Hallmark For All Seasons

After a strong showing last week, I was super excited for this past weekend’s movies.  “Nostalgic Christmas” aired on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries on October 31, 2019.  It co-starred Brooke D’Orsay and Trevor Donovan.  This movie is based on a 1997 book by Kevin Major entitled “The House of Wooden Santas,” and was filmed in and around Ontario, Canada.

In a nutshell

Well, I have to tell you that I feel really bad saying this, but I didn’t care for this movie.  While I really like D’Orsay and Donovan, I thought the movie was a bit boring.  There were definitely things I appreciated about this movie, but my overall opinion when it ended was that it was not one I’ll ever watch again.

Plot

Anne (D’Orsay) is a successful toy buyer in New York City.  Ahead of the Christmas holidays she returns to Maine to visit her father, who is retiring and shutting town his toy store. While visiting she meets Keith (Donovan) and together they get roped into helping with the various town holiday celebrations. Anne becomes torn about whether she should return to NYC, or stay in Maine to continue her family’s business, and pursue her budding romance with Keith.

Actors

I really like Brooke D’Orsay as Anne- she was so great in “Miss Christmas” and “Christmas in Love” from previous years.  She tends to portray her characters in such a way that you know if you ever met her she’d just give you a big hug and a sincere compliment. *lol*  She just has that aura about her in her movies.  As for Trevor Donovan, he is becoming a staple among the Hallmark family and does a great job here as Keith, the widowed dad to a pre-teen.

Speaking of pre-teen.  Jenna Weir portrayed Keith’s daughter, Jessie, in her fourth Hallmark Christmas movie in her short career.  In this movie, I felt like she was very reminiscent of Hallmark actress Jessica Lowndes and wished that the movie had called Lowndes in to take some “family photos” with Weir and Donovan to be in the background of some scenes to explain WHY Jessie looked nothing like her father.  Because y’all, they looked nothing alike.

Chemistry

The chemistry was lacking in this movie between D’Orsay and Donovan, but I liked the chemistry between Anne and her dad, as well as Anne with Jessie.  Those were the scenes that really popped for me.  The other chemistry I really enjoyed was that of Keith with his co-worker Alicia, portrayed by Arlene Duncan.  I loved that he was getting romantic advice from a female friend instead of a guy friend.  That’s not something you always see in Hallmark movies, but I loved Keith’s comfort level in that friendship.

Feelgoods

I only had one feels moment, and it was actually one that made me laugh.  Keith LIVED MY LIFE when he hollered up the stairs to Jessie about needing to come downstairs and she didn’t answer him.  Ugh.  That happens almost daily in my own house, Keith.  I feel you.

Tropes

Lots of tropes.  The biggest one, obviously, was the Christmas pageant at which Jessie was slated to perform a solo.

While the family business wasn’t in trouble, per se, it was shutting down.  Anne came from the Big City to the Small Town for the holidays.

Keith was a single parent AND a widower.  There was a cute kid, some ice skating, and at least one misunderstanding that could have been cleared up very easily with a quick 60-second conversation.

And while the movie was not centered around her reconnecting with an old boyfriend, there was a minor plot involving her old boyfriend possibly being interested in not just finding a buyer for her family’s company location, but also in Anne herself.

Lastly, the last kiss was in the final scene of the movie, and yes, snow did begin to fall.

Bingo Card Score for “Nostalgic Christmas”

No bingo for this movie, but I did cover 12 of 25 spots.

Did I Hear/See That Right?

This movie left me with three big questions.

First, who loses a 40-foot-Christmas tree?  How is that even possible?  Surely someone noticed it being hauled off to the wrong location or the wrong buyer?  I do have to say though, I loved the alternative that they came up with, decorating several trees instead of just one big one.

Second, just how long did Anne plan on staying in Maine?  Because that woman brought a LOT of coats with her.  I counted at least four different coats worn during this movie.  I don’t know about you, but living in the south I don’t have any winter coats at all, but even when I lived in Virginia I only had one.  Who travels home for a couple weeks and packs FOUR winter coats????

Lastly, 10-year-old Jessie didn’t think Anne’s fancy electronic toys were interesting.  What 10-year-old DOESN’T want an interactive talking horse????

Just a couple other nitpicks – empty coffee cups appeared (ugh), apparently only Keith’s sister-in-law was allowed to be featured as his extended family.  The bro-in-law got one scene and no lines at all.  Just a head nod as they went to go get seated at the Christmas pageant.  Also, the mill owner came into the toy shop to purchase something, and left without paying OR providing shipping information for the rocking horse she said she’d purchase.

Re-watchability

Sadly, despite some very positive things about this movie that I liked, it is highly unlikely that I’ll be watching this one at any point in the future.

The Ranking

Very low on the list.  It was not the worst by any means!  It was just lackluster.

1. Christmas Wishes and Mistletoe Kisses (air date: Oct 26) – 727 pts – weighted score: 122.6 (86.0%)
2. Love to the Rescue RE-RANKED (air date: March 23) – 708 pts – weighted score: 120.6 (84.6%)
3. Winter Love Story (air date: January 19) – 685 pts – weighted score: 115.8 (81.2%)
4. Mystery 101 (air date: January 27 (HMM)) – 454 pts – weighted score: 94.2 (80.5%)
5. Love on the Menu (air date: February 23) – 642 pts – weighted score: 113.8 (79.9%)
6. Bottled With Love (air date: April 13) – 649 pts – weighted score: 112.2 (78.7%)
7. Love Takes Flight (air date: April 27) – 670 pts – weighted score: 111.0 (77.9%)
8. Love, Romance & Chocolate (air date: February 16) – 627 pts – weighted score: 110.2 (77.3%)
9. The Last Bridesmaid (air date: June 22) – 643 pts – weighted score: 109.2 (76.6%)
10. Love, Fall and Order (air date: Oct 12) – 636 pts – weighted score: 109.0 (76.5%)
11. Paris, Wine & Romance (air date: May 4) – 638 pts – weighted score: 108.3 (76.0%)
12. My Boyfriend’s Back: Wedding March 5 (air date: June 8) – 635 pts – weighted score: 108.0 (75.8%)
13. Over the Moon in Love (air date: Oct 5) – 613 pts – weighted score: 106.3 (74.6%)
14. Flip That Romance (air date: March 16) – 597 pts – weighted score: 105.8 (74.2%)
15. My One and Only (air date: Aug 31) – 597 pts – weighted score: 105.6 (74.1%)
16. Mystery 101: Playing Dead (air date: June 23 (HMM)) – 425 pts – weighted score: 86.5 (73.9%)
17. A Summer Romance (air date: Aug 17) – 577 pts – weighted score: 103.7 (72.7%)
18. True Love Blooms (air date: April 6) – 598 pts – weighted score: 103.1 (72.3%)
19. Forever in My Heart (air date: Sept 14) – 560 pts – weighted score: 102.4 (71.8%)
20. The Story of Us (air date: February 9) – 605 pts – weighted score: 101.3 (71.1%)
21. A Brush with Love (air date: March 30) – 563 pts – weighted score: 97.7 (68.6%)
22. Ruby Herring: Silent Witness (air date: January 20 (HMM)) – 357 pts – weighted score: 79.5 (67.9%)
23. Love, Unleashed (air date: July 6, 2019) – 559 pts – weighted score: 96.2 (67.5%)
24. Love Under the Rainbow (air date: March 9) – 581 pts – weighted score: 96.0 (67.4%)
25. One Winter Proposal (air date: January 12) – 535 pts – weighted score: 95.8 (67.2%)
26. Just Add Romance (air date: March 2) – 548 pts – weighted score: 95.6 (67.1%)
27. From Friend to Fiance (air date: May 25) – 555 pts – weighted score: 94.8% (66.5%)
28. Christmas Camp (air date: July 11) – 530 pts – weighted score: 93.9 (65.9%)
29. Love and Sunshine (air date: Aug 3) – 504 pts – weighted score: 91.7 (64.3%)
30. Crossword Mysteries: A Puzzle to Die For (air date: March 10 (HMM) – 354 pts – weighted score: 74.1 (63.3%)
31. Sister of the Bride (air date: June 29) – 516 pts – weighted score: 89.8 (63.0%)
32. Valentine in the Vineyard (air date: February 2) – 503 pts – weighted score: 89.5 (62.8%)
33. Love, Take Two (air date: June 15) – 507 pts – weighted score: 87.8 (61.6%)
34. All Summer Long (air date: Aug 24) – 512 pts – weighted score: 87.7 (61.5%)
35. Snowcoming (air date: January 26) – 485 pts – weighted score: 87.3 (61.2%)
36. The Winter Castle (air date: January 5) – 475 pts – weighted score: 85.9 (60.2%)
37. Nostalgic Christmas (air date: Oct 31) – 446 pts – weighted score: 79.2 (55.6%)
38. A Merry Christmas Match (air date: Oct 25) – 455 pts – weighted score: 78.3 (54.9%)
39. Sailing Into Love (air date: May 18) – 455 pts – weighted score: 78.0 (54.7%)
40. Rome in Love (air date: July 27) – 436 pts – weighted score: 76.7 (53.8%)
41. A Taste of Summer (air date: Aug 10) – 403 pts – weighted score: 70.9 (49.7%)
42. A Winter Princess (air date: January 18) – 380 pts – weighted score: 70.5 (49.5%)
43. A Feeling of Home (air date: May 11) – 386 pts – weighted score: 69.7% (48.9%)
44. Love in the Sun (air date: June 1) – 361 pts – weighted score: 62.5 (43.8%)

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

What did you think of “Nostalgic Christmas”?  Comment below and let me know!

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