Hallmark For All Seasons

“Christmas in Evergreen: Bells Are Ringing” aired on December 5, 2020 on the Hallmark Channel. The screenplay was written by Zac Hug and Shari Sharpe.  Hug has written several Hallmark scripts since 2018, including the previous two Evergreen movies as well as Matching Hearts. Linda-Lisa Hayter, who previously directed Cranberry Christmas, also directed this one.  It was filmed in Burnaby, British Columbia.

In a nutshell

While this wasn’t my favorite of the Evergreen movies, and it had some major storyline issues, I still have a special affection for these movies, and enjoyed it.

Plot of “Christmas in Evergreen: Bells Are Ringing”

As Michelle’s wedding approaches, Hannah steps up to help finish the launch of the new Evergreen museum while questioning her relationship and future with Elliot.

Actors

What’s not to like about this cast?  They’ve been together for four movies now, and it shows.  Rukiya Bernard and Antonio Cayonne get the lead roles this time around, with Holly Robinson Peete’s character planning her wedding in the secondary story.  Add in Barbara Niven and a special appearance by Ashley Williams (I kept waiting for Jill Wagner or Paul Greene to pop in, to no avail) and it almost felt like the whole gang was there. Lastly, I much preferred Marci T. House in this movie than Cranberry Christmas, and consider her a welcome addition.

Six Degrees of Kristoffer Polaha: Marci T. House is only one step away!  She played Delilah in “Rocky Mountain Christmas” with Polaha in 2017.

Chemistry

The cast works so well together and, as I said, I loved the addition of Marci T. House as Michelle’s snarky sister, Sonya. I laughed out loud when Michelle stuck the peppermint stick into Sonya’s hot cocoa, much to Sonya’s dismay.  And also when she cried out, “Glitter never goes away!”  She is not wrong!

Tropes

The snow globe! They made hot cocoa in mason jars for movie night.  I think every house in Evergreen has a front porch. They established that the museum needed to open in 10 days – they never said it was a Christmas Eve deadline, but it was certainly implied. Hannah and Elliott decorated a Christmas tree together.  We saw some Christmas tree shopping (well, we saw the tree going into the back of the truck).

Hannah and Elliott made snow angels and we had not one, but two snowball fights, the first ending with a trip and fall.  We had a scene with cookie baking with some nice Nestle Chocolate Chip product placement. I realized I was halfway through the movie before I finally saw a big scarf.  We got some light crafting (wreath-making) as they got ready for the Christmas festival.

One of the Cooper sister wore a circle necklace at some point.  Then near the end we had CGI snow and a visit from a maybe real Santa to help restart the truck when it broke down as Hannah was taking Mr. Cooper to the airport.

Bingo Card Score for “Christmas in Evergreen: Bells Are Ringing”

I covered 10 spots but it wasn’t enough to land a bingo during the movie. Feel free to download my free bingo cards and play along!

Did I Hear/See That Right?

The first choir rehearsal was a hot mess.  Those people, whoever they were, were not in tune.  And they were singing “Jingle Bells.”  Who can’t sing JINGLE BELLS???

The museum was opening soon and yet when Hannah first walked in, no displays had been set up and everything was still in boxes.  In the real world no way was that thing going to be open on time. But yet the gift shop was mostly set up and decorated?

Additionally, I literally laughed out loud when Michelle pointed out that she bought screens to display old news stories of the town, and they were literal projector screens.  Why not just get big screen TVs?

The whole storyline with the Cooper brother opposing the museum because he was ashamed he had to close the hat company made no sense.  It also made no sense that Elliott wanted to have a second shop in Boston – a second shop that teaches art and does small repairs?  Is there a big market for that in Boston?

Feelgoods

I frickin’ love that 1953 F-100 Ford truck.

I loved the scene where Hannah’s nephew David comforts her after she and Elliott break up.  It was a short scene, but I loved that the teenager understood the gravity of the breakup and gave her some encouragement AND brought her breakfast after she fell asleep on the sofa.

I loved Elliott’s affinity for bow ties.  Cayonne looks GOOD in a bow tie. I also loved watching the townspeople record their Evergreen stories for the museum, during which they showed clips from the past movies.  Lastly, I’m excited that Ashley Williams’s character announced she was pregnant!  And it looks like we’ll get an Evergreen 5 movie, given the fact that Michelle’s wedding got postponed.

Re-watchability

I’d probably watch it again if there was a marathon of Evergreen movies.

The Ranking

“Christmas in Evergreen: Bells Are Ringing” managed to sneak its way into my Top 15 for the year. Not bad!

1. One Royal Holiday (air date: Oct 31) – 722 pts – weighted score: 121.8 (85.5%)
2. On the 12th Date of Christmas (air date: Nov 1) – 707 pts – weighted score: 119.2 (83.6%)
3. The Christmas House (air date: Nov 22) – 710 pts – weighted score: 118.6 (83.2%)
4. Sweet Autumn (air date: Oct 17) – 693 pts – weighted score: 118.5 (83.1%)
5. Good Morning, Christmas! (air date: Nov 25) – 698 pts – weighted score: 118.2 (82.9%)
6. A Timeless Christmas (air date: Nov 14) – 700 pts – weighted score: 117.7 (82.6%)
7. Deliver by Christmas (air date: Oct 25) – 697 pts – weighted score: 117.4 (82.4%)
8. Christmas With the Darlings (air date: Nov 8) – 691 pts – weighted score: 117.2 (82.2%)
9. Christmas Waltz (air date: Nov 29) – 694 pts – weighted score: 116.1 (81.5%)
10. Christmas by Starlight (air date: Nov 26) – 689 pts – weighted score: 115.9 (81.3%)
11. Five Star Christmas (air date: Nov 27) – 688 pts – weighted score: 115.8 (81.2%)
12. Never Kiss a Man in a Christmas Sweater (air date: Nov 7) – 681 pts – weighted score: 115.8 (81.2%)
13. Christmas in Evergreen: Bells Are Ringing (air date: Dec 5) – 672 pts – weighted score: 113.9 (79.9%)
14. The Christmas Bow (air date: Nov 8) – 676 pts – weighted score: 113.2 (79.4%)
15. Cranberry Christmas (air date: Oct 31) – 650 pts – weighted score: 112.1 (78.6%)
16. The Angel Tree (air date: Nov 21) – 670 pts – weighted score: 110.9 (77.8%)
17. Matching Hearts (air date: Feb 8) – 640 pts – weighted score: 109.0 (76.5%)
18. Winter in Vail (air date: Jan 4) – 623 pts – weighted score: 108.8 (76.4%)
19. Wedding Every Weekend (air date: Aug 15) – 639 pts – weighted score: 108.3 (76.0%)
20. Love in Store (air date: Feb 22) – 637 pts – weighted score: 108.2 (75.9%)
21. Christmas in Vienna (air date: Nov 14) – 636 pts – weighted score: 107.0 (75.1%)
22. A Nashville Christmas Carol (air date: Nov 21) – 634 pts – weighted score: 107.0 (75.1%)
23. Love on Harbor Island (air date: Aug 8) – 634 pts – weighted score: 106.9 (75.0%)
24. Holly & Ivy (air date: Oct 31) – 615 pts – weighted score: 106.8 (74.9%)
25. The Secret Ingredient (air date: Feb 15) – 617 pts – weighted score: 105.2 (73.8%)
26. The Christmas Doctor (air date: Nov 15) – 605 pts (weighted score: 104.8 (73.5%)
27. Country at Heart (air date: Oct 3) – 611 pts – weighted score: 104.1 (73.1%)
28. You’re Bacon Me Crazy (air date: Apr 4) – 591 pts – weighted score: 104.0 (72.9%)
29. My Best Friend’s Bouquet (air date: Oct 10) – 599 pts – weighted score: 103.4 (72.5%)
30. The Christmas Ring (air date: Nov 7) – 609 pts – weighted score: 103.3 (72.5%)
31. Fashionably Yours (air date: Apr 11) – 594 pts – weighted score: 102.6 (72.0%)
32. Follow Your Heart (air date: Oct 4) – 585 pts – weighted score: 101.6 (71.3%)
33. A Godwink Christmas: Second Chance, First Love (air date: Nov 22) – 587 pts – weighted score: 100.9 (70.8%)
34. Christmas Tree Lane (air date: Oct 24) – 574 pts – weighted score: 100.3 (70.4%)
35. A Valentine’s Match (air date: Feb 1) – 562 pts – weighted score: 99.8 (70.0%)
36. Love On Iceland (air date: Jan 18) – 563 pts – weighted score: 99.4 (69.7%)
37. Hearts of Winter (air date: Jan 25) – 561 pts – weighted score: 98.2 (68.9%)
38. Heart of the Holidays (air date: Nov 23) – 570 pts – weighted score: 97.9 (68.7%)
39. Jingle Bell Bride (air date: Oct 24) – 558 pts – weighted score: 97.9 (68.7%)
40. Just My Type (air date: Mar 28) – 565 pts – weighted score: 95.4 (66.9%)
41. Meet Me At Christmas (air date: Nov 15) 532 pts – weighted score: 91.1 (63.9%)
42. Bad Date Chronicles (air date: Feb 28) – 520 pts – weighted score: 91.0 (63.9%)
43. Love in Winterland (air date: Jan 11) – 508 pts – weighted score: 90.7 (63.6%)
44. Nature of Love (air date: Apr 18) – 520 pts – weighted score: 90.3 (63.3%)
45. If I Only Had Christmas (air date: Nov 29) – 535 pts – weighted score: 90.0 (63.2%)
46. USS Christmas (air date: Nov 28) – 521 pts – weighted score: 87.5 (61.4%)
47. Chateau Christmas (air date: Oct 25) – 502 pts – weighted score: 87.3 (61.3%)
48. Amazing Winter Romance (air date: Jan 20) – 487 pts – weighted score: 85.6 (60.1%)
49. Love Under the Olive Tree (air date: June 20) – 473 pts – weighted score: 85.0 (59.6%)
50. In the Key of Love (air date: Mar 14) – 470 pts – weighted score: 82.5 (57.9%)
51. Love in the Forecast (air date: Jun 13) – 440 pts – weighted score: 72.5 (50.8%)
52. Midway to Love (air date: June 26) – 410 pts – weighted score: 69.0 (48.4%)
53. Falling at Look Lodge (air date: Sept 26) – 350 pts – weighted score: 64.0 (44.9%)
54. Romance in the Air (air date: Aug 1) – 367 pts – weighted score: 63.2 (44.3%)
55. Follow Me to Daisy Hills (air date: Sept 19) – 337 pts – weighted score: 62.8 (44.1%)
56. How to Train Your Husband (air date: May 16) – 350 pts – weighted score: 62.5 (43.9%)

To see where this movie lands in my overall rankings of Hallmark movies, visit my Hallmark Movie Rankings page!

In any event, what did you think of “Christmas in Evergreen: Bells Are Ringing”?  Comment below and let me know!