ALL SHE WANTS FOR CHRISTMAS
“All She Wants for Christmas” was released in 2006. It stars Monica Keena, Tobias Mehler, Steve Bacic and Ali Liebert.
To read my review click here. I want to warn you this blog entry contains spoilers.
Noelle is an accountant who has recently finished her MBA and is planning to move to the city. First, she is doing an efficiency study at the local Christmas factory, Aikens, the heart and major employer of the town.
As the movie begins, Noelle and her best friend, Priscilla, are setting up a huge inflatable snowman in the town square. Noelle is too focused on her phone and the snowman flies away. What goes up must come down and, in this case, it came down on the car of Justin, who is new to town. Justin, it turns out, is going to be working at Aikens in the warehouse preparing orders.
The owner of Aikens recently passed away and his granddaughter is coming to the factory to determine if it is feasible to keep it open. As Noelle goes through the books, she realizes that Mr. Aikens, the deceased owner, had been supplementing company losses with his own money.
To make matters worse, a large superstore, Global Mart, is trying to get permission from the city to build a superstore there. All the small mom and pop businesses are afraid this will put them out of business.
As the movie goes on, Noelle and Justin are dating. They really enjoy each other’s company and it’s obvious they’re falling for each other quickly.
As Ashley Aikens continues to evaluate if Aikens is a viable business, Noelle continues to work on ideas to save the store. As she’s going, she discovers that Justin is actually also an Aikens sent to evaluate the store. The betrayal tests their relationship, but they move past it.
Noelle comes up with a solution, of course we need a happy ending. I won’t give it all away, but everything works out.
I know the description sounds like a heavy drama with lots of negativity, but it really isn’t. It’s very lighthearted and sweet with dashes of comedy. The characters make this movie.
If you haven’t seen it, I hope you give it a try. If you have, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the movie. Happy Viewing!
CHRISTMAS AROUND THE CORNER
“Christmas Around the Corner” was released in 2018. It stars Alexandra Breckingridge, Jamie Spilchuk, and Jane Alexander.
To read my review click here. I want to warn you this blog entry contains spoilers.
Claire is a venture capitalist in New York. When a company she is making public on the stock market flops, she decides to take the month of vacation she’s accumulated to go to Fortunbury. There’s a bookstore there where you can stay in their apartment and be a temporary manager of the bookstore.
Andrew owns the bookstore and runs it with his aunt, Mrs. T. He’s trying to sell it because it is in disrepair.
The town her mother had described to her as a magical place at Christmas has no Christmas. A flood caused a lot of damage, and the city can’t afford it.
Here’s Claire. She’s going to what she expects to be a magical town and it’s blah. It’s almost like The Wizard of Oz backwards. She’s expecting Oz but gets a farm in Kansas. If it were me, I’d probably just leave or be sad and deal with it. Not Claire. Her passion and work ethic are something to be seen. She attacks that bookstore like she owns it. She starts redecorating and sprucing it up.
Mrs. T loves it and loves her energy, but Andrew is resistant to change. Claire doesn’t care. She just keeps trying. Of course, she slowly wins him and the whole town over and brings Christmas back to Fortunbury.
What I really love is how Claire exudes joy and happiness. She’s had a major career setback, her vacation is not starting out well, but she just cares. She has a huge heart. When she sees a teen stealing a book, because the school library got destroyed in the flood, instead of turning her in Claire gives her the book. The condition is she has to read it and come back to discuss it. Before long Claire has her interning at the store and sharing her writing.
This movie always leaves me in a happy mood. It’s a reminder that no matter how gray our world appears; we have the power to add the color.
If you haven’t seen it, I hope you give it a try. If you have, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the movie. Happy Viewing!
CHRISTMAS BEDTIME STORIES
“Christmas Bedtime Stories” was released in 2022. It stars Erin Cahill, Steve Lund, Alice Comer, and Charlie Weber.
To read my review click here. I want to warn you this blog entry contains spoilers.
This movie focuses on Danielle. Danielle’s husband Colby, a Marine, was declared dead after his plane went down. Danielle is really struggling because all the bodies were found but Colby’s. She is now engaged to Pierce, who was also friends with Colby. She’s having trouble dealing with the dueling emotions of her love of Pierce and her lack of closure with Colby.
Danielle’s daughter, Audrey, starts asking for bedtime stories about her father. Telling the stories is making everything about her love of and story with Colby come more and more to the surface. She also is noticing things she considers to be signs. Audrey was born right before Christmas and asked to hear that story. When Danielle went into labor it was a rare horrible snowstorm. The morning after telling that story they had a rare snowstorm. Danielle couldn’t decide if the universe was sending her signs that Colby was alive or if they were just coincidences.
To complicate matters, marrying Pierce means she’d have to move off the base. She’d have to have a new home and send Audrey to a new school. Meaning she’d be leaving so much behind. She can’t decide what to do about Pierce. If she hasn’t been able to get over Colby, is it fair to Pierce.
Pierce invites her to coffee and says they’re in two different places. He’s ready for the future but she’s not ready to let go of the past.
I could tell you how it ends but I won’t. You have to see it. Have tissues handy. There are many emotional moments.
If you haven’t seen it, I hope you give it a try. If you have, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the movie. Happy Viewing!
HASHTAG BLESSED
“Hashtag Blessed” was released in 2022. It stars Isabella Blake-Thomas, Mama Char, and Joel Christopher Payne.
It's currently being shown on TUBI for free.
To read my review click here. I want to warn you this blog entry contains spoilers.
The main character of the movie is Jessi. She is really struggling in her life. She has a business degree but could only find a job at a movie theater, she can’t pay her bills, and she sees all her friends on social media who seem to have it all. She does what we all do. She compares her life to theirs and it makes her feel like her life is even less.
We find out that Jessi had a great childhood until she and her parents were in a car accident, at Christmas, where they were both killed. She was raised by her grandmother who loved her dearly but she’s still filled with sadness about her parents.
To make things worse, Jessi’s boyfriend takes her to a Christmas light show, because he knows she loves them, then breaks up with her. Then Jessi loses her job. She also gets a call that her grandmother has fallen and is injured. It turns out to be minor but facing losing the only family she has left is hard for her. At her lowest point, she writes a suicide note to her grandmother and drives her car to, we assume, kill herself where her parents died.
There is one presence that is woven through Jessi’s life, Saint Nick. He keeps appearing and encouraging her to find her Christmas spirit and not give up hope. As Jessi is driving toward her suicide, a deer runs in the road and she veers and stops. Who is standing there but Saint Nick.
Jessi’s life turns around when she turns to her grandmother for help. A new love also appears in her life. To see her true happy ending you should watch the film.
I think it’s very relatable as we all have hard times and all feel less than at times from social media posts. This movie gave me goosebumps and I shed a few tears.
If you haven’t seen it, I hope you give it a try. If you have, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the movie. Happy Viewing!
LOVE AT THE CHRISTMAS TABLE
“Love At the Christmas Table” was released in 2012. It stars Danica McKellar, Dustin Milligan, and Lea Thompson.
To read my review click here. I want to warn you this blog entry contains spoilers.
This movie focuses on family friends Sam and Kat who spend every Christmas Eve at the children’s table at Elissa Dixon’s Christmas Eve party. They grow up together, sharing the highs and lows of young adulthood. There’s an obvious chemistry but the timing is always off. At thirty, Sam realizes that Kat is the one but he's afraid that the past will get in the way. They both seem afraid to make the leap.
As a parallel story, there is Elissa. She has been in love with Kat’s father, Tom, most of her life. One Christmas Eve she tells Kat about the book Great Expectations and how Miss Havisham is left at the altar and stops living. She stopped all the clocks and only wears her wedding dress as if frozen in time in that moment. Elissa tells Kat that when she met Kat’s mother, who she liked even though she didn’t want to, one Christmas Eve, she became Miss Havisham. That’s why she always has her Christmas lights on and decorations up and everything at her home is about Christmas.
Of course, Kat and Sam end up getting engaged at the end of the movie but not before Kat pulls her father and Elissa into a room and talks to them about how they’ve both had feelings for each other. Kat pulls out an engagement ring and asks Elissa if she will marry her father. Of course, Elissa says yes. Then Kat asks her father who also says yes.
The movie ends with Kat and Sam standing with Elissa as she unplugs the Christmas lights because she is going to start living again and moving her life forward.
I have a feeling that this is the kind of movie people will either love or hate. I find the back and forth of Sam and Kat’s relationship endearing and interesting. It’s nice to see the relationships and hear about the life changes that make them develop into the people they are. It’s like a time capsule. I also find their banter and their antics quite funny. Things like their game “Best Life” or their swear jar.
I really like the character of Elissa. I think we’ve all been heartbroken at some point and felt like our world stopped in that moment of pain. Most people go through the motions until they can move past it but I personally know people who are stuck. They don’t have the Christmas lights and decorations to show for it but they haven’t gotten back to truly living. It makes Elissa very relatable. Watching her journey was just as special to me as Sam and Kat’s.
If you haven’t seen it, I hope you give it a try. If you have, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the movie. Happy Viewing!
LOVE YOU LIKE CHRISTMAS
“Love You Like Christmas” was released in 2006. It stars Bonnie Sommerville and Brennan Elliott.
To read my review click here. I want to warn you this blog entry contains spoilers.
I will preface this with an admission that I know this movie has its fair share of Christmas movie cliches. Including a widower with a sweet daughter, a business woman from New York being stranded in the small town, the widower is about to lose the family farm, etc. But they’re done well.
One main character is Maddie, a New York advertising executive specializing in women’s clothing, who is driving to a client’s wedding in Colorado due to her fear of flying. Another main character is Kevin. He is the widower who runs the Christmas tree farm that has been passed down through the family. His daughter is Jo.
Naturally, Maddie’s classic mustang breaks down stranding her and when it’s finally fixed she wrecks it avoiding a reindeer. It seems fate is keeping her in town. Of course, she falls for Kevin and it’s mutual but she also loves Jo and that is mutual as well. Maddie uses her marketing skills to help market Kevin’s trees and helps save his farm.
What I love most about this movie is the people. There’s the diner owner, the woman who runs the boarding house (which just seems like a B&B to me), the traveling salesman, the mechanic/wannabe musician, and all the charming townspeople. There’s a variety of personalities but they’re all good and kind people. It’s the kind of town and people where I’d like to live.
I like seeing Maddie prioritize herself and the relationships in her life over her career. It’s like we’re rediscovering Christmas and the spirit and joy of the season with her. It’s like a warm blanket on a cold night.
If you haven’t seen it I hope you give it a try. If you have, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the movie. Happy Viewing!
MISTLETOE & MENORAHS
“Mistletoe & Menorahs” was released in 2019. It stars Jake Epstein and Kelley Jakle.
To read my review click here. I want to warn you this blog entry contains spoilers.
This movie focuses on two main characters. The first is Christy, an executive at a toy company who has to learn everything about Hanukkah to land a big account. The second is Jonathan, a teacher, who has to learn everything about Christmas in order to get his girlfriend’s father’s approval. Christy’s friend, who has a child in Jonathan’s class, puts the two together to help each other.
What’s special about this movie? I like that they highlight both holidays equally. Neither is shown as more important or more special. Both Christy and Jonathan really embrace the holiday they are learning about. It really shows how special learning about and embracing different celebrations just adds to ours and doesn’t take anything away from them.
There’s some of the business of Christy trying to make a new toy to show the CEO at his Hanukkah party but most of it is about the two of them getting to know each other and the holidays. Christy has a boyfriend, who clearly from the beginning only cares about himself. Jonathan’s girlfriend clearly will only accept him if he changes to be who she wants him to be. The viewer sees this before they do, naturally.
Eventually those relationships end, and we get to see their friendship and respect for each other grow. I love seeing traditions I’ve loved my whole life through new eyes and learning more about Hanukkah. I knew the basics like most people do but it was more like experiencing it.
If you haven’t seen it, I hope you give it a try. If you have, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the movie. Happy Viewing!
ONCE & TWICE UPON A CHRISTMAS
“Once Upon a Christmas” was released in 2000. It stars Kathy Ireland, John Dye, Mary Donnelly Haskell, and Liz Torres.
To read my review click here. I want to warn you this blog entry contains spoilers.
This movie is focused on Santa’s daughter Kristin. Santa is discouraged by a lack of Christmas spirit and wants to quit, but Kristin, begs for one more chance to prove to him that there is hope for the world. To do that, she must get the Morgan family off the naughty list. She shows up at their home, is mistaken as a replacement au pair from the company and moves in.
What’s special about this movie? It has a lot of fluff and it’s not super deep but it’s about hope and I always feel uplifted after watching it.
Kristin is truly good. Like perfection good. It’s almost a little too much but that’s okay because we have her sister Rudolfa, who is wicked, on the opposite end of the spectrum. Although, if I was named Rudolfa I’d probably have issues, too. Here’s one daughter who loves and adores everyone and everything about Christmas and another who loathes it all. One who is always honest and one who lies and cheats. You get the picture.
Rudolfa, played beautifully by Haskell, adds some wonderful comedy to the movie. While Kristin is down working with the Morgan family, Rudolfa, the oldest sister, is planning on what she will do when Kristin fails and she gets to take over Christmas. Her plan, a just kidding, April fool type of Christmas. The elves, who adore her, especially Dunder, also add some charm.
Now to the Morgan family. As is not atypical with Christmas movies we have the widower, Bill Morgan and his two children Kyle and Brittany. Brittany, while still very young, is trying to be the mom of the house. She even asked for pots and pans for Christmas. Kyle is the troublemaker. He spearheads their adventures for getting rid of au pairs. Something they’ve seemingly mastered. Kyle also hates Santa Claus. Where we get a little something unusual is Uncle Johnny. The loving man-child who lives with them.
Somehow, they managed to make Kyle and Brittany, while we see their flaws, as damaged but lovable. Basically, to the point that you want to see them be okay. You want to see the family be okay. They’re doing the best they can after losing the glue that held them together. Kristin manages to become a new glue while falling in love with Bill and adoring both the children.
The movie ends with Kristin giving up her immortality to save Kyle. This also means she will have no memory of who she is.
Like I said, it is kind of fluff but there’s enough comedy and drama and plenty of heart to keep me interested and watching repeatedly. A message of hope and to never give up. Something we all can use.
“Twice Upon a Christmas” was released in 2001. It has the same cast.
To read my review click here.
The movie also has the same feel as the first. A combination of humor, drama, and family that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
We pick up with the family being very happy together and it’s obvious Kristin is now an integral part of that. Bill proposes but Kristin doesn’t want to get married until she knows who she is. Remember, she has no memory of her past so she doesn’t even know her birthday.
The movie is a lot of them trying to figure out who Kristin is while trying to plan a wedding. Brittany figures out who Kristin is but no one believes her.
Rudolfa is, of course, up to no good again. She decides to sell off pieces of the North Pole and build a hotel and casino there. She gets the elves to help her record a commercial and broadcast it across the world. She convinces her father that things disappearing is what happens when they are replacing you as Santa. Considering how wicked she is you think her father, Santa, the man who knows if you’ve been naughty or nice, wouldn’t believe her. Alas, he does.
Kyle and Brittany order a few things from Rudolfa and give Kristin an early gift of one of them. It’s Kristin’s doll from when she was a girl. Holding it helps Kristin get her memories back. Not surprisingly, Kristin saves Christmas and Rudolfa’s plans are ruined.
It ends with the wedding and knowing the family will live happily together. While the first movie focuses on having hope, the second, while still including hope, send more of a message of togetherness. It’s about the family working together and being together. I always feel happy after watching these two movies.
If you haven’t seen them, I hope you give them a try. If you have, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the movies. Happy Viewing!
