Last year I ranked all of the 2018 Hallmark Christmas movies, but upon rewatching a couple after the holidays realized that my rankings were not accurate at all. At the time I got mathematical about it and created a spreadsheet with weighted scoring so that I could more accurately figure out what movies I loved and which movies I did not. In ranking the list of movies, I began looking at various categories (each with weighted scores) when ranking them:
1) Plot – is the plot something I’d be interested in watching?
2) Actors – do I like the actors who made the movie?
3) Chemistry – do those actors have any chemistry at all?
4) Feelgoods – does this movie make me smile and feel happy when it’s over?
5) Tropes – does it have enough of the Hallmark tropes I have come to know and love?
6) Re-watchability – is it a Christmas movie I’d watch again and again from year to year?
The result? Some of movies moved much higher on the list, while others tumbled to the lower ranks. I was only able to re-watch 30 of the 37 movies since not all of them were aired again (and I did not count the New Year’s Eve movie). But I have created a ranking that is still more in line with my true feelings about these movies than last year’s initial impromptu list. Without further ado – here is the updated ranking of the 2018 Hallmark Christmas movies, just in time for the 2019 slate of movies to begin in two weeks!
Do Not Watch. Repeat: Do Not Watch
37. Christmas at Graceland (Countdown to Christmas): A bank executive (Kelly Pickler) is sent back to her hometown of Memphis to land a deal for her company. While staying at Graceland for Christmas, she reconnects with her former singing partner (Wes Brown).
My opinion: It was bad last year and it still remains last on my list. And no, I did not watch Wedding to Graceland. I will likely watch this year’s Graceland movie mainly because it doesn’t star Kellie Pickler but does star Adrien Grenier, an actor I really like.
36. Northern Lights of Christmas (Miracles of Christmas) (down from #1)
A pilot (Ashley Williams) inherits an Alaska farmhouse and two reindeer from the man who taught her how to fly – and she must decide whether to sell or to stay.
My opinion: I cannot believe I ranked this one as my number one last year. I can only say it was because I adore Ashley Williams. Let me say that again because it is important: I ADORE ASHLEY WILLIAMS. She is one of the few Hallstars that I give a perfect score to on my spreadsheet. She is AMAZING. But, upon watching this one again it made me realize that my rankings were completely off and needed to be redone. This is the movie that sparked it all. Is it as bad as Graceland? NO WAY. But it’s right down there with the worst of them. So not good. Which makes me VERY sad to say because Ashley Williams still SHINED in this movie, but not enough to make it a good movie. Ugh – I feel awful even typing this paragraph because it hurts my heart to say that Ashley Williams made a bad movie. Fortunately, this is her only bad one, and I don’t blame her for it – I blame everything else.
35. Last Vermont Christmas (Miracles of Christmas): A woman (Erin Cahill) comes home for the holidays only to find out that her ex (Justin Bruenig) is going to buy her parents’ home, where she and her siblings grew up.
My opinion: This one did re-air and I did re-watch it but it was so boring I didn’t even bother re-ranking it. But it still ranks two spots higher than the lowest two, so yay??
34. Christmas Joy (Countdown to Christmas): When her aunt gets injured, a woman (Danielle Panabaker) must go to her to take her place in helping a former crush (Matt Long) run the town’s cookie crawl.
My opinion: Y’all. This movie is not good. I remembered it being boring, and it is. But it was also just not good at all and contained no joy.
33. A Christmas for the Books (Miracles of Christmas): A self-help and Christmas guru (Chelsea Kane) has a radio host (Drew Seeley) pretend to be her boyfriend in order to land a new tv show deal.
My opinion: As I felt the first time I saw this, I really liked the actors, but the story was ridiculous and should have shown on Freeform or ion, not Hallmark.
32. Christmas Wonderland (Miracles of Christmas): An artist (Emily Osment) must travel back to her hometown to take care of her niece and nephew while their parents go on vacation. Oh, and her sister also volunteered her to help out with the local school winter dance – which her ex (Ryan Rottman) is organizing.
My opinion: This was so boring that I forgot at that I even watched it until I re-watched it. The second time around? Still so boring, although I like Ryan Rottman a lot.
31. A Gingerbread Romance (Countdown to Christmas): In order to land a huge contract for her firm, an architect (Tia Mowry-Hardrict) must win a life-sized gingerbread house contest – and baker Duane Henry is her only hope.
My opinion: To be honest, the only good thing about this movie was the life-sized gingerbread houses. The acting be some was stilted and the plot was pretty generic. But it wasn’t as bad as some others, so it lands at 31.
30. Entertaining Christmas (Countdown to Christmas): The daughter of a lifestyle guru (Jodie Sweetin) is poised to take the mantle of her mother’s million-dollar business – but first she must plan the homecoming party of a solider who’s coming home for the holidays.
My opinion: I figured out why I didn’t care for this movie. I’m not a Jodie Sweetin fan and I’m definitely not a Brendan Fehr fan. Put them in the movie together? Nope.
29. Marrying Father Christmas (Miracles of Christmas): After her romantic engagement last Christmas, Miranda (Erin Krakow) prepares to marry Ian (Niall Matter) this Christmas surrounded by his family and her new family.
My opinion: This was the third of a series and the only reason it is at #31 is that I like the two leads.
28. A Majestic Christmas (Countdown to Christmas): An architect (Jerrika Hinton) returns to her hometown to spearhead the redesign of the town’s theatre, butting heads with the theatre’s new owner (Christian Vincent).
My opinion: The only good things about this movie were Jerrika Hinton (who was great) and the exterior shots of the cute small town theater. The leading man was not interesting at all, and the story was weak. Hinton deserved a better movie.
27. Christmas Made to Order (Countdown to Christmas): An architect (Jonathan Bennett) hires a Christmas coordinator (Alexa PenaVega) to decorate his house and plan activities for his visiting family.
My opinion: This one ranks at 27 merely because of Jonathan Bennett, whom I adore even if I don’t believe him as a romantic lead so much as the next door neighbor, the favorite brother or closest work pal who gives great advice.
Movies Middling at Best
Now here is where I need to admit that that my rankings were likely influenced by my listening to various podcasts about the movies once they originally aired. Some podcasts were very earnest and heartfelt in their “analysis” and others were snarky and hilarious in theirs. For example, I almost assuredly gave a higher score to “Return to Christmas Creek” at the time due to the hilarity of Deck the Hallmark’s episode (which I have listened to at least a dozen times since last year (it’s their funniest episode and well worth the listen even if you have not seen the movie)). But upon watching it again, it dropped in the rankings because podcast aside, the movie had a lot of problems.
26. Time for Me to Come Home for Christmas (Miracles of Christmas) A country star (Josh Henderson) struggling to write his latest hit and a jam maker (Megan Park) trying to save her family’s business are stranded after their flight is diverted for weather; they decide to share the last rental car home to Oklahoma in order to both be home in time for the holiday.
My opinion: This movie is a poor man’s “A Christmas Detour” which is one of my favorite Christmas Hallmark movies.
25. Return to Christmas Creek (Miracles of Christmas) (down from #10)
A woman (Tori Anderson) returns to her childhood home to visit her Uncle, and rediscovers her Christmas spirit (and heals the rift between her dad and uncle).
My opinion: Watching this a second time I found I didn’t like it nearly as much as I recalled. My original high ranking was likely based ENTIRELY on the episode of “Deck the Hallmark Podcast” that talks about this movie. Between their riffs on how to fly a plane, Great Danes, Presents vs. Presence, and getting chicken parmigiana at The Mistletoe, it is hands down one of the funniest things I’ve ever listened to. But watching the movie the second time, no way. Not even my love for DTH’s episode will keep this movie in the Top 10.
24. Christmas on Honeysuckle Lane (Miracles of Christmas) A woman (Alicia Witt) and her siblings spend one last Christmas together before selling their parents’ house.
My opinion: To be honest, I’m surprised this movie ranked as high as it did. I am not a huge fan of Alicia Witt, and yet two of her other Hallmark Christmas movies are ones that I’ve watched multiple times (2013’s “A Very Merry Mix-Up” and 2017’s “The Mistletoe Inn”). And while this one was VERY schmaltzy, it was better than some of other movies, and so it still ranks higher than I would have expected.
23. Christmas Bells are Ringing (Miracles of Christmas) Freelance photographer Sam (Emilie Ullerup) grew up spending summers on Cape Cod, where she and Mike, a local boy (Josh Kelly), became inseparable friends. The untimely death of Sam’s mother brought those summers to an end for Sam, who couldn’t bear the thought of returning. Thirteen years later, they meet again when she returns to Cape Cod for her father’s Christmas Eve wedding.
My opinion: I appreciated that this movie didn’t just focus on Sam’s love life, but also on her relationship with her dad and his about-to-be-second-wife. I really like Emilie Ullerup, which is why this movie is not in the lower 10.
22. Christmas at the Palace (Countdown to Christmas) A former figure skater (Merritt Patterson) stumbles upon the king of a small European country (Andrew Cooper) while in town for her Ice Capades-like employer and is convinced to help organize the country’s ice show.
My opinion: Every Christmas we have to have at least one “future king of random country that ends in -donia meets poor American girl” movie, and this was it. Plot holes galore in this one, but most Hallmark fans are suckers for Princess movies, and that goes for me too (although I think most will agree the best one is 2015’s “Crown for Christmas” starring Danica McKellar and Rupert Penry-Jones).
21. When Calls the Heart: The Greatest Christmas Blessing (Countdown to Christmas) A group of orphans become stranded in Hope Valley for Christmas so Abigail (Lori Loughlin) and the other residents rally to make it a Christmas to remember for the orphans. Meanwhile, widowed Elizabeth (Erin Krakow) prepares for the birth of her child.
My opinion: I’m sure the Hallmarkies that watch “When Calls the Heart” loved it. It was fun to watch merely from the standpoint of seeing SO MANY regular Hallmark movie actors all in one movie. It was a veritable cavalcade of the Hallmark stable. But not knowing ANY of the characters or past plotlines made this difficult to get through.
20. Hope at Christmas (Miracles of Christmas) After inheriting her childhood home, a woman (Scottie Thompson) decides to spend Christmas in the home with her daughter. She meets a handsome teacher (Ryan Paevey) while there.
My opinion: Watching this one the second time I liked it a lot more than I remembered. But because of the ranking changes in other movies, it only moved up two spots.
19. Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe (Countdown to Christmas) A stockbroker (Lacey Chabert) goes home for Christmas and helps her mother organize the year’s charity event. The new restaurant owner (Brendan Penny) brought on to cater just so happens to be her high school frenemy, because of course it does.
My opinion: This one moved down one spot. This was not one of Lacey Chabert’s best Hallmark Christmas movies (that would be 2012’s “Matchmaker Santa”). Also? The tie-in to Jane Austen was pointless and not even referenced in the movie.
18. Welcome to Christmas (Countdown to Christmas) Sent out to a town called Christmas to scout for her resort company, a woman (Jennifer Finnigan) falls in love with the town and the town sheriff (Eric Mabius).
My opinion: Sometimes I like Eric Mabius, sometimes I don’t. One thing I didn’t like in this movie: his hair. Ugh. Get a haircut, Sheriff. This one was okay, but not the worst.
17. Memories of Christmas (Miracles of Christmas) A businesswoman (Christina Milian) returns home after her mother’s death and finds love and the spirit of Christmas, while remembering her mother and the time of year she loved the most.
My opinion: Watching this again I liked it a lot. Christina Milian is always fun, and this one is definitely in the upper half of the 2018 movies. This movie was not as whimsical, but she was still great.
16. Once Upon a Christmas Miracle (Miracles of Christmas) Based on a true story, when a nursing student (Aimee Teegarden) is diagnosed with a deadly disease and needs a kidney transplant, a recently returned serviceman (Brett Dalton) is her perfect match.
My opinion: This one dropped a bit in the ranking, but it was nice to see Aimee Teegarden on my TV again (clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose) and while the leads didn’t really have any chemistry on screen, it was still a good movie despite the drop in ranking.
15. Road to Christmas (Countdown to Christmas) The producer of a lifestyle brand show (Jessy Schram) is forced to work with the show’s host’s son (Chad Michael Murray) in order to pull of the first live Christmas tv show in the brand’s history.
My opinion: This ranking is based on how the others moved around – I didn’t get to watch it a second time, sadly. This was one I really hoped would re-air during the year.
14. Christmas in Love (Countdown to Christmas) When the heir to a baking company (Daniel Lissing) comes into town as a rite of passage, the HR manager of the company’s kringle bakery (Brooke D’Orsay) must convince him that automation isn’t the way to go.
My opinion: I just have one word: Kringles! I liked this one and might enjoyed watching it a second time. Do I believe Daniel Lissing as a young exec about to inherit his father’s company? NO WAY. But Brooke D’Orsay is great and I liked this movie.
13. A Veteran’s Christmas (Miracles of Christmas) A veteran (Eloise Mumford) returns from overseas (where she had to leave the dog she had trained) and before starting a new job, takes a road trip. After a minor car accident, she’s stuck in a small town – where the local judge (Sean Faris) has a spare room.
My opinion: Even after seeing this one a 2nd time, I knew what would happen in the end, and yet that didn’t stop me from tearing up when it happened.
12. It’s Christmas, Eve (Countdown to Christmas) (down from #9)
A woman (Leeann Rimes) comes home for Christmas having been named her local high school’s interim superintendent. After trying to make some tough budget decisions, the school’s music teacher (Tyler Hines) convinces her they can stage a Christmas pageant to raise the money they need.
My opinion: Despite having favorite Tyler Hines in it, this predictable movie dropped a few and is no longer in my top 10. I like the movie, but not as much as I liked it the first time around. But that’s not Tyler’s fault. He’s still incredibly charming and awesome.
11. Reunited at Christmas (Countdown to Christmas) (up from #19) After her boyfriend (Mike Faiola) proposes to her, a woman (Nikki DeLoach) rethinks her quick yes – and the time spent fulfilling her grandmother’s dying wish of a last family Christmas brings her clarity.
My opinion: The first time I ranked this I even said it should have been ranked higher because the couple at the centerpoint of this movie are already a couple, and it’s about the boyfriend remaining faithful to her, and continuing to pursue her even after she denies his proposal. Watching it a second time I knew I didn’t give it its due the first time around.
The Top Ten, y’all!
Then we come to my revised top ten. The top ten definitely looks different than it did when the movies first came out. These are all the movies that I would definitely watch again – and in at least one case, I’ve watched it more times than I care to admit (and thus rightfully moved it up to become my #1 pick).
10. Homegrown Christmas (Countdown to Christmas) (up from #8)
A shoe designer (Lori Loughlin) returns home after selling her business and must attempt to fit in with her family and the man she left behind (Victor Webster).
My opinion: I didn’t get to rewatch this one because of the whole college admissions scandal, thus erasing all evidence of Lori Loughlin from Hallmark, but I do remember liking this movie a lot because it appealed to an older demographic (*cough* me, I guess *cough*) thanks to Loughlin and her delicious co-star Victor Webster with his gorgeous salt and pepper hair. I did knock it down a couple levels though, simply because of my changed opinion on a few other movies.
9. Mingle All the Way (Countdown to Christmas) (up from #21)
In order to gain more financial backers for her holiday “networking” app, the creator of a startup (Jen Lilley) must become a user – and is paired immediately with the man (Brant Daugherty) she’s had a few not-so-positive run-ins with recently.
My opinion: I really like Jen Lilley (below), so I forgave a lot of what I didn’t like about this movie. Second time around, I liked it a LOT more.
8. Jingle Around the Clock (Countdown to Christmas) (up from #22)
A tech expert (Brooke Nevin) and an advertising fixer (Michael Cassidy) must save their company’s social media campaign while competing for the same promotion at work.
My opinion: This is another one I liked more than I should have, despite not liking the leading man actor that much.
7. A Shoe Addict’s Christmas (Countdown to Christmas) (up from #26)
Candace Cameron Bure plays a department store HR manager who must help plan a major holiday party for a local fire department while experiencing the past, present and future via a mischievous angel, a la “A Christmas Carol.”
My opinion: No one is more surprised than me at this leap up the rankings. But upon re-watching this one, I found it much more enjoyable the second time around. Is it absurd? Absolutely. But I couldn’t help it. I liked it. A lot.
6. Christmas Everlasting (Hallmark Hall of Fame) (Countdown to Christmas)
After her sister leaves her a house in her will, a woman (Tatiana Ali) must live there as a term of the will before she can sell it. While spending time in the house, she learns about the impact of her sister’s life on others.
My opinion: I didn’t get to rewatch this one but I remember how much I liked it so it is staying in my Top 10 and moved up a spot since “Northern Lights” took a tumble. A solid story with great acting.
5. A Godwink Christmas (Miracles of Christmas) (rank unchanged)
An engaged woman (Kimberly Sustad) visits her aunt (Kathie Lee Gifford) before Christmas and gets stranded in Nantucket. She stays at a B&B run by a man (Paul Campbell) who a few years ago left a big city life to run this inn.
My opinion: *sigh* Paul Campbell. He’s awesome. I follow him on Twitter and Instagram and he’s just FUN. He and Kimberly Sustad had very good chemistry and I hope they make more movies together. Worth watching for the two actors, even if the movie itself had some failings.
4. Christmas at Pemberley Manor (Countdown to Christmas) (rank unchanged)
A party planner (Jessica Lowndes) is contracted to run a small town’s Christmas festival – and the only place to hold a lot of the events is an estate owned by a smug businessman (Michael Rady).
My opinion: This movie is the movie in which Christmas threw up all over the script. WOW was it just as Christmas-y as I remembered. And I loved it! Michael Rady (who stars in one of my 2019 favorites “Love to the Rescue”) is just a delight, and this is a movie I’ll definitely watch again and again.
3. Christmas at Grand Valley (Miracles of Christmas) (up from #6)
Danica McKellar plays a struggling artist who goes home to Grand Valley at Christmas. After getting roped to run the local lodge’s Kids Christmas Camp, she falls for the father of two of her campers (Brennan Elliott) – who just so happens to be working for the company planning on selling the Lodge to outside developers.
My opinion: Brennan Elliott is still one of my fave Hallstars, and he’s the reason this movie scores so high. That, and the movie was just as sweet, romantic, and charming as I remembered. Elliott and co-star Danica McKellar are solid and had good chemistry in this. Although let’s face it – Brennan Elliott could have good chemistry with a tree stump, he’s so wonderful.
2. Christmas in Evergreen: Letters to Santa (Countdown to Christmas) (rank unchanged)
When she has a break for the holiday, a store stager (Jill Wagner) returns to her childhood town and tries to find a buyer for the local general store alongside the local handyman.
My opinion: I loved this one the second (and third) time around just as much as I did the first time I saw it. Jill Wagner is just fantastic and somehow Mark Deklin managed to keep up with her despite plotholes galore that I didn’t care one bit about.
1. Small Town Christmas (Miracles of Christmas) (up from #3)
Years after she learned about it in New York, an author (Ashley Newbrough) of a new bestseller finally visits the town that inspired her book – only to find that the former co-worker (and crush) (Kristoffer Polaha) who told her about the town years earlier is now the owner of the town’s bookstore.
My opinion: Upon rewatch and rewatch and rewatch and rewatch (you sensing something?), this became my number one. How could it not? It’s got one main thing going for it: Polaha, Polaha, and more Polaha. He’s not my #1 Hallstar for nothing! Love him. Always will. He’s the epitome of charming both on screen and off. And the lead actress grew on me as well in the rewatching. It is now solidly my favorite Hallmark Christmas movie AND is my third favorite Hallmark movie of all time to boot!
And there you have it, my complete re-ranking. Have you re-watched any of the holiday movies to gear up for this year’s Countdown to Christmas? Did I rank a movie in a way you disagree with? Comment and let me know your picks!
