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

[TVFan17]

I finally watched Lifetime's Gift-Wrapped Christmas.

 

I have come to the conclusion that if I am distracted, pressed for time, unfocused or not really in the mood to sit down and watch a movie, but I force myself to do it anyway, it will really color my opinion of the movie.  Also, if I have to stop watching and resume the movie later, that can really interrupt the flow and mess up my level of interest.  Because of that realization I try to give a lot of movies a second or third chance if I feel like I didn't get into them on the first try.  That has proven to be a good plan, as some of the movies I watched and didn't really connect with the first time around ended up becoming all-time favorites when I watched them a second and third time.

 

When I watched Gift-Wrapped Christmas I was a bit rushed and a bit distracted, so I don't think I liked it as much as I would have if I had not been rushed and distracted.  The personal shopper reminded me, looks-wise, of Kate Hudson (like if Kate had a younger sister).  She was a bit too perky, quirky and bubbly, but I suppose that demeanor was there to show us how right she was for the lead actor - and how wrong the other woman was for him.  

 

The little boy alternated between cute and annoying and back to cute again.  He was mostly cute, I suppose.  I liked the last half-hour of the movie, when our heroine trudged for hours through mountain roads (after her car died) to get to the cabin.  Yes, the fact that she had time to do that on Christmas was a bit of a stretch, but if I was in love with someone I'd probably do the same thing.

 

The ending -- meaning the last few seconds at the very end -- fell flat.  They kiss and then the little boy wakes up, and then everyone stares out the window.  Not only was there no promise of forever between the new lovebirds -- which was perfectly fine -- but we didn't even get to see them tobogganing, and there was so much talk about tobogganing!  It seemed like a toboggan scene would have been a fitting way to end the movie.

 

In any case, I think I will have to watch it again at some point when I am less distracted, as I think I could enjoy it more than I did the first time.  I have not yet watched The Christmas Gift, with Michelle Trachtenberg.

 

 

 

 

Our local PBS station used to run old Andy Williams Christmas specials during the week leading up to Christmas. Ah, the turtlenecks.

 

So, last night's Christmas movie from the DVR for background noise for knitting Christmas gifts was Finding Christmas. I'm not sure if that one was new this year or from last year, but I recorded it in mid-November. It's basically a low-budget, more G-rated, gender-flipped version of The Holiday (the Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Jack Black movie about swapping homes for the holidays). Or, really, remake. I mean, they didn't even just use the house swap as a jumping-off point. They copied most of the major plot points and only changed the genders and the locations. In both movies, the ones going to the city were leaving town because an ex they always hoped to end up with got engaged and became romantically involved with the homeowner's business colleague, who's in an iffy relationship with someone who has other priorities. And in both movies, the ones going to the small town were successful and work-obsessed business owners who never took vacations who suddenly wanted to leave because their significant others had cheated, they got involved with the single-parent sibling of the homeowner, they planned to leave very soon after arriving until they met a love interest and changed their minds, and the single parent hid the fact that they were a parent. The big switch up was that they moved the ex showing up to barge in on the vacation from one storyline to the other.

 

I think I would have liked this one more if it hadn't been for the fact that The Holiday is one of my favorite movies, so I just about have it memorized and got distracted by spotting all the parallels. Tricia Helfer made a surprisingly good down-home girl-next-door type (when usually she plays steely glamazons). But it lacked most of the heart that I find in The Holiday (along with the drinking, sex, and swearing) and the relationships felt a lot more rushed and superficial. The Holiday may be about half an hour longer, but it also had the additional subplot of the screenwriter neighbor, so I'm not quite sure how one movie seemed to get so much more done than the other one did. However, I will give this one points for having the big launch of a Christmas-related product and ad campaign two weeks before Christmas rather than on Christmas Eve. It's still too late for realism, but it's better, and I can pretend that the big party at the beginning was celebrating a successful launch that happened earlier rather than a real launch event.

 

Finding Christmas was one of the new movies in the Countdown to Christmas in 2013 (which was actually a strong year for Hallmark's Christmas movies in general -- a lot of good ones came out of that year's batch).  It's not in my top 5 favorite Hallmark Christmas movies, but it's probably in my top 10 or top 15 favorites.  I didn't like the boyfriend for Tricia Helfer's character.  I thought the chemistry was lacking in that pairing, but I thought that the other couple (the brunette pair) had really great chemistry, and I liked their story better.

 

I love the whole "swapping houses" idea for a movie so I don't mind seeing it come up in TV movies, despite The Holiday being the obvious, most well-known, model for that concept.  Finding Christmas is actually the second Hallmark movie to have that plotline -- the first one was Trading Christmas from 2011 (starring Faith Ford, Tom Cavanagh, Gil Bellows and Gabrielle Miller).  Seeing that they have not used this storyline in 2 years, I wish they'd do it again (maybe in 2016!). 

 

Trading Christmas was based on a book by Debbie Macomber, called When Christmas Comes, which was published in 2004.  The Holiday came out in 2006, so I actually wondered quite a while back if the writers of The Holiday were inspired by the Macomber story.

 

I like The Holiday -- I have it on DVD -- but I am generally not a fan of Cameron Diaz... nor am I a fan of Jack Black.  Also, I was not the least bit interested in the story about the elderly screenwriter.  The parts of it that I liked, though, I really liked a lot, but there are other parts that I like a lot less.

Edited December 3, 2015 by Sherry67

[Irlandesa]

I really liked The Christmas Gift on Lifetime. It was a nice story and I liked how feel goo it was. Plus, it was nice to see an interracial relationship portrayed, something that Hallmark rarely does.

I think never is the more appropriate description.  Hallmark never does them.  So I did like that Lifetime did it even though I really did not like the movie. 

 

I saw the talk of sad movies earlier.  Another sad movie is Saint Maybe which I stumbled on recently.  I had already seen it so I stopped watching but I did find it funny that the lead character is played by Thomas McCarthy who is now better known for writing/directing the excellent Spotlight which is getting all kinds of Oscar buzz. 

 

ETA:  Faith Ford and Ted McGinley were on Kelly & Michael this morning (Hope & Faith reunion) and they were promoting The Bridge: Part 1.  They confirmed that Part 2 had already been filmed and it sounds like the movies serve as a backdoor pilot to potentially become a series.  It sounds like a TV series but I could also see it become a movie series. Maybe they dumped Debbie Macomber for Karen Kingsbury.

Edited December 3, 2015 by Irlandesa

[twoods]

I think never is the more appropriate description. Hallmark never does them. So I did like that Lifetime did it even though I really did not like the movie.

y.

Meghan Markle is half African American who had a Caucasian love interest in a 4th of July themed movie (When Sparks Fly) but I guess since both her parents were Caucasian in the movie that doesn't count. You're right- how disappointing. ABC Family did it so well in Mistletones- what is wrong with Hallmark? I guess the sidekick sometimes is "ethnic" but it's really sad to see they don't use much diversity in their casting.

I liked Trading Christmas a lot better than Finding Christmas, but I loved JT Hodges singing Joy To The World. It was a beautiful rendition.

Edited December 3, 2015 by twoods

[proserpina65]

Stupid NBC ran an edited version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas last night.  I tried to watch it, but gave up after they cut the bit where the Grinch gets the idea of pretending to be Santa from looking at Max with cotton stuffing on his face.  Bah, humbug!

[Aliconehead]

 

Maybe they dumped Debbie Macomber for Karen Kingsbury

Pretty sure they dumped Debbie Macomber for Sherryl Woods and Chesapeake Shores

[TVFan17]

I tried to get through Lifetime's The Christmas Gift (with Michelle Trachtenberg) earlier this morning.  I was not rushed or preoccupied and was open to watching it.  I was even going to watch it On Demand, where I couldn't FF through commercials.  But... I have to agree with Irlandesa on this one... it was tedious.  I couldn't sit through the first 30 minutes.  I might revisit it later, when I can maybe record it and FF through it, but I was so bored.  I think that Michelle T. is just not that interesting of a leading lady to me.   I didn't like her when she joined Buffy the Vampire Slayer years ago either, and she wasn't even the leading lady at that point.  The fact that she is carrying this whole movie is daunting.

 

How long has Rick Fox been acting?  I know he was married to Vanessa Williams for a while.  I know he was dating Eliza Dushku for a while.  I know about his basketball career.  Has he always acted too?  He was pretty good -- he didn't seem like an athlete-turned-actor who could barely handle his lines.  He seemed pretty adept at it, so it made me wonder if he was acting before playing basketball.

[St. Claire]

I tried to watch it, but gave up after they cut the bit where the Grinch gets the idea of pretending to be Santa from looking at Max with cotton stuffing on his face.

 

 

I'm confused; that part was in it when I watched last night. Did each affiliate have the option to show a different version?

[Pdxblonde]

Does it seem like the lead character in holiday-themed Hallmark and Lifetimes movies is usually in publishing, editing or is a writer? Is that the "go-to" female career?

[sacrebleu]

I thought the lead in "Gift-wrapped Christmas" was charming. She might have overdone it a bit, I suspect it's because the male lead was so low energy, I think the actress was trying to do the work of two.

 

I managed to catch bits and pieces of several movies, and I couldn't help but wonder, why does Haylie Duff have a career? She's not talented, she's not attractive.She speaks in a monotone.  Is she supposedly relatable? She was in that "Sliding Doors" rip-off where she's an event planner -for one of those huge corporate Christmas Eve parties. She was in some other movie (on ION) where she's evaluating art for some guy. 

 

Seriously, I'm puzzled. Why does she get work? 

[TVFan17]

I thought the lead in "Gift-wrapped Christmas" was charming. She might have overdone it a bit, I suspect it's because the male lead was so low energy, I think the actress was trying to do the work of two.

 

I managed to catch bits and pieces of several movies, and I couldn't help but wonder, why does Haylie Duff have a career? She's not talented, she's not attractive.She speaks in a monotone.  Is she supposedly relatable? She was in that "Sliding Doors" rip-off where she's an event planner -for one of those huge corporate Christmas Eve parties. She was in some other movie (on ION) where she's evaluating art for some guy. 

 

Seriously, I'm puzzled. Why does she get work? 

 

I guess Haylie is relatable.  She seems like a sweet person, I suppose.   I guess that's the draw.  I don't have anything against her, but she doesn't stand out to me in any of the movies.  I neither look forward to nor dread movies that she's in.  I neither seek out nor avoid her movies.   She's never been in anything that I loved or despised.

 

I think that in the TV movie world Haylie has made more of them for Lifetime than any other channel, unless I am forgetting something.  She's done quite a few for Lifetime (including non-Christmas movies).  All About Christmas Eve is the event planning one you're referring to (it also features a supporting appearance by the omnipresent Patrick Muldoon). 

 

But Haylie is no stranger to other channels.   She was in a movie for ION called Christmas Belle (maybe that is the art one you saw???).  She did a movie for UP last year called Naughty and Nice.  She was in a Hallmark movie 2 years ago called Hats Off to Christmas (she was paired with Antonio Cupo, of Love at the Thanksgiving Day Parade)... though I have noticed that Hallmark has not put her in anything since that movie, and we know that they like to use certain actresses at least once a year -- if not 2 or 3 times in a year.

 

Doesn't Haylie have a cooking show on either the Food Network or the Cooking Channel?

Edited December 3, 2015 by Sherry67

[proserpina65]

I'm confused; that part was in it when I watched last night. Did each affiliate have the option to show a different version?

Maybe I glanced away at the wrong moment and missed it, but I definitely did not see it.  There was a notice at the beginning about it being edited for time - to stuff in more commercials, I'm sure - and there was at least one bit about the Whos' Christmas celebration which was missing.  It's possible affiliates had some leeway in the editing.

[Shanna Marie]

Trading Christmas was based on a book by Debbie Macomber, called When Christmas Comes, which was published in 2004.  The Holiday came out in 2006, so I actually wondered quite a while back if the writers of The Holiday were inspired by the Macomber story.

I haven't seen the movie, but I've read the Macomber book, and the only similarity between it and The Holiday was the house-swapping concept. Otherwise, the story was completely different. In the book, it was a man and a woman swapping, and he was trying to escape Christmas entirely and mistakenly thought he was going to a quiet town that would be kind of grim and drab and got one of those towns obsessed with Christmas, while she was going to the city where her daughter was in college, planning to surprise her daughter, who'd said she was stuck at school for Christmas. Turned out the daughter had planned a trip with her boyfriend, so the woman was stuck alone in the strange city. Of course, she met someone. However, Finding Christmas mapped way too precisely to The Holiday.

 

Did they ever make movies out of Debbie Macomber's Shirley, Goodness, and Mercy books? She did several Christmas-themed books about a trio of well-intentioned but not necessarily competent guardian angels. The first one was really funny and I've always thought it would have made a good romantic comedy movie.

 

Sometimes, the fun of these Christmas movies is figuring out what major mainstream movie they're borrowing heavily from. There have been a few Sliding Doors, lots of Groundhog Days, but for the most part, they just take the concept and do something different with them rather than mapping the characters and plot points to the original. There was one on ION called something like A Christmas Kiss that was basically Working Girl, but with a slightly different setup. Once Upon a Holiday owes a lot to Roman Holiday, and as I noted, a Crown for Christmas bore more than a passing resemblance to The Sound of Music.

 

Now I want to flip through my movie reference book, pick one at random, and then try to figure out a way to turn it into a Christmas cable movie.

 

Does it seem like the lead character in holiday-themed Hallmark and Lifetimes movies is usually in publishing, editing or is a writer? Is that the "go-to" female career?

Don't forget advertising and public relations. I think I've seen more characters (male and female) in these movies working in advertising than anything else (and they're always launching a new product or ad campaign on Christmas Eve). However, at least one character in every one of these movies must be an aspiring artist of some type, whether painting, photography, writing, or music, regardless of what the day job is.

[TVFan17]

I haven't seen the movie, but I've read the Macomber book, and the only similarity between it and The Holiday was the house-swapping concept. Otherwise, the story was completely different. In the book, it was a man and a woman swapping, and he was trying to escape Christmas entirely and mistakenly thought he was going to a quiet town that would be kind of grim and drab and got one of those towns obsessed with Christmas, while she was going to the city where her daughter was in college, planning to surprise her daughter, who'd said she was stuck at school for Christmas. Turned out the daughter had planned a trip with her boyfriend, so the woman was stuck alone in the strange city. Of course, she met someone. However, Finding Christmas mapped way too precisely to The Holiday.

 

Did they ever make movies out of Debbie Macomber's Shirley, Goodness, and Mercy books? She did several Christmas-themed books about a trio of well-intentioned but not necessarily competent guardian angels. The first one was really funny and I've always thought it would have made a good romantic comedy movie.

 

Sometimes, the fun of these Christmas movies is figuring out what major mainstream movie they're borrowing heavily from. There have been a few Sliding Doors, lots of Groundhog Days, but for the most part, they just take the concept and do something different with them rather than mapping the characters and plot points to the original. There was one on ION called something like A Christmas Kiss that was basically Working Girl, but with a slightly different setup. Once Upon a Holiday owes a lot to Roman Holiday, and as I noted, a Crown for Christmas bore more than a passing resemblance to The Sound of Music.

 

Now I want to flip through my movie reference book, pick one at random, and then try to figure out a way to turn it into a Christmas cable movie.

 

Don't forget advertising and public relations. I think I've seen more characters (male and female) in these movies working in advertising than anything else (and they're always launching a new product or ad campaign on Christmas Eve). However, at least one character in every one of these movies must be an aspiring artist of some type, whether painting, photography, writing, or music, regardless of what the day job is.

 

There are certainly a lot of plot devices and concepts that repeat in movies, or borrow from other movies and feature films -- not only on Hallmark, but on other channels too.  It's fun to identify them!  Lol.   Feature films borrow from other feature films as well.  After Fatal Attraction, there was an onslaught of movies (both feaure films and made-for-TV movies) involving stalkers and/or otherwise psychotic employees/tenants/spouses/neighbors/students/roomates/lovers, etc.   Fatal Attraction, in and of itself, was thought to have borrowed the plot of Play Misty for Me.  I don't think th Lifetime channel would be the same without the multitude of 'stalker-psycho' stories that pop up every year.

 

There haven't been any movies based on the Shirley, Goodness and Mercy books yet.  Debbie Macomber seems to love her angels, though (the 2 Mrs. Miracle movies and Mr. Miracle).  Mr. Miracle was not a good movie and it was widely panned and criticized by viewers last year, so I wonder if Hallmark will avoid the Macomber "angel stories" for a while.

 

Trading Christmas (which, I believe, is on tonight, on the Movies & Mysteries Channel) involves everyone finding love after swapping houses as well, just like The Holiday and Finding Christmas.  There may be different characters, different careers that the characters have, different budgets involved and different plot developments along the way, but they all lead to the same destination/conclusion -- which is that swapping houses leads to love for everyone!  Lol.  

 

If the writers of The Holiday got any ideas from the Macomber book -- and I don't know that they did, but it is slightly possible based on the timeline -- I thought it would have merely been a point of inspiration for their story, with the house swap as the foundation, not a model for them to copy to a T.    Since the Debbie Macomber book was published a couple of years before The Holiday hit the theaters, and Trading Christmas was "based on" that Macomber book -- even though it came out after The Holiday -- I will give it a pass in the 'full on copycat' arena because the story was already out there, and then later tweaked a bit (as most adaptations are). 

 

Finding Christmas, on the other hand, was probably not based on any book (that I am aware of), so it could be thought to be copying Trading Christmas or The Holiday, or both. 

 

Either way, I like the swapping houses plot line and I think of all 3 movies as being very similar, except for that The Holiday had a bigger budget, well-known actors and more adult content.

Edited December 3, 2015 by Sherry67

[EyewatchTV211]

I'm still catching up on a lot of movies. Just watched A Prince for Christmas from ION last night. All I will say about that movie is that I appreciate that it was actually filmed in New York, so it was nice to see real snow and actual visual breaths when people were talking outside. 

 

Meanwhile, it seems I have somehow missed recording a few movies. I thought I worked out catching things between some live airtimes and some reruns, but I saw a commercial for a movie that has been mentioned here and realized it is not on my remaining movies on the DVR. Will have to figure out if I am missing any other new ones. :-(

[KLovestoShop]

Why is there such a lack of minority stars in Hallmark movies? You only see them as the buddy of the Caucasian female star. It's pretty sad not to see a minority-centric Hallmark movie.

[babyhouseman]

I tried to get through Lifetime's The Christmas Gift (with Michelle Trachtenberg) earlier this morning.  I was not rushed or preoccupied and was open to watching it.  I was even going to watch it On Demand, where I couldn't FF through commercials.  But... I have to agree with Irlandesa on this one... it was tedious.  I couldn't sit through the first 30 minutes.  I might revisit it later, when I can maybe record it and FF through it, but I was so bored.  I think that Michelle T. is just not that interesting of a leading lady to me.   I didn't like her when she joined Buffy the Vampire Slayer years ago either, and she wasn't even the leading lady at that point.  The fact that she is carrying this whole movie is daunting.

 

How long has Rick Fox been acting?  I know he was married to Vanessa Williams for a while.  I know he was dating Eliza Dushku for a while.  I know about his basketball career.  Has he always acted too?  He was pretty good -- he didn't seem like an athlete-turned-actor who could barely handle his lines.  He seemed pretty adept at it, so it made me wonder if he was acting before playing basketball.

If you look at IMDB, he has a lot of acting credits. I remember him on The Game and Ugly Betty. 

[twoods]

Yes, Rick Fox was acting while he played basketball, which is a reason why he was a Laker so he could be close to the action.

Angel of Christmas was ok- it made nice background music while I was cleaning and wrapping presents. That angel was hideous.

[zivadanielle]

Yeah the angel was a bit....weathered?  Folk art-y?  I felt it was part of her charm though.  I liked the little twist where their great grandparents were the original couple, though I saw it coming a mile away.  It was a sweet movie. 

[editorgrrl]

I mostly watched Crown for Christmas because I saw Rupert Penry-Jones in the credits in the listing. He's one of my favorite PBS hunks. It was a cute movie, but I realized that it was essentially The Sound of Music with fewer kids, no nuns, no Nazis, and no musical numbers.

We've got the aristocratic widower whose friend/adviser is pushing him to remarry a wealthy, aristocratic woman he doesn't love. We've got the kid(s) who are neglected by widowed dad and acting out in a way that means a revolving door of governesses. We've got a desperation hire of an unlikely woman as governess. The spunky governess goes against all the stiff protocol of the household and bonds with the kid(s) while making the widowed dad realize he needs to try interacting with his own kid(s). Widower and governess fall in love as they dance at a party. Aristocratic other woman schemes to send kid(s) to boarding school after she marries dad and realizes she's losing her chance at him when he watches dad and governess dance. It's not just a similar story, it's practically beat-by-beat, except for the stuff about the convent and the Nazis. I was amusing myself by mentally inserting the appropriate musical numbers in the obvious spots. Still, I enjoyed it, and it actually looked like winter instead of like so many of these movies, where they stick some cotton in green shrubbery and have the actors throw scarves around their necks.

Rupert Penry Jones was hot as always. I did not know he was in this movie so it was a pleasant surprise. He makes the perfect Prince.

Seems as if there is another royal themed A Prince for Christmas.

Other than A Christmas Story and Love Actually, I don't usually watch Christmas movies. An anglophilic American who loves rom-coms, I just stumbled upon A Prince for Christmas on ION. I missed the first half hour, but saw the European prince (played by English Kirk Barker) "meet cute" with the American diner waitress (played by Australian Viva Bianca): http://www.iontelevision.com/holiday-movie/a-prince-for-christmas

So far, it's fluffy fun*. I can't wait for Hallmark's similarly named Crown for Christmas: http://www.hallmarkchannel.com/crown-for-christmas

*Edited to add that Prince's casting Kelly LeBrock as the queen reminds me of The Royals' Elizabeth Hurley.

Edited December 5, 2015 by editorgrrl

[Myrrhine]

And I totally agree with you about Nine Lives of Christmas -- that one was the true surprise for me last year. At first I thought, "Eh... I don't want to watch a pet movie, where the cat is up to wacky shenanigans, or talking, or cracking jokes." But it wasn't like that at all. That movie jumped out at me upon first viewing last year, and really stood out above all the other new movies of 2014. It was sweet and funny. I liked the firemen. I liked the cats. I liked the 2 leads. Another great movie.

Exactly! I thought the movie sounded pretty lane, but I like Brandon Routh, so I thought I'd check it out. I was pleasantly surprised.

I also watched the Ice Sculpture one, which I thought was fine. I really liked the heroine. She was exceptionally down to earth and pleasant. I know this is generally the case, but I did feel like not a lot happened. And the stakes were rock bottom. Oh no they might not win the contest... That she didn't even want to enter.

I have also watched Crown for Christmas, which was another favorite. I thought the leads were great, and the budget was large enough that the "world" felt fully realized. And I'm in the middle of the Plum Pudding murder one, which I am also really liking. I enjoy the Hallmark mysteries in general, so a Christmas mystery combines two themes I gravitate to.

Edited December 5, 2015 by Myrrhine

[TVFan17]

Keeping up with all of these Christmas movies is exhausting!!  Every time I have my DVR set to record one of the movies from Lifetime, UP or ION, I have to end up cancelling the recording because there is still not enough space on my DVR.  If I could watch things in real time it would be beneficial, as I wouldn't have to deal with the DVR.  But that is next to impossible to do, so I have to rely on the DVR.  The HD movies take up too much DVR space, so when I have deleted older SD recordings (which took up less space) to make room, barely a dent was made.

 

I still have not been able to watch My One Christmas Wish (UP), A Prince for Christmas (ION), A Dogwalker's Christmas Tale (UP), or the full version of The Christmas Gift (Lifetime).  I have not seen The Christmas Note on HMM beyond the first few minutes.   I was not able to catch Christmas in the Smokies on INSP either.  I am failing miserably at my Christmas movie viewing attempts.  I need to turn in my Christmas TV Movie Viewer badge and give it up.

 

As much as I love this time of year and look forward to the bounty o' holiday cheer on TV, I am also relieved when it comes to an end (for 10 months), so I can breathe again and let my DVR simmer down.

 

Anyway, this weekend is another onslaught of new movies:

 

Tonight -- Saturday, 12/5/15

 

Just in Time for Christmas (starring Eloise Mumford, William Shatner and Christopher Lloyd) -- on the Hallmark Channel

 

Merry Kissmas (starring Karissa Staples, Brent Daugherty, who appears to be very cute, Brittany Underwood and Doris Roberts) -- on the ION channel

 

The Flight Before Christmas (starring Mayim Bialik and Ryan McPartlin) -- on Lifetime

 

 

Tomorrow -- Sunday, 12/6/15

 

Karen Kingsbury's The Bridge, Part 1 (starring Wyatt Nash, Katie Findlay, Faith Ford and Ted McGinley) -- on the Hallmark Channel

 

Magic Stocking (starring Bridget Regan and Victor Webster) -- on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel

 

How Sarah Got Her Wings (starring Lindsay Gort and Derek Theler) -- on the ION channel

 

Last Chance for Christmas (starring Hallmark favorites Hilarie Burton and Gabriel Hogan) -- on Lifetime

 

Beverly Hills Christmas (starring Donna Spangler, Dean Cain and a bunch of other people I have never heard of) -- on the UP channel

 

 

All I have to say is, thank the heavens ABC Family-soon-to-be-Freeform didn't make any new movies this year too.   I do peek in over there every so often, to enjoy a few minutes of Rankin-Bass goodness.  I will also tune in to ABC Family when The Mistle-Tones is on again, and when Love Actually is on. 

 

 

 

Yeah the angel was a bit....weathered?  Folk art-y?  I felt it was part of her charm though.  I liked the little twist where their great grandparents were the original couple, though I saw it coming a mile away.  It was a sweet movie. 

 

Both the angel and the painting of the angel were interesting.  It was a sweet movie, indeed.  I liked it a lot.  That other guy in the office never stood a chance at winning Susan, though, so I don't even know why he was there. 

 

I want to see how long it takes for Angel of Christmas to make it over to the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel, for which it seems to be destined.  I wonder if it will end up on HMM by Christmas in July, or if it will appear on HMM when next year's Christmas movie extravaganza begins on or around Halloween.

 

 

Other than A Christmas Story and Love Actually, I don't usually watch Christmas movies. An anglophilic American who loves rom-coms, I just stumbled upon A Prince for Christmas on ION. I missed the first half hour, but saw the European prince (played by English Kirk Barker) "meet cute" with the American diner waitress (played by Australian Viva Bianca): http://www.iontelevision.com/holiday-movie/a-prince-for-christmas

So far, it's fluffy fun*. I can't wait for Hallmark's similarly named Crown for Christmas: http://www.hallmarkchannel.com/crown-for-christmas

*Edited to add that Prince's casting Kelly LeBrock as the queen reminds me of The Royals' Elizabeth Hurley.

 

I love me some Love Actually!  Not only is it a favorite "Christmas movie" of mine (though so many people debate whether or not it actually is a Christmas movie), but it is a favorite movie of mine in general.  I just adore it.

 

For some reason -- and I have no idea why, but clearly I am warped -- I am missing the Christmas Story gene.  Everyone else I know loves that movie.  I have never, ever understood the love.  I've never gotten it.  I have never understood why this one movie runs all day long on Christmas.   I don't know what's wrong with me and why I don't share the love of that movie that everyone else has.

 

The main thing about most of these so-called "Christmas movies" on Hallmark, ION, ABC Family, Lifetime and even Hallmark Movies & Mysteries and UP on occasion (to a lesser degree), is that they are largely rom-coms and romantic dramas.  Sure, some of them are less romantic than others, and some of them are about other things with a dash of romance on the side.  But, for the most part, I'd say that 80% of these movies are fluffy pieces of sweet Christmas TV candy, about a couple getting together in some way, against a Christmasy backdrop.  Crown for Christmas is certainly one of those.  A Royal Christmas is another one like that.  Nine Lives of Christmas... A Very Merry Mix-Up... The Most Wonderful Time of the Year... Snow Bride... A Bride for Christmas... Let it Snow....  and on and on.  They are all rom-com-ish, and fluffy, but they are also highly entertaining!

 

These movies give me something to watch -- a drastic change of pace to finish off the year -- as I wait for The Walking Dead and Better Call Saul to come back!  Lol.

 

 

Exactly! I thought the movie sounded pretty lane, but I like Brandon Routh, so I thought I'd check it out. I was pleasantly surprised.

I also watched the Ice Sculpture one, which I thought was fine. I really liked the heroine. She was exceptionally down to earth and pleasant. I know this is generally the case, but I did feel like not a lot happened. And the stakes were rock bottom. Oh no they might not win the contest... That she didn't even want to enter.

I have also watched Crown for Christmas, which was another favorite. I thought the leads were great, and the budget was large enough that the "world" felt fully realized. And I'm in the middle of the Plum Pudding murder one, which I am also really liking. I enjoy the Hallmark mysteries in general, so a Christmas mystery combines two themes I gravitate to.

 

I agree with you about Ice Sculpture Christmas.   I thought it was cute.   Rachel Boston is very down to earth and pleasant, as you said.  I liked all of the characters in the movie.   But you're right -- not much happened.  In fact, we didn't even find out who won the stupid contest at the end of the movie!

Edited December 6, 2015 by Sherry67

[ABay]

Is anyone else watching the Battle of the Nutcrackers on Ovation? I didn't see a thread for it so I discussion would go here?

 

I'm watching the 2nd entry right now, the Dutch National Ballet and I love it. Last week they went with the tedious Macauley Caulkin version, This is much, much better and be my favorite of all the ones they've shown except The Hard Nut. The set design is interesting--there were skaters on a frozen canal, for instance--and the transitions well done. The dances in the party scene were fun and lively, and extra points for St. Nicholas and Black Peter. The Nutcracker doll is a big wind-up doll. This Fritz might be the best I've seen. Hateful but a decent actor. It is odd seeing Dosselmeyer (sp?) without an eye-patch. I hope the Land of Sweets is colorful--last year there was a production with a monochrome gold-ish set that really did not evoke the thrill of a buffet of Christmas goodies.

 

Interesting--instead of the Land of Sweets, they go inside the Magic Lantern that Dosselmeyer shows off at the party. I really like the connections they're making between the party and Clara's dream. 

Edited December 6, 2015 by ABay

[twoods]

I liked Just In Time For Christmas- good acting and story. I liked that in her alternate universe everyone was happy and successful. The movie went by a lot faster than most this season, and production wise probably the best one without awkward scene cutting.

What killed me was those damn Hallmark commercials. I think I cried during almost all of them, especially the one with the woman getting all her old teammates to sign a card for their coach. Damn you, Hallmark.

Edited December 6, 2015 by twoods

[Misslindsey]

 

I'm watching the 2nd entry right now, the Dutch National Ballet and I love it.

Was Michaela Deprince playing Clara? I know she was playing Clara in a few performances, but I doubt she was playing Clara in the competition. Just had to ask. She was in the documentary First Position.

[TVFan17]

I thought that Just in Time for Christmas was okay.  It wasn't terrible, and it wasn't great to me.  The budget is a bit bigger for Hall of Fame movies, so they always feel a bit more pulled together than the regular Hallmark movies.  I kind of like the simplicity of the basic Hallmark movies, though, so a bigger budget usually doesn't enhance my viewing. 

 

Some scenes I found boring.  I generally like the 'alternate life' or 'travel back or forward in time' story lines, but other than Christopher Lloyd and William Shatner, I wasn't all that intrigued by the characters.  And William Shatner -- who was he supposed to be (other than a Burl Ives beard-sporting carriage dude)?  Was he an angel?  A mystical being from an alternate universe?

 

Also, the time travel to 3 years in the future was good, except for that everyone was doing well and happy in the future -- and I didn't see any real need for Eloise Mumford to want to marry the guy after all.  She saw that he was happy without her, and I guess she couldn't deal with it.  If anything, the main thing I wanted her to do when she 'went back' to the present day life was to make sure her mom's health was okay -- and she did that, so that was good.  But I felt that she should have just continued on her path to Yale and let the boyfriend go. He wasn't all that special.

 

Anyway, I've got The Flight Before Christmas (from Lifetime) saved on the DVR and have to watch it.

[Kaoteek]

Christmas in the Smokies was decent... for what was, if I get this right, the first ever christmas tv movie produced by INSP. It wasn't so much a fluffy rom com as it was a melodramatic "family is about to lose farm, girl fights to keep said farm, and ends up reconnecting with an old flame, praise baby jesus" kind of a movie, very old-school in its approach, with a decent amount of religious undertones here and there. Not my cup of tea, but production & casting-wise, it easily ranked above most Up Tv & ION efforts.

 

Speaking of UpTV, A Dogwalker's Christmas Tale was... what it was. The lead was unconventional (also, younger than most Hallmark-type movies) & it was typical UPTv quality & overall casting, but I couldn't help but feel that in more experienced hands, and with a bit of polish, the same script could have ended up on Hallmark & Lifetime, and delivered a perfectly fine Christmas movie.

 

And speaking of ION, A Prince for Christmas. Aka let's take Once Upon A Holiday & A Royal Christmas, mix the scripts, change the names, and shoot it for cheap with no-name, bland actors in a snowed-in little town in the state of New York. Bland, bland, bland. I liked the kid sister, who had chemistry w/ everyone, and the filming locations looked good, but it just was generic and flat as hell.

 

And now, while we're on the subject of bland, back to Hallmark, with Just in Time for Christmas. I know that the Hallmark HOF seal doesn't mean anything anymore (aside from "hey look, a famous actor is in our movie, and we've given production an extra couple thousand dollars"), but this shouldn't have been in it. Generic, uber-predictable screenplay ; generic It's a Wonderful Life/love vs career combo ; bland lead couple (well, let me rephrase : Mumford is likeable and a good actress, but ultimately unmemorable & not really believable as the best-selling author of a self-help book holding deep thoughts & meditations on the sense & meaning of life) ; annoying flashback montage of the lead couple's best moments edited together on a sad pop song (it annoyed me in A Prince For Christmas, and it did here, too) ; and not enough screen time devoted to Captain Kirk's beard. Also, not a huge fan of "hey, everybody's life seems to have turned out pretty good in this future, everybody seems happy, and I've got my dream career... but let's just ruin all of this because I want my ex-boyfriend back, dammit".

Gotta love Christopher Lloyd, though.

[StaceyNotStacie]

Watched both The Flight Before Christmas and Just In Time for Christmas.  Both movies had good acting and I enjoyed the stories, although all of the storylines seem to recycle themselves eventually.  

 

The Flight Before Christmas seemed a bit similar to A Christmas Detour, right down to the familiar all grown up former sitcom stars.  The only difference was one was engaged while the other had been recently dumped.  

 

I enjoyed Just In Time For Christmas.  I wasn't familiar with the male lead, but Eloise Mumford was likable.  The highlight of the movie was Christopher Lloyd, and I agree with the other posters that there just wasn't enough of William Shatner in the movie (and the beard bugged me).  I was a bit disappointed that the two actors didn't interact with each other in the movie.  I hope that Hallmark will pick up these two wonderful actors for another movie.

[Irlandesa]

I thought that Just in Time for Christmas was okay.  It wasn't terrible, and it wasn't great to me.  The budget is a bit bigger for Hall of Fame movies, so they always feel a bit more pulled together than the regular Hallmark movies.  I kind of like the simplicity of the basic Hallmark movies, though, so a bigger budget usually doesn't enhance my viewing. 

If the story is good, a bigger budget does enhance my viewing.  For instance, I do think A Crown For Christmas was made better by having the budget to look good and hire someone like Rupert Penry-Jones. 

Just In Time For Christmas was a bit lost on me.  Their resolution seems like it could have been reached within five minutes.  In fact, I thought they did kind of touch on it but then backed off.  I kind of resented that her alternate life meant completely checking out on her family and everyone. But I do think it was more enjoyable with better actors than it would have been otherwise.

 

BTW, Sherry, I also don't find The Christmas Story utterly rewatchable.  It's good. I enjoyed it once.  But the minute someone wants to watch it at my house, I break out a book.

 

Anyway, I've got The Flight Before Christmas (from Lifetime) saved on the DVR and have to watch it.

 I so wanted to love this.  I even chose to watch this live over Just In Time for Christmas which I normally wouldn't do.  I liked the casting and thought the story would be cute.  I enjoy a story of strangers forced to be in close quarters.  However, I was ultimately disappointed.  The movie looked good but overall I was disappointed.  They didn't convince me why these two would be drawn to one another.  Mayim's character kept thinking horribly about the guy for absolutely no reason whatsoever.  Why would she be attracted to him if that were the case?  Why would he be attracted to her in that scenario?  What did she offer him that his current girlfriend did not?

[WendyCR72]

A Christmas Story. Can't stand it. Yes, it's true! I'm also clearly missing the gene that worships this film. It just annoys the hell out of me.

[TVFan17]

I'm so glad to know I'm not totally alone in not being on board the Christmas Story train.  I know that tons of people love it, or it wouldn't run on a loop all day (on 12/25).  I figured I just wasn't getting it somehow.

 

Today I came to a startling realization -- including tonight's new movie (The Bridge) there are only 4 new movies left in this year's Countdown to Christmas on Hallmark!   Also, over on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel, including tonight's new movie there are only 2 brand new movies left.  Where has the time gone?

 

It's worth noting that Hallmark is airing Lacey Chabert's Family for Christmas on Sunday, December 13th -- which is not really new, as it premiered during Christmas in July.  But it will be the first time it is airing during this Countdown to Christmas, and I would assume that a lot of people did not see the movie when it aired in July.   So Hallmark is kind of treating it as a new movie by putting it in that Sunday night primetime slot next weekend, which is usually a slot saved for a new movie.

 

Of course, the When Calls the Heart: New Year’s Wish movie/Season 3 segue is premiering on Saturday, December 26th, and I suppose that counts as a holiday movie as well -- but since I don't generally watch WCTH I wonder if it will hold any interest for me, or if I should even bother watching it. 

Edited December 7, 2015 by Sherry67

[Kaoteek]

Didn't care much for The Flight Before Christmas, which indeed felt like A Christmas Detour redux. And given the fact that I didn't enjoy that one much...

 

But as far as this one went, it all just felt... forced, for lack of a better word. McPartlin's glasses & suit felt forced & artificial, Bialik's "I talk to myself out loud" neuroses & constant snark felt forced and artificial (also, a tad overacted, compared to the rest of the cast's underacting), that annoying "magical undercover Santa" (that seems to pop up in a lot of those Christmas romance movies) felt forced, the entire unlikely romance thingie felt forced, the country dance competition felt forced, the final party scene felt forced... I can take forced & artificial in this kind of movies, but only to a degree, and this was way too much : I just never bought into this premise, and into this couple.

 

So far, Lifetime's 2015 Christmas movies have all been a bust for me (I haven't watched the Trachtenberg movie yet ; and Becoming Santa looks like a cheesefest of the highest magnitude, I'm fearing the worst).

[Shanna Marie]

Yay, my people! I thought A Christmas Story was moderately cute the first time I saw it -- mostly because my mom has always told me stories about how she wanted a BB gun for Christmas when she was a kid and she was really mad when her brother got one and he hadn't even asked for it, and then he wouldn't let her touch it even though he didn't want it, but then when he got bored with that and put it down to climb a tree, she shot him in the butt with it, and the movie makes me think about that story -- but I can't imagine wanting to watch it again, let alone to want to watch it for 24 hours. People have DVRs now. They can record one showing and then watch it whenever. Why program it for 24 whole hours?

 

Now that most of the shows I watch have had their midwinter finales, I'll get to start working my way through all the movies I've saved on the DVR.

[ShelleySue]

CHRISTMAS 2026!?!?!? Are they kidding?!?!? I didn't know that The Bridge is a two parter with the second part airing in a year. I kept wondering how they were going to wrap everything up in so little time. I guess that the answer is that they were not resolving it. I was actually enjoying it right up until the end. Ugh!

[Irlandesa]

Was it a cliffhanger?  I knew there were going to be two parts but I thought more like a sequel and not half of a movie this year and the second half next year.  If that's the case, I may have to evaluate if I want to even bother watching when there is so much to watch.  I was trying to keep up with everything but now I'm at the point of where I'm getting burnt out.  I can catch them both next year.

[TVFan17]

Was it a cliffhanger?  I knew there were going to be two parts but I thought more like a sequel and not half of a movie this year and the second half next year.  If that's the case, I may have to evaluate if I want to even bother watching when there is so much to watch.  I was trying to keep up with everything but now I'm at the point of where I'm getting burnt out.  I can catch them both next year.

 

You raise a good point.  Not having the benefit of reading the book(s), I assumed that the "Part 2" slated for next year was a sequel of sorts -- kind of like what they did with Northpole.  If Part 2 is actually the second half of the same story/movie, I'm not sure I want to watch Part 1 now.  It might make more sense for me to watch it next year.   I have it recording now, but as you said -- there is so much to watch.  I still haven't caught some of the older movies that I have been trying to see on different channels (movies that have somehow escaped me in the past), nor have I been able to keep up with the bounty of new movies across all the channels.

 

I may cancel/delete my recording of The Bridge tonight, and then think on it.  If I decide to watch it this year, it will be repeated on both the regular Hallmark Channel and on the Movies & Mysteries Channel (I just checked) so I will still have some chances to see it.  Otherwise, I may just catch it next year, when Part 1 is fresh on my mind as Part 2 begins.

 

I think I will record the Hilarie Burton Lifetime movie tonight, and maybe something on ION.

[Irlandesa]

I recorded How Sarah Got Her Wings on ION but have yet to watch it.  I am recording The Bridge next Saturday (but also may cancel), the Lifetime movie later tonight and the HMM movie starring Bridget Regan tomorrow morning.  

 

Did anyone watch Merry Kissmas?  ION won't repeat that until Dec. 25th unfortunately.

[Misslindsey]

 

CHRISTMAS 2026!?!?!? Are they kidding?!?!? I didn't know that The Bridge is a two parter with the second part airing in a year. I kept wondering how they were going to wrap everything up in so little time. I guess that the answer is that they were not resolving it. I was actually enjoying it right up until the end. Ugh!

This! So much of this! Like others I thought Part 2 would be a sequel, which it is, but the main storyline was unresolved. So I have to wait till Christmas 2016 to actually get some sort of resolution? Sigh....I was, like you, enjoying the movie until they said we had to wait till next December for the next part. For some reason I thought part 2 would air sometime this winter, because I am an idiot like that. 

[KLovestoShop]

Didn't like Just In Time For Christmas. Didn't hate it, but it won't be on my must see list for future viewing.

I'm so happy I'm not the only one who doesn't get the worship for A Christmas Story. Once was more than enough, so I don't get the 24 hours of this movie.

[againstthewind]

I watched The Flight Before Christmas last night, primarily becuase Ryan McPartlin is my favorite of all of the Hallmark/Lifetime/ION actors (I mean, look at him). And it was bad. I get what they were trying to do with Mayim's character, but it felt incredibly forced to me. She was obnoxious and pushy, and I didn't see any sort of redeeming qualities from her.

 

McPartlin though, damn.

[ShelleySue]

I'm asking this because I don't think it's too spoileryish.  This question is directed at those of you who have read The Bridge.  Does the second part take place a few days after the first part ended, or sometime further in the future?

[emjohnson03]

I watched The Flight Before Christmas last night, primarily becuase Ryan McPartlin is my favorite of all of the Hallmark/Lifetime/ION actors (I mean, look at him). And it was bad. I get what they were trying to do with Mayim's character, but it felt incredibly forced to me. She was obnoxious and pushy, and I didn't see any sort of redeeming qualities from her.

 

McPartlin though, damn.

YES! I didn't watch this as I was watching "The Bridge" and I liked what I saw! Those glasses were soooo sexy! I didn't get the appeal of Mayim. I will say at least she isn't supermodel. I like that!

 

And "The Bridge" was good but I was not expecting the ending. I think they have already filmed Part 2, so just give us Part 2! I do think it went the silly route at the end. Ryan just say, "you are engaged??" Ugh! So much could be cleared up in a question!! Annoying!!

 

I liked the 2 actors. Kinda forgot Katie was in "How To Get Away with Murder". 

Edited December 7, 2015 by emjohnson03

[Misslindsey]

 

I'm asking this because I don't think it's too spoileryish.  This question is directed at those of you who have read The Bridge.  Does the second part take place a few days after the first part ended, or sometime further in the future?

From the preview they showed at the end of the movie for the next part, one of the two main characters said it has been so many years since they saw each other. I forgot how many years they said that passed because I was irritated with not seeing part two until next year.

[Kaoteek]

Man, all those movies seem to be produced by either MarVista or Hybrid... anyway, The Christmas Gift was mostly... slow. Not necessarily boring, but pretty damn slow & lifeless. Also, the script is to be commended for going the interracial romance route, and I tend to like Michelle Trachtenberg, but on a more shallow note, I'm really not a fan of her current look and style (or of the unflattering way her makeup & wardrobe were done here).

[EyewatchTV211]

From the preview they showed at the end of the movie for the next part, one of the two main characters said it has been so many years since they saw each other. I forgot how many years they said that passed because I was irritated with not seeing part two until next year.

I haven't read the book, but the description on amazon indicates several years as well. Not sure how many. Count me as another who was enjoying the movie not realizing there would be a stupid cliffhanger.

 

ETA: I just read a review of the book. I could be wrong, but it almost sounds like the actual book takes place starting where the 2nd movie starts. There is some sort of prequel about the older couple, which I guess may be where some of this story came from. Not sure that Ryan and Molly were in it at that point though. I would have definitely preferred one movie with a couple reconnecting instead of a first movie forcing the couple to separate due to annoying "scheming" 

Edited December 7, 2015 by VMepicgrl

[zivadanielle]

I don't know why I can't stay awake for Saturday and Sunday prime-time across the various Christmas channels.   Again I fell asleep for both Just In Time... and The Bridge. Yet on Friday I was up until 1am flipping between November Christmas (little girl with cancer/John Corbett & Sarah Paulson) on, I think, and Christmas Angel (Della Reese/Kevin Sorbo and excellent Izabela Vidovic) on UP. 

 

Edit: also, meant to add--I guess I am different in that I never got A Christmas Story either but in recent years have grown to enjoy it though mostly as background "noise" that day.  I'm Jewish but Mr. zd's is not so we are usually rushing around that day in North Carolina.  This year we are staying home so I look forward to lazing about on the couch and enjoying it two or three times haha.  

Edited December 7, 2015 by zivadanielle

[TVFan17]

I think I got about halfway through The Flight Before Christmas before I had to pause it.  I will resume it later, although breaking up a movie into different segments tends to interrupt the flow for me. 

 

One thing that caught my attention from the first few seconds of The Flight... was that several of those opening exterior scenes were shot at The Grove (a cool outdoor shopping center here in Los Angeles, right next door to the historical, famous Original Farmers Market).  I was perplexed by this.  This movie was shot in the summer, as I recall (I remember that Mayim Bialik posted photos from the set, including photos of Ryan McPartlin, on Instagram).  The Grove, however, does not get into the holiday spirit with full décor, flying Santa and reindeer and gigantic Christmas tree until November.  So, I would assume that Lifetime's people shot some of the footage at The Grove during last year's holiday season?  Hmm...  Maybe they just wanted to get some festive décor on camera to use as stock footage for future movies?

 

Interestingly, A Christmas Kiss II (which debuted on ION last year) features a quick shot of the Original Farmers Market Christmas tree at the beginning.

 

I am still deciding on whether or not I will bother with The Bridge this year, or wait until next year to watch Part 1.

 

I watched Magic Stocking (on the Movies & Mysteries Channel).  It was pretty much what I expected.  I found the child annoying.  Her mom was a bore at first too.  What I liked about the movie were the grandma and her little romance; the adorable puppies (both of them); and the stocking itself (which randomly yielded significant treasures throughout the movie).  It wasn't a bad movie, but just not one that I will be racing to the TV to see again before this holiday season ends.

 

I have yet to watch Lifetime's Last Chance for Christmas with Hilarie Burton, but in reading the synopsis of it I am convinced that it could be terrible.

[EyewatchTV211]

Did anyone watch Merry Kissmas?  ION won't repeat that until Dec. 25th unfortunately.

I watched. It was pretty bad. The lead is torn between her current fiance (at times ex-fiance), who is clearly terrible and she knows it, and the guy she randomly kisses in the elevator. The fiance was played by David O'Donnell, who was in the movie with Candace Cameron Bure last year. Unfortunately, they had him playing this crazy egotistical, jerky famous person with a ridiculous fake accent. That whole part was just terrible. No one would buy them ever having been together. If that character had not existed and they had some other form of drama, the rest of the movie might have been okay. I think the actual leads had decent chemistry. And there was a ton of kissing in the movie, and way before the end, which was different for one of these movies. 

[TVFan17]

Oh, I almost forgot to ask if anyone has watched Christmas at Bobby's, on the Food Network (I guess it fits under the "Christmas Specials" category)?  It premiered this past weekend.  Last year they did Thanksgiving at Bobby's, if I recall correctly, and that was after the (formerly popular) annual Thanksgiving Live show disappeared forever.

 

Christmas at Bobby's features, of course, the reigning king of the Food Network, Bobby Flay.  The premise is that Bobby has invited his Food Network friends (without their families, apparently) over for a Christmas time slumber party.   They all wake up in the morning, stumble to the kitchen in their jammies, exchange not-so-Secret-Santa presents, playfully tease each other and rustle up lots of holiday grub before hunkering down at the table to eat.  Bobby's sleepover guests are:  Anne Burrell, Alex Guarnaschelli, Scott Conant, Sunny Anderson, Katie Lee, Geoffrey Zakarian and Eddie Jackson (most recent winner of Food Network Star).

 

To be honest, the food they were making was less interesting to me than the personalities themselves.  I like seeing them interact with each other.  I liked seeing the supposed "sleepwear" they wore (for the fake sleepover) before changing into their Christmas dinner clothes.  I liked seeing the staged Secret Santa presents they gave each other.  It was entertaining for what it was -- which is goofy, implausible fun.  It's not realistic to think that all of those adults would be spending the night at Bobby Flay's house without their spouses, kids or significant others, but I can suspend disbelief.  It didn't feel as much like a cooking tutorial as it did just a bunch of silly chefs and cooks hanging out together at someone's house -- which, I suppose, was the intent.

 

Overall, I enjoyed Christmas at Bobby's more than last year's Thanksgiving at Bobby's -- because it was more fun and had a better faux premise -- and certainly more than the recent Bobby Flay-Ina Garten Barefoot Thanksgiving special that was on.  I do wish that Food Network would bring back Thanksgiving Live, though.  It ended after 2013's debacle, in which a chatty, seemingly tipsy Giada De Laurentiis cut her finger and talked over everyone.

[twoods]

I actually really liked Last Chance For Christmas. The movie flew by, the leads had excellent chemistry, and the girl was a good actress and not the typical annoying kid. It's probably the first movie this year I thoroughly enjoyed all the way through.

I lasted five minutes of the Flight Before Christmas- Mayim's character was ridiculous. Paul Campbell is on the Lifetime Christmas movie next week, so will probably catch it just to see him.

Edited December 7, 2015 by twoods

[TVFan17]

I actually really liked Last Chance For Christmas. The movie flew by, the leads had excellent chemistry, and the girl was a good actress and not the typical annoying kid. It's probably the first movie this year I thoroughly enjoyed all the way through.

I lasted five minutes of the Flight Before Christmas- Mayim's character was ridiculous. Paul Campbell is on the Lifetime Christmas movie next week, so will probably catch it just to see him.

 

Which one is Paul Campbell in?  Becoming Santa or Wish Upon a Christmas?   I know that Jesse Hutch (from Let it Snow and Harvest Moon) is in Becoming Santa on Lifetime.  Is Paul Campbell in the other one?