Holiday TV viewing used to mean nostalgic animated specials like A Charlie Brown Christmas or Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Now, \u2019tis the season of domination by round-the-clock Hallmark Christmas movies<\/a>.<\/p>\n This time of year can be frustrating for TV viewers who don\u2019t get the appeal of these movies.\u00a0If this describes you, never fear \u2014 we\u2019re here to help!<\/p>\n Whether you\u2019re secretly curious or know you\u2019re doomed to watch some of these with family over the holidays, these tips will help you endure and<\/em> enjoy your time watching Hallmark Christmas movies.<\/p>\n We know all the Hallmark cliches: A high-powered career woman from the Big City is forced to spend Christmas in a snowy rural town where she finds love and the true spirit of the holiday.<\/p>\n This is\u2026 well, I suppose it\u2019s still true for a fair percentage of these films. <\/p>\n But! Over the past decade, the explosion of interest in Hallmark movies has resulted in a vast library of new holiday film content, enough so there are now several subgenres to choose from.\u00a0<\/p>\n Some of Hallmark\u2019s newer Christmas movies still nod to the old formula, but even those have changed to better reflect the times.\u00a0<\/p>\n Plots have thankfully veered away from the dated, sexist convention of a new couple\u2019s romantic obstacles being either a bland, distracted boyfriend back in the city or a jealous, local ex-girlfriend.\u00a0<\/p>\n Now, workaholic city folk return to vibrant hometowns full of old friends and family with active lives and story arcs apart from the leads.\u00a0<\/p>\n There is more diversity in the main, secondary, and background characters. And not everyone<\/em> owns a cupcake bakery or Christmas tree farm.\u00a0<\/p>\n Even that trademark chaste, last-five-seconds-of-the-movie first kiss of the leads has been bumped up in some films to the ninety-minute mark.\u00a0<\/p>\n But don\u2019t hold your breath for steamier progress on that end; Hallmark will never go past first base.<\/p>\n No matter how sophisticated these films have gotten, gallons of hot cocoa are still consumed, and countless laps skated around rinks festooned with fairy lights.\u00a0<\/p>\n These tropes will outlive us all, and that\u2019s part of their charm! But they can also be a huge sticking point for reluctant viewers.<\/p>\n The first rule of enjoying Hallmark Christmas movies is to accept that they are in a category of their own and are not to be compared to conventional films.<\/p>\n This is the biggest hurdle experienced by those who aren\u2019t already into these movies. The good news is they share several qualities embraced in non-Hallmark films, making it easier to find an entry point into the genre.<\/p>\n Sure, you can take the \u201cscavenger hunt\u201d viewing route with these films, where you gleefully note their every business model discrepancy and glaring misconception of how social media works.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t forget to include the number of times we\u2019re asked to overlook how the actors playing middle-aged parents are roughly the same age as those playing their adult children!<\/p>\n But to borrow from Din Djarin<\/a>: This is not The Way.\u00a0<\/p>\n Instead\u2026<\/p>\n A surprising number of big names have appeared in Hallmark Christmas movies, including but not limited to the following dazzlers.<\/p>\n Mariah Carey: She did not sing in A Christmas Melody<\/a> (2015), but she directed, acted, and adapted her song, Oh Santa!, for it.\u00a0Does she play a diva? Does she ever! But it\u2019s all tongue-in-cheek and a lot of fun. Plus: Lacey Chabert<\/a>!<\/p>\n \t\t\t<\/p>\n Watch A Christmas Melody Online<\/p>\n \t\t\t Henry Winkler<\/a>: You know how you may have only seen one episode of a TV show, but whenever you come across that show while flipping channels in a hotel room, it\u2019s always that same episode?\u00a0<\/p>\n The Most Wonderful Time of the Year <\/a>(2008) is the Hallmark Channel\u2019s version of that every-freaking-time <\/em>phenomenon. But it\u2019s great! This film relies entirely on Henry Winkler\u2019s charm, but luckily, that\u2019s a visible-from-space level of charm.<\/p>\n Winkler plays Uncle Ralph, a retired cop who brings along this laid-back guy he met on the plane to spend Christmas with his uptight niece and her son. Despite their constant arguing, Uncle Ralph thinks he\u2019s the best matchmaker ever!<\/p>\n \t\t\t<\/p>\n Watch The Most Wonderful Time of the Year Online<\/p>\n \t\t\t Andrew McCarthy<\/a>: We were *seriously* cheated out of seeing McCarthy dance at the prom in Pretty in Pink<\/a> \u2014 he has got some Duck<\/a>-worthy moves!\u00a0<\/p>\n In Come Dance With Me (also titled Christmas Dance<\/a>, 2012), he plays an exec from humble beginnings who takes dancing lessons to prepare for an elaborate proposal to the boss\u2019s daughter but starts falling for his dance instructor instead.<\/p>\n This soulful film addresses class and family issues while proving that McCarthy is a romantic lead for the ages.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t<\/p>\n Watch Come Dance With Me Online<\/p>\n \t\t\t Mira Sorvino<\/a>: Okay, I know amnesia is one of those overused tropes people like to make fun of in these movies, but listen<\/em>. <\/p>\n Seriously, DREAMGIRLS-level listen to me, here!<\/p>\n In A Christmas To Remember<\/a> (2016), Oscar-winner Sorvino will bring you to absolute *tears* as a caustic celebrity chef who loses her memory after a blizzard-induced car crash and becomes a sweet, integral part of her widowed rescuer\u2019s young family. It\u2019s so, SO good \u2014 and don\u2019t forget those tissues.<\/p>\n \t\t\t<\/p>\n Watch A Christmas To Remember Online<\/p>\n \t\t\t Now that you\u2019ve warmed up a bit with the celebrity tie-in movies, it\u2019s time for\u2026<\/p>\n Non-viewers may still associate Hallmark Christmas movies with Lacey Chabert<\/a> trimming trees, competing in confectionary contests, or charming the royalty of small European countries (she does all three in 2019\u2019s Love, Romance, & Chocolate).<\/p>\n \t\t\t<\/p>\n Watch Love, Romance, & Chocolate Online<\/p>\n \t\t\t However, a recent seismic shift expanded the possibilities for these films in terms of structure, dialogue, and creativity.<\/p>\n Hallmark veterans Kimberley Sustad<\/a> and Paul Campbell<\/a> are responsible for much of the channel\u2019s Christmas movie renaissance.\u00a0<\/p>\n Their individual and joint projects formed the first branches of Hallmark\u2019s Expanded Universe and offer a convenient way for Marvel-fluent viewers to find holiday movies with a sensibility outside the channel\u2019s usual tropes.\u00a0<\/p>\n The pair have acted together in several Hallmarks, both holiday (Christmas By Starlight<\/a>, 2020) and non (Wedding Every Weekend<\/a>, 2020).\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t<\/p>\n Watch Christmas by Starlight Online<\/p>\n \t\t\t They\u2019ve also co-written a few, like the mega-hit Three Wise Men and a Baby (2022) and its sequel, Three Wiser Men and a Boy<\/a> (2024).<\/p>\n \t\t\t<\/p>\n Watch Three Wiser Men and a Boy Online<\/p>\n \t\t\t But Sustad\u2019s true origin story was her leading role in The Nine Lives of Christmas<\/a>, a 2014 film that\u2019s become a holiday classic for Hallmark fans.\u00a0<\/p>\n This movie has everything: cuddly kitties, home renovation tips, feline feeding guidance (most adult cats are lactose intolerant!), and Gregory Harrison as a silver fox fire chief.\u00a0<\/p>\n Oh, and just to underscore our superhero universe analogy here, the movie\u2019s male lead is Brandon Routh of Superman Returns<\/a>.<\/p>\n Sustad and Routh have fantastic chemistry, but the movie can also be viewed as simply a romance between their kitties Ambrose and Queenie, the two best feline actors ever filmed.<\/p>\n \t\t\t<\/p>\n Watch The Nine Lives of Christmas Online<\/p>\n \t\t\t The Nine Lives of Christmas<\/a> marked a branching-off point from the main timeline of Hallmark holiday film expectations. <\/p>\n Their plots now weren\u2019t all about luring urban career women to rural towns where bake sales fix everyone\u2019s financial problems.<\/p>\n The movies more often included witty banter, meta references, and larger casts of secondary characters who were essential to the story instead of just background scenery. They became more like\u2026 (gasp) real films<\/em>!<\/p>\n Paul Campbell\u2019s lanky, likable romantic leads ushered in a new crop of male actors who added humor, depth, and sensitivity to the average Hallmark hero. <\/p>\n Audience faves (and Campbell collaborators) Andrew Walker<\/a> and Tyler Hynes<\/a> can pivot from soulful to goofball on a dime, which explains the trio\u2019s success in Campbell and Sustad\u2019s Three Wise Men franchise.<\/p>\n This new loosening of Hallmark\u2019s old formula opened the door to sly tweaks of familiar tropes, like the yearly obligatory remakes of A Christmas Carol.<\/p>\n In A Dickens of a Holiday!<\/a> (2021), Kristoffer Polaha and Brooke D\u2019Orsay<\/a> play former high school drama club classmates who reunite for a stage production of A Christmas Carol in their historic hometown.\u00a0<\/p>\n Jake is an action movie star who takes the gig to stretch his acting skills and visit his estranged family. Cassie is a failed Broadway director who needs a career win, even if just in a small-town theater.\u00a0<\/p>\n The surprise is how Dickens\u2019 play stays on stage without direct correlations to Jake and Cassie\u2019s story arcs. Bonus: The best (perhaps only?) Ace Hardware product placement scene in film history!<\/p>\n \t\t\t<\/p>\n Watch A Dickens of a Holiday! Online<\/p>\n \t\t\t This new Hallmark era also unleashed some truly inventive takes on the supernatural tropes of ghosts, alternate history, and time loops.<\/p>\n Perhaps the biggest Dickens trope breaker is Ghosts of Christmas Always<\/a> (2022), a true gem that starts off in one of those otherworldly agencies where angels look more like harried government employees, and that\u2019s usually right where I would change the channel.<\/p>\n But the film quickly turns into a lush, heartbreaking intergenerational drama that could definitely be mistaken for a \u201creal\u201d movie, and the supernatural aspects don\u2019t overshadow its very human story.<\/p>\n \t\t\t<\/p>\n Watch Ghosts of Christmas Always Online<\/p>\n \t\t\t Hallmark perfected the time loop trope in Round and Round<\/a> (2023), a Groundhog Day-esque film where Vic Michaelis<\/a> plays Rachel, a young woman stuck in a time loop of the night of her parents\u2019 Hannukah party.<\/p>\n This movie defies and exceeds all possible expectations with surprising plot twists and blisteringly witty dialogue for every character, not just the incredibly swoony leads.<\/p>\n And it\u2019s FUNNY! Seriously, be careful if you eat or drink while watching this one, or at least brush up on the Heimlich. Bonus: Rick Hoffman of Suits<\/a> plays Rachel\u2019s dad!<\/p>\n \t\t\t<\/p>\n Watch Round and Round Online<\/p>\n \t\t\t Rounding out all the trope-tastic, time-traveling goodness is A Biltmore Christmas<\/a> (2023), a sci-fi-tinged love story across the ages starring Hallmark royalty Kristoffer Polaha<\/a> and Bethany Joy Lenz<\/a>.<\/p>\n It also features gorgeous period costumes and high production values, plus it was filmed at the actual Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. Bonus: Jonathan Frakes<\/a>!<\/p>\n \t\t\t<\/p>\n Watch A Biltmore Christmas Online<\/p>\n \t\t\t Look, I know you can lead a horse to water, but you can\u2019t make it pull an ornate sleigh through snowy, lantern-lit woods to a rustic cabin on a maple syrup farm that\u2019s one bake sale away from foreclosure.<\/p>\n However, Hallmark Christmas movies are worth a try this season because so many of them are fantastic; there\u2019s a ton of variety with them right now, and they\u2019re just getting better every year. You\u2019d be gifting yourself a good time!<\/p>\n Which Hallmark Christmas movies sound appealing to you, if any? We\u2019d love to know!<\/p>\n \t\t\t<\/p>\n Watch Three Wise Men and a Baby Online<\/p>\n \t\t\t![\"Vic](\"https:\/\/cdn.tvfanatic.com\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Round-and-Round-16x9-Horizontal-1024x576.png\")
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Things Have Changed. Really!<\/h2>\n
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Reframe Expectations<\/h2>\n
Follow The Stars<\/h2>\n
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\n <\/span><\/p>\n![\"Mira](\"https:\/\/cdn.tvfanatic.com\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Mira-Sorvino-3x4-Hallmark-Christmas-Movie.png\")
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\n <\/span><\/p>\nThe Expanded Hallmark Universe<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.tvfanatic.com\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Screenshot-2024-12-21-at-2.28.50%E2%80%AFPM-867x1024.png\")
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\n <\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.tvfanatic.com\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Screenshot-2024-12-21-at-2.31.38%E2%80%AFPM-907x1024.png\")
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\n <\/span><\/p>\n![\"Brandon](\"https:\/\/cdn.tvfanatic.com\/uploads\/2021\/11\/brandon-routh-as-zachary-683x1024.jpg\")
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\n <\/span><\/p>\nAlternate Timelines<\/h2>\n
![\"Paul](\"https:\/\/cdn.tvfanatic.com\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Paul-Campbell-3x4-Tux.png\")
![\"Brooke](\"https:\/\/cdn.tvfanatic.com\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Brooke-DOrsay-3x4-Dickens-.png\")
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\n <\/span><\/p>\nGhosts And Time Loops<\/h2>\n
![\"Kim](\"https:\/\/cdn.tvfanatic.com\/uploads\/2022\/10\/kim-matula-stars-in-ghosts-of-christmas-always-683x1024.jpg\")
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\n <\/span><\/p>\n![\"Vic](\"https:\/\/cdn.tvfanatic.com\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Vic-Michaelis-3x4-Round-and-Round.png\")
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\n <\/span><\/p>\nResistance Is Futile<\/h2>\n
![\"Lucy](\"https:\/\/cdn.tvfanatic.com\/uploads\/2023\/11\/lucy-and-jack-sing-a-duet-725x1024.jpg\")
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