Hallmark Movies: Small Town Royalty Magically Celebrating Rekindled Love! - General Discussion

[DeafAngelboy23]

I guess CCB opened her Pandora’s Box. I know she’s trying so hard to fix it today on her social media.

[KaveDweller]

19 hours ago, Makai said:

From what I’ve read on twitter only 7 or 8 of GAF’s Christmas movies were developed for GAF. All but 2 or 3 of those were also done by other production companies so the actors could have signed on without knowing what network was airing them. I remember Andrew Walker saying on Deck the Halls that he once thought he was starring in a Hallmark movie until he got to set and discovered it was a Lifetime movie. 

I think that is probably true for a lot of actors, they get hired by the production company. But the actors who have announced "exclusive deals" with GAC, like CCB, know what they are getting into and are only doing the movies where it is already decided where it will air.

I think only a few others have signed those deals. Danica McKellar and I am not sure who else.

[catrice2]

4 hours ago, Cetacean said:

May I join you?  Spot on with these and not a fan of Cahill, either.  I honestly thought Chabert and Reeser were the same person until they were in a movie together.  All one note actors.

Please, please. please don't let us down with Three Wise Men.....

It is about to be a party because those names and a few others are why I stopped  "hate watching" Hallmark movies. I typically only watched the ones on the Mystery Channel.  The others I gave up on a long time ago. 

3 hours ago, memememe76 said:

I don’t know why Hallmark movies featuring actors of colour suddenly have to also be good? It’s not like past Hallmark movies were winning Emmys. 

I agree with this.....but like so many other things when a minority is involved we have to work harder and it has to be judged by a different standard.....like in real life..

Edited November 17, 2022 by catrice2

[Jaded]

On 11/14/2022 at 7:17 PM, kirinan said:

I know she's at GAC now, but this article is definitely Hallmark-related, too:

Candace Cameron Bure Explains Why She Left Hallmark for GAC Family: They're 'Christians That Love the Lord'

2 hours ago, DeafAngelboy23 said:

I guess CCB opened her Pandora’s Box. I know she’s trying so hard to fix it today on her social media.

Yeah, it's everybody else's fault including the woman who tweeted this that she's getting the response she is because it couldn't possibly be due to the things she actually said. Sometimes... Ok more times than not I think she knows damn well what kind of reaction there will be when she says stuff like she did when comparing Hallmark and GAC. She's probably actually pretty proud of herself for getting so much attention drawn to her new employer and the content she'll be "curating" over there. 

You'd think that Hallmark had tried to get her to play a lesbian role in one of their movies or something with the way she's framing this move from one channel to the other.  When she does stuff like this it really puts a spotlight on what's really going on behind that "nice person" mask she wears. She gets by with doing this stuff so often because she knows better then to be as blatantly obvious with her views/beliefs as her brother is. I haven't watched her hawking her brand on QVC but I have read the things from people who have and they've even noticed when she slips up in regards to that "I love everyone." act.

Edited November 17, 2022 by Jaded

[luvthepros]

Countdown to Three Wise Men and a Baby. I am sooooo looking forward to this movie. I really think it will hit it out of the park.

[ctlady]

2 hours ago, luvthepros said:

Countdown to Three Wise Men and a Baby. I am sooooo looking forward to this movie. I really think it will hit it out of the park.

Looking forward to this as well - and I usually just skip over HM Nov &  Dec until the Christmas movie fest is over with.  Also saw previews for Inventing The Christmas Prince with Tamera Mowry.  That looks like it may be adorable

[ShelleySue]

I am so far behind in my holiday movie watching that it's stressing me out. Last night I watched The Royal Nanny and The Italian Christmas Memories. Mr. Shelley Sue had to leave Memories in the middle because it reminded him too much of his experiences with his father. I had similar experiences with family members, but I was able to watch the entire movie. I'm wondering if it was too painful for any of you. Two other things did bother me though.  The first is that the family had the sagu instead of the traditional 7 fish meal because Anna's mother was allergic to fish, but the sagu had an anchovy ingredient in it. My father is allergic to fish and you would think that that's an easy food to avoid but you'd be surprised at how many things have Worcestershire sauce in them and Worcestershire sauce contains anchovies. So I'm always alert to anchovies in food. The second thing that bothered me is Dr. Greg and Anna dating. Something should have been at least mentioned about the ethics of that.

I generally don't like any of the "Royal" type of movies but this one wasn't too bad. At least it wasn't in a made up country where everyone had a British accent. It was in England where there was a made up branch of the family.  I wonder when this was shot because they spoke about "his majesty" and "the king."

13 hours ago, DeafAngelboy23 said:

I guess CCB opened her Pandora’s Box. I know she’s trying so hard to fix it today on her social media.

I went to my DVR and deleted all of the GAC movies I had already taped and had scheduled to tape. I have no idea if they are standing by her "traditional marriage" statement or not, but at this point, as I stated earlier, I have enough Hallmark movies (and some Lifetime) to see me through to the holidays.

[roughing it]

I guess I will have to go to GAC (or is it GAF?) channel so I can watch a movie and wistfully wait for the end when they finally declare their love for each other and the gentleman asks if he may hold her hand.....  aaaaahhhhh such lovely.

/s

[absnow54]

4 hours ago, ShelleySue said:

I went to my DVR and deleted all of the GAC movies I had already taped and had scheduled to tape. I have no idea if they are standing by her "traditional marriage" statement or not, but at this point, as I stated earlier, I have enough Hallmark movies (and some Lifetime) to see me through to the holidays.

A lot of their movies are free on Tubi or streaming on Hulu (which is ironic, since Hulu is where Disney+ used to dump all of their un-family-friendly content.)

[Bronx Babe]

A Cozy Christmas Inn had the alternate-universe dish of something called Cocoa Cornbread Stuffing.  Yesterday I watched 'Tis The Season To Be Merry, and the lead actress ordered "Steak Cocoa"

These outer-space aliens sure know what's delicious.

[twoods]

Royal Nanny was very cute- thanks for the recommendation. I liked that it was different than the other movies and the leads had nice chemistry.

[Irlandesa]

10 minutes ago, Bronx Babe said:

A Cozy Christmas Inn had the alternate-universe dish of something called Cocoa Cornbread Stuffing.  Yesterday I watched 'Tis The Season To Be Merry, and the lead actress ordered "Steak Cocoa"

I thought the chocolate cornbread stuffing was something we were supposed to think was a little strange.  Or at least that's what I thought that restaurant was supposed to be--a bit quirky with maybe not the best ideas.

Cocoa rubbed steak?  That's a real thing.

5 hours ago, ShelleySue said:

I generally don't like any of the "Royal" type of movies but this one wasn't too bad. At least it wasn't in a made up country where everyone had a British accent. It was in England where there was a made up branch of the family.  I wonder when this was shot because they spoke about "his majesty" and "the king."

This was a fake British family so I don't think it mattered unlike Jolly Good Christmas where I assume they had to dub. I don't usually like royal movies either but I think this worked because she wasn't some down-on-her-luck or wide-eyed American entering service.  She had a specific job and she was basically in control.  And her love interest wasn't the heir apparent either.  Not that I don't love a few of those kinds of movies (A Crown For Christmas comes to mind) but royal movies usually miss more than they hit with me.

[kirinan]

Please be as good as this clip makes it look, please be as good as this clip makes it look...

Sneak peek: Three Wise Men and a Baby

[absnow54]

17 minutes ago, kirinan said:

Please be as good as this clip makes it look, please be as good as this clip makes it look...

Sneak peek: Three Wise Men and a Baby

The article confirms that the movie was written by Paul Campbell and Kimberly Sustad. I wonder if she'll make a cameo. 

[Bronx Babe]

27 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

I thought the chocolate cornbread stuffing was something we were supposed to think was a little strange.  Or at least that's what I thought that restaurant was supposed to be--a bit quirky with maybe not the best ideas.

Cocoa rubbed steak?  That's a real thing.

To borrow an oft-used Hallmark phrase, "I get that" -- Garland and Hattie's Diner were indeed presented as being proudly out of step with the, uh, normal world but cocoa cornbread stuffing seemed overly weird, lol. Plus, the lead actress orders it as an entree.  (cue Twilight Zone theme)

As for Steak Cocoa, I do know there are many delicious Mexican mole dishes and also mouth-watering Southern barbeque rubbed with Dr. Pepper or other colas -- but again, it just feels and sounds bizarre when Hallmark attempts to be "amusing".

[kirinan]

The Hallmark Channel had a Facebook Live with Paul Campbell, Tyler Hynes, and Andrew Walker today. Best one I've seen yet!

[voiceover]

Watching BBT reruns on TBS and every other ad break is hawking Discovery+’s Christmas movies. Both are food-oriented and feature a celeb chef (Bobby Flay is one) but are so obviously Hallmark retreads that it felt like watching an SNL spoof (“Now on NHL Network: Love in the Penalty Box”).

[twoods]

Christmas at the Dragon wasn’t bad. I preferred the other storylines to the main character’s because she was awful. Sad face for bringing a poinsettia! Ow I got hurt with a snowball! Why isn’t your Christmas like one in a dumb Hallmark movie? Why does her boyfriend tolerate her stupid ass? 
The other storylines kept me from getting bored, and that’s saying a lot since so many movies are still sitting in my DVR untouched. 

Edited November 18, 2022 by twoods

[bankerchick]

@kirinan thank you for posting the clip and the Facebook Live.  I cannot overemphasize how excited I am for this movie.  It appears that the leads are pretty excited about it as well, and it looks as if they had a great time making it.  Having said that, what the hell is with Tyler Hynes and the damn toothpick??  Every interview I have ever seen with him, he has a toothpick in his mouth that he sucks on, chews on, takes out of his mouth and waves around, then puts back in his mouth.  Ugh.  Stop it already.  Maybe he's a smoker and that's how he deals with it, but why doesn't he pretend he's filming a movie when he's doing the interviews if that's what it takes?  It just seems like he couldn't be bothered being professional.  The outfit with the toque did nothing to dispel me of that notion.  And my Hallmark husband Paul Campbell is going to be bald pretty soon, not that I have a problem with that, but he has quite a 5-head.

I don't often remember my dreams and have no idea where they come from, but last night I dreamed that Andrew Walker (or Drew as they appeared to call him in the chat) gave me a lipstick as a gift.

[Cetacean]

3 minutes ago, bankerchick said:

Having said that, what the hell is with Tyler Hynes and the damn toothpick??  Every interview I have ever seen with him, he has a toothpick in his mouth that he sucks on, chews on, takes out of his mouth and waves around, then puts back in his mouth.  Ugh.  Stop it already. 

Yeah, that really spoiled the interview for me. I just kept waiting to see the next thing he'd do with it.

[MerBearHou]

2 hours ago, bankerchick said:

I don't often remember my dreams and have no idea where they come from, but last night I dreamed that Andrew Walker (or Drew as they appeared to call him in the chat) gave me a lipstick as a gift.

One of my favorite things I've read on Primetimer -- hahahahahaha!  

Edited November 18, 2022 by MerBearHou

[ShelleySue]

22 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I don't usually like royal movies either but I think this worked because she wasn't some down-on-her-luck or wide-eyed American entering service. 

I truly believe that Danica McKellar ruined "Royal Christmasy" movies for me. A 40-ish woman playing a naive American who acts like a teenager with a heart of gold, who teaches the royal family that love is all that matters, so that a widowed father, who happens to be the king, and his daughter can open up to each other and enjoy the holidays while the father finds love with the American, who for some reason is his daughter's nanny even though she's really a hotel maid.

[Cetacean]

Frankly, I hate all of the "royal"  movies.  Why does Hallmark think American women have some sort of obsession with royalty?  They are all Cinderella stories in different forms, half complete with wicked mothers.  They are all so lame.

[MerBearHou]

6 minutes ago, Cetacean said:

Frankly, I hate all of the "royal"  movies.  Why does Hallmark think American women have some sort of obsession with royalty?  They are all Cinderella stories in different forms, half complete with wicked mothers.  They are all so lame.

Ditto here.  Literally the only royal movie I like is "Once Upon a Holiday" and it's all because of Paul Campbell and the charming supporting cast.  Briana Evigan is very, very lowkey but for me, it works here as she's playing a sheltered, tentative royal who's escaped for a few days on her own in NYC.  This was the first time I'd seen Paul in anything and like bankerchick, he became my must watch / crush in pretty much everything he does.  

[Cetacean]

Entering the Wayback Machine to enjoy the 2008 Most Wonderful Time of the Year.  First of all I appreciate the fact that Christmas is not in the title; I am so sick of "Christmas" and "Love" titles because I cannot tell one movie from the other.  Second, I love seeing Henry Winkler in this role, I wish he was my uncle. 

Yes, there were the usual tropes (stuck up, snotty corporate boyfriend) but I find it much more palatable than the usual Hallmark holiday pap. 

I wonder if they will ever replay A Season for Miracles.  Love, love, love that one.

[voiceover]

On 11/14/2022 at 10:35 PM, norcalgal said:

for a Kansas setting, that was quite the diverse cast (Asian, Jewish, Black and Latino).  If someone here is familiar with Wichita, can you let us know if that seems plausible for Wichita

Uh. Yeah.  In fact it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that Golden Dragon was based on a real-life restaurant there.

There’s Wichita State University, where the not-all-white  basketball team has enjoyed significant NCAA success;  Boeing used to be a bigtime employer before military spending cuts; there are synagogues and delis and family-owned Mexican restaurants.   It’s not downtown LA, but the people are pretty friendly.  They’re certainly used to people who assume it’s all one big farm next to Oz.

I myself = not a *huge fan, but that’s only because I got dragged there once a year to visit family when I was a kid, and my cousins weren’t my idea of fun 🤣

[Makai]

2 hours ago, Cetacean said:

I wonder if they will ever replay A Season for Miracles.  Love, love, love that one.

Great movie. Probably one of my favorites but I never rewatch it. I appreciate the more dramatic movies but it’s not what I look for when I want to watch Christmas movies. 

It is on Peacock or available to stream online with a cable login. 

5 hours ago, Cetacean said:

Why does Hallmark think American women have some sort of obsession with royalty?

Because a lot do. 

[Irlandesa]

5 hours ago, ShelleySue said:

I truly believe that Danica McKellar ruined "Royal Christmasy" movies for me.

Ha.  And Crown For Christmas is one of the few I can stand.  I actually quite love it.  I think it's because Rupert Penry-Jones must have tripped and accidentally found himself in this.  He's a pretty high quality actor.

5 hours ago, Cetacean said:

Frankly, I hate all of the "royal"  movies.  Why does Hallmark think American women have some sort of obsession with royalty? 

It's not just Hallmark.  Almost all channels offer something royal.  They do it because you slap "Royal" onto the title and it brings in numbers.

[Cetacean]

21 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

They do it because you slap "Royal" onto the title and it brings in numbers.

Count me as an outlier. I automatically steer clear of anything with that moniker.

[voiceover]

Ohhhhhhh maaaaaannnn…

When Shelby turned around, and Evan was standing there, in full Christmas Prince regalia, I actually gasped.  Then, like a giant sentimental goober, I burst into tears.

Great ending.  Great story.  Tamera’s always a joy, but Ronnie was a revelation.   More please.

Edited November 19, 2022 by voiceover

[norcalgal]

9 hours ago, ShelleySue said:

I truly believe that Danica McKellar ruined "Royal Christmasy" movies for me. A 40-ish woman playing a naive American who acts like a teenager with a heart of gold, who teaches the royal family that love is all that matters, so that a widowed father, who happens to be the king, and his daughter can open up to each other and enjoy the holidays while the father finds love with the American, who for some reason is his daughter's nanny even though she's really a hotel maid.

6 hours ago, Cetacean said:

Entering the Wayback Machine to enjoy the 2008 Most Wonderful Time of the Year.  First of all I appreciate the fact that Christmas is not in the title; I am so sick of "Christmas" and "Love" titles because I cannot tell one movie from the other.  Second, I love seeing Henry Winkler in this role, I wish he was my uncle. 

Hear hear!  This movie is indeed an oldie but goodie. Henry Winkler was so non-Fonzie and it worked!  I never once thought of him as The Fonz while watching. He brought so much heart and warmth and genuine-ness to the role.

4 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Ha.  And Crown For Christmas is one of the few I can stand.  I actually quite love it.  I think it's because Rupert Penry-Jones must have tripped and accidentally found himself in this.  He's a pretty high quality actor.

Count me in as someone who really enjoyed A Crown for Christmas, and Rupert is the main reason. I first saw him in a show called MI-5 (called Spooks in the UK), and seeing him in the millionth adaptation of Austin’s Persuasion cemented my like (not love) for this actor. This movie and A Princess for Christmas (hi Roger Moore, and pre Outlander dude) are the only two royal Christmas movies I care to watch multiple times. 

[Bronx Babe]

Inventing the Christmas Prince.

You too can suddenly win a maitre de's favor in obtaining a fully booked table for holiday tea by listening to "the chewiness of his soul"   If that isn't a wtf Hallmark moment, I don't know what would be.

Lots of sci-fi as the writers are inclined to slip in -- mentions of Star Trek, Mr. Spock, Godzilla, and "habitability on the rings of Saturn"

Edited November 19, 2022 by Bronx Babe

[Cetacean]

I didn't hate Inventing the Christmas Prince.  Some typical WTF Hallmark crap but overall pleasant. The male lead (Evan, I think) was very low key which was kind of nice;  I get tired of the OTT villiany or perkiness.  The kid wasn't too grating either. 

Interesting that the dead father wasn't painted as a saint for a change.

The ending had me rolling my eyes a bit (a full blown prince costume?) and I didn't quite buy the love angle but I did feel like he did feel affection for the kid.

[bankerchick]

12 minutes ago, Cetacean said:

I didn't hate Inventing the Christmas Prince.  Some typical WTF Hallmark crap but overall pleasant. The male lead (Evan, I think) was very low key which was kind of nice;  I get tired of the OTT villiany or perkiness.  The kid wasn't too grating either. 

I did.  I was ambivalent because I really like the lead actor Ronnie Rowe but don't care for the actress Tamera Housley.  She ruined the Paul Campbell Christmas movie from last year, in my opinion.  I also hated the daughter.  A lot.  I watched Jingle Bell Bride this morning, which allowed me to watch him in a movie I liked.

1 hour ago, Bronx Babe said:

You too can suddenly win a maitre de's favor in obtaining a fully booked table for holiday tea by listening to "the chewiness of his soul"   If that isn't a wtf Hallmark moment, I don't know what would be.

Right?  She had a 5 minute conversation with him and knows his history and has invited him over for New years?  I thought that was a stretch, even for Hallmark.

As of this moment, just about 4 hours until the big premiere.

[bankerchick]

'Well, I don't want to stay and look after the farm, and that's really a drag that you get up at 4am every day, but what right do you have to sell it?  It's our farm. Nonno, we shouldn't let her sell it.'

This is a trope from the olden days that I haven't seen in a while and quite frankly, thought they had moved on from.  I am only midway through the Italian sugo movie but am already really disliking the lead character.  I'm still loving Beau Bridges though, and I have to admit, when I saw him playing the piano, I was really hoping the camera would pan out to the other Baker Boy.

[norcalgal]

3 hours ago, Cetacean said:

I didn't hate Inventing the Christmas Prince.  Some typical WTF Hallmark crap but overall pleasant. The male lead (Evan, I think) was very low key which was kind of nice;  I get tired of the OTT villiany or perkiness.  The kid wasn't too grating either. 

Interesting that the dead father wasn't painted as a saint for a change.

The ending had me rolling my eyes a bit (a full blown prince costume?) and I didn't quite buy the love angle but I did feel like he did feel affection for the kid.

This post summed up my feelings about the movie. But I’d like to add:

I’m surprised the dead husband/dad got more than a passing mention. I thought they’d go the “out of sight, out of mind” route so good on them actually acknowledging his existence.

The word bully was even used to describe the Sherman kid, and the show just allowed him to continue his bullying/taunting (you can’t go to the family dance because you don’t have a family!) ways…because he’s a kid…? Nice message Hallmark.

[chitowngirl]

Hey-Margaret Colin was in Three Men and a Baby! 😆
I am LOVING this movie!

Edited November 20, 2022 by chitowngirl

[absnow54]

That preview for next week’s movie. Shanae Grimes bangs are… something. 

[Mittengirl]

Is Tyler Hynes molting or does he have the mange?

[voiceover]

Three Wise Men: charming and goofy and *funny AF.  Those three just had a good time together.  And they let us watch!   

And shout-out to co-writer Kimberley,  who was the perfect cameo.  
 

[Shorty186]

That dance was SPECTACULAR. Once the movie was over, I had to rewind it to watch it one more time.

[Makai]

Three Wise Men and a Baby did not disappoint. The baby was so cute and all three actors worked so well with him and each other. I loved that it focused on the dynamic of the brothers rather than the romances. 

Hallmark needs to have Campbell and Sustand write more. I loved her cameo. 

36 minutes ago, Shorty186 said:

That dance was SPECTACULAR. Once the movie was over, I had to rewind it to watch it one more time.

It really was. 

[Irlandesa]

I really loved the dance too.  I felt it kind of petered out around the light display scenario but there were a lot of laughs for the first 3/4 of the movie. 

But the dance was definitely the highlight.

Edited November 20, 2022 by Irlandesa

[twoods]

I have never laughed so hard at a Hallmark movie- the three actors were comedy gold and were great together. It was nice to see the family dynamic take front and center instead of the romance. More of these movies please!

Edited November 20, 2022 by twoods

[Cetacean]

Three Wise Men and a Baby was the best of an overall dismal group so far this year.  Sustad and Campbell do write some snappy dialog and the three guys played well off of each other. 

Interesting to note that Margaret Colin was the love interest in Three Men and a Baby, the original recipe for the film.  She sure was a tolerant mom with three grown sons still living with her.

The dance was just hilarious although with the rather dysfunctional brotherhood I have trouble figuring out how it originally came about.  Maybe they made it up before dad hit the road?  Could be that I missed that part.

I will have to rewatch because I know I missed some of the verbal interactions, there was a lot of rapid give and take.  Thank heavens for closed captioning! 

The whole light display thing didn't seem to fit in all that well although the costumes were a hoot, especially Tyler's.  And, of course, the mother just magically shows up at that moment.  And nobody batted an eye that she dumped the kid on strangers, no consequences at all.  Had to side eye that little bit.

Not all that thrilled that they had to go the Hallmark route and finish up with love matches all around. Just leave it to our imagination, please.

With all of that said I will be rewatching because overall it was good for some laughs.

[Trini]

Quote

Three Wise Men and a Baby

Saw this in the program guide and thought 'that's different from the typical x-mas rom-com'. Glad to hear it was good! I will try to catch this if they re-run it. Thanks everyone!

[Cetacean]

28 minutes ago, Trini said:

Glad to hear it was good! I will try to catch this if they re-run it.

With all of the hype surrounding this one, I would wager it will be rerun many, many times throughout the season.

[anniebird]

1 hour ago, Cetacean said:

Three Wise Men and a Baby was the best of an overall dismal group so far this year.  Sustad and Campbell do write some snappy dialog and the three guys played well off of each other. 

I think there have been 2 good ones so far - this one and  Ghosts of Christmas Always - which is 2 more than we usually get. 

[norcalgal]

15 hours ago, Shorty186 said:

That dance was SPECTACULAR. Once the movie was over, I had to rewind it to watch it one more time.

Yep, my favorite part of the movie for sure!

15 hours ago, Makai said:

Three Wise Men and a Baby did not disappoint. The baby was so cute and all three actors worked so well with him and each other. I loved that it focused on the dynamic of the brothers rather than the romances. 

Hallmark needs to have Campbell and Sustand write more. I loved her cameo. 

ITA to all this.

3 hours ago, Cetacean said:

Interesting to note that Margaret Colin was the love interest in Three Men and a Baby, the original recipe for the film.  

The dance was just hilarious although with the rather dysfunctional brotherhood I have trouble figuring out how it originally came about.  Maybe they made it up before dad hit the road?  Could be that I missed that part.

The whole light display thing didn't seem to fit in all that well although the costumes were a hoot, especially Tyler's.  And, of course, the mother just magically shows up at that moment.  And nobody batted an eye that she dumped the kid on strangers, no consequences at all.  Had to side eye that little bit.

Not all that thrilled that they had to go the Hallmark route and finish up with love matches all around. Just leave it to our imagination, please.

So much agreement with the above, and thanks for pointing out that Margaret Colin was in the Three Men and a Baby movie.  I forgot about that!

 I too thought it required us to suspend disbelief that the baby’s mom left the baby with Luke just because he helped in the delivery. Although I thought it hilarious when Luke told her “I guess we both looked different at that time” (when she was in labor!).  I just wished he hadn’t continued by saying he thought about that a thousand times since that line came across as insincere to me.

Finally, I’m sooooo glad they didn’t go with the trope of the main characters winning the Christmas decorating contest because they really didn’t deserve to win.  Not sure jerk Mark deserved to win either, but show never bothered to let us see the other contestants. 

[Makai]

4 hours ago, Cetacean said:

And nobody batted an eye that she dumped the kid on strangers, no consequences at all.  Had to side eye that little bit.

I agree but thought they mitigated the awfulness of it ever so slightly by having it be a fire station, which are safe haven drop off sites, and having a few discussions about how to handle it.