🎄2025 CHRISTMAS MOVIE REVIEWS🎄 Great American Family, Hallmark Channel, UPtv, Lifetime, Streaming and More from the *It's a Wonderful Movie* Family! 🎅 SEE HERE:

Welcome, Friends...

to the 2025

Christmas Movie Review Page!

Here we go! 🎄 This marks our 6th Year celebrating and sharing Christmas Movie Reviews together at *It’s a Wonderful Movie*!

If you’ve been with us from the very beginning, thank you from the bottom of my heart! 💖 And if this is your first Christmas season with us, a warm and merry welcome!

Throughout the holiday season, I’ll be updating this page with reviews of nearly every new Christmas movie on Great American Family, Hallmark Channel, UPtv, Lifetime, and more... shared by *It’s a Wonderful Movie* followers like you!

Be sure to bookmark this page and check back often for the latest updates and reviews. ✨

If you'd like to know more about how to share a review, please see details at the end of this post. Simply put, please share in comments the movie title of the film you want to review, then share your review (it can be long or short - that's up to you!), and please, please, please write your name or nickname after your review - even if you have an account. That would be most helpful!

I hope you enjoy the Christmas movie reviews below...🎄


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* 2025 CHRISTMAS *

MOVIE REVIEWS

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*Christmas movies are listed in order by their premiere date below - underneath each individual network.


🌟GREAT AMERICAN FAMILY:


A Wisconsin Christmas Pie- October 11, 2025

🎄 I watched A Wisconsin Christmas Pie on Pure Flix and found it to be full of all the Christmas feels! I must admit, I didn’t have super high expectations because I don’t usually enjoy the acquired movies as much as the GAF produced movies and I am not familiar with these actors. However, I am happy to say that this movie is top-notch! The actors have great chemistry, the storyline pulled at my heartstrings, and the Door County setting is stunning! This movie put me right in the mood to start the Christmas season. Great American Family is off to a festive start and I loved A Wisconsin Christmas Pie! It is one of those movies you can enjoy watching over and over! ~Gena

🎄 A Wisconsin Christmas Pie is a very sweet start to this Season. –Maria

🎄 A Wisconsin Christmas Pie was a surprise to me. I loved it! The natural snow in this movie is a big plus for me. It left me wanting a slice of cherry pie with vanilla ice cream. Oh, did those pies look yummy!~~kitkat

🎄 I LOVED a Wisconsin Christmas Pie. I thought it was well acted. I usually haven't been a big fan of the acquired movies GAF brings in, but I thought this one was full of Christmas Spirit-I loved her parents! This one is of course Family friendly and I highly recommend watching it! ~Sarah

🎄 Review: A Wisconsin Christmas Pie -
Family-friendly? Yes -
Recommend? Unfortunately no -

NOTE: SPOILER ALERT

While I certainly wouldn't say this was a bad movie, for me there were just too many problems for me to recommend it:

1. Kate's character came across as too harsh for me to root for her. I did not appreciate her rude attitude toward her parents because they didn't let her know about their situation (and for good reason), and toward Ryan's character because he didn't tell her about his son (which was understandable). I thought her giving back his gift from their teen years was a childish move. Simply, I didn't find her likable.

2. The storyline was too cookie-cutter and predictable: Successful big-town girl (who is up for a promotion) goes back home to the country for Christmas, her parents are hoping she will stay and help, she meets up with her former boyfriend...what will she do?? But what really got me is that she didn't face any internal conflict - she was adamant that she was going back to Chicago, until a VERY sudden (and frankly unbelievable) change of heart at the very end.

3. Kate's acting was good, but Ryan's was just so-so, and I didn't sense any spark between them. A very romance-less romantic movie.

4. And finally, a minor quibble - was anyone else bothered by the fact that at different times in the movie Kate seemed to have a lot of freckles, to some freckles, to no freckles at all? Somebody needs to talk to the makeup person.

I was really hoping to like this movie, since I have been to Door County many times for a getaway. (FYI - Door County has many bays and harbors - they do not mention which location they are at, but the sites did not look familiar to me.) – Mark 25

🎄 A Wisconsin Christmas Pie - Hi Mark, I agree with a lot of what you mentioned, I did not feel the chemistry between the leads. And I totally know what you mean about the change in makeup. I watched a Lifetime movie with one of the Mowry twins, not the one that does Hallmark movies but the other one. Anyways, her hair and makeup in the movie were awful! It was like they just scraped that from the budget & said “figure it out, your on your own girl” 😂 it always blows my mind how they think that us as viewers will not notice those things? ~Paula

🎄 I wasn’t going to bother doing a review for a Wisconsin Christmas pie since others already had, but since I didn’t see anyone mention a certain aspect of the movie I thought I would. First, I actually was pleasantly surprised how well it was done and how much I liked it and it having a bit more interesting story line. The acting was good and it wasn’t low budget looking like some GAC movies. I especially loved the Dad daughter scene when he explains his feelings (made me cry).

But, having said all that, in the middle of the movie they are oddly and weirdly specific on what cancer the mother of the little girl dies of. My sister and i were literally like uhhhh what? Lol. Randomly talking about ovaries is just plain out weird and and not family appropriate nor feel good Christmasy. I honestly am over them having everyone die of cancer in these movies that I want to feel good and escape reality watching. But this is taking it to another level. What are they going to do next to be “relevant”? “Dad died of prostate cancer”? Who wants to have little ones ask what ovarian cancer is in the middle of a Christmas movie? So, I would say it’s oddly not exactly family friendly. - Anna P.

🎄 A Wisconsin Christmas Pie - This family-friendly movie follows a familiar Christmas storyline - a woman returns to her hometown, eventually discovers the family business is in trouble, and reconnects with an old boyfriend. If you love Christmas movies, then you’ve seen the story. And usually, I admit, I adore it! I love when the lead rediscovers her roots, she sees her hometown with fresh eyes, and starts to feel that gentle tugging feeling in her heart to stay. In this instance, however, I just didn’t get that special cozy warm feeling. For the majority of the movie, it felt like Emma was moody and frustrated, and just wanted to leave, which made it hard to connect with her.

One of the most touching moments came when Emma discovered her grandmother’s old apron. You could truly feel the emotion in that scene as she remembered cherished childhood memories with her grandmother, and it was sweet to see Emma wear it proudly while baking. Later on, however, Emma is given another apron, and she begins wearing that one instead. It said on the front of it: “Merry Crustmas” instead of Christmas. I know the phrase was meant to be cute, but I personally don’t like it when any word is used in place of Christ. Anyway, the whole second apron story felt completely unnecessary. By the end of the movie, Emma was wearing her grandmother’s apron again. I was happy to see that.

Emma’s change of heart at the very end of the movie felt abrupt to me. I just wish we could have seen a little more of that positive spirit a whole lot sooner. ~Net

🎄 A Wisconsin Christmas Pie. Meh. Melodramatic. Awkward. There were some cozy parts but, overall, this was not my favorite slice of pie. Not sure if it’s the writing or the acting but this one did not thrill me. I like the lead actors but not in this movie (and there’s no chemistry between them). Katie’s character is irrational, confrontational and obstinate; she’s a little snot that makes everything all about herself; she’s rude and contentious with her parents (their whole relationship is just weird and awkward!); obviously, I did not like this character very much, which makes it hard to like the rest of the movie; and her about face at the end was just another eye roll moment for me. On top of all that, this feels like a Reel One or Nicely production with the annoying and loud background music that doesn’t quite fit and just grates on and on. Family friendly (although I agree with Anna P.’s comment about the inappropriateness for a Christmas movie to discuss the little boy’s mother dying of ovarian cancer). ~~Jane

A Christmas Prayer - October 18, 2025

🎄 I watched A Christmas Prayer on Pureflix and it was wonderful! It was a beautiful story that really tugs at the heartstrings. A lovely celebration of faith and the true meaning of Christmas, it brought me to tears several times but warmed my heart with humor as well. I can't wait to watch it again on Saturday night!! Also the young lady who played Caroline was so captivating!! I hope we see more of her on GAF/Pureflix!! ~MoreThanAHopefulRomantic

🎄 I have already watched A Christmas Prayer twice on Pure Flix and highly recommend it. In fact, I liked it even better the second time I watched it. It is very heartwarming and full of faith! No spoilers, but I really liked seeing Christopher Russell in a more serious role. He played the role perfectly. I may have been misty eyed a few times during this movie! Shae Robins was great as always and I am happy to see her back in a movie for Great American Christmas. It can be hit or miss with child actors, but I thought the actress who plays Caroline was adorable. I hope everyone enjoys this movie as much as I did! ~Gena

🎄 A Christmas Prayer is so lovely! -Maria

🎄 I absolutely loved A Christmas Prayer! It’s nice to see a Christmas movie that centers on faith. Christopher Russell and Shae Robins were fantastic! Honestly, I wasn’t sure how they'd pair up, but they had great chemistry. All the actors were terrific! ~Allie B

🎄 I watched "A Christmas Prayer" and just loved it, I loved how integral it was to showcase Christ during the season...because after all He is the reason for the season! Shae was wonderful as always I thought she and Christopher were wonderful together. Loved seeing Christopher in a more serious role! ~Sarah

🎄 Review: A Christmas Prayer -
Family-friendly? Yes -
Recommend? Most definitely!

A perfect blend of religion and romance...with an emphasis on religion and how important it is to reach out and help others (which is the message of Jesus). The storyline is unique and interesting, and the cast is perfect - I don't think Shae has ever been better than in this role! For a movie that drives home the true meaning of Christmas, you can't do better than this!

(Oh, and did everyone catch Shae's message on Christmas during one of the commercial breaks? What she said from her heart in those 30 or so seconds was so meaningful and powerful - she is obviously a true Christian! –Mark 25

🎄 I enjoyed A Christmas Prayer. They all had good chemistry, but wished the list was shorter. I did like how the main characters were always being put together and showed faith in every day life. Misty

🎄 A Christmas Prayer is a winner! This is a movie I could watch over and over. Everything about this movie is wonderful. Christian faith on full display! Praise the Lord! ~Anonymous

🎄 'A Christmas prayer' is such a sweet, heartwarming and touching story. The true meaning of Christmas - Jesus, the message of giving to others, heartfelt prayers, genuine acting of all the cast, everything was just top-notch. I'm so glad that GAF has decided to go that direction, be true to real values, Christian values, even though it's not so popular in this world. Their light shines even brighter. *Oksanka*

🎄 A Christmas Prayer – Wow, this movie truly touched my heart!

What a special, heartwarming, faith-filled film that beautifully brings the focus back to the true meaning of Christmas… Jesus!

Christopher Russell was absolutely fantastic as Wes, a widowed father who’s lost some of his faith. With the help of his sweet, spirited daughter, Caroline, he slowly begins to find his way back.

The young actress who played Caroline was truly phenomenal, such a natural talent and pure joy to watch! I loved how her bright little spirit encouraged everyone around her to believe again.

Shae Robins was also lovely as Natalie, a children’s storybook illustrator whose faith is reignited as she helps answer a little girl’s Christmas prayer list. Her performance was gentle, inspiring, and full of heart - just perfect for this kind of story.

And I must include the grandparents (Caroline’s grandpa and Natalie’s grandmother)! They both added such warmth and wisdom to the story, guiding both Wes and Natalie not only in faith, but also in matters of the heart.

The way each character spoke so openly about Jesus and praying throughout this movie is simply outstanding, so refreshing and beautiful to see! If you’re longing for a Christmas movie that truly honors why we celebrate, this one is a must-watch!

It’s the perfect, family-friendly film for all ages… full of heart and hopeful reminders of God’s love! ~Net

🎄 A Christmas Prayer - We watched this movie with the kids, and seriously, what a sweet movie! Just like everyone’s been saying, the faith throughout the story is truly beautiful, and that little girl completely stole our hearts. Such a lovely film to watch together this Christmas season. I definitely recommend it. Christie

🎄 I just watched A Christmas Prayer, I know it is early in the Christmas season but this movie has a good chance at being my favorite. I loved that God was mentioned throughout the whole movie. I saw 20 minutes of A Christmas Angel Match, I had to stop watching because I thought because it had Angel in the name it would be faith based. It was not I felt the movie went out of it way not to mention God. I am going to watch all GAF movies and only watch the Halmark ones that get a good review from this board. ~Ken

🎄 “A Christmas Prayer”

I absolutely loved A Christmas Prayer! Everything about the movie was perfect. I thought Shae and Christopher were great together and I enjoyed their first meeting. And it was wonderful sharing the movie with my husband since it had such a strong message of faith woven throughout. Plus, Christopher’s daughter’s wish list was so thoughtful and lovely. What a fabulous idea she had. Joan


A Royal Icing Christmas - October 25, 2025

🎄 A Royal Icing Christmas is very sweet. –Maria

🎄 I just watched A Royal Icing Christmas. It was a pretty enjoyable movie! I thought the leads were well cast and had good chemistry. I believed Charlotte/Charlie was from royal background. She has a quiet elegance about her. The ending was a tad rushed. Seems like there could be an opening for a sequel to me!

Lilly stole the show. She was adorable. Misty

🎄 A Royal Icing Christmas is cute, but the acting is a little cheesy, at times. Never heard of these actors before. ~Allie B

🎄 I watched A Royal Icing Christmas. This was not my cup of tea! It was boring to me. I turned to something else for the last half of the movie, then turned back for the ending. One watch for me. ~Anonymous

🎄 A Royal Icing Christmas – The actors in this movie all seem very sweet, but some of the acting just isn’t great. Honestly, I didn’t feel this script did them any justice. The princess tries to conceal her identity when she comes to America by saying she’s from Florida and her family is in the blender business, which was all very comical… I couldn’t help from laughing out loud every time the blender business was mentioned. The little girl who played the niece was absolutely adorable. I hope we see more of her in upcoming projects! Overall, the romance was rushed a little too quickly, too. This is a one-time watch for me. ~Net

🎄 I just watched A Royal Icing Christmas. It's a one-time for me as well. It was OK, I liked the lead actress, more than the lead actor. But I was a little bothered by the friend Kate staying overnight with a guy friend. I wish they had made that a cousin or something more clearly platonic. There's a conversation where Luke mentions having planned to go on a trip with his now-ex girlfrind--I would have rather had that sound better. There were several night time scenes in pjs, ok I guess. Also felt a little strange at times that Luke's brother in law was out of the picture so much while he wife was pregnant. Those are just my extra-sensitive and I guess old-school eyes watching! ~LR

🎄 Review: A Royal Icing Christmas -
Family-friendly? Yes -
Recommend? No -

I have never seen these two lead actors before, and they should have been in supporting roles first. Their acting (especially his) does not come across as authentic - it is as if they are simply reciting lines that they memorized without knowing how to present them. (The little girl is the best actor of them all!) It doesn't help either that their lines seem to have been generated by AI, all of which unfortunately makes for a very yawn-inducing movie. –Mark 25

🎄 A Royal Icing Christmas: This is a cute, family-friendly movie I would watch again when it is playing live but not one that I would pick to watch on Pure Flix or keep on my DVR. While there are a few royal movies I love, the royal genre is not my favorite. I enjoy seeing new faces on GAF and thought the actors who played Princess Charlotte and Lily gave good performances. Some of the secondary actors, in my opinion, had an overly exaggerated type of acting style. I am all about over the top Christmas sweaters, pajamas, aprons, etc. so it was great to see all the fun Christmas attire and the gowns were beautiful. I also thought the decorations were very festive and I loved the inn. Overall, I found this to be a sweet Christmas move but just not one of my favorites. Gena


Christmas in Midnight Clear - November 1, 2025

🎄 Christmas on Midnight Clear is definitely 1 of the best movies of the Season! –Maria

🎄 A Christmas at Midnight Clear was fantastic! Focused on faith and I loved the main actress who played Hillary. She was wonderful. Jon is drop dead handsome and was wonderful as well. I think the actor who played his nephew should have been younger and was the only weak point. The ending was a bit predictable, but it still was good. I want another movie at Midnight Clear. ~Misty

🎄 Review: Christmas in Midnight Clear -
Family-friendly? Yes -
Recommend? Borderline yes -

Note: Spoilers included

In short, this is a good movie - not great, but good. What I loved was seeing how Alicia's character went from being a business person with little heart to a person who truly cared about others, and from a person with little-to-no faith to a person who put her trust in God. You can see these changes slowly develop within her, which in part is due to Alicia's acting. In fact, everyone does a really good acting job!

But I had problems with some of the storyline. First, it is a standard plot: successful big city girl goes to a small town which with her help overcomes an obstacle and wins her over. But moreover, I had a hard time believing that the entire town would turn against her and blame her for what was obviously (to everyone) her father's fault, not hers. And I simply cannot believe that her uncaring, totally business-minded father would have a very sudden change of heart at the end. And it never occurred to any of the townspeople to help the pastor work on the church, and especially the roof, until, what, right before Christmas Eve? So putting it all together, I am glad I watched it, although it is probably not a keeper for me. –Mark 25

🎄 Christmas In Midnight Clear is a great faith-filled movie. I loved it! This is a movie I will watch again. ~kitkat

🎄 Christmas in Midnight Clear is such a wonderful, heartwarming and uplifting movie with a strong message of hope, faith, community, forgiveness and new beginnings. I was so impressed by the acting of Jon McLaren and Alicia Josipovic. You believe them 100%. They have such a great chemistry. Everything about this movie was so beautiful. I'm so happy that GAF is so open in their faith in Jesus. *Oksanka*

🎄 I really enjoyed Christmas in Midnight Clear. I love the use of themes of Faith, Family, and Community in this one. I particularly liked Hilary's journey both softening to the town and her journey back to her faith. I also like how Daniel was able to help her. It was very enjoyable to watch and I would definitely watch it again! ~MoreThanAHopefulRomantic

🎄 Great American Family needs to focus more on faith movies like Christmas in Midnight Clear. It’s truly inspiring. Robert

🎄 Christmas in Midnight Clear – What a beautiful, heartfelt story – with faith, family, friends, and a real feeling of a close tight-knit community… who deeply cares for one another. I thought the chemistry between the leads, Jon McLaren and Alicia Josipovic, was wonderful. Their initial clash was full of sparks, but I loved how they were never truly angry at each other, even when they had conflict. All of the cast was terrific; I really felt as if I was a visitor in the beautiful, heartwarming town of Midnight Clear. Once again, I also loved seeing the true meaning of Christmas in a Great American Family movie! This is one I know I’ll watch on repeat! ~Net

🎄 “A Christmas at Midnight Clear”

This was another movie my husband and I really enjoyed. Yes, it did have a story line that had been used way too many times. But we could see past the cliched plot because it was such a fantastic movie. The entire cast was wonderful. Again, a strong focus on faith. The church was just beautiful even with roofing issues. Jon was great in his role. I have really grown to like him as an actor. I also liked the lead actress. Joan

🎄 I thoroughly enjoyed Christmas in Midnight Clear. Jon McLaren and Alicia Josipovic were fantastic together!! They had great chemistry and were just so natural together. Jon is quickly becoming a star on GAF! I am glad he was given his own movie to star in this year and I hope we see him in more leading roles on GAF. I loved the way that faith was shown in such a natural way throughout the movie. I found it to be a beautiful faith-based movie that showed the love of Jesus and community without coming across as “preachy” or fake. I was also delighted to see Michael Hanrahan back for another GAF movie! I loved him in Catering Christmas and Royally Wrapped for Christmas. He nailed the role of retired pastor and dad in this movie. I do wish they had used a younger actor to play the high school nephew because the actor looked too old for the part. This movie gave off some of the vibes from Let it Snow which is one of my favorite Christmas movies! I have already watched this movie several times and will enjoy watching again throughout the Christmas season! ~Gena

🎄 Christmas in Midnight Clear. I liked the faith elements and the cozy feel and pretty sets. It’s not a keeper, but I would certainly like to watch it again in the future. The two leads were good together, as well as the ensemble cast. However, the storyline was so predictable and, at times, just ridiculous. The scene in the beginning between the father and the daughter had me grating my teeth and thinking about hitting delete. The background music was way too loud but worst of all it was sweet, gentle, soft, poignant music that did NOT at all match the scene where her nasty father was telling her to be ruthless and deceitful and do whatever is necessary to get the whole town into their mercenary clutches. The music reminded me of annoying, low-budget, Reel One movies, but the horribly nasty verbiage coming from the father in that scene (and other scenes) had me wondering who would write him to be such an unbelievably over-the-top caricature. I truly almost hit the delete button but I’m glad I stuck with all the ridiculous parts because the coziness and the sweet romance and the mild faith elements turned out to be quite nice. Family friendly. ~~Jane

🎄 Christmas in Midnight Clear was sort of disappointing to me. I didn't like how the pastor is falling for the lead when she obviously doesn't have the same beliefs as he does. I know that as a pastor he can help her work through those things, but it reminded me of the Inlawfully Yours movie in a way---the pastor is pretty much dating a girl who does not share his faith. The Bible talks about not being unequally yoked, so unfortunately that puts a damper on it for me. ~Kaitlyn


A Very Curious Christmas - November 8, 2025

🎄 A Very Curious Christmas is a different type of movie more focused on the mystery but Brittany Bristow and Olivier Renaud have good chemistry and carry it although the romance element is quite restrained.

One thing quite a bit takes place at night so the background is quite dark. I don't recall anything unfamily friendly (Florence's rating A Very Curious Christmas 7) ~Florence

🎄 A Very Curious Christmas was very good. –Maria

🎄 Review: A Very Curious Christmas -
Family-friendly? Yes -
Recommend? Not really -

The description of this movie just didn't sound that interesting to me...and unfortunately the movie fit the description. I had a hard time getting into it - it just seemed to plod along. And the mystery itself has as about as many suspects as a Scooby-doo episode. Finally, Brittany and Olivier, along with the person playing the TV station manager, came across as too childish at times. A one-timer for me. –Mark 25

🎄 I just watched A Curious Christmas. It was clean, sweet and I like boith leads. But I was a little disappointed there was no reference to the true meaning of Christmas (Jesus). Unless I missed that? I watched while on the treadmill, so it's possible! ~LR

🎄 A Very Curious Christmas (aka Merry Mystery Christmas). Ok, that was rather cute! (I also realized that I had watched it on streaming last year - but I didn’t mind watching it again.) Simple little movie that included a thin, non-scary, mystery. The script, directing and actors were good. I usually prefer Brittany as a sidekick character instead of the lead, but I thought she did a decent job in this one. Her character was completely work obsessed and a bit curmudgeonly in the beginning but she comes around (loved her funny quip, “Would you really like to risk me being your Secret Santa?. . . Didn’t think so!”).

And Olivier did not have a lot of the typical, gruff-yet-suave “detective” character vibes but I found him to be credible and likeable in the part. I also loved his relationship with his grandmother and the joy they both found in doing Christmas activities together, it was truly sweet. Between Brittany and Olivier the chemistry and the romance was low key but still believable. All in all, not a keeper but worth a rewatch. Family friendly. ~~Jane


Christmas Of Giving - November 9, 2025

🎄 I loved Christmas Of Giving! It was full of wonderful messages of charity, community, accepting help, and support for the military. The pairing and their story of past love was very sweet and Clara was so lovely in her eagerness to help! Definitely worth a watch! I look forward to rewatching on Sunday!! ~MoreThanAHopefulRomantic

🎄 'Christmas of giving' is a very beautiful and inspirational story of faith, family, community, and finding strength in others. It's a story of giving to others your love, kindness, time. Not to live for yourself, but for others. Especially those in need. Christ became poor for us so we become rich in Him. He gave all of Himself to us, and now it's our turn to give all of ourselves to Him, serving those around us. *Oksanka*

🎄 Christmas of Giving is definitely 1 of the best movies of the year! –Maria

🎄 Review: Christmas of Giving -
Family-friendly? Yes -
Recommend? Borderline no -

I may be in the minority here, but for me, not every movie that has a religious theme, and/or airs on GAF, is automatically a winner. This movie has a wonderful message of a community coming together and looking out for each other. If only it had been presented better...much better. The story itself is rather boring, the lines spoken seem very AI-generated, and the acting by the three leads leaves much to be desired. It may be a watch for its message, but it is a struggle to get through it. –Mark 25

🎄 I definitely didn’t dislike Christmas of Giving, but I unfortunately didn’t love it either. I can’t put my finger on any one thing, but this movie was just so-so for me. I appreciated the message of helping others in need that the movie highlighted through the after-school program for children, the food pantry, and the toy drive. The way the storyline was presented just didn’t completely grab my attention. I like all three of the leads in this movie so I guess I was expecting to like it more. ~Gena

🎄 Christmas of Giving – This movie is nice. The message of giving truly touched my heart. I do wish we could’ve had just a bit more added to the story, but overall it’s a pleasant, lighthearted watch that lifts the spirit. My hope is that it inspires many to reach out with God’s love - looking for ways to serve their community and bless others in need. ~Net


Timeless Tidings of Joy - November 15, 2025

🎄 As I predicted months ago, Timeless Tidings of Joy is 1 of the best, must see movies of this Season! –Maria

🎄 Timeless Tidings of Joy - We really enjoyed this movie! In my opinion, it’s the best movie Candace has done for GAF. Christie

🎄 Timeless tidings of joy is such a great, heartwarming movie with a nostalgic feeling. The message of the movie "trusting God for providing your needs no matter what other people or the world says and just keep doing what God has called you to" got me thinking a lot. I liked Candace and Paul in this movie a lot. And I especially liked Natasha Bure.

This movie is definitely worth watching. *Oksanka*

🎄 I loved Timeless Tidings of Joy so much! I loved the history and the journey went on to learn more about her grandmother. I usually have a hard time with time travel stories but this is exactly how I like them! All the performers were so great in their parts. I absolutely was left wanting more and in the best way!! The use of the themes of faith and community were so wonderful also!! ~ MoreLikeAHopefulRomantic

🎄 I don't like time travel movies as a whole, but Timeless Tidings of Joy was completely different for me. This is a beautiful story with faith all through the movie. I loved it so much that I have watched it twice already! Candace and Paul are perfect together. Just wonderful from beginning to end............kitkat

🎄 Wow! I loved, loved, loved Timeless Tidings of Joy! This is my favorite movie of the season – and I loved A Christmas Prayer! This movie was the whole package – great actors, fresh storyline, incredible vintage set and wardrobes, Christmas whimsy, and faith! I knew CCB and Paul Greene would be great together and of course they were amazing. However…..Natasha Bure was the star of the movie! She was adorable and nailed the part of Joy. We definitely need to see her star in more movies on GAF!! It was so nice to see Paul Greene back this year on GAF for another movie. I was afraid he had moved back to Hallmark full-time. I hope GAF continues to use this writing team for more projects in the future. Timeless Tidings of Joy is definitely going to be a GAF Christmas Classic! ~Gena

🎄 "Timeless Tidings of Joy" - Oh my gosh this movie was a blessing! It was pure grace and light and we absolutely loved it! Any movie that includes anything related to the 1940's or the military, always touches my soul in the best way. I know I would be really old now, but I always felt like I was born in the wrong time period. I think it would have been so cool to grow up in the 1940's. The clothes, beliefs, camaraderie, cars, and life in general was so special. I know there were some dark times but we were united as a nation and sadly today we are not. :-( Anyway, Paul and Candace and Natasha were spectacular in their roles. We enjoyed the surprises and the growth of Candace's character and how her appreciation for her grandmother grew when she spent time with her in the past. It was so lovely to see. It was a beautiful movie and my favorite Candace film in recent years. Joan

🎄 Timeless Tidings of Joy - This movie is an uplifting reminder of trusting the path God sets before us. That message was clear and beautifully expressed throughout the present and past in this time travel adventure.

It was wonderful to see Candace Cameron Bure & Paul Greene playing opposites again- they have such a natural ease and connection together. And the 1940s touches when they went back in time were absolutely wonderful! The clothes, décor, cars, and everything- all felt so detailed and authentic. And Natasha was truly delightful as Joy in the retro era!

The ending wrapped up a bit quickly for me, but overall, it’s a heartfelt, wholesome Christmas story- filled with faith, inspiration, and a sweet feeling of hope for the future when we trust in God. ~Net


Pencil Me In For Christmas - November 16, 2025

🎄 Pencil Me In For Christmas - I streamed this movie last Christmas (I think it was on Xumo), and I found it to be sweet and lighthearted. Greer Grammer is delightful as Harper, so cheerful and full of Christmas spirit! Jason Cermak plays Caleb, who starts off as a bit of a Grinch, but it’s heartwarming to watch him slowly open his heart to the joys of the season. Overall, I recall it being a nice, family-friendly film. ~Net

🎄 Pencil Me In For Christmas is a favourite of mine and almost brings tears to my (eyes) as I think of the good old days of Reel One.

Greer Grammer and Jason Cermak were both new to me but they made a great couple that I was really rooating for and it's one of those old-fashioned Rom.Coms which you've seen lots of times before that leaves you with a warm satisfying feeling - the tension simmers nicely and the ending is great. I don't recall anything unfamily friendly (Florence's rating Pencil Me In For Christmas 8.5) ~Florence

🎄 I really enjoyed Creating Christmas (new title: Pencil Me In For Christmas)! A fun movie.... Matt LaBarre

🎄 I watched Jason Cermak on Creating Christmas (new title: Pencil Me In For Christmas) on streaming service. It’s family friendly ~Anonymous

🎄 Pencil Me in For Christmas (aka Creating Christmas). Warm, sweet, feel-good movie I would definitely watch again. All four lead actors were good (the two women were beautiful, the two men needed better hairstylists). Initially, Greer Grammer’s character, Harper, is waaaaay too PERKY! And she continued to be a bit over-the-top but, nevertheless, I came to rather enjoy her endearing, childlike wonder and bubbly personality. I thought Jason Cermak did a good job as Caleb, a touch of crusty bitterness but with a softer side just waiting for the right woman to bring out of him. This was a simple, yet satisfying delightful Christmas romance. Family friendly. (Greer Grammer’s effervescent persona reminded me of Meredith Hagner’s wonderful character in A Gift Wrapped Christmas.) ~~Jane


Christmas on Every Page - November 22, 2025

🎄 Christmas on Every Page is quite charming. –Maria

🎄 Christmas on Every Page was sweet! I hope we see more of Rose & Jake on GAF. Christie

🎄 Christmas on Every Page. Sweet, sappy, simplistic, awkward and clumsy. Yet still engaging and warm, and probably worth a one-time watch. The actors were all a bit stiff but I still liked them; I feel like the directing and the writing and small details were weak and could have been improved upon. Also, the sound was annoying, the music and the dialogue were either too loud or too muffled. There was a mild faith element, which was nice, but I’m not completely sure I agree with everything said (one conversation with the pastor felt like it was all about connecting with “self” and finding what we want, where it should have been more about seeking God’s will for one’s self – but I might just be nitpicking😊). Family friendly. ~~Jane


Christmas North of Nashville - November 23, 2025

🎄 Christmas North of Nashville was the worst movie I have seen on GAF. Jules was not a likeable main character. She was cold to her parents in the beginning of the movie. There was no love story between her and her co star but at the end they kiss. Also her mother had an accident but it was never mentioned what happened to her. You just see her in the hospital not awake most of the movie. At the end she wakes up and the next day she is at the carnival. The movie had very little to do with Christmas. I have enjoyed all the other movies so far on GAF this year. -Ken

🎄 Ken, I am on the same page with you! It (Christmas North of Nashville) was painful to watch. kitkat

🎄 Christmas North of Nashville – I like the actors in this movie from Crossroad Springs, but the story is so slow, and it really doesn’t flow all that well. I didn’t feel much or any romantic connection between the two leads. The female lead, Jules, was not all that kind to her parents, especially her mother, which made it harder to connect with her.

For the most part, it just lacks any warm Christmassy feels for me, except the one real bright spot is Jonathan Stoddard’s character, Nick. He’s fun, full of Christmas cheer, and even dresses up like an elf! I just wish we saw more of him, though his interest in Jules does feel like it comes out of nowhere.

Overall, this movie is family friendly, but it’s a one-time watch for me. Net


The Christmas Spark - November 28, 2025

🎄 The Christmas Spark is amazing! –Maria

🎄 'The Christmas spark' is such an amazing movie. I enjoyed every minute of it. It is dedicated to the firefighters and first responders. It was a deeper movie for me. Mario Lopez did a great job, I liked him very much. Together with Ali Cobrin they created such a beautiful love story. But it's not only about romance, it is much more. –Oksanka

🎄 "The Christmas Spark" - This sweet movie had it all. It pulled on my heartstrings. It made me tear up. It made my heart soar. It was such a great film. Any movie that makes me feel something is a winner in my book. Very well done film that I definitely recommend. Joan

🎄 Mario’s movie Christmas Spark was really good. Very moving. Well done GAF. Allie B

🎄 The Christmas Spark was a delightful surprise!! Mario and Ali were fabulous together and their natural chemistry was off the chart. I found Ali to be adorable and we need her in more projects on GAF! She was funny, quirky, relatable and over the top cute with it all being natural and not obnoxious at all. This is by far Mario’s best performance ever. He was funny, heart-felt, and warm throughout the entire movie. Mario and Ali had me laughing one minute and then tearing up a few scenes later. The humor in the movie was genuine and actually had me laughing out loud!

I thought the secondary actors all did a fabulous job …which isn’t always the case. Charlie especially stood out to me. To me, this movie had it all – interesting storyline, humor, action, emotions, Christmas whimsy, fun Christmas music, and organic faith elements. I LOVED the shout-out to Samaritan’s Purse and Operation Christmas Child. The movie flew by and I was not distracted at all during it. That is always the sign of a good movie! ….and I kept it on my DVR even though I have a subscription to PureFlix! I think The Christmas Spark is definitely going to be a GAF Christmas Classic! ~Gena

🎄 The Christmas Spark – Wow, what a great powerful story! I was really moved by the tribute to firefighters in this film, and how Mario’s character struggled with his inner conflict of choosing between two very different career choices - continuing to being a lawyer or pursuing a calling to become a firefighter.

It was great to see how Mario, although a bit older than some of the younger recruits, was still physically able to keep up with the obstacle courses and challenges. Even if you already appreciate and admire the bravery of firefighters, this movie renews your appreciation on a whole new level - highlighting their courage, emotional strength, physical stamina, and the unexpected dangers they face at a moment’s notice.

Besides Mario, there’s a standout performance from Charlie Besso, who portrays Charlie Foster (Little Red), a young recruit coping with the loss of his father, who was a firefighter. The incredible emotion he displays is such a meaningful part to the story.

And, adding a little lightheartedness to the story, I love the way Mario’s character shows compassion and helps an older woman in the community who has legal trouble after a fire destroys her home and separates her from her sweet dog.

Overall, this film is uplifting, deeply moving, and even has a sweet story of romance. A truly wonderful watch!

Also, I think this is one of those rare Christmas movies that will interest guys who don’t like the typical, predictable, cheesy holiday rom-com. ~Net


There’s No Place Like Christmas - November 30, 2025

🎄 'There's No Place Like Christmas' was worth watching. It's such a heartwarming movie. Cindy Busby was so great in it. IMO it's one of her best roles. Sam Page was great too. Always happy to see him. And I also liked how the church was such an important part of the community. I'm so happy to see the faith element in GAF movies. ~Oksanka

🎄 There’s No Place Like Christmas – I absolutely loved this movie from start to finish! Cindy Busby and Sam Page are truly fantastic together! Their connection is so natural… it’s effortless!

I adored Cindy’s character, Grace Sawyer, a real estate manager who returns to her hometown of Evergreen Falls with a heart full of memories and a love for every home she steps into. Whether she’s helping old friends or complete strangers find a home, she sees the story in every house, and that warmth completely shines through.

And Sam Page is oh-so-charming as the local photographer! He brings just the right spark to remind Grace why she loves her work… and best of all, Christmas!

I also loved the way the movie gently weaves in church and faith elements. It was truly lovely. It felt authentic and never overdone. Best of all, there’s no big dramatic blow-up scene! It’s just a sweet, lighthearted, heartwarming holiday story that made me smile from beginning to end. I look forward to watching it again (and again!) on Great American Family!

In my opinion, There’s No Place Like Christmas is like wearing your favorite Christmas sweater… it just feels warm, comfortable, and extra cozy! Hope you all enjoy it as much as I did! ~Net


Christmas at the Inn - December 6, 2025

🎄 Christmas at the Inn is so lovely! –Maria


Christmas at Mistletoe Manor - December 7, 2025

🎄 Christmas at Mistletoe Manor is good. -Maria


Have We Met This Christmas? - December 13, 2025


A Royal Christmas Tail - December 14, 2025


SURPRISE CHRISTMAS FILM - December 20, 2025


Chasing Christmas - December 21, 2025



🌟HALLMARK CHANNEL:


Mistletoe Murders Season 1 - TV Series - October 17, 2025

🎄 Mistletoe Murders is family friendly (1st episode) and liking it so far. -Elizbeth

🎄 Mistletoe Murders - Okay, so I decided to get Hallmark+ for the Christmas season. I’ve watched the first two episodes of “Mistletoe Murders,” and it is a cozy sort of mystery.

Sarah Drew (“Guiding Emily”) is the lead and she is good in this genre. Her character, Emily Lane, owns and runs a Christmas shop, but she also has a covert mysterious past.

The show has a sort of “Murder, She Baked” vibe to it with all the community involvement in Fletcher’s Grove, and Emily has two adorable cats. Sarah Drew’s opposite is Peter Mooney (“Fly Away with Me”), who plays local police officer, Sam Wilner. He is a single divorced father with a daughter in high school, who also works with Emily at her Christmas shop.

I won’t give any of the mystery away, but one of the suspects is an unmarried pregnant woman. There is some mystery as to who the father is of her unborn baby. Another male suspect is referred to as her (and I quote) “Baby Daddy.” Due to that and some violence centered around the murder, the episodes are best-suited for a mature audience.

Thus far, “Mistletoe Murders” is an intriguing mystery series. ~Net

🎄 I’ve been watching the Mistletoe Murders Mystery series and so far it’s pretty good. I just finished the first half of episode 2 and so far it’s been family friendly. ~Abigail

🎄 So I started a 7 day free trial of Hallmark + last night because I wanted to watch the Mistletoe Murders and I watched the first movie (episode 1 &2 as it breaks it up into 2 episodes I don’t know why) and it was surprisingly good! I personally don’t care for Sarah Drew, never cared for any of the movies she did, but this one surprised me! I think she was good in the sleuthing role and I’m excited to watch the other 2 mistletoe Murder movies. The only thing I don’t care for is how she narrates in the movie. I’m okay with that in the beginning to set the stage but she does it throughout the entire movie and it is kind of distracting to my own thoughts when I watch a mystery movie. I want to dissect it in my own mind and her narration is distracting. ~Paula

🎄 Mistletoe Murders – (episode 3&4) Each murder mystery in The Mistletoe Murders series are written to cover 2 episodes, so it’s basically like watching a movie. The 3rd and 4th episodes were mostly family-friendly for a show that revolves around murder. These types of shows are best suited for pre-teen age and up.

Cautions: A woman who was killed in a car “accident,” was thought to be having an affair with a man who is in the local choir. This same man is questioned by Emily (Sarah Drew’s character) and when she asks if he was involved with her, he says something like, she’s not my type and Emily says, blonde?, and he simply says woman. Nothing else is said or shown afterwards. There is another murder near the end of the 4th episode.
Overall, I love the sweet relationship between Emily and Sam, and his teenage daughter, who is a breath of fresh air. The Christmas shop is darling, and it was nice to hear the choir sing Christmas carols in these episodes. ~Net

🎄 Mistletoe Murders – I finished this entire series running on Hallmark+. There are 6 episodes in all. For me, it was just okay. I’ve reviewed the previous 4 episodes before, so I’ll focus this review on the last two.

The murder mystery in the last two episodes revolves around a book store owner. He has left a mystery behind to his nephews and various people in the community. That part of the story is intriguing, at first, but it feels drawn out by the end.

The local detective, Sam (a divorced single father), shares a special Christmas celebration with his teen-aged daughter, who will be leaving to spend Christmas with her mother. I usually find the daughter to be bubbly and fun, but she calls their early Christmas gift exchange, Dad-mas. This was mentioned several times, and I couldn’t help from cringing every time I heard it. I don’t like when anyone replaces Christ in Christmas.

Also, I didn’t notice any language in the previous episodes, but the d-word was used at least three times in this last episode. It’s like they asked what word are we allowed to use and they settled on that one and used it several times. Whatever. It really wasn’t needed.

There is a kiss by a man and woman (I won’t say who) at the end that is rather steamy. It’s not your standard, simple Hallmark kiss and the credits roll. Without going into detail, I’ll just say it was more than the typical kiss. Honestly, I was watching with other family members and it felt a little uncomfortable. Needless to say, I was glad when it ended.

I won’t give away any of the mystery portion, but I’ll simply say this episode leaves you with more mystery around Sarah Drew’s character.

If you really enjoy murder mysteries, you might like this series, but if you want a warm and cozy, lighthearted, stress-free Christmas movie/show, you’ll probably want to skip this. ~Net

🎄 Hey everyone, just wanted to report back on the Mistletoe Murders from Hallmark +. They were great! The narrating was distracting at first but I got used to it, but I would rather do without if I had a choice. The mysteries were very interesting and I liked the characters of the detective and his daughter, I just wish she had a friend in the show to be her partner in crime.

The final and 3rd movie left on a major cliffhanger. Aside from her year round Christmas store and the charming downtown area, the movies didn’t have that cozy vibe a la Murder She Baked that I love. Her own background being intertwined (similar to Jeff in Martha’s Vineyard Mysteries) made it slightly creepy for me. But if they made more I would definitely watch them, just not alone at night Lol ~Paula

🎄 Mistletoe Murders was fun. Agree it is not for kids, so I was surprised Hallmark started their Countdown with it, but I guess that’s Hallmark these days. ~Allie B.

🎄 I liked Mistletoe Murders enough to keep watching. My only gripe, honestly is there going to be a new murder every week, for like 10 weeks and a season 2 with new murders, in a small town? Really??????? I kind of was hoping maybe it would be 1 murder and the season revolve around it, but no. Always thought it was interesting that Aurora, in her small town, found like 10 to 15 murders. But that was over the course of many years (still ridiculous). But why can't they have at least half the season on MM to unravel the murderer? I do like Sarah Drew's character, and can't wait to find out all her secrets. Love Peter Mooney. ~Sabrina

🎄 I wanted to post about the last 2 installments of Mistletoe Murders! I loved this series until now. I'm like you Net, the use of the D--- word shocked me. I even ran it back to listen again to make sure I heard it correctly. And the kissing scene was definitely more than we are use to seeing. The acting and and the mystery itself was great. But this is not suited for smaller children. There's a little more violence in the last one too. Didn't like the Dad-Mas either. ~Joyce in Carolina

🎄 Mistletoe Murders - I just rewatched the first season and I would advise skipping that kiss scene. I thinking it was way too sensual. I often skip any kiss Erin Krakow does as well. As much as I love her and WCTH, often her kisses are quite heavy.~Abigail


A Royal Montana Christmas - October 18, 2025

🎄 A Royal Montana Christmas is clean and charming. –Maria

🎄 Well, A Royal Montana Christmas was very “meh” for me. I think i am over fake accents and hugging to “teach” someone how to rope / almost kissing in the first few minutes that people meet. The whole movie just felt cringy with nothing really happening and no real connection felt with the couple. I honestly found the father/Son relationship more real and interesting. Family friendly.. kind of. Thankfully the guy that they obviously want to seem gay doesn’t get a boyfriend but I don’t think the over the top kissing in this and that they seem to be including more and more is appropriate for families. -Anna P.

🎄 Montana movie family friendly. ~Anonymous

🎄 Review: A Royal Montana Christmas -
Family-friendly? Yes -
Recommend? Maybe for a one-time watch -

A standard "princess-in-the-USA" movie - predictable, nothing special but nothing bad. Fiona and Warren are fine in their roles, but Fiona obviously went to the same school where Merritt Patterson got her fake royal accent in Jingle Bell Princess! (Close your eyes and see if she doesn't sound exactly like Merritt!) If you're tired of these princess movies, you can skip this one. Otherwise, it's okay for a one-time watch. –Mark 25

🎄 Just finished Royal Montana Christmas. It was very cute and family friendly.~Abigail

🎄 A Royal Montana Christmas - This movie stars two actors I’ve always liked- Fiona Gubelmann (Christmas Next Door) as Princess Victoria and Warren Christie (The Most Wonderful Time of the Year) as Huntley, a rancher cowboy.

Princess Victoria and Huntley certainly make a good-looking pair… Fiona Gubelmann is lovely as ever, and Warren Christie is a very handsome cowboy. Maybe that’s why I found their attraction to be a bit superficial. Even though they share some heartfelt conversations, their time together just didn’t feel long enough to support such a life-changing decision - in my opinion.

I also struggled with the royal accent, which constantly distracted me from the story. Still, the movie remains family-friendly overall, and I especially enjoyed the sweet flashback moments of Victoria’s childhood visits to the ranch with her father. Those were such a lovely touch. However, I do want to caution – (Mild SPOILER) there are a couple of rather steamy kisses near the end. He even messes up her gorgeous blonde wavy hair… how dare he! (LOL!!!) This royal movie is a one-time watch for me. ~Net

🎄 A Royal Montana Christmas. Nope. I quit. Perhaps it improved as it went along but, I just couldn’t take anymore. I’ve liked the two lead actors in other films but this one was just painful! Fiona’s fake “royal” accent was much maligned across social media but, to me, that was almost the least ludicrous part of the movie. No idea if it’s family friendly and don’t care to watch any longer and find out. ~~Jane

A Christmas Angel Match - October 19, 2025

🎄 Review: A Christmas Angel Match -
Family-friendly? No - The angels try to match up a gay person -
Recommend? No -

A had high hopes for this one, since it involved angels. And I really liked a couple of older Hallmark movies with angels where they are sent to earth to help others: Christmas Magic with Lindy Booth and Christmas in Angel Falls with Rachel Boston. Sadly, this one doesn't come close to these others.

This one is just, well, weird! I mean, they come from the Christmas Connection Department (?? - is this supposed to be part of heaven?) which may be downsized (huh?) and merged with Cupid's Department (again, ??) if these angels don't succeed in bringing two specific people together. "God" is never mentioned in the movie, nor is "heaven". This movie may have angels, but it is certainly not a religious movie at all!

And...then there's Benjamin's character who doesn't need to follow the laws spelled out in a book (he's the "fun" angel who drinks hot chocolate!) while Meghan's character follows the rules (and therefore has never had "fun" on earth and who therefore has never tasted hot chocolate). And maybe because I lost interest at some point, but I found the whole feather/wings thing confusing, as well as what "magic" these angels can and cannot perform. There's more, but I think you get my point. This one's a skipper! –Mark 25

🎄 I did Not care for That Christmas Match movie on Hall Mark. I changed channel to Great American Pure Flix. To watch one of my favorites A Tail of Christmas ~Namegirl

🎄 Disappointed in an Angel Christmas Match but not really surprised since it is hallmark. The whole movie was “tell me you don’t know God, without telling me you don’t know God.” Putting Cupids/Greek mythology together and yoga for Angels? You could overlook that until it was truly not family friendly when they made an angel making a match for the girls gay friend and meeting him at a bar. Turned it off. Guess i will watch the GAC movie i missed. -Anna P.

🎄 That Christmas Match movie isn't family friendly and not good. The so-called angels in this one are the only thing halfway interesting. I wouldn't date a guy more interested in a grandma than dating women his age. Misty

🎄 Montana movie family friendly. Sadly the angel one is not! ~Anonymous

🎄 Christmas Angel Match - This movie contains a gay character who not only describes his dating issues but then during a conversation with a friend about it an angel walks by and assists him in making a love match. ~ J. Adams


Merry Christmas, Ted Cooper - October 25, 2025

🎄 Merry Christmas Ted Cooper is definitely 1 of the funniest movies of the Season. Brendan Penny has a really amusing cameo, and Mark Harmon from NCIS was referenced and I'm going totally nuts inside!! (and yes, it's also clean). -Maria

🎄 Review: Merry Christmas, Ted Cooper! -
Family-friendly? Yes -
Recommend? Yes -

I agree with Maria - this is one funny, and fun, movie! I think I had a smile on my face from start to finish! Both actors really shine here, and this is one of my favorite roles of Kimberley's in recent years. And Brendan Perry is a hoot in cameos as a self-centered news anchorman - I didn't realize he could play comedy this well! If you are looking for an enjoyable, lighthearted movie, this is one to watch! –Mark 25

🎄 Merry Christmas, Ted Cooper – Super fun, cute movie! You’ll instantly be on Team Ted – rooting for this guy, who is such a happy, joyful character! Even though, he has lots of holiday mishaps, he’s generally optimistic, looking on the bright, sunny side of things, which is especially good since he's a weatherman! I absolutely loved his cheerful Christmas spirit!!!

A few things I’d change, if I could… The ladies in the jogging group – loved them!!! I just would’ve loved them even more if at least 2 or 3 of the ladies could’ve spoken. It seemed odd to me that only one of the women would speak to Ted and the others would just smile and nod in agreement. I know speaking actors are paid more than extras, so that’s why they were silent. But, honestly, it felt rather weird. Women, especially in a group like that, are usually rather chatty and talkative.

Another thing I‘d change… the disagreement with Ted and Hope near the end seemed a little off to me. She wasn’t happy because he was too happy? Okay, whatever. And the ending seemed kinda fast and the credits rolled before I knew it. Perhaps, I just didn’t want a good thing to end???

A nice touch… it was good to see Hope’s friend, who is in a wheelchair, working and thriving in her life, in spite of her disability.

Also, it was fun to see Actor Brendan Penny in this. I thought he was going to have a small cameo, but his character showed up quite often.

Overall, this movie is family-friendly and an absolute delight and blast to watch! I laughed out loud numerous times- so this is definitely one for the re-watch list… an instant classic! ~Net

🎄 I was so pleasantly surprised by Merry Christmas Ted Cooper! I actually think this is a good family (teenage) movie. I appreciated even how they brought some depth towards the end with Ted's tendency to always be positive and Holly helping him see more emotions. This one was sweet, funny, not cheesy, and clean! I'm going to watch again with my huisband! ~LR

🎄 Merry Christmas, Ted Cooper is like a breath of fresh air! I don't know the last time I laughed out loud at any movie! It's clean, sweet and great acting all around! This is one I will be watching again! ~Joyce in Carolina

🎄 I almost passed on the Ted Cooper movie and I’m so glad I didn’t!!! Joyce said it so well!! It really was a breath of fresh air!! I laughed throughout the whole thing. It was family friendly and full of cheer! ~Abigail

🎄 “Merry Christmas Ted Cooper!”

This was one of my favorites of the Christmas season so far. It was funny and so cute. Robert was so good in the lead role. He was adorable and a breath of fresh air. He and Kimberly had amazing chemistry. Fun story line and Brendan Penny was sublime in his small role. He made me laugh out loud several times. We loved everything about this one and would watch it again for sure. Joan


Season's Greetings from Cherry Lane - October 26, 2025
*NOTE: This movie features a same-sex couple.


Happy Holidays From Cherry Lane - October 26, 2025

🎄 "Happy Holidays on Cherry Lane," the 3rd movie, is family-friendly and a pleasant watch, featuring 3 storylines weaving in and out from 3 time periods. I found it perfectly fine to watch as a stand-alone movie. ~Alicia

🎄 Happy Holidays from Cherry Lane was pretty good. (and also kind of made me miss Good Witch a bit. Well, the good Seasons anyway.). –Maria


Deck the Halls From Cherry Lane - October 26, 2025

🎄 Deck the Halls on Cherry Lane is clean. –Maria


Christmas on Duty - November 1, 2025

🎄 Christmas on Duty is both clean and very wonderful! ~Maria

🎄 Review: Christmas on Duty -
Family-friendly? Yes -
Recommend? Slight yes -

Instead of my usual dissertations, this review is going to be brief. (Is that a "thank goodness" I hear??) Overall I enjoyed this movie because of the development of the relationship between the two leads was well played out - it didn't seem rushed or phony. But like in other movies this year I find a storyline problem: these two have to rush to buy and deliver the presents, yet they find time to play with the toys in the toys store and have a snowball fight with their dads! Seriously? Anyway, the two leads are great together, and for that I recommend at least a one-time watch. –Mark 25

🎄 Christmas on Duty. So, I’m writing this review from the ER, where I’m waiting to have an ophthalmologist get my one eyeball unstuck from where it rolled up inside my head whilst watching this movie (evidently eyeball issues triggered by Hallmark movies are not triaged as top priority around here, so I’ve got time to share my thoughts). Warning: there may be spoilers ahead! Plus, I’m just gonna ramble. First off, WHAT is up with the eye makeup and painted lips while crawling in the dirt under barbed wire while doing military obstacle training maneuvers?!??! The opening scene and ridiculous plot and dialogue soured me on this thing from the get go. I loved the lead actress in Sugarplummed but I did not like her in this movie; her character is annoying, unlikeable and adversarial. In addition, any plotline where there’s a feud between the parents just grates on my nerves. The cancellation of ALL toy deliveries and closing of ALL roads and ALL toy stores is absolutely ridiculous. We’re told it’s the day before Christmas and, tragedy of tragedies, no parents have presents for their kiddos. Say, what?! Seriously?? None of them ordered a gift or went to a toy store prior to THE DAY BEFORE Christmas???? They’re ALL waiting on toy deliveries???

So, our two heroes drive a huge military vehicle through the snow-closed roads (that looked amazingly NOT snow-closed, btw) to faraway towns to hit up all the toy stores that might still have toys, and then hurry up back the next day to save Christmas. Absolutely ridiculous premise. Our first toy store stop was cute, I guess, but just felt super silly and contrived and then it went way over the top nonsensical and that’s when my eyeball started to really twitch. They had one last toy that they needed but it was way up on the top of a stack of boxes and the nasty old shop owner wouldn’t help them get it. So, our geniuses device a plan to scale the walls and swing from a rope in the rafters and hang down and grab the toy (which, of course, ends with Red Lips Marine Girl falling on top of Hottie Marine Dude). Seriously? There’s no ladder anywhere? How did the boxes manage to get stacked that high without a ladder or lift? How did the huge floor-to-rafter shelves all along the walls (a la Home Depot) get stocked to the rafters with boxes? Did the crotchety old store owner strap on her special-powers spiderman suit and swing from rafter to rafter to stack those boxes? This is unrealistic and cheap writing. Needless to say, I don’t have patience for such completely contrived nonsense.

But, wait. It gets worse. At our next toy shop stop we find that the employee has gotten himself locked out of the huge warehouse building. So, somehow, they all end up on the roof of this mega warehouse building and somehow, they happen to have a blueprint of the building and they decide to send the strapping huge Marine dude down through a specific tiny air-duct chimney just to retrieve the one toy they need that’s down there. Are you kidding me?!!!?? This is where I asked to be driven to the ER because I knew I was in trouble. But before we left, I got to hear that not only is Red Lips this phenomenal career soldier but evidently, she’s also been trained in voice by her mother, who was, naturally, a classically trained professional opera singer. Oh, gag. Who writes this drivel??

The cute kid “Tater Tot” and the cute lead actor were not enough to save this movie for me. The best line was “I’ll think outside the socks”; that was cute. This thing had potential to be a good movie (especially the time they spent talking while driving) but the writing and dialogue was just lacking, for me. What I saw before I left was family friendly. ~~Jane


A Newport Christmas - November 2, 2025

🎄 Loved loved loved A Newport Christmas! It's the only one I watched this weekend, but I caught the end of Midnight Clear & plan to watch it next. –Meg

🎄 My mom and I enjoyed “A Newport Christmas.” The characters are charming, and it is a fun time travel movie. It is family-friendly and a nice change of pace from your typical Christmas movie – Laurie

🎄 Review: A Newport Christmas -
Family-friendly? Yes -
Recommend? Yes, but with a caveat -

DEFINITE SPOILERS!

As I have mentioned before, I am not a big fan of some time travel movies. I don't mind those where someone travels from the past to the present (like Journey Back to Christmas and A Timeless Christmas) since history isn't altered, but I am not comfortable with those where someone travels from the present to the past and becomes part of the past (like A Biltmore Christmas) because history would be altered, as well as leaving open the question of what happens to the person between the past and the present. I know, I'm probably over-analyzing it, but that's me.

A Newport Christmas is indeed enjoyable, with excellent acting by Gina Claire Mason as Ella, Wes Brown as NIck, and David O'Donnell as Rex. (Gina must be the go-to person for movies set in the past, and indeed she has that "look".) But, the plot is complicated and leaves unanswered questions. The storyline in short: Ella travels from 1905 to the present (2025) where she meets Nick. And she also meets Rex, who is also from the past and traveled like her to the present. History shows they married in the past, but that would have been after he landed in the present. It turns out that when Ella goes back to the past, Nick follows her and becomes the Rex of history. Follow? But, major problem: how then did Nick-as-Rex in the past become the Nick of the present? Other things that bothered me: why did the real Rex, knowing that history shows him marrying Ella, not seemed bothered by this? I would have gone crazy trying to find the answer! And who wrote the infamous letter? I don't think we find out. And finally, why did Nick look like 1905 at the 2025 ball, when he did not know he was going to go after Ella and end up back in time?

Still, even with these questions, as Laurie above mentioned, this is a fun movie and atypical. So yes, I do recommend giving it a watch...but if you analyze it too closely, you may want to have some aspirin on hand! –Mark 25

🎄 “A Newport Christmas” - Time travel movies have always held a special place in my heart. I don’t know why, but I have found them intriguing my entire life. “Back to the Future” has been one of my all-time favorite movies since I was young. I never get tired of watching it. Anyway, I agree with several other reviewers. I thought the characters were charming and it was family-friendly for sure. Again, kudos for the movie being set where is was filmed. Gina and Wes were excellent and believable in their roles. Believable chemistry and great ending. My husband and I were trying to figure out how they would end the movie, and I have to say it was surprising but satisfying. Joan

🎄 Finally got around to A Newport Christmas, and yeah, this 1 is not that good. Way too sad, and way, way too on the nose with the whole 'girl power' stuff. (I watch a lot of period shows and movies, and believe me, women back then were tough without having to be so ridiculous about it). –Maria

🎄 A Newport Christmas – Ginna Claire Mason has quickly become one of my Hallmark favorites, and I absolutely adored her charming, old-fashioned style in this movie. That said, some parts of the time-travel storyline didn’t quite add up for me, and I wasn’t especially fond of the direction they took with Wes Brown’s character, especially (SPOILER) the identity change at the end. Still, on a positive note, the film is wholesome, sweet, and completely family-friendly. ~Net


Mistletoe Murders season 2 - TV Series - November 7, 2025

🎄 Mistletoe Murders - I am finally starting to make a dent in my recordings. I watched Mistletoe Murders season 1 last year and really enjoyed it. It is not the “cozy mystery” I was used to from Hallmark like in the older Murder She Baked movies or older Aurora Teagarden movies, but it keeps the interest with the acting, music selection and storyline. I watched the new Season 2 episode 1 from Friday and although I felt the mystery was pretty easy to solve, I enjoyed it. Family friendly from what I remember. It is always hard to answer that question because normally I pause a movie to get water, get a snack, one of my children wake up etc. ~Paula

🎄 “Mistletoe Murders” - Let me just start out by saying my husband and I were hooked immediately from the very first episode. Sarah is perfect in her role as Emily. So many layers to her character! And her backstory is engaging. Plus, she and Peter have such incredible chemistry. I do agree that the kiss was steamy and uncomfortable to watch. Much more sensual than we are used to seeing on Hallmark. But, aside from that, my husband and I are enjoying the series immensely. The relationship between Violet and Emily is so sweet and endearing. The actress who plays Violet is so adorable. The town where the story is set is perfect. The character Sue is sarcastic but funny. The mysteries are engaging and not boring. I am already wishing for Season 3! Joan

🎄 I did catch the 2nd episode of Mistletoe Murders and it was very fun. I really enjoyed it. The characters grow on you more and more. I loved the Christmas socks. So sweet. Abigail

🎄 My wife and I really love the Mistletoe Murders mysteries. We think they are the best mystery movies Hallmark has made in some time. Hope they are coming out on dvd. ~Anonymous

🎄 I watched the last two episodes of Mistletoe Murders. I thought it was good, but thought there could have been more info into Emily’s past. But I still enjoyed it. Sad it’s over. This season went fast and was shorter. Too bad. ~Abigail

🎄 “Mistletoe Murders (Season 2)" - First off, let me just say there better be a Season 3 of this mystery series with that cliffhanger! There is so much story left to tell. My only complaint, with this series, is the seasons are not long enough. Like Abigail, I wanted to see more of Emily's/Grace's backstory. But, that quibble aside along with the season being too short, we LOVE this mystery series. It is seriously good. And, the stories are entertaining and the acting is fantastic. Joan

🎄 Mistletoe Murders is a geat series. A true winner. ~Anonymous


Christmas Above The Clouds - November 8, 2025

🎄 Christmas above the clouds. Not really a good adaptation of a Christmas Carol in my opinion. Everything seemed rushed. Not a lot of true feelings. Ok for a one time watch. ~JoCo

🎄 Review: Christmas Above the Clouds -
Family-friendly? It appears that the two main characters may live together before and during their engagement, but nothing certain -
Recommend? Yes -

A Christmas Carol is one of my favorite Christmas stories and films (the b&w Alistair Sim version). This movie modernizes the story, and it does it in a clever way. At times it simply updates A Christmas Carol, other times it spoofs it, but it is a fun journey all the way. lt also has references to It's a Wonderful Life, so if you are familiar with the story and storylines from these two movies, you will probably appreciate this film even more. And you may even shed a tear at the end! Tyler is good, but Erin's performance really stands out, and the chemistry between these two is once again wonderful. For me this one's a keeper and one I know I will be revisiting. ~Mark 25

🎄 Christmas Above the Clouds Review

I am not a Christmas Carol/Dickens fan at all, but being a heartie I do love Erin Krakow. It was strange seeing her play the mean boss because of her opposite character personality Elizabeth. But Erin did a good job playing her part both in the mean and being really happy in love. It was family friendly and was cool being set on an airplane. ~Abigail

🎄 “Christmas Above the Clouds” - Oh my! That was a joyous ride! I was pleasantly surprised by this one because the story line has been done so MANY times over the years. But the writers still found ways to make the plot fresh and added new layers to “A Christmas Carol”. It was funny, endearing, sweet, and sentimental. I LOVE Tyler and Erin as a couple. I have lost track of how many times I have watched “It was always you”! Erin and Tyler were just as good together in this movie too. They are a perfect match! This is another Christmas movie, from this season, I would watch again. Joan

🎄 Christmas Above the Clouds – Fun, creative, and entertaining! It’s quite the ride, or in this case, I should say… flight! Erin Krakow & Tyler Hynes were definitely great to see together again. Some of the portions of movie with the Christmas ghosts (like A Christmas Carol – past, present, & future) are a little outlandish, at times, with loud sounds & flashing lights. It’s not really scary, however, I know young kids love Erin Krakow on When Calls the Heart and many will be interested in seeing this, too – so I just want to give caution to parents that those scenes might be somewhat creepy to young viewers, especially those who are unfamiliar with the whole Scrooge-type story. Otherwise, this is a family-friendly movie, and even though it plays off of A Christmas Carol, it’s still very unique. ~Net


A Keller Christmas Vacation - November 9, 2025
*NOTE: This movie features a same-sex couple.


Three Wisest Men - November 15, 2025

🎄 Three Wisest Men- I really enjoyed this movie! I loved the first 2 and this one was no different. I think all 3 brothers are so funny on their own (one neurotic, one too laid back and then Andrew lol) and together they have great chemistry. I wish the wedding planning had been shown as I think that would have been super funny, as well as maybe the labor, but I know it’s impossible to show all 3 brothers’ stories in one movie, was just left wanting to see more of the storylines. Also I appreciated the adorable babies shown at the end, so stinkin cute! Most movies bring out a fake baby/doll and it is so obvious it’s not a real baby 😂 ~Paula

🎄 Three Wiser Men Review: I don’t now if I would call this fam friendly or not. No issues with same sex, but it was very evident that the two brothers were living with their girlfriend and fiancé. Which is a bummer. There were parts I liked, but that and the disrespectful boy was too much.

I also thought it was odd to see Lochlyn Munro play an older man. He’s probably around the same age as Andrew Walker. ~Abigail

🎄 Three Wisest Men. Secular and over-the-top, yet so much fun!! It felt good to reconnect with this crazy group. Amidst all their flaws, there’s a warmth to this family and I appreciate the realistic relationships between them. Love the ensemble cast and the quick-witted quips between the brothers (Tyler Hynes excels!). Was it faith-based and did I agree with everything said and done? No. But, nonetheless, it was entertaining. The brothers’ entrance into the mall wearing those outrageously fantastic outfits made up for any other deficiencies in the movie. It made me laugh. And I desperately need laughter right now. (However, I’m a bit disappointed they didn’t do “the dance”.) I would say it’s not entirely family friendly, mainly because there is an assumption that one couple has been living together before their marriage and there’s mention of another couple considering moving in together. ~~Jane

🎄 "Three Wisest Men" - My husband and I thought this movie was just as good or even better than the 1st movie in the series. After what we felt was a disastrous 2nd movie, we weren't sure how the final movie would be and we have to say it was fantastic! It was funny, heartfelt, nostalgic, realistic and all around joy to revel in. We will definitely watch this gem again next Christmas. :-) Joan

🎄 Review: Three Wisest Men -
Family-friendly? At least one brother is living with his girlfriend -
Recommend? Yes -

I liked the first movie because it had humor and charm. I didn't care for the second one because it lacked charm and for me the humor fell flat. I am so glad that this one has the charm and the humor of the first one. Is the story far-fetched? Yes. Silly? You bet! But it is definitely an enjoyable ride with many heartfelt moments. If you liked the first one, I'd give this one a shot. Mark

🎄 Three Wisest Men – This one is really funny and mostly family-friendly, though, as others have mentioned… it does lean a bit more on the secular side. Nothing is ever shown, but it’s definitely implied that two of the brothers are living with their girlfriends or planning to, though young viewers will probably miss that entirely.

The comedic moments are hilarious, crazy, and delightfully chaotic! And those bird scenes? Absolutely adorable! I was literally laughing out loud! The emotional, more serious moments are genuinely sweet and heartfelt, too.

I was also surprised (as others have mentioned) that the brothers didn’t do their special Christmas dance in this movie. Perhaps, it’s in the unedited version on Hallmark+?

All in all, I found the third movie in the Three Wise Men trilogy to be a great conclusion to the series- though who knows… there just might be more to come! ~Net


Tidings for the Season - November 16, 2025

🎄 'Tidings for the season' is such a sweet, heartwarming movie with the vibe of 'old' Hallmark. It has got a heart. All these feel-good stories about hometown heroes during the holidays covered by Adam (B.J. Britt) have really touched my heart. Seeing all this kindness has got me realized that even though we're living in the world where there's so much evil, we can still see so much goodness out there. We just need to open our hearts to notice and be focused on that, not all the bad things around us.

And I was so thrilled to see Tamera Mowry-Housley, I really like her acting, she's so genuine, she's like a sunshine. Truly recommend this movie -*Oksanka*

🎄 Tidings for the Season. I liked it. Not a keeper but worth a one-time watch. Sort of a standard Tamera Mowry-Housley movie where she’s a single mom at Christmas (although, this one was so much better than last year’s movie!). The lead actor is a bit stiff and kind of chuckles his way through the movie. The kid is cute but almost too precocious. The big conflict is blown way out of proportion. But, nevertheless, it was all rather sweet with some nice messages of caring for others. Loved the scarf bombing idea!!! Family friendly. ~~Jane


Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story - November 22, 2025

🎄 Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story. That was a lot of fun! The “Bills” stuff was way too over-the-top and none of it was especially Christmas-y but it was still an entertaining winter movie. Just an all-around, light, funny, sweet, enjoyable movie (with some cameos). Good ensemble cast and good chemistry between the leads (and very believable that they had been longtime friends). Loved the warmth and craziness of the family and neighbors. Family friendly, except for some brief numerology talk in the second half. (I never finished last year’s Holiday Touchdown movie. As much as I like Tyler Hynes, I could never really get into that movie; it may have just been my mood, but this one seemed more fun.) ~~Jane


Melt My Heart This Christmas - November 23, 2025

🎄 Review: Melt My Heart This Christmas -
Family-friendly? Yes -
Recommend? Only to see a different Laura -

I really enjoyed Laura Vandervoort and the character she played in Miracle in Bethlehem, PA, my favorite Christmas movie from 2023. In this one she plays a totally different kind of character, but equally as well. In the Miracle movie she was quiet and serious, and in this one she is bubbly and outgoing (almost annoyingly at first). But this movie I couldn't get into. The plot was rather boring. And while the two leads were good, I didn't sense any real chemistry between them. So if you want to see Laura play a totally different kind of character from the Miracle movie, it may be worth a watch. Otherwise, I'd skip it. –Mark 25

🎄 I also watched Melt my Heart this Christmas. Okay I agree with Mark, I really enjoyed Laura and seeing her play a different role, but that’s about it. The storyline was Lin of hard to believe- like Bianca was such a huge artist and wanted her new collection to be private and it “wasn’t fully ready” yet it was on display in this huge area with glass windows. And she kept hiding from the reporter guy and didn’t want him judging her work yet it was on full display…? And poor Stephen I don’t think that guy has chemistry with anyone, lol not one single actress Iv seen him work with. Him and Laura just seemed like good friends. Maybe the lighthouse Christmas movie from a year or two ago…. I guess I would recommend for a one time watch. ~Paula


We Met in December - November 27, 2025

🎄 We Met in December is FANTASTIC!! -Maria

🎄 We Met In December: really like both stars, and chemistry was believable but movie was a remake of Destined at Christmas theme. Both have pluses but think I enjoyed the latter more. ~JoCo

🎄 We Met in December is family friendly about Annie & Dave exchange each other’s numbers as they lost each other’s to embark to find themselves by Christmas ~Anonymous

🎄 Review: We Met in December -
Family-friendly? Yes -
Recommend? Slight yes -

What pushed this movie into the "yes" column for me was watching Autumn and Niall together - two established actors who always seem to give a good performance (although I must admit, here, their love-at-first-sight looks were a bit over the top). The problem is the well-worn storyline of two people who meet, lose track of each other before exchanging contact info, and then try to find the other person. And of course, it has the "near miss" contrivances (although thankfully, not nearly as many as in Destined at Christmas). Also, I was bothered by the fact that you have two mature adults (both Nikki and Niall are in their mid-40's), who after spending only one full day together, each think that they have found their forever soul mate. Sorry, in my book it takes a lot longer! Still, it's a fun (but unoriginal) movie with two great actors, so for that I give it a slight recommendation. Mark

🎄 We Met in December is family friendly. Good chemistry between Autumn and Niall, played their parts very well. But here's the thing, I can't buy into the story line of two grown adults that are so attracted to each other they did not share last names or work places in a 24 hour span. One time watch for me! ~Joyce in Carolina

🎄 "We Met in December" - What a lovely and sweet movie this was. Yes, we have seen this concept more than once, but we loved the movie regardless of the rehashed story line. Autumn and Niall were beautiful together! Really genuine chemistry. And, the ending was perfect - especially because of where it ended. :-) My heart just soared!! I highly recommend this one. Joan

🎄 I finished We met in December, and other than the I-95 that runs nowhere near Chicago, and the dress she made that was supposed to be spectacular, but looked like a green velvet coat sewed into a dress, the movie was so good. I loved them together and apart, and trying to find each other, and me guessing how it would happen.

I would LOVE to see more of this movie, my ideas for future movies are : We Got Engaged in December, and We Got Married in December, and We had a baby in december. I would love to see more of Annie and Dave actually together. ~Sabrina

🎄 I watched We Met in December and was pretty happy with it. It wasn't as interesting to me as Destined at Christmas, but it was still well done. The acting was great, and there wasn't anything questionable in it. My only complaint is that I wish they would've shared with each other all the places they tried to look for one another and realized how close they were all along. It would've made the end a bit more exciting. ~Kaitlyn


The Snow Must Go On - November 28, 2025

🎄 The Snow Must Go On. Well… umm… I have no idea what to really say about this movie. I liked it… but I also didn’t like it. (Take the negative remarks with a grain of salt because I may have just been in a weird mood while watching.) Everything about it is of a higher quality then, for instance, your typical UPtv movie and, yet, I can’t put my finger on exactly why it just left me feeling kind of empty (or something??). It’s not a bad movie, it’s reasonably entertaining and, in many ways, quite good and, yet, there is a “but”. Unfortunately, I’m having trouble explaining the “but”. Here are some random thoughts I wrote down: cold, shallow, superficial, no real connection, slick/smooth, lacking warmth, disjointed, no warm Christmas fuzzies. The actors are good, the production value is good (almost too good, too “produced”, too smooth or slick?), and the directing seems okay (director has a lot of excellent movies under his belt). I’m going to guess that perhaps my issue is with the writing. It’s almost like they took a very predictable story and tried to make it unique with a “theatre” angle, which is a fine idea, but certain aspects of the version they wrote just left me feeling blah. Family relationships didn’t feel warm or authentic, to me.

The romance felt too fast and shallow. And, basically, the first ¾ of the story is all about the lead guy and his self-centeredness. He is all about himself. The movie is all about his self-focus and using others to advance his theater career, including the school theater kids that trust him as their new mentor. He even sucks his niece into his self-vortex and she encourages him in his endeavors. However, he’s really quite a likeable character and you know by the end he’ll change and everything will be warm and lovely, but for three fourths of the movie I just felt kind of hollow with no real Christmas warmth. Nonetheless… having said all that, it is still quite an entertaining and fun movie. Excellent production and actors and great music. You know all along he’s going to change and grow up and do the right thing and there will eventually be a sweet ending. For me, it just felt kind of emotionless for longer than it should have. Family friendly. “Theatre people” will love the music and the theatrical flair throughout. ~~Jane

The More the Merrier - November 28, 2025

🎄 The More the Merrier is family friendly, and really sweet! (Peter Benson also makes a short cameo). -Maria


🎄 Review: The More the Merrier -
Family-friendly? Yes -
Recommend? Yes -

Poor Brendan Perry - He plays a doctor who is stranded at his hospital because of a blizzard in Time for Them to Come Home, and here he plays a doctor who is stranded at a hospital because of a blizzard. He needs to learn not to play doctors in the wintertime! :)

Anyway, I was surprised how much I liked this movie! First, I enjoyed the storyline (with its emphasis on "community") and the interesting subplots involving the patients, especially the single young pregnant woman who can't get to the hospital and is taken in by the owners of a bakery (with a plot development I won't divulge here). And I love how the patients offer words of encouragement to each other and how they bond together by the end.

Also, I thought the acting by Brendan and Rachel was spot-on; in fact, it has been a long time since I have enjoyed Rachel in a movie as much as in this one. I can't think of anyone who could have played this role better.

So for a charming movie with character developments, drama, and some good humor too, this is one to watch. –Mark 25

🎄 I did watch The More the Merrier, it was a one time watch, not bad, but nothing to draw me in again. It must have been a fun movie to make, I mean the characters all wore the same outfits the entire movie since it all took place in one afternoon, evening, and into Christmas day. -Sabrina

🎄 The More the Merrier. Loved it!! So very refreshing to have actors, directors, writers and producers who are experienced and excel at their craft! This was just a delightful, funny, warm, Christmas movie with the twist of the whole thing taking place in the hospital over a 24-hour period. With sweet babies, lots of babies. I always love Brendan Penny but I’m not always a Rachel Boston fan, yet in this movie she was pitch perfect. This one’s a keeper. To quote the movie, “Prepare to have your clogs blown off”. Family friendly. ~~Jane


An Alpine Holiday - November 29, 2025

🎄 An Alpine Holiday is (surprisingly!) family friendly, and actually quite good. –Maria


A Grand Ole Opry Christmas - November 29, 2025

🎄 A Grand Ole Opry Christmas is family friendly and the acting is superb! I'm talking over the top for all the actors! Nikki and Kris had great chemistry as I expected they would. There's a lot of history shown about the Opry too. Highly recommend! ~Joyce in Carolina

🎄 A Grand Ole Opry Christmas is a wonderful good time! (and Erin Cahill makes a cameo as well!). –Maria

🎄 "A Grand Ole Opry Christmas" - I had high hopes for this one and it delivered! Kristoffer, Nikki and Sharon was magic! Some scenes were kind of silly but overall it was wonderful. The actors brought their A-game and made the film enjoyable. I am a huge country music fan but prefer the older more traditional country music. But, I also like some songs from the 90's. I have been to the Opry and saw Vince Gill and Brad Paisley and Marty Stuart. Anyway, Nikki has an absolutely beautiful voice. She never seems like she is acting because she is such a natural actress. I have always felt the same about Kristoffer and his acting. They both are such professionals. Joan

🎄 Got a chance to also watch 'A Grand Ole Opry Christmas' and it was so good! I like Nikki DeLoach, she always shows such deep emotions in her acting and this movie wasn't exception. I like Kristoffer Polaha too, and it was such a good decision to put them together. Very heartwarming movie. ~Oksanka

🎄 A Grand Ole Opry Christmas was great! Wasn’t sure about time travel again for Kristoffer, but Kris & Nikki were fantastic together. Allie B


The Christmas Cup - November 30, 2025

🎄 Didn't really plan on watching The Christmas Cup, but it was a pretty cool movie, and quite patriotic. And kind of made me miss being a full time Heartie ('Kind Of'). –Maria

🎄 I can't quite place it, but The Christmas Cup was just terrible. I love Rhiannon Fish but this in my opinion was unwatchable. I think I've had enough of the competition movies. I also am a bit of a stickler for doing uniforms correctly and Fishes character had problems with the uniform ie wearing her hat indoors which isn't permitted. Picky I know, but it just didn't work at all for me. –Keith

🎄 The Christmas Cup. We couldn’t handle more than the first quarter of this movie before quitting. It just felt hokey and shallow. Rhiannon and several other actors seemed to be overacting and shouting their lines; there was an over exuberance that had me grating my teeth. And from a military standpoint, I’m getting annoyed with all of these movies where it seems like the writers have no clue at all about the real military; they’re just using the ”idea” of the military to try and pull on our heartstrings and patriotism. Just a little bit of research before they write these movies would be appreciated, along with directors and producers being more attentive to details. The part of this movie I saw was family friendly but no idea about the rest of it. ~~Jane

🎄 Review: The Christmas Cup -
Family-friendly? Yes -
Recommend? Borderline...well, I go back and forth -

As Keith mentioned, this is another tiring "competition" movie, and the ending was way too superficial (and kind of predictable) for me. Also, at the beginning, I was turned off by the rude attitude of some.

That said, I thought Rhiannon was very good (as usual), and it was nice to see a romantic male lead (Ben Rosenbaum, someone I am not familiar with) who was not, well, your typical Hallmark hunky actor (and he even downplays his looks in the movie). And I got a personal kick out of seeing Jaeda Lily Miller use facial expressions that she used in her movies from when she was a little girl! So for the cast, It's a yes, but this is offset (perhaps moreso) by an all-too-typical storyline. –Mark25


Christmas at the Catnip Café - November 30, 2025

🎄 Loved Catnip Cafe, Opry, Merrier, & No Place Like Christmas...still catching up-Megan

🎄 Review: Christmas at the Catnip Cafe -
Family-friendly? Yes -
Recommend? Yes -

This is an enjoyable movie - good, not great - that held my interest from start to finish. And a lot of that had to do with Erin and Paul, who play off each other so well. And if you enjoy cats as I do, well, there are some real cuties here! Yes, the plot is kind of formulaic, but Erin, Paul and the cats make this a charming movie, and for that I recommend giving it at least one watch. –Mark 25

🎄 I tried watching Catnip Cafe and I was bored. And I LOVE cats. I will try more. It almost felt to me like Christmas Land, Erin Cahill just wanted money for her grand apartment. I am sure more happens, but I was bored. -Sabrina


The Twelve Dates of Christmas - TV Series - December 5, 2025

🎄 Before anyone even has to ask, 12 dates till Christmas is not at all family friendly. –Maria


She’s Making a List - December 6, 2025


Single on the 25th - December 7, 2025

🎄 Single on the 25th had me grinning ear to ear! -Maria


A Suite Holiday Romance - December 13, 2025


Oy to the World! - December 14, 2025


A Make Or Break Holiday - December 20, 2025


The Christmas Baby - December 21, 2025
*NOTE: This movie features a same-sex couple.



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The Great Christmas Snow-In - November 2, 2025

🎄 The Great Christmas Snow In is clean and quite silly. –Maria

🎄 The Great Christmas Snow In. Kept waiting for the Christmas part. Ok for a one time watch but events could have been anytime of the year. Just another “Christmas Movie” that really has no Christmas feel to it. ~JoCo


A Soldier for Christmas - November 8, 2025

🎄 A Soldier for Christmas is clean (with a few violent scenes included and 1 swear word). –Maria

🎄 “A Soldier for Christmas” - This sweet movie was a late addition that my husband and I watched after I posted my comment. Yes, the movie took time to ramp up, and I felt it was slow in parts, but the message was a good one. Again, faith was an integral part of this movie. And I enjoyed the relationship between the brother and sister. It is very believable. Again, it was nice watching a film that took place in the location where they shot it. Finally, the message of strong female friendship was refreshing. Every woman needs a female friend like that! I know from experience how important that is. Joan

🎄 A Soldier for Christmas. (possible spoilers ahead) Yikes. So, I decided to do something I rarely do, which is get cozy and watch a Christmas movie in bed before falling asleep. To say THAT was a mistake would be an understatement!! Through the opening credits we hear holiday music and see the beautiful aerial scenes of a cozy town blanketed in snow and twinkle lights. Ahhh! Just gives you the warm fuzzies doesn’t it? Such a good idea I had to snuggle up under the covers to watch this movie! UNTIL. . . we cut to the very first scene and I get jarred out of my coziness by a loud battlefield scene with machine guns ricocheting and men yelling and people getting blown up. One scene is a vivid view of a soldier getting shot and falling to the ground, bloodied and dead (he turns out to be the husband of the heroine of this movie). After the battlefield we see a slow-motion, blurry scene (with eerie music) of a man in military full-dress outfit bringing a letter to the widow. And next, we skip to “Two Years Later” and the fun continues with the widow on a series of ridiculous blind dates. This whole thing felt like a high school production that had been filmed with someone’s smartphone. The sound was muffled, the “background” music was melodramatic and depressing, the sets were pathetically cheap, the actors gave it their amateur best, the script was just clumsy, and I think the director probably went on hiatus for the most part! And yet, I continued with this clunkiness as it laboriously chugged along. (Mind you, I continued with it the next day because there was no way I was watching this non-cozy train wreck while trying to fall asleep!) And it kind of was like a train wreck where you know you should move on but some sort of sick fascination keeps you watching to see what other surprises are unearthed.

If you have children or nieces and nephews, chances are you’ve had to sit through a myriad of mind-numbingly boring and inexpert musical concerts, recitals and plays throughout the years. This was just like that. I wanted to leave – how many more of these amateur performances can one parent take? (and I’ve sat through a LOT of these things – pro tip, hide a book in the oversized purse on your lap!) - but I felt so sorry for the kids that wrote and filmed this production that I stayed with it just to give them some support in case their own parents had to miss it. 😊 One reason I kept with it is because the heroine works at a church and I believed they would add more faith elements throughout; which they did (the pastor wears a “Christ Over Cares” t-shirt and the hero says that he’s a Bible-believing Christian). However. . . I’m ashamed to admit that I could only hold out to the halfway point before sneaking out of the gymnasium theater, all the while hoping the kids wouldn’t notice and be hurt that I had left before their solo performance. (LOL!) Sadly, this whole cringeworthy movie didn’t even make it up to the B-list, for me. But bless their little hearts… they gave it a good try! I think for people who are more patient and tolerant than I am, this could be a sweet movie (once you get past the battlefield scenes and the cheap production quality); there was a sweetness to the slowly-blooming long-distance relationship and their first in-person date. And my gut tells me there were probably a few more scenes that were faith-based in the second half of the movie, which is nice. (I also think the two lead actors and the actor who played the brother could be rather good in these type movies with a little more experience, refinement and confidence under their belts, and some better directing.) As far as family friendly, I didn’t like the battlefield scenes (there were two different war scenes in the first half), and I definitely wouldn’t let young children watch them; they went too far and made them too scary and detailed, so I would say at least 15 years or older. ~~Jane (aka Never Gonna Watch Movies in Bed Again!)

[Ok. An addendum: I went back and watched the rest of the movie. The melodramatic background music is just a big “no”! And then there’s a weird scene where Santa miraculously appears to her and asks her “what’s the 411?”, “what’s the tea?”. Everything about this movie is unpolished and amateurish and using every predictable cliche they can think of. And, yet… it really is a sweet movie! Partly more endearing because you can feel them all trying so hard. And there’s prayer and good, faith-based advice and talk of God’s grace and trusting Him. And the the movie is dedicated to soldiers, and in loving memory of the director’s grandmother. So, that was sweet. I think this is probably worth a watch, especially if you are not as picky as me. 😊 ~~Jane]


A Royal Christmas Manor - November 9, 2025

🎄 A Royal Christmas Manor. Stop the presses!! I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I watched a “royal” movie that I quite liked! Say, what?!? I know, I know! It’s totally astonishing! I was expecting a low-budget royal catastrophe (especially when I discovered that the lead actress was the same girl I did not at all like in Saving the Christmas Ranch), but this movie turned out to be genuinely cute! Kind of up there close-ish to One Royal Holiday. I mean, it’s hard to compete with Laura Osnes and Aaron Tveit and the polished production that was One Royal Holiday, but this low-budget movie did a darn good job trying.

It had a fairly decent (albeit predictable) script and a good cast. The lead actor and his sidekick friend were both excellent (I would love to see them in more movies). The lead actress, although still a bit weak, was much improved in this movie. There were, of course, things that were silly but, for the most part, it all felt cozy, and fun (such as the plethora of festive Christmas jumpers), and it was all relatively believable (for a “royal” sort of believability).

There was no huge, ugly, contrived misunderstanding and no evil, power-grubbing ex-girlfriend and no mean and unreasonable Queenzilla; it was all just nice and sweet. Family friendly. ~~Jane (aka Shoulda Watched This One in Bed Instead of the Soldier One)


Saving Christmas Spirit - November 15, 2025

🎄 Saving Christmas Spirit. I watched this because it was filmed in Scotland and the lead actor was the same as in Lacey’s Scottish movie. The setting was stunning and a lot of the indoor sets were cozy but Lacey’s movie was, of course(!), a better production. I thought most of the Scots actors were good in this one but Ashley Newbrough, though beautiful, was a tad bit stiff or silly or something. Plus, the one thing I don’t love – in my love affair with Scotland – is the obsession with faeries and ghosts and such, and this movie was full of that. I don’t mind an occasional tall tale being woven but this movie had too much of it. And because Ashley was an archaeologist there was a lot about searching for ancient druid relics and shrines to goddesses – those are not really things I’m interested in.

Also, naturally, because we’re in Scotland, there was a lot about whiskey and saving the family distillery; and in fact, their current whiskey blend is called “Christmas Spirit” so thus the movie’s title. I’d say this was okay for a one-time watch, but mainly for the incredible views, cozy sets and the lovely Scottish accents. There was also a cute subplot with a young, teen romance (probably better than the main romance!). Was it family friendly? Eh? Not entirely. Ashley’s boss back in the U.S. (who is not a huge part of the movie) seems to probably be gay and there is a point in the beginning of the movie where he recommends a place in Scotland for Ashley to stay and then I THINK he mumbles something about having his anniversary with “Steve” at the same bed and breakfast but it was not very clear and could easily be glossed over or fast forwarded through. But there’s also the focus on magical faeries and ghosts, as well as all the whiskey to consider. (This movie was made in 2022 but is currently available streaming on Roku and XumoPlay.) ~~Jane

🎄 Saving Christmas Spirit - I tried to watch this last night, but - as you said - Ashley came across stiff and I couldn't get into her character. And too much distillery talk - it got boring quickly. Finally, you were right about Ashley's boss being gay - he does mention spending his anniversary with another guy. I turned this off after about 30 minutes. ~Mark 25


Saving the Christmas Ranch - November 16, 2025

🎄 Saving the Christmas Ranch is good. –Maria

🎄 Saving the Christmas Ranch. Why, oh why, did I watch the WHOLE thing? When did I stop cherishing my time; surely, I must value it more than this?? Why didn’t I hit pause when the tedious song during the opening credits foretold what was to come? (Lyrics: “Bells are jingling. The carols are playing. So much joy there for the taking. It’s a good day for saving the Christmas ranch! Doo-wop-doo-wop. We all know how much it means to preserve a little sentimental history. It’s a good day for saving the Christmas ranch!! Bop-dee-bop-bop. Hey, hey here we go, saving the Christmas ranch!” --- Doesn’t that just make you want to sing along? Or… maybe, NOT!) And, it all just goes downhill from there! Way downhill! I took far too many (eight!!) pages of snarky notes on this movie, so I will try to condense: amateurish writing, uninspired and ridiculous plot points and scenes, cheap sets, loud music, poor acting, and inattentive directing results in a sloppy, lackluster production. Ok, ok, ok… I guess it’s not quite the worst thing I’ve ever watched. It did have some sweet moments and somehow, I made it through the whole thing without having to go to the ER to get my eyeballs back out of my head (although, it was touch and go at one point 😊). I’m sure everyone involved in this movie are nice people but seriously, this was rather mind-numbing and predictable. If this script were a book, I would have thrown it across the room, and if it were an audiobook, I would’ve demanded my money back from Audible!
The lead actress and her character came across as prickly and unlikeable, and I could never warm to her. The dialogue between the leads was desperately trying to be cute and sparkly romantic banter, but it came across (especially on her side!) as snapping and snarky. There’s also a weird, cringey familiarity or intimacy between the two of them that just doesn’t make sense when she considers him the evil bigshot, adversarial, developer and they’ve never met before but only communicated on the phone when he’s called and tried to pressure her to sell the ranch. For instance, he tells her he knows that she wouldn’t want someone touching her body if she went to a spa, based on what he's gleaned from their phone conversations – huh?!? ick! It’s just subpar writing and directing where they’re trying to make us believe they’ve established a friendship of some sort over the phone, but it just doesn’t match the rest of the script. Jonathan Stoddard is such a cutie patootie that I was hoping I would finally like one of his movies. I’ve not been able to stomach the multitude of fakey royal ones he’s done but I feel like he has such potential. (Although, I still don’t like some of his facial expressions - he just occasionally comes off as slightly smarmy to me when he’s trying to be romantically alluring, or tantalizing; it feels more disturbing than sexy).

I have not yet watched the Crossroad series so here’s hoping I’ll agree with the overwhelmingly positive consensus when I finally watch it. For this particular movie, he was the best part but, unfortunately, that’s not saying a whole lot; and, for me, his boyish good looks were not enough to boost this lifeless production. This was family friendly and perfect for tweens and lovers of all things sappy. ~~Jane (aka Grumpy Elf)


A Royal Christmas Hope - November 23, 2025

🎄 'A Royal Christmas Hope' is such a great, heartwarming movie. Despite the fact that it is royal movie - we've really watched a lot of them for the past years and you don't expect anything extraordinary - this one was really great. Yeah, the plot is quite similar to the other royal movies, but I liked that it was not only about a prince, his family, etc. It was also about helping families in need and it really touched my heart. I also really liked Jenna Michno and Robert Adamson, they were so great. *Oksanka*

🎄 "A Royal Christmas Hope" - Oh my gosh! This sweet movie was such a pleasant surprise! :-) My husband and I were hesitant to watch yet another recycled plot line where a royal decides to come to the US, at Christmas, and keep their true identity a secret. However, we decided to give it a chance and we were immediately drawn in because we both looked at each other, when one of the first location shots, came into view. We both said "That's downtown Louisville!". This lovely movie was filmed on location in my hometown as well as a B & B in a surrounding county. It is always fun watching movies that are set and filmed in my hometown. So, bonus points for that surprise! Oh, and the lead actress and lead actor's 'meet cute' was absolutely adorable. Every single actor/actress brought their 'A game' to their individual roles. All of the relationships were believable and the lead had seriously great chemistry. Also, the quality of the production was miles above what we normally see. We enjoyed this movie so much! We felt it was the best UPtv Christmas movie so far this season and one of the best holiday movies that have aired on UPtv over the last several years. It was as good as "A Soldier for Christmas". We will definitely watch it again! :-) Joan

🎄 Hi, Joan! We're on the same page concerning the movie "A Royal Christmas Hope". It really was such a great movie. I was also expecting the same royal movie as the old ones, but this one really stands out. And I totally agree with your statement about a great chemistry between the leads. The other thing that touched my heart was the topic of helping families in need, they showed it with such a heart. *Oksanka*

🎄 I was finally able to watch A Royal Christmas Hope and I really enjoyed it! Yes it’s been done before and normally I’m not too excited about the royal ones but this one I enjoyed. I really liked the idea of her organization and I thought the chemistry between the leads was sweet and believable. It was funny how she thought he was homeless/in need when she first met him. Family friendly from what I remember as well. ~Paula

🎄 A Royal Christmas Hope. It was kind of sweet for a one-time watch. I didn’t love it but I imagine others will think it was super wonderful. It had the potential to be much better with improved writing and directing -- the overall storyline was good but the details and scripts and direction for individual scenes within that storyline were often lacking. Just too many things/scenes that felt a bit “off” or not believable. I liked the name of her charity, “Hope for All”. Family friendly, although there is mention of the “universe” acting in mysterious ways. ~~Jane


The Christmas Checklist Season 1 - November 29, 2025

🎄 Nicely's The Christmas Checklist (streaming on Freevee) is so heartwarming and inspiring, which is why it pains me to say it's not a clean movie. There's 1 swear word that I know of, and near the end of the movie, there's a gay brother. Sorry to anyone who might have wanted to see it. -Maria


A Christmas in Amish Country - November 30, 2025

A Christmas Murder Mystery - December 7, 2025

Christmas in Big Sky Country - December 14, 2025

🎄 Christmas in Big Sky Country. I rather enjoyed this predictable little movie. It was comfortable and satisfying, even though sometimes hokey. There wasn’t a huge amount of romantic chemistry but I thought all the actors did a decent job (in fact I kind of think it might be the best movie the two leads have each done?). It was the same old, same old plotline, and it’s not going to win any awards and I’m not even sure it was all that Christmassy, but there was just enough drama and uniqueness and family sweetness to make it stand out a little bit and be worth watching in a sea of Christmas-movie sameness. Loved the yarn shop; and the family patriarch, who is a sheep farmer, and has lots of silly Dad puns. Family friendly. {I watched this as part of a 3-movie dvd collection that I bought through Net’s affiliation with Amazon. All three movies are good so it was worth the purchase. “Christmas in Maple Hills”, “Christmas with the Knightleys” and this one.} ~~Jane


Christmas with the Knightlys - December 21, 2025

🎄 Christmas with the Knightlys - What a cute little movie! Sweet, romantic, funny. Most all of the actors were new to me and they all did a good job. Family friendly. Glad I own the dvd so I can watch this again sometime. ~~Jane



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🌟Lifetime:


Christmas Everyday - November 29, 2025

🎄 Christmas Everyday. Nope. I quit at the halfway point. There was good and bad. At times sweet, but also somewhat tawdry. A lot of good, faith-type talk of God, prayer and church, but also mixed with a lot of worldliness, and one is not really shown to be right or better than the other, it all ends up in a weird blend. The overall story idea was good and included some sweet moments (like the sisters singing Silent Night and talk of how God will help us with things we think are impossible), but they messed it up with too much tasteless stuff thrown in. Things like the work colleague who is very flamboyantly gay and making googly eyes over the leading man. The boss lady who skypes in from overseas shown reclining with her boy-toy who is wearing nothing but a towel around his hips. The loser boyfriend of the leading lady talks of his plans that they finally move in together. Scantily clad model who says “my boobs feel incarcerated” when a dress is designed that doesn’t bare her breasts enough to please her narcissism. The mention of a painting the mom did of her deceased husband that was supposed to be a nude portrait.

And then that deceased husband appears to her one day and gives her advice and tells her he’s been here all along and trying to get her to feel his presence and that he’s also been trying to reach his daughter, Fancy (the leading lady). Movies or stories like this that mix some good faith talk with things like this that are unbiblical are more objectionable to me than a typical secular Hallmark movie, because people that aren’t grounded in the Bible can get confused and think it’s all okay since they think it’s “faith-based” because of some prayer and church talk. There’s also yoga stuff in here that I disagree with; fine if you want to do it for stretching or exercise, but do not try to convince me that it should be part of a “Christ-based organization to teach young black boys life skills” – yoga is NOT Christ-based!

Additionally, the expletive “damn” is thrown in out of the blue for no particular reason. I’m also not a fan of movies that encourage division between human beings based on their skin color. In this one, there’s talk of how they’re “going to be a successful black power couple” (very slight paraphrase). Can you imagine a movie where the Caucasian lead couple says “we’re going to be a successful white power couple” ?!?!!? Enough already with the divisive identity nonsense! Not family friendly. ~~Jane

🎄 In my opinion the Lifetime movies, Christmas campaign and Christmas everyday are not family friendly. Christmas campaign kept talking about making pajamas with ‘sexy’ appeal. Christmas everyday the co worker who’s a guy checks out guys and in end refered to himself as a girl. Also there was a seen the kept cutting a dress lower to reveal more of the the models chest. ~Anonymous


The Christmas Campaign - November 29, 2025

🎄 In my opinion the Lifetime movies, Christmas campaign and Christmas everyday are not family friendly. Christmas campaign kept talking about making pajamas with ‘sexy’ appeal. Christmas everyday the co worker who’s a guy checks out guys and in end refered to himself as a girl. Also there was a seen the kept cutting a dress lower to reveal more of the the models chest. ~Anonymous


Jingle All the Way to Love - December 5, 2025

🎄 Jingle All the Way to Love. Umm, nope. I made it halfway but would have deleted sooner had I not been multitasking. Maybe it improved later on, but it was not worth my time to stay and find out. I’m not a huge fan of the actors in this one, but the script and directing were equally bad. Too ridiculous, too much cheesiness and implausibility and too many “oh, gag” moments, for me. From the opening scene on a dance floor at a party we get great lines like “Hottie at 4 o’clock!” and, basically, it doesn’t get much better as the movie progresses. Our leading lady meets a man who gives her a magical jingle bell for luck that she must pass along after she wishes on it so that she doesn’t break the chain. Seven years later, our leading man, a radio disc jockey, says (on air) such fantastic lines as this: “It is cold out there today! It’s cuffing season, so find somebody to keep you warm this holiday season, or at least until the May flowers come in (laughter). I want to ask you all something - what is it about Christmas that makes you feel so lucky? Christmas is the luckiest time of the year and I want to hear about your luckiest holiday ever. Have you had a brush with fate? Call in and tell your story for a chance to win $5,000.” For me, this movie was just subpar from the very beginning. Maybe others will think it was cute but it just didn’t jingle my bells so I decided to cut and run. Not sure about the family friendliness of the whole thing – there’s the tacky “cuffing season” remark, and talk of "luck", and I’m pretty sure the leading lady was living with her fiancé (a nice guy who is gonna get thrown over for someone else anyway by the end of the movie). ~~Jane


A Christmas Cookbook - December 5, 2025

🎄 A Christmas Cookbook. Cheesy, cute, meh, and they threw in a couple of non-family friendly blips. Both lead actors are extremely beautiful to look at but, to me, their acting has never been as spectacular as their looks and this movie was no different. It’s not horrible but it’s just a middle-of-the-road, predictable movie that is kind of cute but they ruin it with the aforementioned “blips” and the cheesiness and all the lingering sultry looks. I watched the whole thing and it was cute but not worth a rewatch.

As far as family friendliness: At different points, we find out that both leads are, or have been, living with their significant others. Then, later we find out that one of the guys in their Christmas foodie group for lonely hearts is gay, “I’m in love. I didn’t think (love) was in the cards for me, but there he was at work right in front of me the whole time…my soulmate. We’re going to go away together for Christmas.” (Later we see them together at a party but no physical displays of affection.) ~~Jane


Deck the Hallways - December 6, 2025

Merry Missed Connection - December 6, 2025

A Runaway Bride for Christmas - December 12, 2025

Christmas in Alaska - December 12, 2025

Thank God: Christmas at Keller Ranch - December 13, 2025

Rodeo Christmas Romance - December 13, 2025

Sweet Holiday Romance - December 19, 2025

🎄 Sweet Holiday Romance (Christmas Love and Fudge) is clean and quite sweet. -Maria

🎄 Sweet Holiday Romance – I agree with Maria’s review; this movie is family-friendly and very sweet. The female lead, Amanda (Erin Karpluk), is quirky and cheerful, and her opposite, Simon (Christopher Russell), is a lot of fun! The two team up to uncover the secret ingredients behind Simon’s Aunt Jackie’s Joy to the World Fudge recipe.

It's just good, cozy comfort entertainment. The heart of the story was all about the fudge and their amazing teamwork, which of course leads to love. This ended up being a lighthearted, delightful watch. ~Net

🎄 I've already seen the Chris Russell movie - it was fine but nothing special ~Florence


A Pickleball Christmas - December 20, 2025



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🌟LMN:


Do You Fear What I Fear - December 4, 2025


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🌟Streaming:


Any streaming movie reviews from Xumo, Tubi, Netflix, etc, will be shared here.


🌟TUBI:

Christmas At Fields Ranch -

🎄 We watched and enjoyed Christmas At Fields Ranch earlier today on Tubi ~Anonymous


The Christmas Bookshop -

Nicely's The Christmas Bookshop is family friendly, and really charming. (streaming on Tubi and Roku). –Maria


The Spirit of Christmas Station -

Nicely's The Spirit of Christmas Station is family friendly, and really weird. -Maria


A Scottish Christmas Secret -

Nicely's A Scottish Christmas Secret is family friendly and very beautiful. Highly recommend. (streaming on Tubi) –Maria


🌟Spark TV - YouTube:

Christmas Roses -

🎄 Christmas Roses was a great Christmas movie about second chances. I liked how it was a movie that had a friendship from between a young girl named Olive and an older woman named Hazel. The romance between Olive's Mother and the pastor was very light. Olive was adorable. The girl who plays Winnie was a tad weak. Olive was adorable. The rest of the cast was great. I would recommend giving it a watch. Misty


🌟STARZ:

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever -

🎄 Last year's movie The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is absolutely fantastic! (streaming on Starz). -Maria

🌟Prime Video:

Christmas in the Ballroom -

Nicely's Christmas in the Ballroom is family friendly and full of joy. (streaming on Prime Video). –Maria


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Stay tuned...

I will be updating this post above, from time to time, as reviews from our *It's a Wonderful Movie" family & friends come in!

Thank you to EVERYONE above who has contributed to this page, thus far, and those of you who will continue to do so throughout the Christmas season!


*HOW TO SHARE A REVIEW:*

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Thank you all so much! 

It’s such a joy to share in this Christmas movie season with you, and I can’t wait to read your wonderful reviews of the *2025 Christmas premieres*!

God Bless Us, Everyone!

Net🎄