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Happy Weekend before Thanksgiving Week, everyone!
Oh my goodness, it's hard to believe Thanksgiving Day is just next week! Even though I've been preparing for it, the day always seems to come faster than I anticipated!
As we look forward to Thanksgiving, we have plenty of NEW Christmas movies to enjoy this weekend, including one I know many here have been looking forward to seeing since Great American Family announced it during Christmas in July: "A Little Women's Christmas!"
The movie themes in "A Little Women's Christmas" center around coming home again, sisters reuniting, spending Christmas with family and those you love, and celebrating the true meaning! It's sure to be an ideal, heartwarming story as we approach Thanksgiving.
And the sibling love continues! While "A Little Women's Christmas" focuses on the four March sisters, the Hallmark Channel's "Three Wiser Men and a Boy" focuses on the three Wise brothers. This movie is, of course, the sequel to the original comedy, "Three Wise Men and a Baby," which was a hit with viewers during the 2022 Christmas season.
Additionally, NEW Christmas movie premieres will also air on UPtv and Lifetime! See all of the details below...
Thursday, November 21, 2024:
Storyline: A successful New York City book editor (Gonzalo), who is losing touch with her passion after a few setbacks this year learns she was chosen to run a bookstore in the small town of Saint Ives for the month of December. While realizing a childhood dream, but butting heads with the handsome son (Penny) of the bookstore owners, she comes to realize that her love for bringing out the creativity of others is still her true calling, and untapped talent (and love) can be found anywhere... even in the writings of a cranky business-minded man, especially at Christmas.
Find Julie Gonzalo's festive sweater from A Novel Noel - via It's a Wonderful Lifetstyle.
Friday, November 22, 2024:
Storyline: In the lead-up to Christmas, emergency room doctor Hannah Michaels (Canning) juggles her demanding job and a budding romance with EMT Wes Sullivan (Blain) in Philadelphia. They spend time together as Wes helps her become more acquainted with the sights, sounds and tastes of Philadelphia, it's clear that they're starting to fall for each other. As the local First Responders balance duty with holiday celebrations, they come together to face challenges, support each other, and find moments of joy.
Saturday, November 23, 2024:
Storyline: Cub reporter Sofia thinks she's found a Christmas story that will save her career when she discovers a long-lost, undelivered Secret Santa gift addressed from B. to Claire.
Movie Reviews:
π "The Search for Secret Santa. Not family friendly. Such a shame because this was a cute and cozy movie with good lead actors and a fun Nutcracker mystery up until the one-hour mark. As the mystery is unfolding, we then hear a detailed story on how there was a royal prince back in the late 1800’s in a small European country and he was the only one left to carry on the royal line. But Peter “was not the marrying kind”. Twenty-four-year-old “Peter loved Finn, a male commoner” and he showered Finn with gifts and Finn took some of the gems and made a gold and precious-gem-encrusted nutcracker as a gift for Peter. The king found out about their relationship and separated the two and banished Finn, and young, heartsick Peter died of a heart attack and the valuable nutcracker became cursed forevermore. After being told this secret tale the lead actress says, “it’s 100 years later and we’re still struggling to accept people for who they are and who they love”. That’s when I was about to hit delete but I decided to fast forward through the movie to see if I could confirm a suspicion I’d had since the beginning of the movie. And, sure enough, at the end of the movie we find out that the lead actress's two best girl friends are actually lesbian lovers and about to get married and go on a honeymoon. Ugh. This makes two Ion movies that I’ve tried to watch that were not family friendly so I’m thinking I’ll not watch anymore Ion movies?" ~~Jane
π "The Search for Secret Claus Unfortunately I don’t see that coming until end of the movie in fact, Sophia’s best friends named Nancy & Laura ahead to their honeymoon in Austria to take historical nutcracker to honor Prince & Finn the commoner. I thought this family friendly but isn’t . Unless Sophia lectures nutcracker until see above until others asking Sophia about Tony & Abigail - Abigail shows up & sees Sophia so, Sophia walks toward Abigail until she calls out Tony, Abigail says Tony & Tony says Twirly, Abigail’s nickname. Jonathan carves heart (Jonathan & Sophia), Jonathan hands handmade nutcracker to Sophia Jonathan & Sophia need to avoid the thieves who want nutcracker named Justin Hawkins & Simon with eye patch just before cops come so, Jonathan asking Simon where’s his Sister in somewhere in the theater π" ~Anonymous
π "The Search for Secret Claus is not family friendly" ~ Anonymous
π "The Search for Santa Claus is not family friendly when I found out at the end of the movie about 45 mins. Sophia lectures the audience by saying her best friends named Laura & Nancy are about to get married & ahead to their honeymoon to take historical nutcracker in Austria π¦πΉ to honor the Prince & Finn the commoner" ~Anonymous
Saturday, November 23, 2024:
Storyline: A Little Women’s Christmas is a contemporary retelling of the beloved classic novel, following the lives and loves of the March sisters in a small Tennessee town at Christmas. Jo March is played by Jillian Murray, Trevor Donovan is Friedrich “Fritz” Baehr, Meg March is played by Jen Lilley, Laura Osnes plays Beth March, Julia Reilly is Amy March, and John is played by Jesse Hutch. The one-and-only Gladys Knight performs “Joy.”
Find Laura Osnes' lovely fashion from A Little Women's Christmas via It's a Wonderful Lifetstyle - here and here.
Saturday, November 23, 2024:
Storyline: The story begins five years later with the Brenner brothers preparing for another memorable Christmas. In a crazy turn of events, possibly brought on accidently by the brothers themselves, the director of Luke's (Walker) son Thomas' (Miles Marthaller, Round and Round) school holiday musical steps down. Luke is desperate to make his son's stage dreams come true, so he enlists the help of his brothers Taylor (Hynes) and Stephan (Campbell). Meanwhile, the trio navigates meeting their mom Barbara's (Colin) new boyfriend and the brothers grapple with their own feelings about this relationship. In true Brenner brother fashion, they are all in for a Christmas they will never forget.
Saturday, November 23, 2024:
Storyline: Christmas in the Spotlight follows Bowyn (Jessica Lord), a popular musician and celebrity, who despite always singing about love and relationships, hasn’t found Mr. Right yet. Her fame and busy recording schedule make it nearly impossible to date, but when she meets Drew (Laith Wallschleger), a pro football player, backstage at her show with his niece, there’s an undeniable spark between the two of them. When Drew publicly declares he has a crush on Bowyn, they decide to give dating a shot, much to the excitement of her manager Mira (Jeannie Mai). With each passing day they spend together, their feelings grow stronger… but can it last in the limelight, especially when they both have such hectic schedules? With people questioning if their feelings for each other are real or just for show, the pressure mounts from the press, paparazzi, their fans and even their family, including Drew’s sister-in-law, Nicole (Haley Kalil). The pair has until the end of the holiday season to decide if they want to stay together, or let it go down in flames.
Sunday, November 24, 2024:
Storyline: Jacquie Miller is an interior designer desperate to catch a break. The city’s annual Festival of Trees decorating competition, known for putting local artists on the map, may be just the answer! But competing with the city’s top designers is not for the faint of heart. With the help of her quirky assistant, a charming stranger and an inspirational young girl, Jacquie embarks on a humor-filled and heart-warming journey to create a tree that will knock the stockings off Santa himself.
Sunday, November 24, 2024:
Storyline: Juliet pitches Christmas candles to her boss to earn a promotion and enlists the help of a candle store owner (Tom), who refuses at first but reluctantly agrees when he realizes the money will help make his daughter’s Christmas wish come true.
Movie Reviews:
π Reel One's Christmas by Candlelight is clean and very sweet! -Maria
π Christmas by Candlelight is family friendly about Wellness expert Juliet pitches selling Christmas memory candles to her boss hopes of earning a promotio, & enlists the help of boutique candle store owner Tom Turner to create new candle scents. He refuses ho thinks the wellness industry is a scam, refuses at first but agrees when he realizes the money will help make his Daughter named Olive Turner’s Christmas wish come true. Can Juliet and Tom work together to impress the boss or will their differing views result in disaster. Grandma Ruth Turner is Tom Turner’s Mother who babysits when Tom goes after Juliet who with her assistant named Lucy. Lucy leaves those 2 alone: Tom & Juliet. Tom & Juliet are in front of Christmas tree π² ~Anonymous
π Christmas by Candlelight – This is a lighthearted, sweet, family-friendly movie. Juliet has to create a unique, highly sought after product just before Christmas, and is struggling to figure something out until she meets Tom, who is a candle maker and single father. The two work together on making memory scented candles, which is a nice idea, but I wasn’t sure this product idea would be all the rage, as Juliet’s boss had hoped. It’s a fairly standard Christmas rom-com, and Tom and Juliet have good chemistry. For me, it was an okay one-time watch. ~Net
Sunday, November 24, 2024:
Storyline: When Celeste (Arthur) gets engaged to Jason (Bazzocchi) after just a few months of dating, her father and the couple's would be officiant, Pastor Mark (Close), insists on putting them through a pre-wedding "bootcamp" filled with Christmas-themed challenges. As the couple grows stronger through the festive activities, Celeste considers following her dreams in the fashion industry. Meanwhile, Pastor Mark learns to trust his daughter's choices, leading to a heartwarming holiday season for the whole family.
Sunday, November 24, 2024:
Storyline: When event planner Christina (Paula Brancati) is fired just before Christmas, she makes a wish that magically comes true. Armed with the ability to hear what people want for Christmas, Christina learns that bringing reclusive one-hit-wonder Dan Copen (Howard Hoover) out of retirement could help get her job back. But to get to Dan, she’ll need to go through handsome realtor Robert (Jake Epstein) who needs help finding the perfect Christmas gift for his son.
I hope you all enjoy the new Christmas movies this weekend... and some great classics, too!
What I'm watching...
I'll be recording MANY of the NEW Christmas movies, but I'll definitely be recording and watching "A Little Women's Christmas" on Great American Family! Most of all, I'm looking forward to seeing the March sisters relationship with each other and hearing Laura Osnes sing in it! I truly can't wait to watch this phenomenal cast altogether. I'm most intrigued to see how this modern adaptation will transform these classic characters. It's my hope that this is the movie that truly brings viewers to the channel. I believe "A Little Women's Christmas" may be THE MOVIE of the Christmas season!
In case you missed it, you can see my interview with the creator and co-writer of "A Little Women's Christmas," Dione Sheehan - see here.
Please note: I haven't pre-screened all of the new movies listed above. If you'd like to post a review on whether a film is family-friendly, please share in comments. By the way, there are reviews above for two movies: The Search for Secret Santa and Christmas by Candlelight.
Visit the *Christmas TV Schedule* for the dates and times of NEW Christmas movies.
You can find the 2024 Christmas Movie Review post *here*.
The scriptures I chose for this weekend were inspired by "A Little Women's Christmas" and the approaching Thanksgiving holiday. I pray these verses bless you...
The Little Women Devotional: A Chapter-by-Chapter Companion to Louisa May Alcott’s Beloved Classic
Been looking forward to seeing ALWC all year!! All the BTS content was so amazing to post throughout the summer. And yes, I do believe this may also be the best movie of the Season! -Maria
ReplyDeleteI’ll skip Christmas on Call
ReplyDeleteThat's too bad but not a surprise...
DeleteThank you. Your insight is greatly appreciated.
DeleteWhy?
DeleteNet - what a beautiful weekend post! As always, thanks ever so much for the movie reminders. By the way, A Little Women’s Christmas tops my weekend viewing list, too!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI also want to thank you for adding a link to see an enlarged view of your image that features all of the movies. That makes it so much nicer to see all the details.
So many wonderful movies this weekend!
ReplyDeleteI can’t wait to watch Women’s Christmas
ReplyDeleteMelissa McCarthy stars in Genie, a Peacock Original holiday movie the whole family will love, streaming now on Peacock
ReplyDeleteMy top picks are the Little Women, A Novel Noel and the Three Men and a Boy. Hoping it’ll be clean, but all of the guys have had the same sex issues so I’ll let you know if it ends up being a pass.
ReplyDeleteI can’t wait to see the Little Women film tonight!!
Oops! I see I had the date wrong. No wonder the Little Women movie didn’t pull up. ππ
DeleteION Christmas
ReplyDelete11/29/2024
7pm ET/4pm PT-10pm ET-7pm PT
A Snow White Christmas (2018)
A Beauty & the Beast Christmas (2019)
A Royal Christmas Engagement (2020)
A Prince & Pauper Christmas (2022)
A Christmas Witness (2021)
The Christmas Thief (2021)
The Case of the Diamond (2022)
The Search for Secret Santa (2022)
Ion is not showing Christmas movies their other station ION+ is.
DeleteION Christmas
Delete11/29/2024
10am ET/7am PT - 12am ET/9pm PT
ION Channel
TV Guide has ION Christmas Christmas movies when I check again today
A Snow White Christmas (2018)
November 29, 2024
10am ET/7am PT
ION Channel
A Beauty & the Beast Christmas (2019)
November 29, 2024
12pm ET/9am PT
ION Channel
A Royal Christmas Engagement (2020)
November 29, 2024
2pm ET/11am PT
ION Channel
A Prince & Pauper Christmas (2022)
November 29, 2024
4pm ET/1pm PT
ION Channel
A Christmas Witness (2021)
November 29, 2024
6pm ET/3pm PT
ION Channel
The Christmas Thief (2021)
November 29, 2024
8pm ET/5pm PT
ION Channel
The Case of the Diamond (2022)
November 29, 2024
10pm ET/7pm PT
ION Channel
The Search for Secret Santa (2022)
November 29-30, 2024
12am ET/9pm PT
ION Channel
I typed wrong times of the night in PM , oops but here is the right times in the morning AM for Christmas movies when I checked again last night
DeleteHere’s the correction it’s in the morning Christmas movies through the night
ION Christmas
11/29/2024
10am ET/7am PT - 12am ET/9pm PT
ION Channel
ION Christmas
11/29/2024
7pm ET/4pm PT-10pm ET-7pm PT
TV Guide has ION Christmas Christmas movies when I check again today
A Snow White Christmas (2018)
November 29, 2024
10am ET/7am PT
ION Channel
A Beauty & the Beast Christmas (2019)
November 29, 2024
12pm ET/9am PT
ION Channel
A Royal Christmas Engagement (2020)
November 29, 2024
2pm ET/11am PT
ION Channel
A Prince & Pauper Christmas (2022)
November 29, 2024
4pm ET/1pm PT
ION Channel
A Christmas Witness (2021)
November 29, 2024
6pm ET/3pm PT
ION Channel
The Christmas Thief (2021)
November 29, 2024
8pm ET/5pm PT
ION Channel
The Case of the Diamond (2022)
November 29, 2024
10pm ET/7pm PT
ION Channel
The Search for Secret Santa (2022)
November 29-30, 2024
12am ET/9pm PT
ION Channel
Gay pub owner in A Novel Noel. -Maria
ReplyDeleteThanks for the warning Maria, I was just about to try it. You saved me time!π
DeleteI rewatched A Biltmore Christmas this morning and it was a big treat!
ReplyDeleteHi Abigail,
DeleteA Biltmore Christmas was my favorite movie, from last Christmas! I have watched it twice and the magic was still there the second time. :-) You are correct. It is a big treat.
As you know, I so love that area and I have been there many times including during Christmas.
Yep! I remember Joan. I would love to visit that place if I am in the area.
DeleteWow! Has anyone else seen that Hallmark commercial yet of the dad and daughter on the bench looking at the Christmas Tree on Christmas Eve every year and years later she is a nurse and has to work and she gives him that Hallmark card about it? That really touched my heart! I didn't know that there was pollen where I live at this time of the year. It's causing my eyes to water.
ReplyDeleteI'm such a dope! Once again, I forgot to sign in to my google account to post a comment. That last post was from me, the one with the pollen allergy.
ReplyDeleteI’ve done that too Jim! Haha;) That commercial seems really sweet. Those are the type of scenes I get teary as well.
DeletePics from the first day of the Christmas Festival in NY are up, and they are so amazing! Everyone at GAF did a fantastic job putting it all together. -Maria
ReplyDeleteLittle Women Movie Night!!
ReplyDeleteA fun question for everyone!! What is your favorite scene from the 1994 Little Women Classic film??? Mine is when the March sisters on Christmas morning carrying their holiday food to the poor, still cheerful singing that Christmas song and doing the low men’s voice part and the squeaky high ladies part. While Laurie is watching them from his carriage.
Abigail, I think my favorite scene is when they are all young in the beginning and they are creating their plays together and being creative. Everyone seems young and innocent, and life seems full of possibilities for all of the sisters!
DeleteI adore the scene that you mentioned, too! :)
Oooh! What a good one. All the sisters carrying candles, kissed by Marmie. I love Amy in that scene!! I quote her “ Exhaustified” line so many times!
DeleteI have been watching Christmas movies non stop for weeks now! I am so weary of news and bickerings and sorrow that I have escaped to the movies! And I am loving them as I bake and decorate!
ReplyDeleteLinda, Yes, the news about potential war and a recent well-known trial have all been daunting and very sad currently in the news. It is such a blessing to have the escape of the Christmas movies and pray the Lord takes care of the rest.
DeleteI know you are also a believer, so I'm so glad we can both put our trust in Him! :)
God bless, Net
A Little Women's Christmas is 100% the best Christmas movie of 2024! -Maria
ReplyDeleteA Little Women’s Christmas is the must see movie of this weekend. Everything about this movie was great from the cast, to the writing to the directing and producing. I hope Great American Family makes a sequel next Christmas. Maybe a Little Women’s Christmas Wedding.
ReplyDelete“A Novel Noel” was such a good one! Julie and Brendan were so good together, very natural. The bookstore gave the a movie a very cozy vibe, would definitely watch again.
ReplyDelete~Paula
“Three Wiser Men and a Boy” was great! I was laughing throughout, just so funny and relatable. I totally felt Andrew when he was in the car & goes “I’m just a dad and my back is on fire” π Those three guys just flow so well together and the supporting characters do too, down to the annoying neighbor. Hoping they make a 3rd one, maybe Three Wise Men and a Wedding?
ReplyDelete~Paula
A Little Women’s Christmas was so sweet and charming. A definite must watch of the year!! I would love it if they could do a movie for each March sister so all their stories could be told as well!
ReplyDeleteThree Wiser Men and a Boy review
ReplyDeleteThis one didn’t interest me so much as I thought it would. I loved the first one, but this one kinda bored me. It was family friendly though. And they did have a lot of the main cast there which is always nice.
When will we see Christmas Mysteries such as Murder She Baked:A Plum Pudding Mystery
ReplyDeleteTo Have and to Holiday is clean, and a ton of fun! -Maria
ReplyDeleteSo I was going to skip “Festival of Trees” because UpTv is hit or miss for me, mainly miss. I liked a lot of the older movies that they replay here and there. The production wasn’t the best (sets, acting) but the storyline was interesting and the little girl was so cute. The bond between her/her father and the main girl was natural and pleasant to watch. It was cute for a one time watch.
ReplyDelete~Paula
Review: A Little Women's Christmas -
ReplyDeleteFamily-friendly? Yes -
Recommend? Yes (but not overwhelmingly) -
Yes, I enjoyed this movie, but I had higher expectations for it. First, the good: the characters were true to their original personalities (from what I can remember). Also, a great acting job by all four of the main actresses along with the other actors. You could sense the warmth and the love between the sisters (and the four actresses). Now the not-so-good: the storyline was just so-so - not very enticing. A little more "action" would have been nice. And some of the spoken lines seemed too scripted. Also, the ending came across as contrived - all of the sisters' problems are resolved too nicely and too quickly. And one final minor quibble - did they have to throw a reference to Santa in Gladys Knight's "Joy" song?! It was beautiful until that point. Anyway, it is certainly worth watching for the great performances and the family love shown. But unfortunately it doesn't come close to being this year's "A Biltmore Christmas".
Three Wiser Men and a Boy Is family friendly. Taylor has a new female love interest named Caroline. Stephan proposes to Susie. Lucas with a new wife named Sophie & he adopted Thomas.
ReplyDeleteThe Brenner Brothers are back and putting on a holiday pageant for young Thomas, while trying to cope with life's curveballs, including their Mom named Barbara’s new boyfriend named Roy. This movie is so boring.
Sincerely Truly Christmas is clean and heartflet. -Maria
ReplyDeleteA Little Women’s Christmas (2024)
ReplyDeleteMeg March Brooke & John Brooke have Twin Daughters named Daisy & Demi (Demi-John)
It does mention that Daisy has Twin Sister named Demi in A Little Women’s Christmas but Demi isn’t in the movie. In fact, Daisy bud only child of Meg & John Brooke