It's the MOST wonderful time of the year! Hallmark Christmas Movies are running full-time, filling my tv, my home…my heart with g-rated, pure-as-snow Christmas cheer. I think I've mentioned before how addicting these movies are for me during the holiday months. I can't stop watching, even though they're all pretty formulaic and predictable and they are pretty…traditional. No one is getting tipsy at the holiday parties. (Honestly, I'm not even sure if the eggnog is spiked.) And no one is having any premarital shenanigans, no-siree. These movies are so innocent, there's rarely a kiss before the couples are committed. All that said, I'm pretty cynical and even so, I find these movies so comforting and they're a cozy background show to have on during decorating and holiday card writing.
This holiday season, enjoy Hallmark Channel's 2019 Countdown to Christmas, with festive movies all day and all night! Enter sweepstakes, get the schedule, explore recipes, and more. Hallmark Christmas Bingo 2 bingo card with Dancing, Deceased Spouse, Horse Drawn Carriage, Old Romance Reconciliation, Castle or Mansion, Pre-Wrapped Gifts, Single Parent, Hot Chocolate, Christmas. Hallmark Christmas Movie Bingo 2019 bingo card with deceased parents, carolers, snowman building, snowball fight, baking cookies, business / lawyer boyfriend, snow storm, community tree lighting, ice skating.
It's the tenth anniversary of Countdown to Christmas this year, so I thought I'd share some of my favorites in case anyone out there is watching or is tempted to watch. It was very hard to narrow it down, and I'm already feeling guilty for leaving Mariah Carey's movie off the list, so maybe there will be a follow-up to this post during the season… My all-time favorite Hallmark Movie is A Very Merry Mix-Up with Alicia Witt. I think this was her first Hallmark Christmas Movie (in 2013) and she's gone on to make one every year since. I like the story on this one: a woman goes to meet her fiancé's family and accidentally ends up at the wrong house, but soon discovers how right the house really is. It's basically one giant misunderstanding that leads to a cute, but predictable outcome. I like the chemistry between the leads and the chemistry with his family. This movie also has the ultimate evil boyfriend. (In case you don't know, a typical Hallmark trope is to have a woman in a relationship with a man who clearly doesn't value her or care about Christmas…usually he's a businessman who only cares about money. Sometimes the roles are reversed and the woman is the cold-hearted Christmas hater…you know, for variety.) Christmas with Holly is on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel where the movies are a little more family oriented, but almost always have a love story too. Holly's mom passed away and she has stopped talking and is being raised by her three (unprepared) uncles. One owns a coffee shop and he meets a toy shop owner and magic happens. (Not real magic…Christmas magic.) It's sort of a modernized Three Men and a Baby, but with younger guys and a little girl. It's a really sweet movie. The Christmas Card was kind of my first Hallmark Christmas movie. (It was made in 2006.) Faith, a woman from a small town, writes to a random solider, Cody, in Afghanistan. He is so moved by her letter and charmed by her stories of the town that he finds the town and stops to visit when he's on leave after a tragedy in Afghanistan. They meet (randomly at a diner where they order the exact same meal involving extra crispy curly fries.) Cody ends up staying with Faith and her family–there's an Army connection with Faith's dad who is played by the loveable Ed Asner–and of course, they all fall in love. But the road to happiness is blocked by Faith's boyfriend/fiancé (Skipper from Sex and the City!) who seriously couldn't be more wrong for her. Ed Asner does his share of meddling to help Faith realize who she really should be marrying. I watch it every year. I haven't been crazy about many of the newer Hallmark movies, but this one from 2017 was a winner for me. Holly is 'Miss Christmas,' the person who chooses the Christmas tree for the 'Radcliffe Center' in Chicago. Her search takes her to Claus, Wisconsin to answer a letter from a boy offering up his family's tree. The boy happens to have a handsome single father and the family is recovering from the death of a close loved one. Who better to turn those sad hearts around than Miss Christmas? There are baking montages, ugly Christmas sweaters, a couple of misunderstandings, and lots of Christmas cheer in this one. Oh, and I really like the little boy–child actors in these movies can be…precocious–Joey is just precocious enough. And the grandpa…he's punny. And finally, The Nine Lives of Christmas. Presley and I look forward to this one every year. What do you get when you mix a busy veterinarian student with a scarred, I'll-always-be-a-bachelor firefighter, two cats, and an old house? A purr-fect Hallmark Christmas movie. This one has a shallow, evil girlfriend, a meddling sister, and a wise fire chief.
I am working my way through this season's new movies. I'll report back if there are any stand-outs in the new season.
I made a simple Hallmark Christmas Movie BINGO based on my years of watching these movies. click here if you want to play! You can print the cards or play online. (New cards can be refreshed by clicking at the top.) Let me know if I should add some more tropes…I know there are plenty I missed!
I'd love to know if you watch the Hallmark movies during the holidays. Which one is your favorite?
I'm off to decorate the tree! Everything feels so rushed this season with Thanksgiving being so late but I'm determined to be done tomorrow so we can enjoy as much of the lights and decorations as possible. Three cheers for Christmas lights (and silly movies) to get us through the darkest days of winter!
Are you a holiday Meet Cute movie trope-watcher? Do you have a personal mental checklist that you mark off every time a seemingly innocuous special Christmas gift (a snow globe, advent calendar, or stocking) starts messing with the lead character's life? Do you lean forward on your sofa when a seemingly innocuous older person (especially when played by an actual star, past or present) seems to know too much about the workaholic protagonist's life? Or do you just groan and go get another drink when the ex who dumped the lead character in the first 15 minutes suddenly shows up to propose — and the new love interest overhears just enough to cause a Big Misunderstanding?
If so, make it official with these bingo games. (Which also provide cover if you're a closeted binge-watcher.) Just remember the 'Candace Cameron Bure BINGO' is not that lovely actress's real name.
Deck the Hallmark podcast bingo cards – These cards are unusual in two ways. You'll need to provide your email address to receive the cards. And these bingo cards are best suited for listening to the podcast, rather than watching the movies, as some cells celebrate the quirks of the three podcasters. Best cell: 'Ice Sculpture Contest Fiasco.' Candace Cameron Bure mentioned? Yep.
Addie Ziernan's blog – 10 bingo cards. Best entry: 'weather-inappropriate winter clothing' since these movies are filmed all year ‘round, and it shows in how the characters rock their outerwear. Candace Cameron Bure mentioned? You bet.
The Federalist Hallmark bingo game – required reading for trope-watchers, as they go into some detail about facets of the genre like product placement and overzealous house decorating. (Many of these movies feature middle class working parents living in homes and neighborhoods that look like… the work of a professional set decorator.) Candace Cameron Bure mentioned? Not by name, but there's a cell for 'TV star of bygone era.'
Milwaukee Journal Sentinal Hallmark bingo cards – Generate and download up to five cards. Best cell: 'City slicker endures small town.' Good coverage of jerk boyfriends and Big Misunderstandings. Candace Cameron Bure mentioned? Covered under 'Recognize actor from sitcom.'
If You're REALLY Going to Play Hallmark Christmas Movie Bingo
Having an actual viewing party?
Hallmark Christmas Movies 2017 List
Addie Ziernan's blog – 10 bingo cards. Best entry: 'weather-inappropriate winter clothing' since these movies are filmed all year ‘round, and it shows in how the characters rock their outerwear. Candace Cameron Bure mentioned? You bet.
The Federalist Hallmark bingo game – required reading for trope-watchers, as they go into some detail about facets of the genre like product placement and overzealous house decorating. (Many of these movies feature middle class working parents living in homes and neighborhoods that look like… the work of a professional set decorator.) Candace Cameron Bure mentioned? Not by name, but there's a cell for 'TV star of bygone era.'
Milwaukee Journal Sentinal Hallmark bingo cards – Generate and download up to five cards. Best cell: 'City slicker endures small town.' Good coverage of jerk boyfriends and Big Misunderstandings. Candace Cameron Bure mentioned? Covered under 'Recognize actor from sitcom.'
If You're REALLY Going to Play Hallmark Christmas Movie Bingo
Having an actual viewing party?
Hallmark Christmas Movies 2017 List
My Free Bingo Cards – print up to 100 Hallmark movie bingo cards or generic Christmas movie bingo cards. Candace Cameron Bure mentioned? Not in the card preview.
Hallmark Christmas Movie Towns
Tater Tots and Jello – Holiday movie cards perfect for children, since the cards feature pictures instead of words. So, Candace Cameron Bure isn't mentioned, nor is the 90s-teen-star-comeback trend. These adorable cards are free of such cultural commentary tropes.
