Hallmark Presents; December Movie Rec List

We have officially rung in the New Year. And I am still watching feel-good Hallmark and Lifetime movies. I don’t think this particular hobby is going anywhere any time soon.

Hallmark’s Countdown To Christmas and Miracles Of Christmas events drew to a close in the second last weekend of December 2022. It took me a while to sit down and watch the ones I’d wanted to, but now that I have, I’m back with part two of my recommendation list!

You can find part one, covering the first half of the holiday events, here.

Movies marked with ‘*’ are movies that lived up to my (quite high) expectations. Movies marked with “!” are ones I had not expected to enjoy as much a I did.

All movie titles link to the trailers. And the recommendations are listed in the order of their airing dates.

A Fabled Holiday
Aired: 3 December 2022
Starring: Brooke D’Orsey, Ryan Paevey
Summary: Talia and her childhood best friend Anderson unexpectedly reunite in a curiously familiar looking town full of Christmas spirit that restores its visitors when they need it most.
My Thoughts: I loved that she was a writer, and I did not expect there to be a magical bent to the story. It was fun and sweet, and reconnecting old friends is always something I adore.

The Holiday Stocking
Aired: 3 December 2022
Starring: Nadine Ellis, B.J. Britt, Karon Riley, Tamala Jones, Mykelti Williamson
Summary: In this Hallmark Mahogany presentation, RJ is a new angel, who is given the chance to address his one regret, that he didn’t help his sisters reconcile while he was still alive. Returning to earth as a stranger, he gets each of them to revive The Holiday Stocking, their parents’ old tradition to encourage charity at Christmas.
My Thoughts: This was SUPER EMOTIONAL. Honestly, the mix of grief and resentment felt real and heavy, and authentically done.

Undercover Holiday
Aired: 4 December 2022
Starring: Noemi Gonzalez, Stephen Huszar
Summary: When returning home for the holidays, newly minted pop star Jaylen tells her protective family that Matt is her new beau, when in reality, he’s her overzealous security guard.
My Thoughts: * Fake relationship between popstar and her bodyguard? What’s not to love! This movie also has my absolute favourite first meeting between the main characters.

Christmas Class Reunion
Aired: 10 December 2022
Starring: Aimee Teegarden, Tanner Novlan
Summary: High school classmates, who once dubbed themselves the “cursed class,” reconnect at Christmas for their 15-year reunion. Over the course of their time reconnecting, the classmates challenge each other to remember who they were, who they are, and who they want to be.
My Thoughts: ! I was honestly underwhelmed by the summary though the trailer sparked my interest a little. However, the movie was entertaining and the chemistry between the leads was good. The thing that really drew me in was the friendships between the characters though.

The Holiday Sitter
Aired: 11 December 2022
Starring: Jonathan Bennett, George Krissa, Chelsea Hobbs
Summary: Sam is a workaholic bachelor who babysits his niece and nephew before the holidays when his sister and her husband have to go out of town. Completely out of his element, he recruits help from their handsome neighbor Jason and finds himself in an unexpected romance.
My Thoughts: * This is the absolute cheesy, sweet, saccharine queer holiday romance we deserve, thank you Hallmark. I hope they keep giving us movies like this. In all seriousness, the characters did not feel stereotypical or one-dimensional, and the romance felt organic, and I loved it.

Holiday Heritage
Aired: 16 December 2022
Starring: Lyndie Greenwood, Brooks Darnell, Holly Robinson Peete
Summary: Ella returns to her hometown to mend fences with her fractured family. With the help of Griffin, her ex-boyfriend, she encourages her family to celebrate Christmas and Kwanzaa and to heal their past wounds before it’s too late.
My Thoughts: We got quite a few stories about healing and grief, and coming home to process that this year I feel. And they all felt different from one another in a really good way. I liked the little twist on the story with the mother’s arc being what it was. (No spoilers!)

‘Twas The Night Before Christmas
Aired: 17 December 2022
Starring: Torrey DeVitto, Zane Holtz
Summary: A former actress trying to break into directing tests her skills with a town’s annual Christmas Eve courtroom production in which the true authorship of the famous poem ‘A Visit from St. Nick’ is debated.
My Thoughts: ! I did not expect this story to be this intriguing! The summary really gives nothing away, and the trailer barely hinted at the surprising turn of events. The movie was fun and fresh, and the romance was a nice addition and not the focus. You get caught up in everything else and the characters’ friendship slowly turning to more adds richness to the story without taking all the focus.

Hanukkah On Rye
Aired: 18 December 2022
Starring: Jeremy Jordan, Yael Grobglas, Lisa Loeb
Summary: A matchmaker connects Molly and Jacob, but their new romance is put to the test when they realize that they are competing deli owners. Will a Hanukkah miracle keep them together?
My Thoughts: ! This was so much fun. Funny and engaging, and while the plot is familiar – basically You’ve Got Mail with delis instead of bookstores – the characters infused so much life into the story that it felt fresh. I cannot speak for the representation, but I hope we get more stories exploring Jewish traditions and holidays.

These Hallmark movies may have mostly followed the formula, but there seems has been a twist to them. No longer is it impossible to want the job, to dream big, but also want love. It is possible to have both. I love that the stories give us a rich surrounding cast of members now too, though we could do with more.

There has been a slow shift towards diverse stories which I hope to see more of in the coming years. More cultural, ethnic and religious diversity alongside LGBT+ stories please. More body diversity, more racial diversity – just more stories for everybody, exploring the richness of lives and cultures.

(I am once again screaming into the void; Hallmark, I have South Asian centric story ideas, call me.)

Two additional recommendations – not Hallmark – that I have are Netflix’s Christmas With You and CBS’ When Christmas Was Young. Both movies tackle the music industry and grief, bar in vastly different ways. The Netflix offering is more colourful and showy, much like what it takes to stay on the top in the industry, the CBS offering shows the other side, of dreams given up and a life not quite settled for but content.

They were both sweet and charming, with leads that played off each other really well. And both had a nice height difference, which I am a sucker for.

• What movies did you watch this holiday season?
• Did you make any resolutions for the new year?
• What’s on your ‘to-watch’ list for this coming year?

Happy New Year everyone! I hope 2023 is forgiving and generous, and filled with laughter and happiness.