Put down that Pumpkin Spice Latte and fire up the kettle for a cup of frothy peppermint hot cocoa because the Hallmark Channel’s “Countdown to Christmas” movie bonanza kicks off Friday, October 22 at 8 pm ET with Danica McKellar’s star turn as a woman tasked with saving a 100-year-old Christmas tree farm in You, Me & The Christmas Trees.
You know the drill by now: Every weekend leading up to Christmas, Hallmark premieres at least three Yuletide-themed films aimed to vigorously tug at your heartstrings while injecting life into the careers of faces long familiar to romcom fans of the big and small screen.
Hallmark’s commitment to spreading holiday cheer with stories of romance and tree trimming is almost a public service at this point - especially after the last 18 months. Let’s take a metaphorical sleigh ride through the merry schedule. Jingle bells optional.
Access the movies listed below with the Lifestyle Extra Package with your Sling Blue or Orange subscription.
Traveling in Time
Christmas makes people wistful - usually about past transgressions. And sometimes the only way to fix those screw-ups is to physically go back in time. Back to the Future stars Lea Thompson and Chirstopher Lloyd reunite for another trip to a different decade in Next Stop, Christmas (11/6 at 8 pm ET). Angie doesn’t have to imagine what would have happened if she married her former boyfriend-turned-famous sportscaster when a magical train ride with a quirky conductor takes her right back to where it all began. Another TV reunion brings together former Desperate Housewives co-stars James Denton and Teri Hatcher in A Kiss Before Christmas (11/21). After losing a promotion, married father of two, Ethan laments his life choices. When he wakes up on Christmas Day to find he’s CEO of his company instead of a family man, can he convince his wife in another life, Joyce, to help him find his way back? The past visits a marketing executive in the ghostly form of four ex-boyfriends in Boyfriends of Christmas Past (10/23 at 8 pm ET) while Jordin Sparks and Michael Xavier unearth a 100-year-old time capsule in A Christmas Treasure (11/7 at 8 pm ET).
A Christmas Mystery
Solving crimes and taking names. When detectives Tanya (Tamera Mowry-Housely) and Ryan (Paul Campbell) go undercover as newlyweds to solve a string of robberies at the holiday parties of the super-rich in The Santa Stakeout (10/24 at 8 pm ET), the line between their real and make-believe identities becomes blurred. Searching out a secret admirer isn’t as high stakes as thwarting thieves, but in Open By Christmas (11/5 at 8 pm ET), Alison Sweeney is on the hunt for the author of an anonymous Christmas card.
Crush the Competition
Do you want to be right or do you want to win? Maybe both? Candace Cameron Bure goes up against her ex in a battle of wills while the whole city watches in The Christmas Contest (11/28) while two brothers go for broke in an effort to create the house with the best Christmas decorations in The Christmas House 2: Deck Those Halls (12/18).
Warm Fuzzies All Around
Some movies exist just to generate a warm, happy glow in whoever is watching. Take The Nine Kittens of Christmas (11/25) for instance. A couple of cat lovers must find homes for a litter of kittens during the holidays. On paper, the plot is a little thin, but who can resist two hours of cute felines? Christmas carols also bring joy, which is why getting duped into auditioning for the Holiday Chorus - even if your ex-boyfriend is the director - isn’t such a bad thing. Just ask Michelle Williams - the star of Christmas in Harmony (10/29 at 8 pm ET).
Christmas Around the World
Jetting off abroad still poses some complications for most of us, but doesn’t spending Christmas in Ireland sound enchanting? Lacey Chabert and Stuart Townsend have the luck of the Irish on their side in Christmas at Castle Hart (11/27) when her tourist character gets mistaken for an event planner tasked with hosting his Earlship’s holiday soiree. Of course, you don’t have to leave home to experience the traditions of other cultures. In Coyote Creek Christmas (10/30 at 8 pm ET), a “Christmas Around the World Party” brings together two people aching for adventure.
Sister Act
“All kinds of weather, we stick together/The same in the rain or the sun/Two different races, but in tight places/We think and we act as one.” That gem from White Christmas is perfect background music for a double feature starring Kimberly Williams-Paisley and Ashley Williams. Sister Swap: A Hometown Holiday (12/5) and Sister Swap: Christmas in the City (12/12) finds the real-life sisters playing siblings who switch cities in a story that takes inspiration from the 1996 Christmas classic The Holiday.
Here’s the full calendar in chronological order so you can start planning your holiday season:
You, Me & The Christmas Trees
Airs: 10/22 at 8 pm ET
Stars: Danica McKellar, Benjamin Ayres, Jason Hervey
Boyfriends of Christmas Past
Airs: 10/23 at 8 pm ET
Stars: Catherine Haena Kim, Raymond Ablack, and Paul Sun-Hyung Lee
The Santa Stakeout
Airs: 10/24 at 8 pm ET
Stars: Tamera Mowry-Housley, Paul Campbell, and Joe Pantoliano
Christmas in Harmony
Airs: 10/29 at 8 pm ET
Stars: Ashleigh Murray, Luke James, Loretta Devine, Michelle Williams, Basil Wallace
Coyote Creek Christmas
Airs: 10/30 at 8 pm ET
Stars: Janel Parrish, Ryan Paevey
Christmas Sail
Airs: 10/31 at 8 pm ET
Stars: Katee Sackhoff, Patrick Sabongui, and Terry O’Quinn
Gingerbreak Miracle
Airs: 11/5 at 8 pm ET
Stars: Merritt Patterson, Jon Ecker
Next Stop, Christmas
Airs: 11/6 at 8 pm ET
Stars: Lyndsy Fonseca, Chandler Massey, Lea Thompson, and Christopher Lloyd
A Christmas Treasure
Airs: 11/7 at 8 pm ET
Stars: Jordin Sparks and Michael Xavier
Open by Christmas
Airs: 11/5 at 8 pm ET
Stars: Alison Sweeney, Erica Durance, Brennan Elliott
My Christmas Family Tree
Airs: 11/13 at 8 pm ET
Stars: Aimee Teegarden, Andrew Walker, James Tupper
A Holiday in Harlem
Airs: 11/14 at 8 pm ET
Stars: Olivia Washington, Will Adams, Tina Lifford
Nantucket Noel
Airs: 11/19 at 8 pm ET
Stars: Trevor Donovan, Sarah Power
A Christmas Together With You
Airs: 11/20 at 8 pm ET
Stars: Harry Lennix, Laura Vandervoort, Niall Matter
A Kiss Before Christmas
Airs: 11/21 at 8 pm ET
Stars: James Denton, Teri Hatcher, Marilu Henner
The Nine Kittens of Christmas
Airs: 11/25 at 8 pm ET
Stars: Brandon Routh, Kimberley Sustad, Gregory Harrison
Christmas CEO
Airs: 11/26 at 6 pm ET
Stars: Marisol Nichols, Paul Greene
An Unexpected Christmas
Airs: 11/26 at 8 pm ET
Stars: Bethany Joy, Tyler Hyners
Making Spirits Bright
Airs: 11/27 at 5 pm ET
Stars: Taylor Cole, Carlo Marks
Christmas at Castle Hart
Airs: 11/27 at 8 pm ET
Stars: Lacey Chabert and Stuart Townsend
Christmas in Tahoe
Airs: 11/28 at 6 pm ET
Stars: Laura Osnes, Kyle Selig, Pat Monahan, George Lopez
The Christmas Contest
Airs: 11/28 at 8 pm ET
Stars: Candace Cameron Bure, John Brotherton, and Barbara Niven
Eigth Gifts of Hanukkah
Airs: 12/3 at 8 pm ET
Stars: Inbar Lavi, Jake Epstein
A Very Merry Bridesmaid
Airs: 12/4 at 8 pm ET
Stars: Emily Osment, Casey Deidrick
Sister Swap: A Hometown Holiday / Sister Swap: Christmas in the City
Airs: 12/5 and 12/12
Stars: Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Ashley Williams, Mark Deklin, Keith Robinson, Susan Yeagley, and Kevin Nealon
A Dickens of a Holiday!
Airs: 12/10 at 8 pm ET
Stars: Brooke D'Orsay, Kristoffer Polaha
A Royal Queens Christmas
Airs: 12/11 at 8 pm ET
Stars: Megan Park, Julian Morris
The Christmas House 2: Deck Those Halls
Airs: 12/18 at 8 pm ET
Stars: Robert Buckley, Ana Ayora, Jonathan Bennett, Sharon Lawrence, Treat Williams, Brad Harder
'Tis the Season to be Merry
Airs: 12/19 at 8 pm ET
Stars: Rachael Leigh Cook, Travis Van Winkle, Karen Malina White
If that’s not enough Christmas spirit for you, check out the “Miracles of Christmas” lineup on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries:
Christmas In My Heart
Airs: 10/23 at 10 pm ET
Stars: Heather Hemmens, Luke Macfarlane, Sheryl Lee Ralph
The Christmas Promise
Airs: 10/30 at 10 pm ET
Stars: Torrey DeVitto, Dylan Bruce and Patrick Duffy
Debbie Macomber’s A Mrs. Miracle Christmas
Airs: 11/6 at 10 pm ET
Stars: Kaitlin Doubleday, Steve Lund, Caroline Rhea
One December Night
Airs: 11/13 at 10 pm ET
Stars: Peter Gallagher, Bruce Campbell
Five More Minutes
Airs: 11/20 at 10 pm ET
Stars: Nikki DeLoach, David Haydn-Jones
Time for Them to Come Home For Christmas
Airs: 11/27 at 10 pm ET
Stars: Jessy Schram, Brendan Penny
Our Christmas Journey
Airs: 12/4 at 10 pm ET
Stars: Holly Robinson Peete, Lyriq Bent, Nik Sanchez
A Godwink Christmas: Miracle of Love
Airs: 12/11 at 10 pm ET
Stars: Katherine Barrell, Alberto Frezza
Christmas For Keeps
Airs: 12/18 at 10 pm ET
Stars: Christa B. Allen, Ryan Rottman, Ashley Newbrough, Marielle Scott
To watch every Hallmark Christmas movie this holiday season, sign up for Sling Orange or Blue with the lifestyle Extra package.
