My Top 10 Favorite Hallmark Christmas Movies
February 3, 2021
Today I will be reviewing something near and dear to my heart: Hallmark Christmas Movies. Now I know what you’re thinking: your dad watches these cheesy movies. Well, all I can say is your dad has great taste in television movies, and maybe sometime you should sit down and watch one with him. Better yet, watch one of these top 10 and you’ll probably change your whole perspective on these movies.
All of the summaries that I used I found on hallmarkchannel.com if you guys want to find out more about any of these movies.
PS: Let me just say that it was very hard to construct a list of only 10, and organizing them into which were my favorites was practically impossible.
PSS: Now that I’ve written most of this article I just want to warn you guys that this thing is really freaking long. You have been warned.
So some Hallmark movies are more lighthearted than others. This one is not one of those. The summary on hallmarkchannel.com says, “November Christmas is the moving story of two families, a community, and the idea that Christmas doesn’t have to come just once a year. This holiday story tells how neighbors come to help a family trying to cope with their young daughter’s illness. The story is narrated by the healthy adult daughter who shares her story with a group of children through a children’s book she has written and illustrated. The father’s (John Corbett) unwavering love toward his sick little girl propels him to come up with a plan to move the clock: pushing up all the holidays. His unlikely ally is his neighbor, a quiet but perceptive farmer (Sam Elliott) who figures out the plan. The two co-conspirators find they have something in common and join forces to bring the little girl and her brother Halloween in August, and Christmas in November, with the farmer enlisting friends in town to join the cause, and by doing so, mending his own old bridges of friendship.” I know that description is long guys, but this is definitely one you won’t want to pass up on. This one is also the oldest movie on my list, and it’s part of the Hallmark Hall of Fame.
I have never been a huge fan of Hallmark movies. In my opinion, they are too predictable and unrelatable. A Christmas movie about saving a Christmas tree farm might be a heart-warming story, but it doesn’t relate to me or connect me to the story in any way. This Christmas, I watched an older Hallmark Christmas movie called The Christmas Secret. I actually enjoyed the movie! It was more relatable and realistic because the main character was a single mom struggling to financially make it through the Christmas season. It was also filled with mystery because she finds the truth about her family and the locket her mother had given her.
— my sister, freshman Sarah Mitchell
This one is cute. It’s about a candy cane company. Is that not the cutest thing you’ve ever heard? “The story begins when Cate (Sweetin), CEO of the Merry & Bright Candy Cane Company, meets Gabe (Walker) during the busy Christmas season. She assumes Gabe is the suitor her well-meaning mother is trying to set her up with when in reality, he works for Empire Corporate Recovery, which has been hired to take a closer look at Merry & Bright’s operation and find ways to make the company more profitable. As Cate and Gabe begin to work together, they find ways to elevate the business and find that they have more in common than savvy business sense.” Also, it stars Jodie Sweetin and Andrew Walker, both whom we (I) adore.
“As the only daughter of an expert tailor in Philadelphia, Emily Corrigan is a kindhearted young woman proud of her blue-collar background. She is a devoted seamstress at the family business and madly in love with her doting European boyfriend, Leo. But as their first Christmas together approaches, Leo drops a bombshell on his unsuspecting girlfriend: he is actually Prince Leopold, heir to the throne of Cordinia, a small sovereign country. Less than enthusiastic about her son’s relationship with a commoner, the prince’s mother Queen Isadora makes Emily feel anything but welcome at their grand castle, leaving Emily to feel more at home among Isadora’s staff of butlers and housemaids. As Emily struggles to adapt to her new royal surroundings, the situation is made more difficult when a scheming Isadora invites Duchess Natasha, Leo’s ex-girlfriend, to join them for Christmas. Attempting to stay true to herself in a world where she clearly doesn’t belong, Emily wonders if love is enough to keep her newly royal relationship from falling apart before Christmas morning.” So that was a long description, but I didn’t want to leave anything out. This one is good one. It stars Lacey Chabert and Jane Seymour, and I feel like this was the first time I’ve heard Jane Seymour in something where she speaks in her normal accent (she’s British guys, which is something I didn’t know for the longest time because everything else that I’ve seen her in she was faking an accent.) Anyways, this one is a fun one, and has a lot of British accents involved.
So I’m going to warn you guys now: Candace Cameron Bure makes several appearances on this list. She’s my favorite actress and I just love the movies she is in. And I do apologize for the fact that some of these descriptions are longer than others, but here is the description from hallmarkchannel.com: “As Christmas approaches, Noelle (Bure) is at a crossroads in her life when it seems that love, a connection with her father, and her dream career are out of reach. When she stays late at her job in a department store on a snowy Christmas Eve, she accidentally gets locked in after closing. She isn’t too concerned about the prospect of spending the night in the store… until a quirky woman appears out of nowhere in the shoe department and tells Noelle that she’s her guardian angel. Soon, Noelle finds herself revisiting Christmases past, present, and future as she must work with her new neighbor, a handsome, Christmas-loving firefighter, to plan the annual Christmas Charity Gala. Will visiting the holidays of yesterday and tomorrow help Noelle take new chances and discover the true spirit of Christmas? And in realizing that the only thing standing in her way of leading a fulfilling life is herself, will the love she has longed for all her life be the best surprise gift of all?” From the description, I’m hoping that you can tell that this movie is reminiscent of A Christmas Carol, but much less scary and much more cute. Also, I myself am a shoe addict, so I enjoyed seeing the shoes.
“Maggie Conway’s had it with big-city living, especially after her husband-to-be leaves her at the altar – literally! She moves to small-town Washington State, opens a toy store dedicated to expanding kids’ imaginations … and meets Mark Nagle, proprietor of the local coffee shop. Mark’s number one priority is his six-year-old niece, Holly, whose mother has passed away, leaving him caregiver-in-chief along with her two other uncles. Holly hasn’t spoken a word since her mother died, and the three men try relentlessly to get her to speak. Is there room in Maggie and Mark’s busy lives for romance? To be (in love) or not to be (in love) — that is the question!” Okay, this one has literally been one of my favorites for YEARS. Probably since 2012 or thereabouts. It’s just too cute. (How many times have I said that already?) This one is just so heartwarming. (Maybe it should be in the top 5…)
Alrighty guys, we’ve made it to the top 5. I just want to say that this was IMPOSSIBLE! These 5 are really amazing movies and I would recommend them to everyone.
Okay, so this one is literally just the cutest. I’ve probably said that a million times already. This is the summary on hallmarkchannel.com: “At the height of her career, investigative journalist Hannah Dunbar finds herself wondering what would have been had she stayed with the love of her life, Ben, 10 years before. When Santa Claus hears her “what ifs?” as a Christmas wish, he transports Hannah to a version of her life where she and Ben started a family. Hannah – who literally becomes a mother overnight – navigates the comical day-to-day challenges of life in the suburbs with Ben and their daughters Caitlin and Hailie.” I really, really love this one, but the time travel/ dream ones just stress me out because I really want it to end up perfectly. In the case of this movie, I want everything to end up exactly like her dream because the dream was so good. Even better, it stars Lacey Chabert, who is one of my favorite actresses. It’s just so fetch (wink, wink).
What’s better than one Candace Cameron Bure? Two Candace Cameron Bures! In this movie, Bure plays on-screen identical twins, and her real life daughter, Natasha Bure, plays her on-screen daughter. “When identical twin sisters are stuck planning their respective Christmas parties, they’re convinced the grass is greener on the other side. Deciding to swap lives for the holiday, the lessons they learn along the way may turn out to make this the best Christmas ever.” Overall, this one is just a really good movie, and it has a different plot than many of the other movies. Also, twins fascinate me, even if it’s played by the same person.
So this one is another one of those what-if dream, alternate universe movies, and can I just say that this one STRESSED ME OUT. Here is the summary on hallmarkchannel.com: “When a restless young married woman is granted a wish by a Christmas Angel to be single again, she soon discovers her new life isn’t what she bargained for, and embarks on a quest to win her husband back.” It stars Andrew Walker (who is my favorite Hallmark actor) and Nikki DeLoach (who I also love). I especially love it when the two of them work together, because they’ve starred in several Hallmark movies together and just work really well with each other. During the whole movie, I was so worried that she would never make it back to her husband, but it’s a Hallmark movie, so of course it ended happily. I would recommend this movie to anyone. It’s DEFINITELY one of my favorites.
I want to start by saying that I ADORE this movie. “When Martha Evans (Kristy Swanson) finds herself homeless with her two young daughters and stepson just a week before Christmas, she puts her trust in a new town full of friendly strangers and prays for the best. Martha’s no good husband, Cal (Bart Johnson), has left her for the last time, emptying her bank account and disappearing without a word. Hopeless, Martha takes the kids to a sleepy town where she moves into a motel and begs the owner of the local diner, Trudy (Tess Harper), to hire her as a waitress. Taking a chance, Trudy decides to help Martha and her children, even as things go from bad to worse when Martha’s car breaks down and her bills start piling up. Then, as Martha begins to meet more of the locals, including handsome sheriff Joe (K.C. Clyde), perky teenage babysitter Jeanie (Danielle Chuchran) and grumpy but warm-hearted diner regular Les (Edward Herrmann), Martha finds her faith just be restored—-until Cal returns. Can the town still give Martha the merry Christmas she needs, or will her past prevent her from the happiness she’s found this holiday?” Guys, this one is so emotional, but it just shows that a little kindness, especially over the holidays, goes a long way.
Candace Cameron Bure has done it again! Guys, this one has a special place in my heart. Ever since the first time I watched it, I literally loved it. LOVED IT. I will say that this one is a lot more cheesy than some of the others on this list, so if that isn’t your style, you honestly might not like it. It’s just so cute. “Dr. Lauren Brunell (Bure) has her whole life planned out. As a third year surgery resident, she is counting on being accepted into a prestigious hospital fellowship to follow in the footsteps of her supportive father, Henry (Pine). But when those plans quickly fall apart, and Lauren is put on the wait list, she must take the only other opening available: a head doctor position in the small, remote town of Garland, Alaska. Convincing herself it is only temporary, Lauren moves to Garland where she is immediately charmed by Andy (O’Donnell), a handsome local who soon starts to show her the importance of living in the moment and enjoying her unexpected adventure. As Lauren excels as Garland’s trusted doctor, she warms up to the friendly town. But Andy’s father, Frank (Doyle-Murray), is hiding something from her in his top-secret shipping warehouse. Just as Lauren decides to get to the bottom of her suspicions, she receives news that will force her to make a life-changing decision, while knowing for certain that the Christmas season will never be the same.”
Alrighty guys, there you have it. Those are my favorite Hallmark Christmas movies out of a lot of Christmas movies. Also, Hallmark has a lot of movies that aren’t Christmas movies that are really good that you guys should check out.
