For over a decade, the Hallmark Channel, as well as its offshoot channel Hallmark Movies and Mysteries, has been producing Christmas movies that provide the warmest and fuzziest feelings during the cold winter months. Most of these movies follow a comfortable, familiar pattern, with a set series of tropes and a guaranteed happily ever after for the central characters.
But out of the literal hundreds of movies that have been produced in the past 10-plus years, some of these movies have done things better than the rest. Whether they include a conventional romance or a more family-centered story, Hallmark's Christmas movies are some of the best movies the network has.
Updated on June 27th, 2021, by Lynn Gibbs: The Hallmark Channel has a reputation for family-friendly, uplifting movies and shows that viewers of all ages can view happily. Come Christmas time, Hallmark is at its height. After releasing Countdown to Christmas in 2009, the Hallmark Channel has continued its tradition of releasing heartwarming movies. Year after year, the channel comes out with humbling and swoon-worthy movies that are comforting to have in the background come the holiday season. However, every movie hits differently. With a broad range of genres and storylines, Hallmark has its fan favorites that are played again and again because of how comforting they are.
12 Christmas With Holly (2012)
Released in 2012, Christmas With Holly tells the story of a sweet young girl, Holly, who hasn't spoken since the tragic passing of her mother. She's left in the care of her very sweet, compassionate, and yet incredibly unique uncles: the hopeless romantic father figure, Mark (Sean Faris); the goofy academic, Alex; and the construction worker provider for the family, Scott.
Enter Maggie (Eloise Mumford), a city girl who winds up moving to the small town to open the toy store of her dreams. It's through meeting Maggie that Holly finally begins to open up again, and it's in Maggie that Mark finds what he's always been missing: true love. The dynamic among the uncles raising an adorable little girl made this holiday movie a must-watch, but it was Holly's connection to Maggie that made hearts soar.
11 The Perfect Christmas Present (2017)
The Perfect Christmas Present was released in 2017 and tells the story of Tom (Sam Page), a man with a knack for finding the perfect gift for anyone as soon as he gets to know them. Cheekily dubbed Mr. Christmas, Tom is recruited by an old friend to help figure out the perfect gift for his girlfriend, Jenny (Tara Holt).
Along the way, Tom and Jenny find themselves falling for one another, all without Jenny knowing that Tom has been hired by her own boyfriend to figure her out. Once the truth is out there, there's the inevitable falling out, but everything ends happily ever after when Tom surprises Jenny with the perfect Christmas present from his heart. Any Hallmark Christmas movie that has both romance and deception that ends in a happy ending is a hit.
10 If Only I Had Christmas (2020)
Candace Cameron Bure strikes again in If I Only Had Christmas. Bure is known for her Christmas movies on Hallmark and has been in most tropes that fans adore.
In this 2020 film, Darcy (Candace Cameron Bure) plays a big-shot public relations executive who helps a judgmental business executive get into the holiday spirit to help a charity in need. As always with Hallmark commonalities, the Christmas aficionado and the cynic bond over the magic of Christmas and fall for each other while coming together for work. It's a basic trope for Hallmark (Christmas fans versus a non-Christmas fan and makes them a believe) but it works every time.
9 It's Christmas, Eve (2018)
It's Christmas, Eve was singer, songwriter, and performer, LeAnn Rimes's first movie for Hallmark. In the 2018 film, Rimes played a superintendent named Eve who was back in her hometown where she had to make budgetary cuts for a local school.
Eve planned on cutting the school's arts program but after meeting the music department's head, Liam (Tyler Hynes) she has a change of heart. The two team up to do what they can to save their program, which ends with the possibility of two people overcoming their differences and falling in love. Eve's demanding job forces her to be strict, but her heart warms up when she finds someone to believe in, which is what Hallmark fans love to see.
8 A Royal Christmas (2014)
In the 2014 romance A Royal Christmas, Lacey Chabert plays Emily, a young seamstress who learns that her boyfriend, Leo (Stephen Hagan), is not merely an ex-pat from Europe to Philadelphia, but actually the crown Prince of Cordinia, a tiny kingdom in Europe.
As one of the many movies about a normal and royal falling in love, this one has a unique flair to it, since the couple is together from the beginning and it's definitely a must-see for fans of the format. Of course, there is also the requisite obstacle in the way of their happiness, in the form of the cold Queen Isadora (Jane Seymour) and a snotty ex-girlfriend from another royal kingdom. But in the end, true love of course reigns supreme.
7 Naughty Or Nice (2012)
Former One Tree Hill star Hilarie Burton has created a second career for herself in the world of Christmas movies, both for the Hallmark Channel and Lifetime. But her first foray into the genre still remains by far her best, even after all these years. Released in 2012, Naughty or Nice tells the story of Krissy Kringle (Burton), a decidedly not jolly young woman who suddenly finds herself in possession of Santa's Naughty or Nice list.
Krissy initially uses the top-secret list to enact her own bit of vigilante justice, whether against a lying handyman, or a conniving coworker. But in the end, Krissy realizes that there are two sides to every story and that no person is all naughty or all nice.
6 A Gift To Remember (2017)
It's hard to imagine a lovable romantic movie coming from the premise of knocking someone down with a bicycle and giving them amnesia. That's what the nonetheless adorable 2017 movie A Gift to Remember does though and it deserves credit for making the unusual story work. In this movie, Darcy (Ali Liebert) is a young woman who works in a beloved old bookstore and finds herself dealing with the prospect of change, as the owner plans to move on.
At the same time, Darcy finds herself quite literally running into a mystery man, eventually revealed to be named Aiden (Peter Porte), whose life she ardently works to investigate in the wake of his lost memories. In the end, these two wind up falling for each other, and even with Aiden's memory returned, the spark is strong enough that these two realize they're meant to be together.
5 The Nine Lives Of Christmas (2014)
In the adorable 2014 release The Nine Lives of Christmas, Brandon Routh stars as Zachary, a firefighter who finds himself the unwitting cat dad to stray tabby cat Ambrose and delivers some of Hallmark Christmas movie history's best star power ever. Throughout the storyline, Zachary meets aspiring veterinarian Marilee (Kimberley Sustad), who is a cat mom to the adorable kitten, Queenie.
Through misadventures and the selfish actions of Zachary's current spoiled girlfriend, Marilee is both fired and evicted in a short period of time, leading to Zachary offering her a place to stay. And soon enough, both roommates and feline roommates find themselves falling head over heels for one another.
4 Debbie Macomber's Mrs. Miracle (2009)
Everyone could use a little Christmas magic in their lives. And in the world of Hallmark, things don't get much more magical than Doris Robert's beloved character, Mrs. Miracle. Debbie Macomber's Mrs. Miracle was released in 2009 and tells the story of the magical Mrs. Merkle, an elderly woman (and angel) who appears when families need her most.
In this first film, Mrs. Miracle helps struggling single father Seth (James Van Der Beek) manage his difficult young twin sons, Jason and Judd. Along the way, Mrs. Miracle also makes a romantic match between Seth and the boys' Christmas pageant coordinator, Reba (Erin Karpluk), before she vanishes to help other families in need.
3 Crown For Christmas (2015)
In yet another sweet rendition of the commoner and royal family member falling in love narrative, the 2015 tale Crown for Christmas stars yet another Hallmark Channel favorite that serves as one of the best examples of the niche. Danica McKellar stars as Allie, a maid working in a fancy New York hotel who finds herself presented with the opportunity to become a governess to Princess Theodora, the young daughter of King Maximillian (Rupert Penry-Jones) of Winshire.
Given her low standing as a maid in the States, Allie soon hits things off with the working folk in the castle, causing additional friction. Additionally, the scheming Chancellor Riggs intends for a match to be made between King Maximillian and a neighboring Countess. But of course, both Max and Theodora greatly prefer Allie's compassion and warmth, and a new family is formed.
2 Matchmaker Santa (2012)
Lacey Chabert's 2012 film Matchmaker Santa makes its premise clear right off the bat with its sweet title, and that's one of the key things Hallmark fans are often looking for. Starring one of the most adorable Santas in television history, the film finds Chabert's Melanie expecting to meet her boyfriend, Justin's, family for the holidays.
But along the way, Melanie meets a sneaky Santa who intervenes and ensures that Melanie actually spends more time during the holidays in a small town with Justin's best friend, Dean (Adam Mayfield). Additional highlights of the film include Mrs. Brady herself, Florence Henderson, and Lin Shaye as hilarious inn staff Peggy and Debbie, and John Ratzenberger as the town's mayor.
1 A Grandpa for Christmas (2007)
The best Hallmark Christmas movie of them all proves that not every movie has to be about a couple falling in love. Sometimes, the real love stories during the holiday season are the stories of the love between family members, even those who have been apart for a very long time. The 2007 film A Grandpa for Christmas stars Hollywood legend Ernest Borgnine as Bert, an elderly man who finds himself a guardian of Becca, the granddaughter he never knew after his estranged daughter is in an accident.
Though the relationship between granddaughter and grandfather is icy to start, due to the lies Becca had heard from her grandmother and mother over the years, Bert and Becca come to love one another deeply, and in the end, both Becca and her mother, Marie, learn the truth. Other Hollywood icons, including Katherine Helmond and Jamie Farr appear in supporting roles as Bert's artsy friends.
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