Hey y’all-hope you’re having a good week so far! I’m starting to feel more into the Christmas spirit after having a long weekend full of Christmas-y fun. This past Saturday I saw The Nutcracker and went to two Christmas parties. Then on Sunday and Monday my best friend and I had a Christmas movie marathon. It was so great to have an extra day off from work to just relax and enjoy this season. A cozy night in watching Christmas movies is my absolute favorite thing to do in December. And I have absolutely zero shame in admitting that I LOVE watching Hallmark Christmas movies. Yes, they’re cheesy and predictable, but they’re still so much fun to watch. And of course you know the two main characters will end up together. But it’s still entertaining to see everything that happens in between, right? So, today I thought it would be fun to share my checklist for the quintessential Hallmark Christmas movie with y’all!
(How I spent most of the past couple days-relaxing in loungewear while watching Christmas movies and eating Christmas goodies)
Keep in mind that all of these things don’t happen in every single Hallmark Christmas movie. But the absolute stereotypical Hallmark Christmas movie would theoretically include all of these things. And it’s fun to have a checklist while you’re watching each Hallmark Christmas movie to see how many of these elements each particular one includes. So in no particular order, here we go!
Hallmark Christmas Movie Checklist
- Romantic relationship begins with two people literally bumping into each other.
- Characters bake and decorate Christmas cookies. Bonus points if they ice them with one of those fancy icing piping tubes!
- Woman leaves her life in the big city working a corporate job and dating a CEO behind and returns to the small town she’s from. She falls in love with a small town guy and re-discovers the true meaning of Christmas.
- Couple has a misunderstanding due to breakdown in communication. But instead of talking it out, they ignore each other’s phone calls and texts. (Eventually they reconcile, of course.)
- Characters write letters to Santa.
- Small town bands together to save a local landmark that’s in danger of being torn down or bought out by a big developer.
- There’s a small town Christmas Festival. Bonus points if it’s on Christmas Eve, includes a hot cocoa bar, and has a “Santa’s Workshop” area.
- Characters go ice-skating.
- Kids are unrealistically well-behaved. I mean, what kid never protests having to go to bed or leaving a party? Furthermore, what kid sweetly agrees to only have one cookie, and doesn’t try to sabotage their parent’s new romantic relationship?
- Characters cut down their own Christmas tree.
- Someone works as a professional party planner or decorator.
- People unrealistically quit their day jobs to pursue their passion full-time, with zero consideration of the financial risk and implications.
- Female lead has multiple dress coats.
- People get snowed in.
- Someone’s car breaks down, and they end up falling in love with the benevolent stranger who helps them while stranded roadside in the middle of nowhere.
- Characters string popcorn garlands. Bonus points if they pop their popcorn on the stove.
- Couple almost kisses mid-way through the movie, but something or someone interrupts them. They don’t actually have the iconic Hallmark movie kiss until the very end.
- Big-city developer visits a small town with intent to buy a locally-owned business that is struggling financially and turn it into a big-box corporate entity, but has a change in heart and ends up using financial resources to save the business from foreclosure.
Gotta Love Hallmark Movies!
Hope y’all enjoy this quintessential Hallmark Christmas Movie checklist, just for kicks & giggles! Which of these things do y’all notice in Hallmark Christmas movies? And is there something here that I left out that you notice as standard in a lot of Hallmark Christmas movies? Sound off in the comments!
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PS. If you’re still knocking last minute gifts off your Christmas shopping list, you can check out my 2019 Christmas Gift Guides here.
-xoxo Liz
