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

[Kohola3]

Christmas Camp, ten minutes in. High powered exec woman, has never done Christmas.  Quaint inn.  Widowed owners son comes on scene.  Predicted ending:  exec woman sees the error of her ways, falls for son.  The word "amazing" is repeated 150 times minimum.  Zzzzzzz.

Edited July 12, 2019 by Kohola3
spelling

[kirinan]

8 hours ago, Jenniferbug said:

So to piggy back off the question about what we do like, I'm wondering: what are some of your recent non-Christmas favorites from Hallmark? Let's say within the last 3 years or so. We talk a lot about the old ones we like (Magic of Ordinary Days- yes!!), but less about the new ones. So if you had to pick 3-5 recent favorites that aren't Christmas themed, what would they be? 

There are several that I would call favorites and watch every time they're on--and would even consider shelling out money for the DVDs. Flip That Romance, Falling for You, Royal Matchmaker, Love, Romance and Chocolate, Love to the Rescue, Cooking With Love, Pearl in Paradise, Paris, Wine and Romance, Winter Love Story (okay, sorry, that's way more than five). As @TVFan17 says, I'm not even going to get into the older ones, because if I did it would be the world's longest post.

Except to say that speaking of Hallmark Hall of Fame, my all-time favorite HHoF movie was The Love Letter, with Campbell Scott and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Oh, how I love that movie. 

ETA: I only lasted half an hour with Christmas Camp. The lead actress grates on my nerves, and it just seems so...cheesy. Not sure if I'll try it again at Christmas time. 

Edited July 12, 2019 by kirinan

[In2You]

On 7/10/2019 at 6:48 PM, Crs97 said:

I am with you, TVFan.  We just moved a television into our living room so our boys now see and hear whatever we are watching.   I like knowing there is one channel that I don’t have to worry about.  

I hear more "scandalous" things on the channels aimed at children. That's how watered down Hallmark has become.

 

23 hours ago, Dani said:

They have a very long way to go but your first sentence just isn't true. (It may be true for Native Americans)

 I am disappointed that minorities are still very poorly represented but they are (very slowly) improving. 

They pretty much air a new movie almost every weekend of the year and we can count on one hand the movies that feature minority characters as leads. I'm not giving Hallmark any kudos for improvement until they show some genuine effort.

[Guest]

12 minutes ago, In2You said:

They pretty much air a new movie almost every weekend of the year and we can count on one hand the movies that feature minority characters as leads. I'm not giving Hallmark any kudos for improvement until they show some genuine effort.

I agree with you. I really didn’t intend for that to be praise. If anything I’m feeling more critical of them because it seems like the very slight improvement at Christmas was just to try and shut up critics during their high profile time. 

[Irlandesa]

3 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

That's because the current crop of Hall of Fame movies follow the same unimaginative boring tripe.  The old Hall of Fame were truly quality drama genre

Yep. And I am sad that it seems like they don't even reair the ones they used to reair. Because Loving Leah and Follow The Stars Home are two other loves stories that are so good.

2 hours ago, Dani said:

The two that immediately come to mind are Love to the Rescue and Pearl in Paradise.

Ditto.  Those are the two that I feel compelled to rewatch when they're on.  In fact, I still have Love To the Rescue on my DVR for when I'm in the mood for a good romcom rewatch. And it's no surprise the Pearl In Paradise duo star in my favorite new mystery series--Murder 101.

2 hours ago, Dani said:

I have a real love-hate relationship with I Do, I Do, I Do. The beginning makes me want to throw things at the screen but then it has humor and one of the best developed relationships I’ve seen in a Hallmark movie.

My issue with I Do, I Do, I Do is that they had Autumn Reeser and Antonio Cupo star in another Hallmark movie together after Love At The Thanksgiving Day Parade* and not be the primary love interests.  Both were good in the roles they played but I think I would've loved the love story more with him as the lead.

And guys, I'm legit bitter about that.  It might be stupid and irrational but seriously, four years later and I am legit still bitter.

*I might've mentioned how much I love that movie a few billion times.

Edited July 12, 2019 by Irlandesa

[Guest]

8 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

My issue with I Do, I Do, I Do is that they had Autumn Reeser and Antonio Cupo star in another Hallmark movie together after Love At The Thanksgiving Day Parade* and not be the primary love interests.  Both were good in the roles they played but I think I would've loved the love story more with him as the lead.

And guys, I'm legit bitter about that.  It might be stupid and irrational but seriously, four years later and I am legit still bitter.

*I might've mentioned how much I love that movie a few billion times.

I agree. I liked the actor that was her love interest by the end but he is a big part of the reason I hate the beginning. Autumn completely carries the movie and it would have been much better if they swapped the guys. 

Which makes me realize that I really want from Hallmark movies to see the characters be more fleshed out and for there to more scenes were the leads actually get to know one another. 

[Jenniferbug]

I don't think I've seen Pearl in Paradise or I do, I do, I do. I'll have to watch for them to air again. 

The ones that come to mind for me are One Winter Weekend/Proposal (I love them both), Falling For You, Flip That Romance, Love to the Rescue, Taste of Romance*, and Paris, Wine, and Romance.

*Was just looking through my DVR and realized that I meant Just Add Romance, not Taste of Romance. I do wish Hallmark would put more effort into distinct titles. 

Edited July 12, 2019 by Jenniferbug
Similarly named movies

[Kohola3]

9 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

And I am sad that it seems like they don't even reair the ones they used to reair. Because Loving Leah and Follow The Stars Home are two other loves stories that are so good.

Forgot those were Hallmark, both wonderful.  Fully developed characters, great stories, realistic situations. 

Life is not a jug of maple syrup.  There doesn't need to be mayhem to make a good movie but lighten up on the rainbows and sunshine.  Even when the character is a widow/widower nobody seems to be all that unhappy about it.

[ShelleySue]

20 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Speaking of daring movies....Magic of Ordinary Days had an unmarried pregnant woman (gasp) as the heroine in the love story.

That is one of my favorite movies.  It is sweet and sad and beautiful.  The characters are all well developed and not stereotypes.  I could do without all of the internment camp drama, but nothing is perfect.

[Irlandesa]

It looks like Follow The Stars Home is going to air on Hallmark Drama on July 20th.  I don't get that, unfortunately.   It's the one of the three I don't have in my DVR.

But if you have it and haven't seen it, it's recommended. 

[kirinan]

19 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

My issue with I Do, I Do, I Do is that they had Autumn Reeser and Antonio Cupo star in another Hallmark movie together after Love At The Thanksgiving Day Parade* and not be the primary love interests.  Both were good in the roles they played but I think I would've loved the love story more with him as the lead.

And guys, I'm legit bitter about that.  It might be stupid and irrational but seriously, four years later and I am legit still bitter.

*I might've mentioned how much I love that movie a few billion times.

I fervently co-sign every single word you said, @Irlandesa. ❤️ 

[voiceover]

Eeep!

I was watching the trailer for Crawl (alligators, spiders, hurricane, horror), and there was a few seconds where the town mayor was addressing the press. Ping.  "How do I know that guy?"

Tonight I settled in to view my holiday fave, Crown for Christmas.

Eeep!

Chancellor Riggs is the Mayor!!

[Happywatcher]

On 7/11/2019 at 9:01 AM, Kemper said:

I enjoy some of the Hallmark Mystery Movies; but ... as stated above ... most times the hair/wigs are terrible.  I think some of the trouble started when the network decided to have 24/7 Christmas movies on for what seems like 3 or 4 months a year.  This sometimes results in stale, poorly written and sometimes poorly acted movies.  And viewer fatigue.  This channel can be a wonderful escape from the day-to-day stress we all experience...maybe we expect too much from it?

Candace Cameron said she had to start wearing the red headed wig for her Hallmark mystery movies because back and forth between blond and red dye was harming her hair.

I have read the Hallmarks are filmed in 10 days to two weeks. That is a lot of hair changes for the core actresses.

[LuvMyShows]

22 hours ago, Happywatcher said:

Candace Cameron said she had to start wearing the red headed wig for her Hallmark mystery movies because back and forth between blond and red dye was harming her hair.

I have read the Hallmarks are filmed in 10 days to two weeks. That is a lot of hair changes for the core actresses.

But this begs the question. why on earth was her hair being changed at all?  I don't know the history of which show/movie had her hair which color first, but women change their hair color all the time, so why couldn't the character have changed her hair, so that way CCB can leave her hair as whatever she wants it to be?  No hair color to me is strongly identified with her character in the mystery movies (or would be jarring if it was changed to it), so I don't know why Hallmark should care.

[Happywatcher]

7 hours ago, LuvMyShows said:

But this begs the question. why on earth was her hair being changed at all?  I don't know the history of which show/movie had her hair which color first, but women change their hair color all the time, so why couldn't the character have changed her hair, so that way CCB can leave her hair as whatever she wants it to be?  No hair color to me is strongly identified with her character in the mystery movies (or would be jarring if it was changed to it), so I don't know why Hallmark should care.

It has been over a year since I read the books, but I am pretty sure Aurora Teagarden had red hair. And the default hair for the Christmas/Romance movies is blond (they even made Taylor Cole go blond for her first one)

[ehall1052]

I’ve suddenly realized that I haven’t seen a movie with Allison Sweeney in a long time. She used to be a Hallmark regular and even starred in the Murder She Baked series.  Has she and Hallmark parted ways?

[Jaded]

3 minutes ago, ehall1052 said:

I’ve suddenly realized that I haven’t seen a movie with Allison Sweeney in a long time. She used to be a Hallmark regular and even starred in the Murder She Baked series.  Has she and Hallmark parted ways?

She was in the three Chronicle Mysteries movies a couple months ago with another one that's premiering on Aug. 25th apparently.

[ehall1052]

Just now, Jaded said:

She was in the three Chronicle Mysteries movies a couple months ago with another one that's premiering on Aug. 25th apparently.

Oh, okay, thanks. I did not see that particular series.

[kirinan]

21 hours ago, Jaded said:

She was in the three Chronicle Mysteries movies a couple months ago with another one that's premiering on Aug. 25th apparently.

Yay! I never got into the Murder, She Baked mysteries, but I love the Chronicle Mysteries. I'm so happy a new one is coming out.

[ShelleySue]

On July 15, 2019 at 6:30 PM, Happywatcher said:

It has been over a year since I read the books, but I am pretty sure Aurora Teagarden had red hair. And the default hair for the Christmas/Romance movies is blond (they even made Taylor Cole go blond for her first one)

I turned on Christmas Bells are Ringing.  At first I thought that the lead was Taylor Cole with blond hair.  But it was Emilie Ullerup.  They really do have similar facial features.

[Happywatcher]

We went down to the club pool and had a few glasses and a long cool soak. Got back and Christmas Getaway is on. Bridget Regan is the protagonist and Sarah Smyth is the old high school friend of the male love interest who now that his wife died wants to be the other woman.

It is a fairly funny movie because Bridget Regan, and the script writers and the director, had her play as interested, but not possessive.

I like it.

A great part is her showing with a sense of humor that the boy committed to an outing with the other woman. 

Best quote from a bunch of funny between Bridget, the love interest, and Teryl Rothery as the caring but not possessive grandmother: "Pro tip, as a woman, she thinks it is a date".

(The love interest, Travis Van Winkle, plays a corporate attorney who is also an auto mechanic)

[mikeb]

Even Dolly Parton is joining the club.  She is going to be starring with Danica McKellar in Christmas at Dollywood.

https://www.etonline.com/dolly-parton-and-danica-mckellar-to-star-in-christmas-at-dollywood-movie-for-hallmark-exclusive

[Happywatcher]

On 7/19/2019 at 7:26 AM, mikeb said:

Even Dolly Parton is joining the club.  She is going to be starring with Danica McKellar in Christmas at Dollywood.

https://www.etonline.com/dolly-parton-and-danica-mckellar-to-star-in-christmas-at-dollywood-movie-for-hallmark-exclusive

Good for her. I always liked Goldrush/Silver Dollar City, and Dolly took it to the next level when she got involved. Plus they got rid of the Confederacy are the heroes bit just in time

Edited July 20, 2019 by Happywatcher

[Kohola3]

On 7/19/2019 at 7:26 AM, mikeb said:

She is going to be starring with Danica McKellar in Christmas at Dollywood.

I certainly hope they update Danica's hairstyle - the ratted hair with comb over look.

[Was-MArsenault]

Surprise! Look what’s back on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries.

And another surprise as well.

All of the McBride movies will be on each day next week.

Edited July 21, 2019 by MikaelaArsenault

[LexieLily]

McBride! Yay!

[Was-MArsenault]

7 hours ago, LexieLily said:

McBride! Yay!

I knew that you would be excited!

[LexieLily]

4 hours ago, MikaelaArsenault said:

I knew that you would be excited!

I vaguely remember them from years ago and they are still in the DVR queue from when I recorded some in March. Lol

[Was-MArsenault]

1 hour ago, LexieLily said:

I vaguely remember them from years ago and they are still in the DVR queue from when I recorded some in March. Lol

Are you going to keep them, or delete them?

[LexieLily]

37 minutes ago, MikaelaArsenault said:

Are you going to keep them, or delete them?

I'm going to watch them when I get the chance. 🙂

[Was-MArsenault]

19 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

I'm going to watch them when I get the chance. 🙂

I thought that you would delete them once you were done watching.

[LexieLily]

16 minutes ago, MikaelaArsenault said:

I thought that you would delete them once you were done watching.

I will. I just haven't watched yet because I've been too busy watching other things. 

[Was-MArsenault]

14 hours ago, LexieLily said:

I will. I just haven't watched yet because I've been too busy watching other things. 

That makes sense.

[Kohola3]

Hallmark Movie Checklist

Corporation/big business – bad
Family run business – good

Current boyfriend/girlfriend – evil, self-centered, work-obsessed – bad, write plot to dump them
New man/girl perfect in all ways or has seen the light - good

Commoner – bad
Prince/Princess – good even with evil royal parents because in Halmarklandia everyone wants to be a Prince/Princess

Any non-Christian holiday – non-existent
Christmas - good

Big city – no redeeming features
Small town – perfect in all ways

Dead – bad
Person in a coma wandering around as an angel/helper/in an alternate universe – good

Person of color, Asian, First Nations – ignored
Caucasian – apparently the only actors on contract with Hallmark

Divorced – bad (unless the divorced person is pure evil and can be used in the plot) - bad
Widow/widower – good

Minimalist Christmas decorations – bad, person hates Christmas
Covering every surface with Balsam Hill crap – good plus free product placement in addition to commercials

Short hair – bad
Long hair twisted around an industrial strength curling iron – easy to do but bores the heck out of the audience

OR

Natural hair – bad
Wigs – also bad because the wigs are awful

Using a thesaurus to substitute words for “amazing” – bad
Using the word “amazing” 100 times per story – good

Using a costumer to select appropriate clothing for the weather in the scenes – bad
Allowing people to wear whatever they have handy even if it means wearing a dress and no outwear in the snow – yeah, sure, saves money and nobody will notice

Taking a direct route to the destination – bad
Getting lost/stuck/in an accident/flight cancelled/sharing a car with strangers – good and will ultimately result in love with fellow traveler

Skiing, snowboarding, tennis, football, sports of any kind – bad
Skating in Christmas movies – mandatory along with snowball fight

Buying baked goods at a grocery store – bad
Smiling family baking together or small town bakery – good especially with lots of decorations

Having all of your faculties – bad
Amnesia – good

Appropriate weather for the location – bad
Fake snow in cities that never, ever have it – good because the audience is too stupid to notice unless they live there

Child/children of widow/widower hate the new love interest – bad
Child/children of widow/widower initially hate the new love interest but come to adore him/her – good

Small, middle or lower class bungalow – bad if less than 3000 square feet
McMansion no matter what job the owner has (unless it’s a homey farmhouse but still huge) – mandatory

Princess/Prince speaks with the accent of the country in which their fictitious kingdom is located – nope
Princess/Prince speaks with a British accent because that’s apparently what all royalty does or the Hallmark actors are capable of – yep

Coffee, tea, milk, pop, water – bad
Cocoa – the only drink offered unless it’s one of the myriad wine movies

[Callietwo]

On 7/25/2019 at 5:02 PM, Kohola3 said:

Skating in Christmas movies – mandatory along with snowball fight

You forgot to mention said obligatory snowball fight is always with bare hands.  

Mittens, schmittens.  

[Happywatcher]

On 7/25/2019 at 5:02 PM, Kohola3 said:

Hallmark Movie Checklist

Corporation/big business – bad
Family run business – good agree

Current boyfriend/girlfriend – evil, self-centered, work-obsessed – bad, write plot to dump them
New man/girl perfect in all ways or has seen the light - good or the protagonist converts from career driver or converts the new man

Commoner – bad
Prince/Princess – good even with evil royal parents because in Halmarklandia everyone wants to be a Prince/Princess  I have only seen one exception, where a princess bails from royal life to be a hotel planner with hotel exec man

Any non-Christian holiday – non-existent
Christmas - good  agree mostly, they did a Halloween and a new years

Big city – no redeeming features
Small town – perfect in all ways agree

Dead – bad
Person in a coma wandering around as an angel/helper/in an alternate universe – good agree

Person of color, Asian, First Nations – ignored
Caucasian – apparently the only actors on contract with Hallmark  partial agreement, recently there have been two black couples, and the BF couples have been minority or mixed a lot lately

Divorced – bad (unless the divorced person is pure evil and can be used in the plot) - bad
Widow/widower – good   some of the older one had a divorced spouse where s/he was a plot device of moving away with the child, but was otherwise and okay person

Minimalist Christmas decorations – bad, person hates Christmas
Covering every surface with Balsam Hill crap – good plus free product placement in addition to commercials  plus comically fake snow dumped around

Short hair – bad
Long hair twisted around an industrial strength curling iron – easy to do but bores the heck out of the audience  short hair can also mean manic pixie 

OR

Natural hair – bad
Wigs – also bad because the wigs are awful  lol

Using a thesaurus to substitute words for “amazing” – bad
Using the word “amazing” 100 times per story – good

Using a costumer to select appropriate clothing for the weather in the scenes – bad
Allowing people to wear whatever they have handy even if it means wearing a dress and no outwear in the snow – yeah, sure, saves money and nobody will notice  lol

Taking a direct route to the destination – bad
Getting lost/stuck/in an accident/flight cancelled/sharing a car with strangers – good and will ultimately result in love with fellow traveler  'road to' movies need a wandering journey with obstacles

Skiing, snowboarding, tennis, football, sports of any kind – bad
Skating in Christmas movies – mandatory along with snowball fight  sport are okay if manly and off stage

Buying baked goods at a grocery store – bad
Smiling family baking together or small town bakery – good especially with lots of decorations  lol

Having all of your faculties – bad
Amnesia – good  chuckle

Appropriate weather for the location – bad
Fake snow in cities that never, ever have it – good because the audience is too stupid to notice unless they live there  lol

Child/children of widow/widower hate the new love interest – bad
Child/children of widow/widower initially hate the new love interest but come to adore him/her – good  or the surviving parent chooses a new life parent based solely on the reaction of a 5 year old

Small, middle or lower class bungalow – bad if less than 3000 square feet
McMansion no matter what job the owner has (unless it’s a homey farmhouse but still huge) – mandatory  yep

Princess/Prince speaks with the accent of the country in which their fictitious kingdom is located – nope
Princess/Prince speaks with a British accent because that’s apparently what all royalty does or the Hallmark actors are capable of – yep  yep

Coffee, tea, milk, pop, water – bad
Cocoa – the only drink offered unless it’s one of the myriad wine movies  unless the protagonist owns a coffee shop or bookstore

[MerBearHou]

I just watched the “Picture Perfect” movie tonight.  I was in a good mood so I wasn’t overly critical of it.  But OMG, the killer was so obvious!  Kudos to seeing a pretty diverse cast — good step in the right direction.  

[Happywatcher]

Waiting for the new movie, and watching A Christmas Detour. CCB ends up leaving her fiance for reasons after a long movie. 

Sarah Strange is the second level couple. Her character just abuses the hell out of her husband. He needs to dip out and give her the bird the whole time.

Plus the fake snow won't melt indoors

[Kohola3]

5 minutes ago, Happywatcher said:

A Christmas Detour

Dreadful movie from start to finish.  

[Irlandesa]

Rome In Love wasn't bad.  I liked both Italia Ricci and Peter Porte.  I always like Peter and wouldn't mind seeing more of Italia.  But again, she was distractingly pregnant and that manifested itself in horrible clothes.  I want to see cute clothes and you can get cute clothes on people with their regular bodies (whether they're pregnant or not pregnant) but when you try to hide a pregnancy?  The clothes are too big and what you're trying to hide is still obvious.

I was hoping they'd avoid the stupid misunderstanding but they just can't help themselves.

But overall, the story felt different.  The scenery was good.  And Bella Ciao was playing during the dinner scene which I'm so happy I recognized.  It would have driven me crazy otherwise.

Edited July 28, 2019 by Irlandesa

[Suzysite]

On 7/25/2019 at 5:02 PM, Kohola3 said:

Any non-Christian holiday – non-existent
Christmas - good

But Christmas must never actually be about the birth of Christ.  It's about "family".  And "togetherness".

[Kohola3]

53 minutes ago, Suzysite said:

But Christmas must never actually be about the birth of Christ.  It's about "family".  And "togetherness".

And magic.  Don't forget the magic.

[Chippings]

4 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

And magic.  Don't forget the magic.

And a whopping lot of decorations.  

[kirinan]

I didn't make it through the last couple of premiere movies, but really enjoyed Rome in Love. It wasn't perfect, but it was perfectly charming.

I've never seen Italia Ricci in anything before (that I know of, anyway), but I really like her. She and the actress who played her sister were good together, and believable as sisters. I liked Peter Porte, too, who I have seen before--and just as I thought the first time I saw him, it always strikes me that he looks uncannily like an overgrown 12-year-old boy (but in an appealing way). I also liked Sophia, the director's assistant, and her kindness to Amelia, and the charming leading man in Roman Holiday, whose character name my brain won't come up with. I thought they were quite pleasantly non-movie-business-stereotypical.

And, of course, the scenery was gorgeous. Sigh, one day...

[Happywatcher]

It seems 2019 is the year Hallmark leading actresses get the movie and then get pregnant.

[Bronx Babe]

Why do so many of those male romantic leads (except for the princes in those ridiculous "foreign" countries) look like they suffer from acromegaly?  Thick, jutting jaws, weird facial angles.....very creepy, lol.

Did a drive-by of Hallmark today and their Invasion of the Body Snachers Christmas movies.

All the usual suspects:  hot chocolate, gingerbread competitions, gazebos, dead relatives, halting prissy speech patterns ("How.....are.....you.....doing?") Eyes Wide Shut holiday decorations (but w/o the Kubrick irony), sophomoric Pride & Prejudice references, bizarre, out-of-the-blue (literally?) allusions to aliens and robots, endless babbling about advertising pitches, cheesy production values, amateurish and just plain bad acting, zero emotional content.

[doodlebug]

58 minutes ago, Chippings said:

And a whopping lot of decorations.  

None of which involve a nativity set or other religious symbol other than the angel or star on top of the tree.  And, even characters who are in the midst of moving manage to overdecorate every room in their house while packing or unpacking as the case may be.  Even characters who are struggling financially, looking for work, or otherwise broke have thousands of dollars of cheap looking (but not cheap costing) Hallmark garlands/lights and assorted foofaraw covering every surface.  And they also gift one another with the biggest, gaudiest, most over the top ugly ornaments from the Hallmark collection.

[Happywatcher]

Was on a gossip site. Jen Lilley went into labor while on the red carpet at the Hallmark new shows reveal event for the Television Critics Association this week.

It sounds like a movie script

[Bronx Babe]

Was fascinated by Reunited at Christmas.

I am not exaggerating when I tell you that IN EVERY SENTENCE out of each character's mouth, Christmas was mentioned.  And mentioned.  And mentioned.   

I realize that the, uh, hallmark of Hallmark is pounding home their holiday themes, but this was taking it to surreal heights.

"Hey, they're lighting the Christmas tree in town.  Remember when we celebrated Christmas as a family?  Christmas wasn't Christmas until everyone opened their presents.  I want Christmas to be like that again.  Christmas is the most wonderful time of year....."

(cue Twilight Zone theme)

[Kemper]

14 hours ago, Bronx Babe said:

Was fascinated by Reunited at Christmas.

I am not exaggerating when I tell you that IN EVERY SENTENCE out of each character's mouth, Christmas was mentioned.  And mentioned.  And mentioned.   

I realize that the, uh, hallmark of Hallmark is pounding home their holiday themes, but this was taking it to surreal heights.

"Hey, they're lighting the Christmas tree in town.  Remember when we celebrated Christmas as a family?  Christmas wasn't Christmas until everyone opened their presents.  I want Christmas to be like that again.  Christmas is the most wonderful time of year....."

(cue Twilight Zone theme)

And.  All of this is why so many people get depressed during the holidays.  I am not blaming Hallmark (but yes, the 24/7 Christmas movies for months drive me crazy) - they are a business and the over-the-top holiday/romance themes are their bread and butter.  

But it seems as though they may have reached a wee bit of a saturation point.  The fact that they are a bit one-sided in their choice of holidays doesn't seem to impact their bottom line. And who could blame them; I guess.