Last year I watched almost all of the new Hallmark Christmas movies and reviewed them for you (read us). There are a plethora of new festive films each year and I think it’s helpful to weed out the movies that aren’t worth the watch. So here we go again! I’ll be watching as many Hallmark Christmas movies as I can and reporting back my thoughts. Bookmark this post and reference it before you decide to watch a Hallmark film.
Watch along…
Magic in Mistletoe | Rating: 2.5/5
I did enjoy the unique plot in this one. Harrington plays an author who gets canceled for saying Christmas is a hoax and April is a PR star who is sent in to clean up his image. The acting was adequate but the leads didn’t have any chemistry in my opinion and it was a little boring.
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Sealed with a List | Rating: 4/5
This one was so cute! First of all the two leads had incredible chemistry. We have an enemies-to-lovers story, which is my favorite troupe, but then we have friends-to-lovers as well. Wyatt inadvertently gets Carley fired so he helps her with her New Year resolution list. Wyatt seemed to really care about Carley in such a sweet way. I thought both actors were great and the plot was unique. It also takes place in NYC which is always a win! Slow to start but other than that it was perfect.
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The Secret Gift of Christmas | Rating: 2/5
I couldn’t finish this one. I found Bonnie to be insufferable and she and Patrick had zero chemistry and nothing in common. The plot (Bonnie is Patrick’s personal shopper) also lacked meaning to me. Giving it a two since the acting was decent at least.
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Christmas on Cherry Lane | Rating: 3/5
This movie reminded me of what This Is Us did so well, with the jumping into different decades, only they didn’t explain what was happening. I didn’t even realize these characters were connected until halfway through the movie and then it was too late to try to start over and take notes. I get that they want to audience to figure it out but I wish it was a little less confusing. I did enjoy each of the three individual storylines and loved all these families. The acting was great as well! Superb cast.
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Round and Round | Rating: 3/5
Oddly enough I JUST saw an improv show that Vic was in so I recognized her immediately. I think she’s hilarious and I love Bryan Greenberg but this was just so so to me. As I’ve said before I enjoy an ensemble cast so I liked that Rachel’s whole family was a part of the story but I feel like this lacked meaning. Rachel keeps living each day over and over to no real resolve. One day she wakes up out of the loop and all of a sudden she and Zach are in love. I got friend chemistry from them, not romantic. Overall I enjoyed it but won’t watch it again.
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My Norwegian Holiday | Rating: 4/5
I think Rhiannon Fish is one of the best actresses on Hallmark, so I had a good feeling about this one. She plays JJ, who meets a Norwegian stranger, Henrik, and agrees to go to Norway with him for the holidays. She quickly clicks with his family, especially his grandma. She is searching for answers about her grandma whos she believes she spent time in this small town back in the day. I wasn’t expecting this one to be so emotional and I feel like Henrik’s love for JJ was so endearing. Such a cute movie!
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Haul out the Holly Lit Up! | Rating: 2/5
I liked Haul out the Holly from last year so I thought I would enjoy this one too. Overall this has a great cast and I love that it’s a true ensemble. However, I felt like the storyline of the two “famous” neighbors (The Johnsons) moving in took away from the closeness this community has, and everything they were doing felt very manufactured instead of putting on holiday events for fun. I couldn’t finish it.
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Our Christmas Mural | Rating: 1.5/5
Another one I couldn’t finish. The leads had zero chemistry and the storyline about Olivia entering a mural contest was very boring.
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Christmas in Notting Hill | Rating: 3.5/5
At first, I was enjoying this one. I thought both couples had great chemistry and it had more pop culture references than most of their movies, which made the characters more relatable. However, as the movie went on I found Georgia to be insufferable. She would get upset over the silliest things and was always worried about something. I still really enjoyed the setting, plot, and Graham- overall it was cute!
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A Biltmore Christmas | Rating: 5/5
This is hands down one of the best movies Hallmark has ever produced! Firstly, the Biltmore Estate in Ashville is absolutely stunning! I couldn’t even pay attention to the actors half the time. I loved the change of scenery. The leads had so much chemistry and they were perfect for their perspective roles. Even though the thought of Lucy going back in time via hourglass sounds farfetched it somehow felt so real and my heart broke when she had to leave Jack. I also adored their take on filming an old Hollywood movie- it was so nostalgic and a great ode to classic cinema.
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Holiday Road | Rating: 2/5
I loved the storyline of this one. It reminded me of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles but with a larger group of strangers driving across the country together. However, the acting was terrible. I know they had to cast a lot of different roles so I understand not everyone is going to be at the same caliber but I just couldn’t get past it.
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Letters to Santa | Rating: 3.5/5
This one was way cuter than I expected! It was more “real” than most Hallmark movies, centering around an estranged couple- Rebecca and Enrique navigating Christmas with their kids. I liked that the whole family was the focus, I just wish the actors had more chemistry.
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Catch Me If You Claus | Rating: 2.5/5
I love both of these actors but this one didn’t draw me in. The plot was confusing and there was too much going on. It was trying to be a Christmas version of Date Night but missed the mark in my opinion.
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Holiday Hotline | Rating: 2/5
Another one I couldn’t finish. I didn’t understand why Abby would pretend to be someone else, specifically American, while working for the holiday help line. The plot was basically nonexistent and I didn’t see chemistry with the leads.
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Navigating Christmas | Rating: 5/5
There were so many wins for me in this Hallmark movie! The two leads not only look great together, but I thought they had great chemistry. I didnt recognize Chelsea Hobbs (Melanie) but I thought she did a great job, and I’m curious to see what else she’s in. She plays Melanie, a single mom who takes her teenage son to stay in a Lighthouse for Christmas, on a remote island. They are tasked with decorating the lighthouse for Christmas by Peter, the lighthouse owner. They reluctantly agree but Peter quickly warms up to the duo and helps fix up the place (which IMO he should, since he owns it). I liked that the storyline was realistic and the drama was believable (ie the son is struggling with the fact that his father is having a baby with his girlfriend). The only thing I didn’t like was the tension at the end between Melanie and Peter. I thought she didnt really have a reason to be angry with him and it was contrived just to bring some conflict. Definitely a cute watch that I’ll revisit next year!
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A Heidelberg Holiday | Rating: 2/5
I enjoyed that this film took place in Germany, as it was the perfect setting for a Christmas movie. However, I felt like the plot was so boring. The main conflict was that the artist, Heidi, was missing her inventory for the Christmas market so she and Lukas kept having to go back t the post office to check if it had arrived. I had to stop watching after a while.
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Christmas Island | Rating: 5/5
I loved this one! Usually, any Hallmark movies with Andrew Walker are at least decent, but I loved his chemistry with Rachel Skarsten (who plays Kate). Kate is a pilot who is hired by a family to take them to Switzerland for Christmas. Due to a storm, they get stuck in a small town, Christmas Island, and try to make the best of it by partaking in the town’s Christmas festivities. I liked that the whole family (parents and two kids) were main characters here. Sometimes it feels like the leads are the only two people in the movie and that always feels off to me. Anyway, Oliver (Andrew) plays an air traffic controller who lives on Christmas Island and eventually hits it off with Kate. Would definitely watch it again!
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Everything Christmas | Rating: 1/5
I couldn’t even finish this one. The storyline made no sense. Bad acting. Skip it.
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The Santa Summit | Rating: 4/5
This movie was so cute! It reminded me of Christmas Class Reunion (from last year), meets the iconic film Sleepover. You get the vibes. Jordin and her best gals decide to do a Santa-themed bar crawl, as do Liam and his brother. The film follows the groups to the various locations where Jordin and Liam try to find each other, after speaking for a few minutes at the top of the crawl. The energy was really fun and I love the unique plot. I’m only not giving it 5/5 because I feel like the leads didn’t have a lot of chemistry, although I loved them individually.
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Flipping for Christmas | Rating: 1.5/5
I was so lost from the jump with this one. It starts with Abigail getting this big job as a realtor but then she finds herself helping her sister sell a home she inherited and has to Flip said home. Co-owner Bo wants to turn the house into a B&B so they are at odds for most of the movie. I didn’t see any chemistry between these two and the writing was all very surface level. Skip this one.
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Mystic Christmas | Rating: 3.5/5
Juniper plays a Nomad who is offered a temporary position by her friend, Candice, in Mystic, CN. So she makes the trip and runs into an ex-fling, Sawer, who happens to be Candice’s brother. Juniper is rehabilitating a seal named Peppermint, just in time for the holidays. Honestly, Peppermint was the best part of this movie. So cute! Overall I thought Juniper and SAwyer had chemistry and the storyline was one of the more believable ones from Hallmark. I really appreciated that neither of them had to sacrifice their dreams for love. It’s a solid watch- just not my all-time favorite!
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Never Been Chris’d | Rating: 2/5
This movie was a complete waste of a fantastic cast. The storyline of two lifetime best friends subtly fighting over their high school crush was juvenile but I could have gotten past it. They lost me when Chris basically started dating both women and “chose” one when they randomly kissed. I think Tyler (Chris) has chemistry with anyone and although I liked him and Janel (Naomi) together, he had WAY more chemistry with Liz (Pascal). The turmoil with both their mothers felt so forced and unnecessary, and I didn’t really see a point in the supporting cast at all. I’m only giving it a two since I enjoy these actors.
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Joyeux Noel | Rating: 2.5/5
I saw Brant said he and his wife, Kim, wrote this movie together, which I think is really endearing. It’s about a copywriter and a grumpy journalist who travel to France to track down an anonymous painter/author. I loved the change of scenery in this movie, and the storyline was cute, but I did not believe Lea and Mark as a couple. He gave nothing emotionally and she seemed like someone who valued connection.
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Christmas By Design | Rating: 4/5
I really like Rebecca Dalton so I had high hopes for this one. I really disliked her character, Charlotte, at the beginning of the film. She was very elitist and kept talking about how she only produced designer fashion, and how she was better than her hometown. I do appreciate that she had some character development and I really enjoyed her by the end. Charlotte and Spencer had great chemistry and were believable as a couple. The plot focused on their town’s weeklong Chrismas festival and Charlotte was supposed to act as Spencer’s buffer, and in turn, Spencer helped Charlotte design holiday pajamas for a contest. Overall it was a really cute watch and one I’ll probably re-watch!
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Under the Christmas Sky | Rating: 1/5
I have to say I didn’t have high hopes about this one before I even watched it. It’s about Kat, an astrophysicist, that has an eye injury and can’t go to space. Instead, she’s tasked with helping curate an aerospace exhibit with David. I feel like this storyline was unrealistic to say the least and overall it was so boring I couldn’t finish it.
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Where Are You, Christmas? | Rating: 4/5
This movie is a modern-day take on It’s a Wonderful Life in my opinion. Addy is an executive from Chicago who reluctantly goes home for Christmas for the first time in six years. She doesn’t love the holiday and the stress that comes with it and makes a wish that Christmas doesn’t exist. The next day the world turns to black and white and no one remembers Christmas. Addy and Hunter have to make the townspeople remember Christmas in order to get color back in their world. It is insanely cheesy but I liked the cadence of events and found Addy and Hunter to be a cute team.
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Checkin’ It Twice | Rating: 2.5/5
This movie had a lot of potential. It’s about a hockey player, Scott, who moves to a small town in Idaho and meets Ashley, who is visiting family from NYC. Scott just so happens to be staying in Ashley’s family’s guest house so he befriends the whole family. Ashely helps Scott find his confidence and Ashley starts re-thinking her career as a real estate agent. Overall I feel like these two actors had zero chemistry and parts of it were too cheesy for me (like how they both happen to have breakup phone calls at the airport).
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Take Me Back for Christmas | Rating: 3/5
I have to say, I love any Glee alumni so I was excited for this movie, starring Vanessa Lengies (aga Sugar Motta). It was one of their premieres for Christmas in July and it came at a great time when I was really craving cooler weather. The story follows Renee as she wishes for a different life and wakes up as a powerful CEO. The kicker is that she is no longer married to her husband. I think this storyline has been a bit overdone and is predictable, but it was a cute watch that will make you practice gratitude.
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Stay tuned for more reviews!
xx, Britta