue! I loved the leads and the storyline of how their grandmas played matchmakers for them and the whole movie gave me You’ve Got Mail vibes which is my favorite movie of all time. Definitely worth the watch!
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‘Twas The Night Before Christmas | Rating: 3/5
The premise of this movie kind of confused me. I didn’t really understand why two big actors were back in their small town working on a Christmas show. Anyway, Torrey DeVitto did a great job as Madison but I wouldn’t get passed the terrible acting by Zane as Connor. Visually they looked great together and I love the friends to lovers troupe but the acting just was cringe at times.
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The Most Colorful Time of the Year | Rating: 4/5
This has to be one of the most unique storylines I’ve seen on Hallmark. Ryan is a color-blind elementary school teacher and Michelle is an optometrist that helps him to see color, through these magical glasses. While I don’t think these types of glasses really exist I thought this movie was perfectly cast and I loved these two together.
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My Southern Family Christmas | Rating: 4/5
I did not expect to like this movie as much as I did- the end made me cry! It’s about a woman named Campbell who wants to get to know her birth father so she travels to his home to interview him for a story. She becomes clsoe with his family and finally reveals her identity to him at the end. I like that it wasn’t tragic like some other Hallmark films, but more so a touching story of a daughter reconnecting with her father.
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I will update this list as I continue watching, so stay tuned!