Let 's Wrap It Up!
Christmas is truly just days away now! It's time to get everything wrapped up and ready. I've been busy wrapping gifts for family, friends, and everyone on my list. As Jesus states in the scripture, Acts 20:35, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' That statement is profoundly true; it fills my heart with such joy to give to others!
I hope you all are enjoying these special days leading up to Christmas Day! This is the last BIG weekend of Christmas movie premieres. (We'll have only 5 (haha!) next week!)
I've included the NEW Christmas Movie Premieres below + some Extra Christmas TV Specials airing this weekend...
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Thursday, December 14, 2023:
Synopsis: Inspired by Mickey Guyton's song of the same name, Heaven Down Here tells the story of four disparate people who find themselves stranded in a local diner on Christmas Eve when a snowstorm hits the town. Imami (Brown) is a widowed mother of two who's having trouble making ends meet and reluctantly agrees to work the Christmas Eve shift, where she clashes with her boss Dan (Harmon), who doesn't exactly embody the Christmas spirit. Felix (Riedinger) is a local pastor desperately trying to secure food for parishioners while his faith is challenged by his alienation by his son. Clara (Lifford) is a hospice nurse with an obstinate patient (Rashad) and whose daughter is moving away, causing her to question her place in this world. Throughout the evening, these four bicker, bond and unwittingly provide each other with the answer to their respective prayers.
Premieres Thursday, December 14, 2023
at 8pm/7c. on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries
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Friday, December 15, 2023:
Synopsis: Bonnie (Ory) is a personal shopper who helps her new, widowed client Patrick (Russell) reconnect with his young daughter. Though Bonnie and Patrick's ideas of shopping couldn't be more different, she is determined to get Patrick and his daughter everything on their wish list.
Premieres Friday, December 15, 2023
at 8pm/7c. on the Hallmark Channel
If you love the bright and festive fashions seen in The Secret Gift of Christmas, you can find them on my sweet Sister's blog, It's a Wonderful Lifestyle!
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Saturday, December 16, 2023:
Synopsis: With her career on the line, a decorator (Abromeit) must work with an unexpected partner (McIntyre) to showcase a house for an upcoming Christmas gala.
Premieres Saturday, December 16, 2023
at 8pm/7c. on Great American Family
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Saturday, December 16, 2023:
Synopsis: This holiday season, festive Carley (Findlay) sets out to conquer her list of abandoned resolutions from last year. Aided by coworker Wyatt (Roderick), she finds love and the confidence to chase her dreams.
Premieres Saturday, December 16, 2023
at 8pm/7c. on the Hallmark Channel
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Saturday, December 16, 2023:
Synopsis: Travel columnist Sonny Kravitz (Tatyana Ali) and her ex-boyfriend Kip (Jesse Kove) are forced to team up to help their best friends Bree (Whitney Able) and Jarod (Geovanni Gopradi) get engaged. To set the backdrop, the four return to Sonny’s parents’ snowy chalet and set up twelve holiday traditions that are celebrated around the world to nudge Jarod to ask Bree to be his wife. But it seems that the proposal plan doesn’t just reignite the love between the engaged couple. Will Sonny and Kip rekindle what they once had?
Premieres Saturday, December 16, 2023
at 8pm/7c. on Lifetime
Update: Please read Jane's review:
The Holiday Proposal Plan. Not family friendly. I had a weird feeling about this one when I saw who the writer/director was, and also two of the actors in the cast who are gay. Then I stumbled upon a short clip from the movie where those two male actors are definitely a romantic couple in the movie. I have no idea if they have a recurring storyline in the movie, but I have no intention of watching and finding out. Evidently, not all "Nicely" movies are nice for families. ~~Jane
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Saturday, December 16, 2023:
Synopsis: With the Holidays approaching, Cecilia (Jackée Harry) discovers that retirement isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, so she decides to make a surprise visit to her daughter Alexis (Ciarra Carter) who created and runs “Cyber Santa,” an online gift giving business. Seizing an opportunity to spend Christmas with her daughter and get back into the game, Cecilia becomes an intern at the start-up company and the two learn the importance of family during the most wonderful time of year, while also finding love.
Premieres Saturday, December 16, 2023
at 10pm/9c. on Lifetime
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Sunday, December 17, 2023:
Synopsis: When insurance investigator Lana Lawton returns home Christmas, her only goal is to spend time with her mom and cheer up her nephew who is upset that his military father won’t make it home for Christmas. When she arrives, however, she discovers that a string of robberies along Main Street has the shop owners scratching their heads over who could have done it. Seeing her chance to earn a big promotion by doing some real P.I. work, Lana puts all of her efforts into trying to solve the case by any means necessary. Now, with Christmas Eve approaching and her suspect list narrowing, Lana must convince Nick, the police chief, to let her help on the investigation. As the pair start spending more and more time together on the case, they begin to see each other as more than co-investigators. Can Lana and Nick solve the case in time for Christmas and will Lana’s lead suspect disappear on Christmas even with a sleigh full of stolen goods? It may just take a lot of faith and a good bit of Christmas magic for a happily ever after!
Premieres Sunday, December 17, 2023
at 7pm/6c. on UPtv
*Note: This movie is also airing on PixL.
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Sunday, December 17, 2023:
Synopsis: In 12 Games of Christmas, a group of old friends and neighbors are transported into a Christmas-themed board game during a Christmas party.
Premieres Sunday, December 17, 2023
at 8pm/7c. on Great American Family
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Sunday, December 17, 2023:
Synopsis: As Christmas nears, financial advisor Beth (Patricia Isaac) finds that her fortune is hinting all around her. She starts seeing a recurring number: 624, an angel number that will help make her heart’s secret wish come true. It mysteriously becomes the time she wakes up, how far she bikes and the countdowns she sets. Taking on a pro-bono financial case for the local children’s theatre, Beth meets Nate (Andrew Dunbar), whose financial inexperience may cause the theatre to shut down. The two must work together to raise money for the theatre and possibly find love along the way.
Premieres Sunday, December 17, 2023
at 8pm/7c. on Lifetime
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Weekend Christmas Programming Notes:
While Great American Family, the Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, UPtv, and Lifetime will have new and old Christmas movies airing all weekend long, here are some extra Christmas movies you may be interested in...
Bravo TV:
*The beloved classic It's a Wonderful Life airs TWICE Friday night at 7:30pm and 10:30pm on Bravo.
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TCM:
Saturday-
*Meet Me in St. Louis - 12pm
*Little Women - 2pm
*The Shop Around the Corner - 4:15
*Holiday Affair - 6:15
Sunday-
*King of Kings - 1:30pm
*The Greatest Story Ever Told - 4:30pm
*It Happened on 5th Avenue - 11pm
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PixL:
*Christmas movies are sprinkled in PixL's schedule - Thursday through Sunday...
A Grandpa for Christmas (I love this movie so much!), Love's Christmas Journey Part One and Two, Single Santa Seeks Mrs. Claus, Meet the Santas, The Christmas Gift, Help for the Holidays, A Boyfriend for Christmas, Santa Switch, Mistletoe Connection, Matchmaker Santa, The Christmas Card and more!
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AMC:
*Throughout the weekend, see Christmas cartoons and movies... 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, The Year Without a Santa Claus, Rudolph's Shiny New Year, Elf, The Polar Express, White Christmas, The Polar Express, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Christmas with the Kranks, and more!
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TNT:
Sunday, December 17th:
*Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas - 5:03pm
*A Christmas Story - 5:33pm
*A Christmas Story Christmas- 7:33pm
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UPtv:
*Love's Christmas Journey Part 1 and Part 2 stars Natalie Hall, Greg Vaughan, Dylan Bruce, Sean Astin, JoBeth Williams, Charles Shaughnessy, and one of my favorites, Ernest Borgnine! These two movies will air at 1pm and 3pm EST. on Friday, December 15th. The last movie includes a sweet telling of the nativity story with young children.
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Fox Movie Channel:
*On Saturday, see Miracle on 34th Street (1994) and Dr. Seuss' The Grinch.
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CBS:
*Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer - 8pm
*Frosty the Snowman - 9pm
*Frosty Returns - 9:30pm
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Disney Channel:
Saturday, December 16th:
*Home Alone - 7pm
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ABC:
*CMA Country Christmas airs Thursday night at 8pm.
*The Sound of Music airs Saturday night at 7pm.
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NBC Specials:
*Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors airs Saturday night at 8pm.
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BYUtv
*See Christmas Jars Saturday night at 7pm and Christmas Oranges Sunday night at 9:30pm.
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Freeform:
*See movie marathons of Home Alone and The Santa Clause, plus Miracle on 34th Street (1994) and more! The precious cartoon The Little Drummer Boy airs Saturday morning at 7am.
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Hallmark Movies Now: (streaming)
*An Ice Palace Romance, starring Celeste Desjardins and Marcus Rosner, begins streaming Thursday, December 14th, on Hallmark Movies Now.
Synopsis: A journalist faces old fears when she returns to her hometown ice rink to cover a story. With the help of the owner and his young daughter, she begins to reevaluate her life’s purpose.
UPDATE - Read this Review:
Just letting you all know, that the HMN streaming movie ,Ice Palace Romance is not family friendly. Within the first ten minutes, an over the top gay coworker discussing his fabulous first date with another man. I couldn't get past that scene and quit watching. Very disappointing as I was looking forward to watching it. Sad but not surprised anymore! ~Anonymous
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Please note: I haven't pre-screened the NEW Christmas movies listed above. If you'd like to post a review on whether a film is family-friendly, please share in comments.
My Weekend Christmas Movie Picks...
My lighthearted movie picks for the "weekend" (Thursday through Sunday) are The Secret Gift of Christmas and Designing Christmas with You. Both movies appear to be fun and cheerful!
It seems it's been a while since we've seen Meghan Ory in anything other than Chesapeake Shores, and I'm looking forward to seeing her in The Secret Gift of Christmas. She was always fairly serious as Abby O'Brien, a businesswoman and single mom, so it should be nice to see her play the opposite side of that as she steps into the role of Bonnie Parker, a perky and confident personal shopper. By the way, The Secret Gift of Christmas was also written and directed by Christie Will Wolf, who has produced numerous great TV films: Eat, Play, Love, Five Star Christmas, High Flying Romance, Love in the Forecast, Christmas Time is Here, Christmas on Candy Cane Lane and lots more!
I'm also looking forward to seeing Designing Christmas with You, starring Susie Abromeit. I've enjoyed all of Susie's previous movies on Great American Family - A Hot Cocoa Christmas, Love in Bloom, and Romance at the Vineyard. Love in Bloom is especially my favorite of the bunch! Plus, who can forget Susie's performance as the mean girl in Hallmark's Snow Bride? She was truly phenomenal in that role as the vindictive, catty ex-girlfriend. I think of her now as such a sweet, likable actress, but it's obvious she can portray any role, naughty or nice. And from the promos given for Designing Christmas with You, it appears Susie Abromeit also brings a bold, savvy spirit to this character.
Speaking of Love in Bloom, Susie's co-star in that movie, Julian Haig, is starring in the new UPtv Christmas mystery movie on Sunday night, Dial S for Santa. By the way, this movie is also airing on PixL.
For my more meaningful Christmas movie pick this weekend, I'm choosing Heaven Down Here and hoping Hallmark doesn't disappoint. I think it may be interesting to see how these distinctly different people, who may be going through a tough season in life, come together to celebrate Christmas.
Please share your Christmas movie picks in the comments below...
SPECIAL LINKS:
Visit the *Christmas TV Schedule* for the dates and times of NEW Christmas movies airing in December.
You can find the NEW 2023 Christmas Movie Review post *here*.
Merry Christmas, Everyone!
Net 🎄
SHINING HIS LIGHT:
I love how God is in all of the little details. How special that the first Gift of Christmas was also wrapped...
"And so it was, that, while they were there,
the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
And she brought forth her firstborn son,
and wrapped him in swaddling clothes,
and laid him in a manger;
because there was no room for them in the inn."
~Luke 2:6–7
