17 Awesome Made for TV Holiday Movies To Watch This Season
7. The Mistletoe Promise (Hallmark Channel)
Two strangers who have a meet-cute at a mall decide to pretend to be in a relationship to get over some responsibilities that come with the holiday season. Obviously, things don’t go quite as planned, and unexpected feelings start to rise to the surface.
Two strangers who have a meet-cute at a mall decide to pretend to be in a relationship to get over some responsibilities that come with the holiday season. Obviously, things don’t go quite as planned, and unexpected feelings start to rise to the surface.
Jaime King (Hart of Dixie) looks like a freaking supermodel as Elise, a co-owner of a travel agency, and Luke Macfarlane is just funny enough as Nicholas to provide a few laughs here and there.
The Mistletoe Promise airs on the Hallmark Channel on Thu 12/15 at 10 pm; Wed 12/21 at 2 pm; and Sun 12/25 at 3.30 pm.
8. Love Always, Santa (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries)
A struggling writer Jake (Mike Faiola) is working for a company that sends reply letters from Santa Claus to children, when he receives a letter from a little girl asking for Santa to make her mother Celia (Marguerite Moreau) happy again. As he replies to Celia, a correspondence is established.
Love Always, Santa taps into the nostalgia of the past by featuring a romance ignited by letter writing. I guess sending letters to Santa online is not a thing. Also, is there really a service that hires people to write back to children as Santa, because I am pretty sure that could be my calling.
Love Always, Santa airs on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries on Thu 12/15 at 5 pm; Sat 12/17 at 11 am; Tue 12/20 at 5 pm; and Fri 12/30 at 9 am.
9. A Princess for Christmas (Hallmark Channel)
This gem from 2011 features Sam Heughan (Outlander) as Ashton, Prince of Castlebury, a small European nation that looks like something straight out of the pages of a picture book. Ashton’s romantic interest is played by Katie McGrath (Lena Luthor on Supergirl), who travels from America to Castlebury to with her niece and nephew.
This one is cheesy as hell, which is probably why I return to it every single holiday season. Sam Heughan looks so young and innocent, and Roger Moore plays a grumpy Duke/grandfather who is in a desperate need of some Christmas cheer.
A Princess for Christmas airs on Hallmark Channel on Wed 12/21 at 12 am and Mon 12/26 at 8 am.
10. Once Upon a Holiday (Hallmark Channel)
You will have to wait until the end to see the magical, non-existent European nation with this one since the majority of the events take place in New York (or most likely some Canadian city which is filmed in a way that makes it look like New York).
Katie (Briana Evigan), the princess of Montsaurai, escapes from her responsibilities and meets Jack (Paul Campbell). Jack, of course, has no idea who Katie really is, and for the first time in her life, she gets to be just a normal girl.
Once Upon a Holiday airs on Hallmark Channel on Wed 12/14 at 12 am; Fri 12/23 at 4 pm; Thu 12/29 at 10 pm; and Sat 12/31 at 6 am.
11. One Starry Christmas (Hallmark Channel)
Holly (Sarah Carter) is an aspiring astronomy professor who, while traveling back home for the holidays, meets Luke (Damon Runyan), a cowboy (he really is a cowboy!) from the South.
I am a sucker for Southern guys, and Luke, who is literally on his way to a rodeo, makes my heart melt. It is also nice to see a scholarly female main character for a change.
One Starry Christmas airs on Hallmark Channel on Tue 12/20 at 2 pm and Thu 12/29 at 2 am.
12. ‘Tis the Season for Love (Hallmark Channel)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CL2H0hcIVk
An aspiring actress Beth (Sarah Lancaster) returns to her hometown, and after receiving a potentially magical key from Santa Claus starts to reconsider the choices she has made in her life.
Brendan Penny (Motive, Chesapeake Shores) looks so charming and nice, which makes his character Dean extremely likable. The small town setting is always a plus, in addition to which the “imagine what your life would look like if…” segments are fun to watch despite their obvious predictability.
‘Tis the Season for Love airs on Hallmark Channel on Mon 12/26 at 2 pm and Sun 1/1 at 6 am.
Milka Väinämö
Milka is a Master of Arts with degrees in Film, Theatre, and Media Studies. She is obsessed with American sitcoms, ice hockey, pizza, coffee, and all things true crime. Her favorite shows include Parks and Recreation, The Office, Community, Arrested Development, Seinfeld, and The Gilmore Girls.