Holiday TV Movies & (Non-Rankin Bass) Holiday Specials - General Discussion

[Scarlett45]

I did really enjoy The Princess Switch on Netflix. It was quite charming and Vanessa Hudges made the women distinctly different. My only pet peeve was that I didn’t care for the wedding dress at the end (not saying who got married). The child actress was cute and a nice addition. 

[anniebird]

3 hours ago, Silver Raven said:

Newsweek ranks the top 50 Hallmark Christmas movies

https://www.newsweek.com/ranked-best-hallmark-christmas-movies-1233571?

This ends at #13 --- I wonder what numbers 1-12 were?

[JenMD]

I had trouble with it cutting off, as well.

12 should be at the bottom of page 4 - it's Crown for Christmas. https://www.newsweek.com/ranked-best-hallmark-christmas-movies-1233571?page=4

11-4 are here: https://www.newsweek.com/ranked-best-hallmark-christmas-movies-1233571?page=5

3-1 are here: https://www.newsweek.com/ranked-best-hallmark-christmas-movies-1233571?page=6

[JenMD]

I finally managed to get to some of the non-Hallmark movies you guys have been talking up and I hit across a couple of winners (finally). 

Really enjoyed The Christmas Contract.  I generally like Hilarie Burton anyway and although I stopped watching One Tree Hill just a couple of seasons in, I enjoyed cast reunion here.  I know and like Robert Buckley from iZombie and I thought he made a very likeable lead and he and Hilarie were good together.  I also liked the low-key Christmas vibes, the location shooting adds so much, as well.  And boy, does Jordan Ladd look like her mother, or what?

Just watched Every Other Holiday last night and it was a surprise, as much a family drama as a romance.  I think I may have been expecting more wacky hijinks, with the kids trying to get their parents back together, but it was very much about the family dynamics of the mom's family.  Always nice to see Dee Wallace Stone, although her character was a pill and I loved Glenn Morshower as her dad.  His Christmas service homily was a lovely scene, so well done.  Kids and parents were both good and made a nice family unit.

I think my favorite so far has been The Princess Switch, which was just fun.  Vanessa Hudgens must have had a ball.  I liked both her characters with both guys and sure, the likelihood that a bakery would close during the busy Christmas season to do a baking competition in a foreign country is very small, but some things you just have to go with.  Oh, and their "cake" at the end was the most hilariously fake cake I think I've ever seen, too funny.

[StaceyNotStacie]

Christmas Perfection is my favorite of this year’s batch of movies, followed by Poinsettias for Christmas. I just loved the Irish scenery in Christmas Perfection. I’m also a sucker for nice sweaters and jackets in the winter themed movies and this one had gorgeous jackets and sweaters. 

[anniebird]

2 hours ago, JenMD said:

I had trouble with it cutting off, as well.

12 should be at the bottom of page 4 - it's Crown for Christmas. https://www.newsweek.com/ranked-best-hallmark-christmas-movies-1233571?page=4

11-4 are here: https://www.newsweek.com/ranked-best-hallmark-christmas-movies-1233571?page=5

3-1 are here: https://www.newsweek.com/ranked-best-hallmark-christmas-movies-1233571?page=6

Thank you!

And I was just thinking about A Season For Miracles this morning - one of my favorites and apparently, others as well.

Edited November 28, 2018 by anniebird

[JAYJAY1979]

2 hours ago, JenMD said:

I had trouble with it cutting off, as well.

12 should be at the bottom of page 4 - it's Crown for Christmas. https://www.newsweek.com/ranked-best-hallmark-christmas-movies-1233571?page=4

11-4 are here: https://www.newsweek.com/ranked-best-hallmark-christmas-movies-1233571?page=5

3-1 are here: https://www.newsweek.com/ranked-best-hallmark-christmas-movies-1233571?page=6

#1 I so agree with it.  #2 should be much lower.

 

#4 I also agree with it (the writer of movie #1 A season for miracles wrote Journey back to Christmas

Edited November 28, 2018 by JAYJAY1979

[MissyPoo]

13 hours ago, JAYJAY1979 said:

I've not been watching any of this years offering as of yet (been watching some of my fav movies on dvd/youtube).  Any good ones this year thus far to check out?

A few goodies have been listed already but I'd like to add Christmas Everlasting (Hallmark), Poinsettias For Christmas (Lifetime), My Christmas Inn (Lifetime), A Princess Switch, The Christmas Chronicles, and The Holiday Calendar (all Netflix), Hope For Christmas (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries), Christmas at Pemberley Manor (iffy) (Hallmark), and Christmas in Evergreen II were the main standouts for me this year. Christmas Perfection and Every Day is Christmas may also be worth a look. A good amount of the Hallmark movies this year deal with adult children visiting their childhood home to settle their parent's real estate matters for some reason. 

 

To tally up so far for me so far this season:

3 for 12 on the Hallmark Channel, 1 for 7 on the Movies & Mysteries Channel, 5 (maybe 6 or 7) for 9 on Lifetime, and 3 for 3 on Netflix.

I still have to see Jingle Belle and Every Other Holiday which are sitting on the DVR. I'm still looking forward to a couple more Lifetime and Hallmark movies coming up.

T-Minus 2 days til the long awaited A Christmas Prince 2!

[JenMD]

11 hours ago, anniebird said:

Thank you!

And I was just thinking about A Season For Miracles this morning - one of my favorites and apparently, others as well.

Any time!

11 hours ago, JAYJAY1979 said:

#1 I so agree with it.  #2 should be much lower.

 

#4 I also agree with it (the writer of movie #1 A season for miracles wrote Journey back to Christmas

I could never get in to the Signed, Sealed and Delivered movies from the start so I haven't seen that one.  I remember it being pretty well-received at the time, but I'm still surprised it ended up so high.  I didn't realize A Season for Miracles and Journey Back to Christmas had the same writer.  Huh.  Maybe I'll try to track it down at some point.  The commercials for that didn't do a thing for me and I'm not a huge CCB fan so I've always just skipped it. 

I forgot in my rambling above all about Poinsettias for Christmas.  Went in with full knowledge of its problems and managed to enjoy it.  I just decided to roll with it and enjoyed the cast.  Nice to see Marcus Rosner get the girl for a change.  One thing that jumped out while we were watching - that stunning view of the mountains off of Marcus's back porch.  Lovely view, sure, but that looked way more like the Rockys than the Appalachians (says the girl who's never seen either in person).  Can anyone with practical knowledge weigh in?  Google leaned way more towards the editors making a goof.

Watched Christmas Harmony last night and enjoyed it.  I'm a Pitch Perfect fan so it was fun to see Kelly Jakle in a lead role.  And Peter Porte as the bad guy for a change.  Enjoyed all the music and I have to admit, seeing the guest stars these movies bring in (Chandra Wilson, Lee Garlington, Sally Struthers) is always a treat.

[JenMD]

Just came across an article on filming Pride, Prejudice and Mistletoe in Canada.  They turned this one around quick, they were filming mid-October.

[Stuffy]

I went through the Newsweek list slowly because I hadn't seen a majority of the movies. I was about to be ticked, but then my all time favorite hallmark Christmas movie was number one. I used to have it on VHS and watched it every year. I need to get it on DVD or streaming. The cast was loaded with talent.  I don't know if there's ever been a hallmark Christmas, or maybe even a regular hallmark movie, with that kind of female talent.   

 

For those that liked the Christmas Contract, Hilarie Burton and Robert Buckley are campaigning to do movies for multiple seasons. Hilarie really wants to do a Halloween movie. 

Edited November 29, 2018 by Stuffy

[In2You]

In two weeks on ION

[Spartan Girl]

So my parents and I watched The Christmas Chronicles on Netflix last night, and it was pretty good.  A bit corny, yes, but Kurt Russell was hilarious as Santa.  I loved his outrage at how fat all the advertisements portrayed him to be.  And of course I loved the surprise cameo of Goldie Hawn as Mrs. Claus (thought in retrospect it wasn't that much of a surprise).

The CGI elves looked like a cross between the Gremlins and the Harry Potter elves.

[twoods]

Jingle Belle so far is enjoyable. Much better than A Wedding For Christmas, which was on Ion. Bad acting, stilted scenes. I lasted 10 minutes. Hope Ion has at least one decent movie this year.

[emjohnson03]

I have a confession to make, I have not watched ONE new Hallmark movie from this year. I really like Erin Krakow and didn't even watch her's, or Daniel Lissing's. I love Christmas and don't mind putting on the movies on early but for some reason, I just can't get excited about any of their films. It could be just because it's the same people over and over and the stories that just don't pull me in, even those who try to be a bit more edgy.

However I do like The Christmas Card, which is the one with Ed Asner. That's a fan favorite and I know they always show it. And I have already talked about The Christmas Secret, which is driven strongly by the romantic leads. Oh, and I love the movie Mistletoe over Manhattan that came out in 2011. It's not very good but I like the leads in that one very much!

But really this post to proclaim my huge crush on Wes Brown. I didn't watch a second of Christmas at Graceland (because Kellie Pickler didn't sound like a good romantic interest at ALL!) but I could just stare at him without the audio on. Goodness gracious is he a hottie! He would fit well in alot of Hallmark things, and I know he's done some Lifetime films too. I hope he sticks around and finds a real good love interest because I'll be over here swooning!! 

[LexieLily]

Who has seen or likes Angels In The Snow (2015) on UP?

[MissyPoo]

3 hours ago, LexieLily said:

Who has seen or likes Angels In The Snow (2015) on UP?

I saw it a few years ago and thought it was okay. A little syrupy at times and the narration by the Christmas Secret child was a little much but for a first time watch, it was all right.

[dcinmb]

10 hours ago, emjohnson03 said:

. . . But really this post to proclaim my huge crush on Wes Brown. I didn't watch a second of Christmas at Graceland (because Kellie Pickler didn't sound like a good romantic interest at ALL!) but I could just stare at him without the audio on. Goodness gracious is he a hottie! He would fit well in alot of Hallmark things, and I know he's done some Lifetime films too. I hope he sticks around and finds a real good love interest because I'll be over here swooning!! 

 

If you like Wes Brown, Deception is well worth watching. He plays the lead character's love interest and their chemistry is palpable.

Edited November 30, 2018 by dcinmb
YouTube videos not embedding properly

[LexieLily]

6 hours ago, MissyPoo said:

I saw it a few years ago and thought it was okay. A little syrupy at times and the narration by the Christmas Secret child was a little much but for a first time watch, it was all right.

I can't pinpoint why exactly I like it so much, but I do. 

[MissyPoo]

1 minute ago, LexieLily said:

I can't pinpoint why exactly I like it so much, but I do. 

Maybe it was a good cozy vibe of a movie for you. I have a few titles where I feel similar. Can't say why but just being in the atmosphere of the movie gives the cozy comfy feels. 

[LexieLily]

Just now, MissyPoo said:

Maybe it was a good cozy vibe of a movie for you. I have a few titles where I feel similar. Can't say why but just being in the atmosphere of the movie gives the cozy comfy feels. 

Maybe it was just me, but the end was surprising. Or maybe I am just easily surprised ;)

[MissyPoo]

1 minute ago, LexieLily said:

Maybe it was just me, but the end was surprising. Or maybe I am just easily surprised ;)

Nah I may have seen too many Twilight Zone eps and 'what if'd' spoiled myself before the ending. Heh. The family interactions were nice, too.

[LexieLily]

Just now, MissyPoo said:

Nah I may have seen too many Twilight Zone eps and 'what if'd' spoiled myself before the ending. Heh. The family interactions were nice, too.

What other ones from UP do you recommend?

[MissyPoo]

6 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

What other ones from UP do you recommend?

I thought the Chandler family movies were pretty well done. They've done like five so far.

Marry Me For Christmas

Marry Us for Christmas

A Baby For Christmas

Merry Christmas, Baby

And one this year Chandler Family Getaway but I haven't seen that one. Someone mentioned seeing it upthread and it may not be as good as the others.

I also liked Lacey's single entry on there The Tree That Saved Christmas. And someone said A Christmas Switch, one of their new premieres this year, was pretty good.

For non Christmas related ones, the Love Finds You series was pretty good (Love Finds You in SugarCreek, Love Finds You in Charm, & Love Finds You in Valentine).

Edited November 30, 2018 by MissyPoo
Whoops, fixed title for Lacey's movie

[LexieLily]

2 minutes ago, MissyPoo said:

I thought the Chandler family movies were pretty well done. They've done like five so far.

Marry Me For Christmas

Marry Us for Christmas

A Baby For Christmas

Merry Christmas, Baby

And one this year Chandler Family Getaway but I haven't seen that one. Someone mentioned seeing it upthread and it may not be as good as the others.

I also liked Lacey's single entry on there A Tree For Christmas. And someone said A Christmas Switch, one of their new premieres this year, was pretty good.

For non Christmas related ones, the Love Finds You series was pretty good (Love Finds You in SugarCreek, Love Finds You in Charm, & Love Finds You in Valentine).

I have A Christmas Switch set to record. My One Christmas Wish from a few years back with that girl from Glee. The Rooftop Christmas Tree was good, too. 

[twoods]

Was planning on watching half of My Christmas Inn on Lifetime last night but got sucked in and watched all of it. It may be my favorite Lifetime movie so far this year. Tia’s character and the lead actor had such great chemistry, and it was so nice to see a movie where the leads were not rude to each other and actually talked about their feelings instead of there being a stupid misunderstanding. I think this was the first movie that had no weird angst or misunderstanding, and the leads knew they liked each other from the get go. Plus, I got a kick of who Tia’s parents were in the movie. 

Doea anyone know where it was filmed? It actually seemed cold and was that real snow I saw? Plus, people were actually wearing warm coats and shoes! The Christmas decorations were gorgeous, even though it was blatant about the Balsam Hill product placement. I wanted to go on the website and buy everything.

[MissyPoo]

2 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

I have A Christmas Switch set to record. My One Christmas Wish from a few years back with that girl from Glee. The Rooftop Christmas Tree was good, too. 

Oh yes! I forgot about those. My One Christmas Wish was a good one. I need to hunt that down to rewatch. I haven't seen Rooftop Christmas Tree yet but I'll add to my watchlist. Thanks!

 

8 minutes ago, twoods said:

Was planning on watching half of My Christmas Inn on Lifetime last night but got sucked in and watched all of it. It may be my favorite Lifetime movie so far this year. Tia’s character and the lead actor had such great chemistry, and it was so nice to see a movie where the leads were not rude to each other and actually talked about their feelings instead of there being a stupid misunderstanding. I think this was the first movie that had no weird angst or misunderstanding, and the leads knew they liked each other from the get go. Plus, I got a kick of who Tia’s parents were in the movie. 

Doea anyone know where it was filmed? It actually seemed cold and was that real snow I saw? Plus, people were actually wearing warm coats and shoes! The Christmas decorations were gorgeous, even though it was blatant about the Balsam Hill product placement. I wanted to go on the website and buy everything.

This is one of my faves of the new premieres as well for the reasons you listed. I believe it was filmed in Utah but not sure what city. Provo I think? 

The Balsam Hill parts had me laughing out loud. I lowkey hope they would do a sequel next year where Tia is running the inn with her guy prepping for her parents to visit while he tries to figure out how to propose or something. Random hijinks included.

 

Oh! Some classic Lifetime Christmas flicks spotted for 99 cents on Amazon (digital format). Not sure how long these last but they have some much older ones to last year's entries including Snowed-Inn Christmas and the other fan fave A Gift Wrapped Christmas.

[SiobhanJW]

On ‎11‎/‎28‎/‎2018 at 6:12 PM, Stuffy said:

For those that liked the Christmas Contract, Hilarie Burton and Robert Buckley are campaigning to do movies for multiple seasons. Hilarie really wants to do a Halloween movie. 

Playing the same characters? Just sequel movies in different seasons? 

[Stuffy]

27 minutes ago, SiobhanJW said:

Playing the same characters? Just sequel movies in different seasons? 

I think different characters and not a sequel. Hilarie and Robert came up with an idea for a Halloween movie. She wants to do movies set in different seasons not just Christmas. If I remember correctly, Halloween is her favorite season/holiday.  

Edited November 30, 2018 by Stuffy

[LexieLily]

5 hours ago, MissyPoo said:

Oh yes! I forgot about those. My One Christmas Wish was a good one. I need to hunt that down to rewatch. I haven't seen Rooftop Christmas Tree yet but I'll add to my watchlist. Thanks!

Rooftop Christmas Tree, I couldn't tell you the name of the lead man or the lead woman, but it also starred the dad from Sister Sister. Hope that helps!

[Mountainair]

I started watching Christmas Chronicles last night on Netflix and stopped about 15 minutes in because it was so cute and I wanted to watch it with the family. So, to echo most everyone else's sentiments it was really good and I'm glad I waited to watch it for family movie night.  The kids and spouse all loved it and I even got a bit teary at the end. It reminded me of The Santa Clause, which my whole family loves and it's been a while since a movie has appealed to everyone in my house and this one really hit the mark! 

[twoods]

Watching Christmas Chronicles at family movie night right now and it’s so cute! The elves are adorable, and I liked the kids and Kurt Russell. Great job, Netflix!

[MissyPoo]

You guys are making me want to put The Christmas Chronicles on and watch it again heh. 

 

A heads up for Hulu folk like me who don't have Freeform, their classics like 12 Dates of Christmas, Snowglobe Christmas, Snowglobe, Christmas Cupid and the like as well as their new ones are available at the streaming site tomorrow. I quickly added my faves and The Truth About Christmas on there. Woo hoo! 

On another note, I watched Christmas Prince2 early this morning and...you guys, I'm kinda confused. The movie was very strange. The pacing was confusing and characters would change without any real segue. Things would happen without any real purpose. It felt like a random sequence of events. I didn't mind the original. I mean, it was okay and not one of my faves but considering the quality they've been putting out with their previous premieres this year, it was a bit of a letdown. Bummer, my Netflix streak is broken! I may rewatch it with the original later to see if I feel the same but I felt like watching The Princess Switch and The Holiday Calendar after to balance some quality in there. Ooh and Meghan and Harry's lifetime movie.

Next I'm going to enjoy some of my older faves that popped up on Lifetime: A Perfect Christmas List, All About Christmas Eve, 12 Wishes of Christmas, One Strike for Christmas, A Christmas Wedding Date 

9 hours ago, LexieLily said:

Rooftop Christmas Tree, I couldn't tell you the name of the lead man or the lead woman, but it also starred the dad from Sister Sister. Hope that helps!

Oh, Tim Reid! I love him! I hope he's in there a good amount of time.

[twoods]

I also wasn’t a big fan of Christmas Prince last year, so good that I don’t have to tune into the sequel this year. I’d rather watch Recipe for a Perfect Christmas for the billionth time.

[LexieLily]

22 minutes ago, MissyPoo said:

Oh, Tim Reid! I love him! I hope he's in there a good amount of time.

Yes, him! Isn't it funny how we characterize actors and actresses by their most well-known roles? 

[MissyPoo]

2 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

Yes, him! Isn't it funny how we characterize actors and actresses by their most well-known roles? 

So true! :)

[LexieLily]

43 minutes ago, MissyPoo said:

So true! :)

I refer to the Candace Cameron Bure and the Lori Loughlin movies (Christmas and/or mystery series') as the DJ or Aunt Becky movies. 

[MissyPoo]

Haha that's what I still call them when I tell the mister about them. It actually helps to identify their movies because the actual titles are way too similar. 

[In2You]

So I put up my new Balsam Hill tree and they are definitely not as full looking in real life like in these movies.  And I got min on sale. Had I paid upwards of $500 for a tree I would sent it back.  Still a beautiful realistic looking tree but requires alot of fluffing and strategic ornament placement. 

[Karen885]

I watched  A Very Nutty Christmas on lifetime and it was fantastic. Such a ridiculous premise but so fun to watch. I was laughing out loud at some parts.  A nutcracker doll comes to life in the form of Barry Watson to help Melissa Joan Hart out.  I wish there were more comedic movies like this.  It was cheesy but in the good way. From the costumes to the mustache twirling villians it was pure entertainment.  Will definitely watch again.  10/10 stars.

[DrSparkles]

Is this where ‘A Legendary Cmas’ should go?

I liked it, I love both Chrissy & John. On a shallow note, I didn’t like Chrissy’s red lipstick. And of course, ew Kardashians.

The caroling was my favorite bit!

[Kaoteek]

Catching up on non-Hallmark Christmas movies :

- Really disliked Lifetime's Poinsettias for Christmas. Even putting aside the drastic lack of plausibility of everything poinsettia-related there (those are probably the worst, most clueless poinsettia farmers i've ever seen), the movie was trope-central, with a main relationship that felt forced (10 minutes into the movie, and there's already the let's-work-together-having-fun-and-learn-to-like-each-other montage), a real lack of subtlety (I facepalmed at the "he unvolontarily shows off his abs, while she barely manages not to bite her lip watching him" moment), and cheap, cheap production values (the snow, ouch). Too bad, cos I liked most of the cast.

- Netflix's Holiday Calendar. Okayish for what it was, despite having seen the exact same story, beat for beat, a couple of times already on Hallmark or Lifetime. Very predictable, very forgettable.

- Netflix's Princess Switch. Eh, I liked it way less than some people did, mostly because the script felt like a hodge-podge of various half-baked storylines - the cooking competition & rivalry felt tacked on -, because it seemed to run on fumes after a while, and because I didn't care much for the romances (both guys just left me cold) despite Hudgens trying her best.

- The less said about Netflix's A Christmas Prince II, the better. Rose McIver deserves better.

(so far, Netflix's Christmas output rivals Hallmark's in its mediocrity. Hopefully Kurt Russell's movie will be a nice surprise when i'll come to it.)

Edited December 2, 2018 by Kaoteek

[anniebird]

21 hours ago, Karen885 said:

I watched  A Very Nutty Christmas on lifetime and it was fantastic. Such a ridiculous premise but so fun to watch. I was laughing out loud at some parts.  A nutcracker doll comes to life in the form of Barry Watson to help Melissa Joan Hart out.  I wish there were more comedic movies like this.  It was cheesy but in the good way. From the costumes to the mustache twirling villians it was pure entertainment.  Will definitely watch again.  10/10 stars.

I really liked this one and, like you, didn't expect to because it was so cheesy. But it was so fun and Melissa Joan Hart had more chemistry with a wooden doll than most of the human couples in the Hallmark movies do.

Edited December 2, 2018 by anniebird

[Scarlett45]

I did really enjoy The Princess Switch on Netflix. It was quite charming and Vanessa Hudges made the women distinctly different. My only pet peeve was that I didn’t care for the wedding dress at the end (not saying who got married). 

Last night on Amazon Prime I saw “Love at the Christmas Table” w/Danica McKellar. Throughout the movie I kept asking “don’t these people text each other?!! Why do they waste years not telling people how they feel??!!” But I did actually like the movie because people DO things like that. They get in their own way, they get so comfortable in the status quo they don’t do anything, social circles have people that everyone knows should be together but they won’t make the move. And everyone has the person who always puts in the effort to make the holiday amazing for everyone. 

It was surprisingly true to life. 

[MissyPoo]

Looking at some upcoming movies I just realized the titles of the following: 

Hometown Holiday

Homegrown Christmas

Small Town Christmas

Hometown Christmas

I'm pretty sure the production companies and networks just pick words out of a jar and sift them around per year.

[Irlandesa]

6 hours ago, MissyPoo said:

I'm pretty sure the production companies and networks just pick words out of a jar and sift them around per year.

What's even more frustrating is that sometimes the movies have original names that actually indicate what they are but then the networks get their hands on them and make them generic.  People talk about what movies they like/don't like and 90% of the time I have to Google them to find out which movie they're talking about. 

Lifetime titles have been pretty good this year as I know what they're about.  I'm partly through a Very Nutty Christmas and it's silly fun.  Melissa Joan Har and Barry Watson do these well. 

Edited December 3, 2018 by Irlandesa

[Spartan Girl]

5 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

I did really enjoy The Princess Switch on Netflix. It was quite charming and Vanessa Hudges made the women distinctly different. My only pet peeve was that I didn’t care for the wedding dress at the end (not saying who got married). 

 

Saw it today, and it was cute even if it was predictable. But I liked the wedding gown.

[Irlandesa]

I just finished A Twist of Christmas and I liked it a lot more than I thought I would.  When I saw the ads and the preview scene (of them in the store), I thought it looked awful.  But this is why I like to at least watch the beginnings of movies because in reality, I liked both of the lead actors.  The woman was perhaps a bit too cautious but at least I bought the explanation.  The guy was charming and they had nice chemistry.  There were some issues with the timing of their day because it's hard to believe they fit everything into that day and she still expected to give him time to work but overall this was the best movie of the weekend so far.  Of course, there are five more tonight...oy. 

[Kaoteek]

I was gonna say the same thing about A Twist of Christmas. It was light-hearted, didn't take itself too seriously, the kids were adorable, and it wasn't too tropey, so it was a nice surprise, especially since I tend to be indifferent to Brendon Zub, and to West Coast & Palm trees Christmases.

[AnnaRose]

On 11/24/2018 at 2:43 PM, Irlandesa said:

Lifetime wrap up:

A Christmas Contract with Hilarie Burton was very pleasant.  I expected a bit more longing and angst given that they were pretending but everything was pretty smooth except for a tid bit of silly drama at the end. The leads worked well together and I also liked Bruce Boxleitner and Cheryl Ladd as the parents. 

A Christmas Arrangement: @JasmineFlower   I only made it about 30 minutes in because it was so weird.  I almost wanted to keep watching because of how weird it was.  It started with the voices sounding like they were dubbed.  And then it moved onto the floral show where simple pine arrangements got oos and aahs, some (not all but some) of the contestants dressed in period costume and the judge was weirdly over-the-top.  But I stopped....

 

Oh my gosh!  I recorded A Christmas Arrangement but didn't make it past the first scene - it was so horrendously awful.  That was bizarre... like. originally filmed in a foreign language and badly dubbed into English, bizarre.  I couldn't figure out if it was because the acting was so atrocious or because the voices were poorly dubbed later on in post, (or both,) but holy cow that was bad!  It was so cringeworthy I didn't even want to stick around past the first scene to find out if it ever got any better.