They simply made too much supply, so Hallmark ended up with nothing really standing out given 20 variations on the same basic formula. I also think they may have branched out into genres for Christmas outside of Hallmark's wheelhouse.

I'm not surprised if they dial back, and I assume it's tied to money. Maybe advertisers aren't willing to support that many new releases, so we'll just get the same filler reruns in their place. Plus the competition from streaming services all doing "feel-good seasonal romcoms," and yes, saving some for their own service. I always had to stretch into January to catch up on the new stuff, so this isn't a terrible thing, as long as they still do the good movies with my favorite casts. And the bad Hallmarks are still better than 99% of the GACs.

As it is, I still have stuff on the DVR from spring that I haven't watched. My current project has been a complete rewatch of Signed Sealed Delivered, this time with the wife, who seems to enjoy it. The only two left are the new ones from 2024 and 2025, both of which I haven't yet watched.

I have been watching the Deck The Hallmark Preview podcasts as that helps get me excited for what is to come.

This past weekend Home Turf aired and while I agree with the criticism that it is such an unrealistic film and can see why Decider rated it as a Skip It (vs Stream It) film, what is really odd is that I kind-of loved this film. I found it funny and charming at times and just an easy breezy watch. In fact, I may watch it again before the year ends, and it will certainly become one of those rare Hallmark films that I try to watch at least once a year.

Home Turf stars Nikki DeLoach, who is always worth watching in a Hallmark film, but again...very unrealistic film, college students moving into the Presidents home on a college campus and other stuff that does not reflect real life. However, some hijinks ensue and the film is just fun.

This weekend is the Premiere of Haul Out The Halloween, so happy about that.

ETA: Not that anyone asked, but some Hallmarks I like to watch at least once a year:

Pumpkin Pie Wars - fairly newish film that I off course watch right around the time of year we head into the Fall season
The Journey Ahead - for some reason I just really enjoy this film, have seen it at least once a year since it first aired in 2022
Trading Christmas - Faith Ford, Tom Cavanaugh, Gil Bellows, Gabrielle Miller, and a bunch of other Hallmark regulars, just a creat cast for this film that I understand is beloved by many Hallmark watchers, a real fan fave film that I have now seen probably at least 8-10 times including I think this year in July, to lean into Hallmark's It's Christmastime in July event, lol, that is why I watched in July

Some newer Hallmarks that I can see myself watching multiple times as the years fly by are Field Day and as mentioned above, Home Turf

Sugarplummed is now available on all digital stores and I already bought it off of Fandango. It was my favorite Christmas movie from last year. I think I'll sign up for Hallmark plus in November so I can catch up on the fall movies and then have it for the Christmas movies through the end of the year.

Great American Family debuts their first new Christmas film tonight for 2025.

Okay, I started to watch the GAF countdown to Christmas film and it was kind of slow so I started to futz around on my tablet and I looked up after what I thought had to be at least 90 minutes into the movie and aargghhh, there was still about an hour to go!

I have still not finished the film, lol. Katie leClerc deserves better than to star in this film.

GAF has been doing this just long enough that by now their films should be a bit more entertaining to watch.

I should note that many Hallmark films might not be good but they still have entertainment value.

I forgot about the GAF film and never remember the Comcast channel number ever since they changed from 1620, so I searched for Katie LeClerc and set the recording. GAFs tend to be bad so I’m not expecting much. I think last year they had one decent one with Merritt Patterson. The star-studded Little Women was not good.

I watched Haul Out the Halloween, and it was fine. Lacey Chabert and Wes Brown are still likeable, but there wasn’t really that much notable about it. Some character development, I guess, and they set up another sequel.

It was silly fun. We got more Stephen Tobolowsky/weird Ned this time around. The reference to the Avril Lavigne conspiracy was so random . They did leave the door open for a holiday sequel abroad.


LIFETIME 2025 It's A Wonderful Lifetime Schedule

Hallmark+ has a section that lets you watch every Countdown to Christmas film from when they officially started in 2010.

Super funny to see generally at most 4-14 films per Countdown Event up through 2016, then things really get going in 2017 with I believe 15 films, then you usually get 30-40+ films post 2017, so that must have been when Hallmark really started paying attention and noticed how folks really leaned into watching these films.

in fact, I think last year hit 42 but 2023 was peak Countdown with 44 movies!

If it felt like it was definitely starting to feel exhausting around 2022 to 2024 trying to catch all the Christmas films around the time they aired that tracks because over 40 films is a lot to watch, lol!!

Caught Private Princess Christmas which guide data says premiered last year. I wanted to like it since the star was cute but the script had real problems the inexperienced cast doesn't overcome. Erica Durance is the only recognizable actress but her role is not much more than a cameo. The screenplay goes overboard on the spoiled princess trope versus a no-nonsense, gruff soldier. Mildly dumb premise the princess will only become queen if she passes boot camp. And Christmas is almost entirely irrelevant in the plot.

The Deck The Hallmark folks consider this to be one Hallmarks worst films, Christmas themed or otherwise, lol.

Me, I enjoyed it as a dumb but fun watch and agree it did not need to be part of the Countdown to Christmas line up.

Yesterday they were showing a couple of my faves, My Christmas Family Tree and Holiday Hotline (the Butterball movie), so I watched bits of them. I have the first on digital but not the second, I assume because it hasn't gone on sale.

When the movies come out on digital, it's so long after broadcast that I have to check this thread to see which ones I liked that year. Offhand I remember The Five-Year Christmas Party as one I'd probably rewatch. But the multi-packs are so cheap that I end up buying a lot of randoms anyway. One will be on sale for $5, but also in a three-pack for $5.99.

I thought Fandango might launch a sale when the new movies started up, but nothing so far.

New Hallmark sale at Vudu, but pretty weak. It started even weaker last week and has been bumped 30 titles, but all singles rather than the cheap bundles, and not the films that premiered last year. (All those things are regular price in Vudu's holiday lists.)

I watched the Katie LeClerc movie on GAC, A Wisconsin Christmas Pie, and it was surprisingly not terrible. The male lead was passable, but the kid was not very good compared to Hallmark's kids, and there was not very much food porn for a food-themed movie. I'll record the Brittany Bristow GAC this weekend but have been avoiding the no-name ones, or the ones that are overtly religious. Because they slip faith into a lot of their movies, the up-front-religious ones are probably really heavy-handed.

Sugarplummed was one of my favorites from last year and wanted to have it in my digital collection. If anyone is interested Hallmark has a new youtube channel called "Hallmark Movies" in which they upload full movies on to youtube. They don't have many movies on their yet but I expect them to added more as we get closer to Christmas.

Merry Christmas, Ted Cooper! (2025): Robert Buckley plays a perpetually positive weatherman despite his history of running into bad luck during the holidays. He returns home and runs into his HS sweetheart, Kimberly Sustad, and you know what happens. I assumed Sustad wrote it, but actually Buckley did (I'd recently seen him in a Valentine movie with Lacey Chabert), and I liked it, though it probably could've coasted by on the stars' appeal alone. Good role for Megan Heffern as Buckley's steadfast sister (she's been in a lot of Hallmark supporting roles), and Reedan Elizabeth is a wheelchair actor who plays a wheelchair role. Brendan Penny also appears in a small part.

Hmm, that's interesting. They've only been around for a month, and it looks like they're uploading catalog movies plus the accompanying promos. I assume their long-term strategy is to provide another way for people to watch and scoop up ad revenue.

A Very Curious Christmas (GAC 2025): Brittany Bristow plays a TV reporter covering a series of Christmas-trimmings thefts, and bumps heads with the detective on the case (Olivier Reynaud). Not terrible for GAC, but it actually wasn't originally GAC, released in 2023 as "A Merry Mystery Christmas." (I wonder how stuff like this gets retitled. Do they just slap up a title card before resuming the opening credits? Do they go back to the original print, redo the title, then republish? Stuff no one else ever wonders about, I'm sure.)

I've been picking off some Hallmarks from earlier in the year as well. An Unexpected Valentine with Lacey Chabert and Paul Buckley was the best of the lot. Love in the Clouds was better than I expected. McKenzie Whitmore has terrible bottle-blonde hair and a face that looks paralyzed from botox, but Paul Greene is fine, and they made it a plot point that he's in his 50s. I learned something about hot-air balloons, just as Hats Off to Love taught me more than I wanted to know about the Kentucky Derby. Ginna Claire Mason is in a non-musical role but does get to sing a little. Sisterhood Inc was a meh makeover movie with Rachel Leigh Cook, and I finally finished off the Royals series with Royal-ish, about a Disney princess (Nicole Sakura) who meets a real-life prince. This was fine but I think I may have liked the Andrew Walker royal movie better.

Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story (2025): The new NFL collaboration is similar to the Chiefs one in following a team-obsessed family. Hollander Roden is super cute and plays opposite Hallmark newcomer Matthew Daddario, Alexandra’s brother. The plot doesn’t really matter, but one of the key points is the Bills stadium that’s being replaced next year. Alexandra’s brother. Joe Pantoliano plays a family member, and I see that Tracy Pollan, Michael J. Fox’s wife, does too. She was probably the person I couldn’t place, and I’d go back to check her scenes if I hadn’t already deleted it. There are a bunch of player cameos, of course, including


Hallmark cameos include Andrew Walker, Tyler Hines, and Fiona Gublemann.

How have the Countdown to Christmas movies been this year? Has there been anything good?

Christmas on Duty: Janell Parish is of course a soldier who has to cooperate with her rival to deliver toys on Christmas Day. I like Parish, but the plot was just kind of tedious.

Christmas Above the Clouds: Does the world really need another movie based on A Christmas Carol? Well, I liked this one. Erin Krakow plays Ella Neezer, and the interest comes from what people are saying about her and what her future holds, even if the Tyler Hines romance isn't much.

A Keller Christmas Vacation: I didn't expect much but it was surprisingly good. Jonathan Bennett is the big name, and he's fine. Brandon Routh has done some animal-themed movies before, and he's also fine, but it's hard to separate him from Superman. The best sibling was actress-comedian Eden Sher, who I liked a lot in this role. Also good was Jill Winternitz, Routh's romantic foil. The odd thing is that the plot and dialogue refer to past events like this is a sequel, but I can't find any record of it.

A Royal Montana Christmas: Checks the boxes of "royal among peasants" and "cowboy," and that's about it. With Fiona Gubelmann and Warren Christie.

Christmas at the Catnip Cafe: Pretty standard plot but with a lot of cats that will attract cat lovers like, well, catnip. Erin Cahill and Paul Campbell star, with a cameo by Kimberly Sustad.

I've also been working my way through Mistletoe Murders with Sarah Drew. I believe this was on the streaming service, but they showed both seasons on Friday nights recently. Another one of those absurd small towns with an astronomical rate of murder, but I like Drew, and they hint at more to her character than a simple Christmas shop owner. Other Hallmark people (Benjamin Ayres, Katherine Barrell) play roles in the two-episode arcs.

I started Christmas at the Inn (GAC) figuring Jill Wagner and Trevor Donovan couldn't be terrible, but it was really slow and dull, so I deleted it after half an hour.

I caught Christmas Above the Clouds as well. Erin Krakow is getting a bit long in the tooth as a Hallmark star but this was a largely enjoyable modern take on A Christmas Carol, subbing in a girl boss main character for Scrooge. This leaned into comedy more than I expected with decent results.

Single on the 25th

Stars Lyndsy Fonseca, probably best known from Nikita. By the way, she’s married to Noah Bean, her costar in Nikita, and they have two kids.

This was very charming. She and her male lead Daniel Lissing had good chemistry.

it was about a 30 something woman who’s been single for awhile and unexpectedly finds love with a charming neighbor who also has been single a long time

Surprised no one has mentioned Lori Loughlin is making a return to Hallmark. She is coming back to her role on the Hallmark series When Calls the Heart. She ended up divorcing her husband of many years. I randomly came across the Seinfeld episode she appeared in as Jerry's girlfriend the other day.

I don’t watch When Calls the Heart, but maybe someday.

A Newport Christmas (2025): Ginna Claire Mason in another non-musical role plays a 1905 Rhode Island woman who time-travels to present day to meet Wes Brown, and complications ensue. It’s fine but forgettable.

The Christmas Baby (2025): Ali Liebert and Kat Barrell are a married couple who have a baby dropped at their doorstep, and they have to figure out what to do with him. It’s an interesting story of fostering and adoption, and complicated family decisions, and it works really well. A different approach might have put this in the dramatic lane back when they did enough movies to split them out that way, but they keep it comedic enough to not get too heavy.

A Grand Ole Opry Christmas (2025): One of the year’s tentpole titles on Thanksgiving weekend, it’s yet another time-travel story with Nikki DeLoach going back to see why her father pulled the plug on his country career, with Kristoffer Polaha as support. Unlike past tie-ins like the dismal Dollyland one, this is pretty good, and I could tell there were a bunch of cameos from people I didn’t know. Brad Paisley wrote the big song and appears as himself.

A Christmas Angel Match (2025): A fantasy with Meghan Ory and Benjamin Ayres as matchmaking angels. Meh.

The Hallmark Christmas Experience (2025): A one-hour commercial for the fan experience in Kansas City, and as it’s not something I’m likely to ever do (a friend has gone to regional ones), I thought it was interesting to see the stars that appear and such.

Tidings for the Season (2025): Extremely generic title for a movie about a newscaster (BJ Britt) who befriends a young fan and his mom (Tamera Mowery). It’s fine.

Enjoy this time of year - the annual December tradition of bouncing back and forth between gay hockey smut and family friendly Hallmark fare.

Favorites (or the ones that managed to hold my attention in the 2nd hour):

Single on the 25th
Thirtysomething was preparing for a holiday season in solitude but ends up spending time with her next-door neighbor who is content with the single life. Agree with Djariya...Fonseca & Lissing characters are wonderfully charming - one of the few holiday offers in which the central romance wasn't forced.

A Suite Holiday Romance
A writer is tasked with ghostwriting a memoir and drums up a connection with a secretary who she mistakes for royalty. The subplot romance involving the art dealer in his younger form was surprisingly just as good.

Christmas in the Clouds
Another good tongue-in-cheeky Christmas Carol adaptation littered with Dickens references all over. Looked like Krakow had fun with this one.

We Met in December
The near close calls or missed crossing paths got a bit repetitive but thankfully the likable leads make up for this.

Also enjoyed:
Christmas at the Catnip Cafe
Christmas in Alaska (Lifetime)
The Christmas Baby


Best Dressed
Jessy Schram (A Suite Holiday Romance)

Cat Crossover
Dr. White (Kimberly Sustad) from The Nine Kittens of Christmas popping up at the Catnip Cafe. One of those Hallmark cameos that didn't advance the plot or story.

Most Distracting Product Placement
Abbott healthcare (The More the Merrier)

What in the QVC?


"Is that the price or the year it was made?" (Single on the 25th)
But how was this not housed and secured behind glass?

Add to travel Bucket List
Gondola ride, Le pas du vide in the French Alps (An Alpine Holiday)

Melt My Heart for Christmas (2025): I have to remind myself that it’s not “Melt Me Down for Christmas,” but it stars Laura “Smallville Supergirl” as a glass blower trying to make a name for herself. Stephen Huszar co-stars, and it’s fine.

The More the Merrier (2025): The title isn’t Christmas-related, but it makes sense as a small-town ER gets crowded on Christmas Day—sort of a Hallmark version of The Pitt without the shootings and other death. Rachel Boston does her charming thing, and Brendan Penny tries to get to know her. I liked this one.

She’s Making a List (2025): Lacey Chabert is in charge of checking Santa’s naughty list, including Andrew Walker’s daughter. Interesting concept and A-list cast, but not that great overall.

The Christmas Cup (2025): Rhiannon Fish is a staff sergeant who returns to her hometown to lead a competition against the neighboring town. Co-star Ben Rosenbaum is from When Calls the Heart and Erin Kraków’s real-life husband. Pretty much what you’d expect.