Most nights, when I have a few minutes to sit and watch TV, you can find me watching either a rerun of Law and Order SVU or anything on Bravo. However, once October arrives, I can be found shamelessly watching Hallmark Christmas movies.
That wasn’t always the case. In fact, I used to roll my eyes at the thought of watching countless Christmas movies for months leading into December.
Now I can’t get enough.
Are these movies cheesy? Yes, they are.
Is the happy ending easily predictable? Of course, it is.
But, as I have gotten older I appreciate the guaranteed pretty wrap-up by the end of the two hours.
Always a Happy Ending
While I am on the topic of the plots of Hallmark Christmas movies I will admit that is one of the things that I love, as cheesy and predictable as they are. How many Christmas tree farms are there in real life? Because in the land of Hallmark they are exceedingly common.
Quaintly named snowy towns in danger of losing the charming downtown to an unnamed big-box company? Hallmark has that covered.
An unlikely love story set around fixing up an antique carousel? They have made that one too.
Will the big city, professional career women fall in love with the small-town Christmas tree farmer in her tiny hometown when she goes back for Christmas after years away? Of course she will!
Will the father and son repair their strained relationship with the help of a Christmas-loving colleague when they get stranded in his hometown on a business trip? Obviously, yes and over hot chocolate and intricately designed Christmas cookies for the perfect holiday touch.
In one of my favorites, A Timeless Christmas, a handsome man from 1903 comes back to life only to find his home has turned into a museum. Will he wind the antique clock that could take him back in time on Christmas Eve to reclaim his life? Or will he stay in the present to be with the newly hired and unlucky-in-love museum director with whom he has fallen in love in a few short days? Tune in to find out, but I think you know what he will decide.
Find Comfort in Familiar
If you watch enough Hallmark Christmas movies you are sure to see some familiar faces. It is fun to turn on a movie and see actors from movies and series I have seen before. I may, or may not watch a movie based just on the actors involved.
You may be thinking, if you start watching Christmas movies in December won’t you have seen them all before December 25? No way! This year alone, Hallmark is releasing over 40 new movies. I don’t have time to watch that many, no matter how much I wish I did! Check out this year’s Christmas movie preview here.
There is just something soothing and relaxing about watching a Hallmark Christmas movie, or two, or three when I have some free time. They are easy to digest, require no deep thought as a viewer, and just leave me feeling happy. Plus, no one else in my family likes them so it’s almost always guaranteed me time!
Don’t get me wrong, I still love the drama of the Housewives and the fast-paced action of an SVU episode but in the Fall and Winter these happy holiday movies are a great addition to my TV viewing.
Try one, you might just be surprised.
