Has it really been 3 months since my last post? Really?

Well, sorry about that and this after I promised I would be a better blogger – I suppose that’s something I can strive for as the new year comes upon us. I will say that the past few months have been a little busy – I am chugging along on ENCHANTMENT though not as much as I’d like. I went to Comic Con in New York which was amazing as always.

But today I am not going to speak of celebrity sightings and meets. No, today I am going to speak about something near and dear to my heart …

Christmas Movies!

It’s sort of a running joke – anyone who knows me, knows that my TV is set pretty much to the Hallmark Channel from Nov 1 to Jan 1 as they start their Christmas movie marathon. It is roughly 24 hours a day of Christmas movies 7 days a week and I eat it up – I know what you’re thinking isn’t it the same movies all the time, yes it is, for the most part anyway. Each year the channel sets up premiers so I get new content too. And it’s not just Hallmark, Lifetime also has movies as do several other channels. However, for the purposes of this post I can only talk about Hallmark, Lifetime and Ion TV – as I don’t have access to channels like Up or Hallmark Movies and Mysteries (Drat).

Now mind you, dear reader, that I do know that it is only mid-December so there is still a couple of weeks of premiers to be seen, but I think this is a safe bet for now to feature some of my all-time favorites and some of my new favorites that will more than likely go into my must-see. circulation.

This has the potential to be a verrrrrrry long post, so more than likely it will be split up over a few days.

To start we need to talk about how all Christmas movies are not the same, no matter what anyone thinks. Sure at the heart of it all is some kind of feel-good story, my favorites fall into the romance category (duh).  However, just like the films at the local movie theater, these movies although they fall into romance, have a sub-category. There are comedies, dramas, movies based on books (A Christmas Carol and Pride and Prejudice seem to be very popular) and even paranormals.

So let’s begin:

I think the first category I want to start with is the old standby of enemies (or what passes for them) to lovers. This is basically the story of two people sort of thrust together under what is usually not the best of circumstances.  For this favorite, my pick is the first Hallmark film that actually hooked me on the entire Hallmark movie genre. And what can I say? You always remember your first.

The official blurb from Hallmark for this movie is:

Jennifer Cullen (Brooke Burns) is a single, working mom who has become somewhat of a Scrooge when it comes to the Holiday season. Even her six-year-old son Brian is having trouble believing in Santa Claus. When Jen’s Uncle Ralph (Henry Winkler), a retired police officer, comes to visit for Christmas, he brings along a new friend, a nomad and Jack-of-all-trades named Morgan Derby (Warren Christie). The two met on a flight, and Morgan’s plans to continue on to Denver are canceled when he finds out the city is completely snowed in. Jen is wary of the stranger, but at Ralph’s request, agrees to let him stay the night. She warms up to Morgan, especially when she sees how he interacts with Brian. Uncle Ralph approves of Morgan, too, but Jen’s boyfriend Richard isn’t nearly as receptive. Meanwhile, Morgan has started to really like Jen, but if she can’t manage to make Christmas about anything more than business, Morgan will be on his way to Denver, and she’ll have missed the opportunity that was right in front of her. Uncle Ralph has done what he can to keep Morgan around, but it’s going to take something more than that to get him penciled into Jen’s long-term plans. Jen just needs to learn “how to do Christmas,” and it turns out Morgan is the perfect one to teach her.

The movie came out in 2008, well before Hallmark began its 40+ days of Christmas movies. The chemistry between the two leads is good and Henry Winkler (who is channeling his inner Fonzie) really makes this one a fun watch – I want him to be my uncle – especially if he brings home, Warren Christie.

Next up is: 

IMDB’s blurb for this one is:

A high-powered New York City publicist finds herself in Montana promoting a charity calendar after being betrayed by her boss and fiancé. Unfortunately, matters of the heart are just as complicated in the wilds as they are in the big city.

This movie is from 2009 and is not Hallmark, this one aired on Lifetime.  It stars Kristen Chenoweth whom I absolutely adore (she’s great) and is based on a book called Decent Exposure by Phillipa Ashley (yeeeeah romance novels).

This one also has the enemies to lovers trope. I like this one because it reminded me of a time where I helped put a calendar together – alas no romance blossomed for me – but I made some GREAT friends 😉

And the final movie in my enemies to lovers is …

This is a new movie and part of Hallmark’s Countdown to Christmas lineup.

Hallmark’s blurb describes it as:

“Mingle All the Way” is a new networking app designed to pair busy professionals together for upcoming events, without long-term romance. Molly, founder of the app, is determined to prove to her family that it is a success. Therefore, she joins the app, and meets another busy professional, Jeff. When Molly and Jeff are matched, they are both horrified to realize they’ve already had not one, but two disastrous previous encounters. Nevertheless, they agree to stay matched for all their respective upcoming holiday engagements. As the pair gets closer, perhaps their business arrangement might turn into something more this holiday season. Stars Jen Lilley, Brant Daugherty and Lindsay Wagner.

As with a lot of Hallmark’s films, this features a star from the 70s (to be honest they could star anyone who had a show in the 70s – 90s) it adds a nice touch of nostalgia. While this one isn’t a typical enemy to lovers story, the leads do meet under strenuous circumstances and decide to fake a relationship – and we all know how that ends.

I think these three are a good start to the series. Tomorrow I will feature my FAVORITE trope ROYAL ROMANCE!

Until Next Time,