Journey Through Christmases Past: History of Christmas in July

 

Welcome to our newest feature, Journey through Christmases Past. This series is a nostalgic celebration of the holidays we all remember...

• The history and traditions of the holiday.
• The décor that filled our homes.
• The toys that defined each decade.
• The television and movie shows that brightened the season.
• The outfits we adored (and the ones we definitely didn’t).

Along the way, I’ll sprinkle in a few of my own Christmas memories. So settle in with a cup of your favorite hot beverage and join me on a journey through Christmases past.

Welcome back to Sunday! We are 166 days away from Christmas. Isn't that crazy? 

Hope July has been good to you. We are back from vacation. We spent time at some of our favorite places on the Outer Banks, The Christmas Shop & General Store in Manteo and The Christmas Mouse in Nags Head. 

Music Tree in Manteo

Peace Tree in Nags Head 

Considering we are now over halfway through the year, I thought it might be cool to talk a bit about where Christmas in July came from. 

According to Department 56, the first mention of Christmas in July is attributed to an 1892 French opera titled Werther. The phrase "Christmas in July" is mentioned by one of the characters as a group rehearses a carol in July. 

Though nowadays, Christmas in July often refers to merchant sales, that wasn't the case until after World War II. The first documented Christmas in July celebration had nothing to do with retailers. It all began at North Carolina's Keystone Camp under the watchful eye of the camp's co-founder Fannie Holt. Country Living shared all about the camp's tradition in this article. This first midsummer Christmas event featured carols, a tree, and a visit from Santa. 

In 1940, the film Christmas in July, starring Dick Powell and Ellen Drew, hit theaters in October. The film tells the story of office worker Jimmy MacDonald being tricked by some of his co-workers into believing he has won the Maxford House Coffee company's $25,000 slogan prize. Jimmy winds up with a raise and a promotion, and he and his girlfriend Betty go on a spending spree before the pranksters confess. 

Also in 1940, The Salvation Army launched its Christmas in July program focused on collecting gifts early to reach missions worldwide by December. If you Google this, you will see many area Salvation Army branches are running Christmas in July programs to support a variety of causes. 

According to Current360, the U.S. Post Office and U.S. Army and Navy officials joined forces with American advertisers and the greeting card industry to throw a Christmas in July luncheon in 1944 to promote an early Christmas mailing campaign for troops serving overseas. This encouraged advertisers to take advantage of this for their own marketing purposes. Since then, Christmas in July sales have become a regular thing for brick-and-mortar and then online retailers. 

Hallmark Channel began its Christmas in July programming in 2012. Great American Family started their Great American Christmas in 2022. 

These days, Christmas in July is a nationwide, mid‑summer celebration driven by TV networks, retailers, and travel companies, but it is great to see the many community and charity events that also take place this time of year. 

Christmas in the News: Hallmark Channel Teams Up with Buffalo Bills

 

Welcome back! I was pleasantly surprised to find more Christmas in the News this week. Media outlets like USA Today reported that filming for Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story will start later this year, and the movie will be shot in and around Buffalo, New York. Sounds like this collaboration could be interesting. According to the article, last year's football romantic comedy was the "most-watched movie of the year." You can read more details here. 

Christmas in the News: Hallmark Channel's 2025 Countdown to Christmas News

 

Imagine how excited I was when I stumbled across some Christmas news earlier today. Sometimes, I check out NewsBreak in the early morning to catch snippets of local and faraway news. That's how I learned that Cinemablend was sharing what they know about Hallmark Channel's upcoming "Countdown to Christmas" schedule.

According to Cinemablend, Hallmark Channel will be offering a "Christmas-themed limited series" for 2025. It's currently titled "The Twelve Dates of Christmas,"  and is based on a book of the same name by Jenny Bayliss. Did you read that one? I haven't yet. 

One of my favorite actors, Jane Seymour (Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman) will be portraying a character, so I'm super excited. Might have to read the book before this series comes out. 

You can read the full article here. 

Christmas on TV: Scouting for Christmas (Hallmark Channel, 2024 Premiere)

 

If you are looking for sweet, funny, and romantic, then you need to watch Scouting for Christmas, starring Tamera Mowry-Housley and Carlo Marks. 

Scouting for Christmas is another new premiere for this year's COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS. It features Mowry-Housley as a real estate agent and single mom of Brooklyn (Audrey Wise Alvarez). Always on the run, she is often late in getting her daughter to and from scouts, which irks the perfectionist troop leader. Divorced from Dakota, a paleontologist out on his latest adventure, Angela has finally settled into her post-divorce life, even if it is hectic. 

When it is time to decide on who to cater the troop's annual holiday event, Brooklyn suggests her mother work with local bakery owner William (Marks) to pitch his ideas to the other moms. Angela and William grow closer as they work together, but Angela isn't ready to jump into romance again. Then, Dakota returns unexpectedly, hoping for a happy reunion with his family. Angela is forced with the unenviable choice of making a decision that will impact Brooklyn no matter which man she chooses.

Scouting for Christmas is such a sweet movie. Here is poor Angela trying to do it all and making a good life for Brooklyn on their own, when her world is suddenly turned upside down. She isn't ready to welcome William into her life as more than a friend, and then Dakota arrives to set her once orderly life even more off-kilter. 

As for William, played wonderfully by Carlo Marks, he loves his bakery, and he is hoping for a fresh start with Angela. There is pressure from his ex to take the bakery in a different direction, so William will have other decisions to make other than hoping for a future with Angela.

With a great supplementary cast that includes William's mother, Angela's supportive and wise sister, and the overly perfect troop leader Elizabeth, Scouting for Christmas is an equal dose of romance and humor.

Release date: October 20, 2024

Runtime: 1 hour 24 minutes

Christmas on TV: Holiday Crashers (Hallmark Channel, 2024 Premiere)

Photo credit: IMDB

Are you looking for some double holiday pleasure, then you will want to watch another stellar Hallmark Channel's 2024 COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS premiere, Holiday Crashers. 

Best friends Toni (Lyndsy Fonseca) and Bri (Daniella Monet) have worked at the same card shop for years while they struggle to find their life's purpose. But when opportunity presents itself, they begin crashing exclusive Christmas parties and weaving exciting stories about the lives they supposedly live. They are having a blast until Toni is mistaken for an attorney. Toni and Bri find themselves whisked off to a Christmas retreat in Vermont with business mogul Justin (Chris McNally) where Bri meets his trusty valet Vinny (Jag Bal). As Justin and Toni grow closer, her secret might just be their undoing. And Vinny might have his own secret, throwing Bri for a loop. Will this end in disaster or be two helpings of happily ever after?

Holiday Crashers was such a fun movie. Toni made it through Harvard Law School, but suffered a horrible panic attack when taking the bar exam. Her father still hopes one day she will join his law firm. Bri has always been good at event planning, but she lacks the confidence to make a go of it. Together, they work at a card store while dreaming of better lives. Then one day, Bri swipes an invitation to an exclusive Christmas party and the two friends crash it. This leads them on a spree of holiday party crashing, until one day when Toni is mistaken for a lawyer and is persuaded to attend a Christmas retreat put on by Justin's company to act as a legal consultant. With Bri's prodding, they go, but it doesn't take long for things to get challenging. 

The setting of this movie was amazing. Who doesn't like holiday retreats in the Vermont mountains? As stories and backstories for the characters unfold, you can't help rooting for Justin and Toni and Bri and Vinny to get together. The acting in this one was superb, and I need to give a special shout out to Monet, who I haven't seen since her Victorious days. Holiday Crashers wouldn't have been the same without her. 

Holiday Crashers was a spritely, sweet, and charming holiday romance. I would love to see more movies like this one.

Release date: October 19, 2024

I live streamed this movie through Frndly TV. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

Christmas... in the News: Early Christmas, Review of 'That Christmas' & Christmas at Biltmore after Helene Recovery

 

Welcome to this week's edition of Christmas... in the news. This is a weekly review of some of the Christmas articles and news over the last week. 

Can you believe there are only 66 days until Christmas? That's wild! Lots of Christmas in the news this week, and Great American Family and Hallmark Channel are already busy helping us count down the days to Christmas with tons of new movies. I blessed myself with a subscription to Frndly TV, so now I can watch all my favorites.

Let's talk about this week's news. I hope you have some tissues handy.

We journey to Antioch, Illinois where WRTW-TV/WAGT-TV reported on the touching story of neighbors bringing an early Christmas to a holiday-loving woman who is on hospice. Isn't it great when friends come together to make a difference? You can read about it here.

The Hollywood Reporter just released their review of the animated Netflix feature That Christmas. They say this is destined to become a Christmas classic. Check out the review here.

Finally, we travel to Asheville, North Carolina, recently devastated by Hurricane Helene. WLOS 12 out of Asheville has reported that Biltmore Estate, despite incurring damage from Helene, will reopen on November 2nd, to welcome guests for Christmas at Biltmore. Now, is a time to support North Carolina, its residents, and its historical treasures. On the estate's Facebook page, they acknowledge the compassion and resolve of the community as they recover. You can read more here.

Until next week, hope you enjoy your holiday preparations. 

Christmas on TV: 'Twas the Date Before Christmas (Hallmark Channel, 2024 Premiere)

 

Photo credit: IMDB

Hallmark Channel's 2024 COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS starts off strong with this delightful romantic comedy starring Robert Buckley and Amy Groening. 

Feeling the pressure to bring someone home for the holidays, Jessie (Groening) invites Bryan (Buckley) to the "Chamberlain Family Christmas Olympics." Even though they just met through a dating app, Bryan, not looking forward to spending the holidays alone, agrees. Jessie's mother, played by Karen Waddell, is excited about her daughter's new boyfriend, but no one in the family realizes this is their first date. As the zany holiday activities continue, Jessie finds it hard to keep their secret. And while Bryan warms to Jessie and her family, he needs to hope other things in his life won't get in the way. 

I live streamed  'Twas the Date Before Christmas last night, and I am so glad I did. What a great way to kick off COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS. Groening and Buckley, Hallmark Channel veterans, are sweet, funny, and have amazing chemistry as their characters secretly hide they just met earlier in the day. Jessie and Bryan have touching backstories, which I won't share in case you didn't see 'Twas the Date Before Christmas last night, but those backstories play a role in how they begin to develop feelings for each other while partaking in the gift wrapping contest, snowball fight, baking competition, and more. Secondary characters have their own storylines, making this a wonderful movie for all. 

'Twas the Date Before Christmas is a classic Hallmark Channel holiday romance with such a unique and charming plot that you can't help but fall in love with it. 

Release date: October 18, 2024

Runtime: 1 hour 24 minutes

I live streamed this movie through Frndly TV. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way. 

Christmas... in the News: The Office & Sabrina the Teenage Witch Cast Reunions on Hallmark, Essex Christmas Lover's Year-Round Tree & Massachusetts Virtual Craft Market

 

Welcome to this week's edition of Christmas... in the news. This is a weekly review of some of the Christmas articles and news over the last week. 

Happy first day of fall! How's the weather where you are? Does it make you eager to put up your Christmas decorations? I have to admit to having a hard time holding back, but right now the front porch is decked out with pumpkins, mums, and other fall-themed items, so I guess Christmas needs to wait its turn.

Lots of fun news this week... way more than I could share. We will start with a story out of Essex. The BBC reported on how one Christmas lover keeps her tree up all year round in case her traveling adult children show up unannounced. It sounds like such a fun idea. Check out Jane's story here.

Would it even be Christmas without a Hallmark movie? Cast members of The Office and Sabrina the Teenage Witch will reunite in different ones as part of Hallmark's 2024 Countdown to Christmas. Comicbook has more details here. 

There is nothing more fun than a New England Christmas, except maybe a virtual craft market with dozens of vendors hosted by the largest handmade gift shop in Massachusetts. I caught the article on Newsbreak this morning. Can't say I've ever been to the 4GoodVibes Gift Shop, but now my interest in piqued. Check out more about this virtual craft fair here.

That's it for now. See you next week!

Christmas... in the News: Hallmark Channel Filming & Hippie Christmas

 

Welcome to this week's edition of Christmas... in the news. This is a weekly review of some of the Christmas articles and news over the last week. 

Great to have you with us this week. We stop in Louisville, Kentucky--I've actually been there--where WDRB.com is talking about the Hallmark Channel filming in Norton Commons this coming week. Isn't it cool when filming takes place where you live? Check out the report here.

Then we make it over to Madison, Wisconsin, for a two-week period known as "Hippie Christmas." It's when city employees collect unwanted items from students moving between apartments. Want to know more? Click here to read the article from The Cap Times.

One little piece of news that you won't find in any article or report is that I've finalized my seasonal small town romance and have submitted it to a publisher. With any luck, I will hear back from them within the next few months. I'll pretend I can be patient. 

Hope you enjoy your week!

Christmas in the News: Hallmark Movie, Christmas in July for Furry Friends & for Maine's Children

 

Hard to believe a week has already passed. It's time for more Christmas... in the news.

We start in New London, with filming of a Hallmark Channel movie on the Connecticut College campus. Read the article here.

Then we stop in Palm City, Florida, where the Humane Society of the Treasure Coast is hosting a Christmas in July for their furry friends. If you are looking to donate, you can click here for more details. 

Finally, we make our way to Maine, where the Maine Children's Home is hosting their our Christmas in July. Click here to watch the video. 

Christmas in the News Christmas Stock, Hallmark News & Firefighters Honored

 

Happy June! Hard to believe we are entering month six of 2024. Over the last few days, Christmas lovers have some cool news they will be happy about. 

Photo credit: Variety 

Variety reported that Hallmark Media is developing an unscripted series to follow superfans on a Christmas Cruise. The November 2024 cruise is sold out. Passengers will get to see some of their favorite Hallmark stars and enjoy fun Christmas traditions.

In other news from Hallmark, TVInsider and other outlets reported that Hallmark Channel's "Christmas in July" lineup has been announced, including new movies. Read more here!

We move across the pond to the BBC, who is talking about how shops are rushing to stock up for Christmas due to surging shipping costs. You can read more here.

We end today's news with a feel good story out of Hawaii. The Hawaii News reported that Kaua‘i firefighters were honored for the rescue of a man on the Kalalau Trail on Christmas Day in 2023. You need to create an account to read all the details, but if you click here, you'll at least see a photo and a brief mention of it.

That's it for this week. See you again soon!

Christmas on TV: Hallmark Channel's Countdown to Christmas 2023 Schedule

Get ready Christmas movie lovers! The 2023 Countdown to Christmas on Hallmark Channel kicks off with their new movies on Friday, October 20th! Check out more information at https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/christmas/movie-guide-countdown-to-christmas-2023

This or That? - Funny Christmas Movies or Dramatic Christmas Movies

There are funny Christmas movies...

 

 

 and there are dramatic Christmas movies.

 

In my house, my husband tends to like the funny ones. I lean toward the dramatic ones. 

What do you enjoy most--funny or dramatic? What is you favorite funny movie or dramatic movie? 

Christmas on TV: The Christmas Pageant (Hallmark Channel, 2011)

Director Vera Parks (Melissa Gilbert) has a career that is going nowhere fast. Labeled as difficult, she gets fired from several jobs in a row. Her manager, Peter (Steve Lawrence), manages to get her a job directing a small town Christmas pageant.

Things go from bad to worse quickly. While some are eager to work with her, others are destined to fight any change Vera suggests. Vera has problems adjusting from her glamorous life in New York City to the simple life in Ashton Falls. Then she runs into her ex-fiancé, Jack Harmond (Robert Mailhouse). Vera is soon considering whether she should return to New York or stick it out in Ashton Falls.

If ever there was a movie that Melissa Gilbert was born to star in, it's The Christmas Pageant. If Little House on the Prairie was set in modern times, then the storyline from this movie would be a perfect fit. A woman whose life centers around her career and posh city life, ends up in a simple town where there is one mail carrier and everyone knows each other. It's not long before Ashton Falls and its people begin to grow on Vera.

A blend of funny and sweet, this is a classic Hallmark romance. With a superb cast and quaint setting you can't go wrong. If you are looking for a story that will touch your heart and remind you of the joys of being home, be sure to catch this movie.

I watched this movie when it first aired on Hallmark Channel. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way. 

Christmas on TV: The Three Gifts (Hallmark Channel, 2009)

In the midst of taking a break from baking, I stumbled upon The Three Gifts, a 2009 Hallmark Channel movie starring Dean Cain (Lois and Clark) and Jean Louisa Kelly as a childless couple who have been unsuccessful in starting a family of their own.

Jack (Cain) and Cherie (Kelly) Green are local toymakers who agree to take on three orphans when the orphanage run by Jack's aunt (Mimi Kennedy) is forced to close for repairs. Wary of fatherhood, Jack is concerned by the orphanage's holy terrors. When Ray (Spencir Bridges) thinks he overhears the Greens might adopt one of the boys, Mike (Dylan Sprayberry) and Henry (Alex Zubarey) begin competing along with Ray to be the one that gets adopted.

This is a touching and funny seasonal movie that families will love. Cain is such a fabulous actor, it would be difficult not enjoy his performance as the childlike toymaker whose not certain becoming a father is his cup of tea. Though Cherie is thrilled to have the boys with them for Christmas, the reality is that the business is struggling because costs are up and profits are down.

Veteran actor Reginald VelJohnson (Families Matter) portrays Rodney, one of the workers at the toy factory. He's a superb actor, and you can't seem to go wrong when he's part of a film. I love his touching scene with Ray when the boy is talking about losing his parents.

Seasonal movies don't get better than this one!

This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

Christmas on TV: A Season for Miracles (Hallmark Channel, 1999)

Miracles, romance, and family blend together in this heartwarming tale of the season.

A Season for Miracles is a typical Hallmark Hall of Fame movie. It has conflict. It has a family in trouble. It features small town America and its nosy neighbors. But most of all, it touches the heart from beginning to end.

This movie stars Carla Gugino as Emilie Thompson, the aunt to Alanna (Mae Whitman) and J.T. (Evan Sabara). After Emilie's sister (Laura Dern) overdoses again, the children are threatened with foster care. Not wanting her niece and nephew to be separated, Emilie runs off with them and arrives in the little town of Bethlehem. With guidance from an angel, portrayed by Academy Award® winner Patty Duke, Emilie and the children take over an abandoned Victorian home across from an angel statue in the town square.

Nosy neighbors assume Emilie is the niece of Miriam Pierce, who owned the house and left it to her niece when she passed away. When her car breaks down and Emilie must find a job to pay for the repairs, she pretends to be Miriam's niece so that the children have a warm place to stay until they can move on. She doesn't count on falling in love with Police Captain Nathan Blair (David Conrad) or on the blessing of many friends who help her while in town. Can David's love convince her to stay in Bethlehem? What will happen if her secret is found out?

A Season for Miracles is one of the sweetest movies I've ever seen. I didn't know that it was based upon the book, Season for Miracles by Marilyn Pappano. According to the reviews of the book on Amazon, many were disappointed the book wasn't as good as the movie. 

David Conrad plays the honest, caring Nathan to a tee. As the story unfolds, you can't help but like him. You want this situation to work out for all of them. The viewer gets a chance to see the kids come out of their shell the longer they stay in Bethlehem and have what resembles a normal life. Toward the end, when Alanna is sitting before the judge (Lynn Redgrave) and sharing some of what her life was like when she was with her mother, it was almost impossible not to cry.

You have to suspend a little bit of reality when you watch this movie. Not because of how the angel helps guide these people along, but because I just don't see how in real life this truly would have worked out in any good way. That said, if you get a chance to watch this movie, it will be time well spent.

Release Date: 12 December 1999 (USA)
Runtime: 100 minutes

I recorded this movie on my DVR off the Hallmark Channel. This movie contains my honest opinions, for which I haven't been compensated in any way.

Christmas on TV: Fallen Angel (Hallmark Channel, 2003)

Another tear-jerker from the Hallmark Hall of Fame collection, Fallen Angel is a superb seasonal movie.

A tense relationship with his father, forced Terry McQuinn (Gary Sinise) to leave Maine and never look back. Now a successful L.A. attorney, he returns after the death of his father to settle the estate. Terry has no plans to stay in Rosepoint, but when he learns that Katherine Wentworth (Joely Richardson), who he met when he was only a boy, wants Serenity Cottage opened for Christmas, he decides to help get it ready for her.

As Terry's past and present collide, he is drawn to Katherine and her young daughter, and his once fulfilling life in L.A. doesn't seem so satisfying any more.

Oh, my goodness, what a great movie this is. Sinise is a fabulous actor who can play rough and bitter guys like Lieutenant Dan Taylor in Forrest Gump, a hero fighting evil in The Stand, and a romantic lead in this touching 2003 movie that will make you laugh and cry.

Sinise and Richardson had such chemistry in this movie. And because the character of Terry has memories of their first meeting that Katherine doesn't have--for reasons I can't reveal or it will ruin the movie for you--the viewer watches Terry's struggle unfold. Should he help her reconnect with the past? Should he let the memories stay hidden?

This movie started with backstory. We first meet Terry McQuinn at the age of nine. His mother is deceased, and he lives with his detached father in Rosepoint. His father is the caretaker for the cottages inhabited by wealthy residents who visit Maine, so he's working a lot of the time. After a tragedy that takes place around Christmas that year, his father never allows Terry to join him at work again, and the chasm between them widens.

We then see Terry at 18, graduating from high school. It's at this point he decides to leave Rosepoint and his father behind. So, the first half hour of the movie pretty much sets the stage for the rest of it. I felt the short scene between Terry and his dad at age 18 could have been left out, but perhaps the viewer needed to see that tension explode and push Terry to the edge so that his return to Maine was more meaningful.

Despite the title, there are no angels in this movie. It's a term used by one of the characters to describe the homeless people who lean across car hoods to get warmth from recently shut off engines. That's another tidbit I can't explain, but I thought it should be clear there are no heavenly spirits involved in this one.

Release Date: 23 November 2003 (USA)
Runtime: 120 minutes


I recorded this movie on my DVR off the Hallmark Channel. This review contains my honest opinions, for which I have not been compensated in any way.

Christmas on TV: Naughty or Nice (Hallmark Channel, 2012)

Hilarie Burton plays Krissy Kringle, an ad executive who lives on Candy Cane Lane. Having worked her tail off to get new business for her company, she doesn't have time to worry about participating in the neighborhood's house decorating contest. When she is unexpectedly fired by her boss, Helen (Michelle Hurd), she's also not in the mood for the misdirected pile of mail intended for Kris Kringle.

As she's plowing through Santa Claus's mail, she discovers a package that contains his "Naughty or Nice" book, which he had left behind while visiting a child. She soon discovers the book is magical and allows her to see the bad deeds of those around her. But when the naughty list hits too close to home, it causes problems between Krissy and her long-time boyfriend, Lance (Matt Dallas) and one of her neighbors.

Naughty or Nice is a fabulous movie. While funny, dramatic, and romantic all in one, the subtle theme behind this movie is the danger of jumping to conclusions. Krissy makes a lot of mistakes along the way, but eventually turns things around.

It was great to see Meredith Baxter and Michael Gross together again as Krissy's parents, Carol and Walter Kringle. I loved them on Family Ties, and it was like no time had passed for the actors as they fell into that sweet, loving chemistry they portrayed when they were the Keatons.

My favorite character, however, is Marco (Gabriel Tigerman). Once Krissy loses her job, her mother secures her a place at the local mall working as an elf in the gift wrapping area, which is where she meets Marco, who's also playing an elf. I was wondering where they were going to take their relationship, but you'll just have to see the movie to find out. 

Release Date: 24 November 2012 (USA)

I recorded this movie on my DVR off the Hallmark Channel. This review contains my honest opinions, for which I have not been compensated in any way.

Christmas on TV: Crown for Christmas (Hallmark Channel, 2015)

Danica McKeller (The Wonder Years, DWTS) stars as an out of work maid turned governess in the sweet and romantic, Crown for Christmas. Having premiered on Hallmark Channel in November, this is the story of Allie Evans (McKellar) who after being fired from her job as a maid in a ritzy New York hotel reluctantly accepts a job as governess to a powerful family in Europe. Little does she know that her new little charge is a princess and her father the King of Winshire (Rupert Penry-Jones).

As Allie bonds with Princess Theodora (Ellie Botterill) and brings King Maximillian and his daughter closer together, sparks fly between Allie and the king. The jealous Countess Celia (Alexandra Evans) is not about to let some silly governess get in her way, though. A marriage was arranged between Maximillian and Celia when they were children and she plans to see that the king fulfills his obligations.

This was a beautiful movie. Classic Hallmark Channel when you consider two unlikely people meet under odd circumstances and fall in love while others work to help the cause or stand between them. Great performances by all, especially Ellie Botterill, who makes her television debut in Crown for Christmas.

In some ways this is a modern retelling of The Sound of Music--minus six children and the singing. The cold King Maximilliam warms as he watches Allie and Theodora bond. Their relationship forces him to reconsider his duties and soften to become a better father.

A lovely setting, a great storyline, and fabulous costumes make this a must see holiday romance.

Format: Widescreen, Color, Dolby
Subtitles: English
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only.)
Rated: G (General Audience)
Studio: Hallmark
Run Time: 87.00 minutes
ASIN: B018TNBX50


I watched this movie on Hallmark Channel. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

Christmas on TV: A Christmas Detour (Hallmark Channel, 2015)

Candace Cameron Bure (Full House) and Paul Greene (Wicked Wicked Games, CSI) star in this romantic comedy about an anxious bride-to-be and a broken-hearted guy who join a married couple on an emergency road trip to New York City during a blizzard.

Paige Summerlind (Cameron Bure) is on a flight to New York City to meet her fiancé's parents for the very first time. While on board, she meets the handsome and irritating Dylan (Greene) along with Frank and Maxine (David Lewis and Sarah Strange), a couple whose marriage has seen better days. As a blizzard moves in, the plane is grounded and Paige is afraid she won't make it to her fiancé's house in time for Christmas. So Dylan rents an SUV and agrees to get everyone home for Christmas, giving this odd group of friends a chance to get to know one another.

I love this time of year, if for no other reason than the sweet, romantic comedies that Hallmark Channel produces. Cameron Bure is the perfect actress for this channel and it's wonderful to see her back on screen. In Paige, she captures that peppy, anxious go-getter viewers saw in 2013's Let It Snow. This is definitely a character type that plays well to her strengths. Greene is realistic and funny as the romantic lead who is intrigued by Paige as she writes articles about the perfect husband and carries around her vision board. He's got a story all his own that slowly unfolds as Paige gets to know him better.

Frank and Maxine's relationship makes for a wonderful side story. Married for decades, they no longer sleep in the same bed and find fault with one another constantly. Their characters add a great deal of humor and some heartwarming moments to this movie.

Viewers will enjoy the journey as each character learns a great deal about life, love, and happiness.

I watched this show on Hallmark Channel. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.