Originally I was going to post a preview of one of the two movies that Hallmark Channel planned to premiere this weekend, but last night Hallmark announced that they would instead be showing Christmas movies all weekend long to provide some much-wanted programming for those of us who are self-quarantined or, at the very least, practicing some major social distancing due to COVID-19.
The marathon will be on Hallmark Channel, and features movies both old and new. And while I’m sad that Paul Campbell’s “Winter Wonderland” did not make the cut (nor did any of Kris Polaha’s movies (insert angry emoji here!!)), but there are plenty of fun movies to watch nonetheless! Below you’ll find the schedule, including the plots for any readers that may not be able to remember all of them. The movies begin airing tomorrow, Friday, March 20, at noon:
FRIDAY, MARCH 20
12:00 p.m. ET/PT: A Christmas Detour
Stars: Candace Cameron Bure and Paul Greene
Plot: An anxious bride-to-be throws in with a broken-hearted guy and a happily married couple for an emergency ride to NYC, learning about each other and themselves along the way.
2:00 p.m. ET/PT: Holiday Date (linked to my original review)
Stars: Brittany Bristow, Matt Cohen, Teryl Rothery, and Bruce Boxleitner
Plot: After a woman’s boyfriend breaks up with her right before the holidays, she agrees to go home with an actor who will pose as her boyfriend.
4:00 p.m. ET/PT: A Christmas Love Story
Stars: Kristin Chenoweth and Scott Wolf
Plot: A youth choir director needs to write a big song for the Christmas Eve show but finds herself distracted when a boy with a golden voice joins her choir, which will come as news to his widowed father.
6:00 p.m. ET/PT: Mingle All the Way
Stars: Jen Lilley and Brant Daugherty
Plot: Molly starts an app for busy people to find a +1 without the romance of dating sites. An investor wants the app tested by Molly forcing her to join. The app selected man’s already bumped into Molly twice and unpleasant. Is love in the air?
8:00 p.m. ET/PT: Christmas Under Wraps
Stars: Candace Cameron Bure and David O’Donnell
Plot: When a doctor doesn’t get the position she wanted, she ends up moving to a remote Alaskan town. She unexpectedly ends up finding love, happiness and discovers that the small town is hiding a big holiday secret.
10:00 p.m. ET/PT: Crown for Christmas
Stars: Danica McKellar and Rupert Penry-Jones
Plot: After getting fired from her job as a maid at a ritzy New York City hotel, Allie reluctantly accepts a temporary gig as the governess to a young girl who is part of a powerful family in Europe that lives in a castle.
SATURDAY, MARCH 21
12:00 a.m. ET/PT: The Christmas Cottage
Stars: Merritt Patterson and Steve Lund
Plot: When her BFF asks Lacey to be her maid of honor, she must take on a few responsibilities, including making sure the Callahan family cottage is perfect for the honeymoon. Legend has it that if newlyweds spend their first night there, everlasting love and happiness follow. Lacey isn’t sure she buys into that notion, but when she gets snowed in there with Charlie, Lacey has to reconsider if there is romantic magic after all.
2:00 a.m. ET/PT: A Royal Christmas
Stars: Lacey Chabert, Stephan Hagan and Jane Seymour
Plot: Prince Leopold, heir to the throne of Cordinia, wishes to marry his young love Emily Taylor, a humble seamstress from Philadelphia. But Leopold’s mother, Queen Isadora has other plans for her son.
3:30 a.m. ET/PT: Marry Me at Christmas
Stars: Rachel Skarsten and Trevor Donovan
Plot: A bridal boutique owner, who is deep in the flurry of planning an exquisite Christmas wedding, is unexpectedly swept off her feet by the bride’s brother.
5:00 a.m. ET/PT: A Very Merry Mix-Up
Stars: Alicia Witt and Mark Wiebe
Plot: Alice travels to her fiance’s hometown to meet her future in-laws for the first time before Christmas. Before she can meet up with Will, a series of mishaps allows her to runs into someone she thinks is Will’s brother, and starts the holiday celebrations with the wrong family.
7:00 a.m. ET/PT: Christmas at Graceland: Home for the Holidays (linked to my original review)
Stars: Adrian Grenier, Kaitlin Doubleday, and Priscilla Presley
Plot: Harper is in Memphis before Christmas, visiting her sister and family after 3 years working at museums in Europe. Visiting Graceland with her 2 nieces, Harper meets a single dad of 3 kids and is offered a job as nanny temp.
9:00 a.m. ET/PT: Snow Bride
Stars: Katrina Law, Jordan Belfi, and Patricia Richardson
Plot: Greta is a tabloid reporter always in search of juicy gossip. While hunting down a story about a senator’s son, she mistakenly ends up as a guest of the family thanks to a car wreck near their property. She discovers that the family is more down-to-earth than she thought, and must make a decision when she finds a spark with their oldest son, Ben: pursue the story, or pursue love?
11:00 a.m. ET/PT: Switched for Christmas
Stars: Candace Cameron Bure, Eion Bailey, and Mark Deklin
Plot: A pair of identical twins are unhappy and frustrated with their own lives. They decide to swap lives until Christmas Day, and by doing so, each woman discovers the true meaning of her life and gains a deeper perspective and appreciation for what she already had.
1:00 p.m. ET/PT: Christmas at Dollywood
Stars: Danica McKellar, Niall Matter, and Dolly Parton
Plot: A New York City event planner travels home to Tennessee for the holidays and ends up working on the thirtieth anniversary Christmas event at Dollywood alongside the theme park’s Director of Operations.
3:00 p.m. ET/PT: The Nine Lives of Christmas
Stars: Brandon Routh and Kimberley Sustad
Plot: After a stray cat adopts Zachary, he meets Marilee and realizes the single life is not as fulfilling as he thought it was.
5:00 p.m. ET/PT: Christmas at the Plaza
Stars: Ryan Paevey and Elizabeth Henstridge
Plot: When historian Jessica is hired to create the Plaza’s Christmas display, she finds more than facts while teaming up with handsome decorator Nick to bring the display to life.
7:00 p.m. ET/PT: Christmas Town (linked to my original review)
Stars: Candace Cameron Bure and Tim Rozon
Plot: Lauren leaves everything behind in Boston to embark on a new chapter in her life and career. But an unforeseen detour to the charming town of Grandon Falls has her discover unexpected new chapters – of the heart and of family – helping her to embrace, once again, the magic of Christmas.
SUNDAY, MARCH 22
12:00 a.m. ET/PT: Picture a Perfect Christmas
Stars: Merritt Patterson and Jon Cor
Plot: A photographer returns home to take care of her grandmother and gets involved with helping a neighbor look after his young nephew.
2:00 a.m. ET/PT: The Sweetest Christmas
Stars: Lacey Chabert and Lea Coco
Plot: Kylie expects a proposal from her boyfriend/boss at a restaurant but gets a promotion instead. The restaurant owner happens to be her old high school boyfriend whom she hasn’t seen in years. They decide to help each other out and discover that love is in the air.
4:00 a.m. ET/PT: Coming Home for Christmas
Stars: Danica McKellar and Neal Bledsoe
Plot: Lizzie lands a job as house manager for the exquisite Ashford Estate in Virginia. While preparing the place for sale, Lizzie plans one final Christmas Eve gala for the Marley family, though they seem to be a family in name only.
6:00 a.m. ET/PT: Christmas Wishes & Mistletoe Kisses (linked to my original review)
Stars: Jill Wagner and Matthew Davis
Plot: Abbey, an interior decorator/designer and beautiful single mom, interior decorates a mansion including a Christmas party for the handsome, single businessman Nick.
8:00 a.m. ET/PT: Pride, Prejudice & Mistletoe
Stars: Lacey Chabert and Brendan Penny
Plot: Darcy is a career woman who hasn’t found love, but her life turns upside down when she returns home to help her mother plan a charity event.
10:00 a.m. ET/PT: Christmas in Evergreen: Tidings of Joy
Stars: Paul Greene, Maggie Lawson, Barbara Niven, Holly Robinson Peete, and Rukiya Bernard
Plot: A skeptical writer shows up in Evergreen to get the scoop on the town’s famed passion for Christmas during a search for a long-lost time capsule.
12:00 p.m. ET/PT: A Shoe Addict’s Christmas
Stars: Candace Cameron Bure, Luke Macfarlane, and Jean Smart
Plot: Noelle, a holiday hater who toils in a department store in which she is accidentally locked on Christmas Eve. There, she meets a woman who identifies herself as Noelle’s guardian angel and introduces her to several “ghosts” of Christmases past, present, and future.
2:00 p.m. ET/PT: Christmas Under the Stars (linked to my original review)
Stars: Jesse Metcalfe, Autumn Reeser, and Clarke Peters
Plot: A Christmas tree lot helps two people rediscover their holiday spirit.
4:00 p.m. ET/PT: Write Before Christmas
Stars: Torrey DeVitto, Chad Michael Murray, Grant Show, Lolita Davidovich, and Drew Seeley
Plot: Jessica gets dumped before Christmas. She sends 5 Christmas cards, affecting her BFF, brother, aunt, pop star, and past music/cello teacher, meeting her single, photographer son.
6:00 p.m. ET/PT: Christmas in Rome
Stars: Lacey Chabert and Sam Page
Plot: Angela, an American tour guide in Rome, agrees to teach a culture-shocked businessman named Oliver about the heart of Rome at Christmas.
OTHER MOVIES
On Saturday night at 9 p.m. ET they will be airing “In the Key of Love,” which premiered on the Hallmark Movies Now app last year. I’ll be previewing that movie tomorrow. And the marathon ends at 8 p.m. on Sunday so that Hallmark Channel can continue with their regularly scheduled airings of “When Calls the Heart” and “When Hope Calls.”
