Every fall, I hunker down on the sofa with a warm blanket and never ending stream of cheap Christmas romcom Hallmark clones. Last year’s list is at 2025 Christmas Movie tracking and I quote my introduction from last year:
I absolutely love Christmas movies. Both good ones and the Hallmark ones that are the exactly same story and characters in every movie. You know the ones: a city girl ends up in countryside either intentionally or accidentally just before Christmas, meets a handsome local guy who she has problems first but as they save the local Christmas (there’s almost always a fundraiser!) they fall in love. Oops, sorry for spoiling them all.
Don’t expect any deep dives or long reviews: most of the movies are the same so there’s very little to say.
And before you ask: yes, Die Hard is a Christmas movie.
Same rules apply here. Also, I’m gonna call most of these movies Hallmark movies even if they are not produced from them. It’s more of a genre than a production these days.
With a dozen or so of these movies dropping to the local streaming service at the start of November, it’s time to start the project.
Movies
Christmas Wreaths and Ribbons (2024)
What a way to kick off this year’s romcom marathon with Christmas Wreaths and Ribbons. Everything about this movie screams a Christmas romcom even before starting to watch it. The name, the promotional pictures, the synopsis:
After a wreath maker hurts her arm, she gets help from a kind neighbor to keep her wreath-making business running during the busy holiday season. As they work together, the pair form an unexpected bond and holiday connection.
You could show a single screen from this movie and you’d immediately know what it’s about. I’d even bet that some of these actors are returning champions from last year. I fuckin’ love it. This is definitely my jam. The only question going in is: is it the woman or the man who ends up cheating this time.
More than a Christmas movie, this felt like a “how to be an owner of a small business”. Not quite the typical Hallmark business awe but still, there was weird amounts of business 101 discussion poorly masqueraded as budding romance.
I’m no relationship guru but as a romcom aficionado, I was baffled by the complete lack of chemistry between the main characters.
Tails of Christmas (2024)
Another Brittany Wiscombe Christmas romcom! It seems that the movies our streaming service picked up were part of some sort of a Wiscombe package deal as 7 out of 10 movies are written by her. I may need to balance this marathon out with some other movies too. She has clearly found her special thing and I am all in for it.
Dogs and romcoms, name a more iconic duo. Tails of Christmas has a lot of dogs. And of course, business! Although, I’m not quite sure if Amber, the protagonist, was running her dog shelter as a business or a charity but regardless, the financial worries of running it were important this Christmas again. Nothing gets me into a Christmas mood like discussions about sponsorship management and fundraising.
Somewhere in the movie, there’s also a romantic story of two people hidden behind all the business talk. I might have to specifically pick one of the cliche time travel movies after this one, I can’t handle three business movies in a row.
One of the comforting things I love about these movies is that you know what you’re getting. Effectively, this is exactly the same movie as the previous one: a woman is running her business alone but needs help. Local man volunteers to help and they fall in love but they don’t tell it to each other. Their families notice though and keep telling them to take action. At the last scene of the movie, they do, they kiss, happy ever after.
A Christmas of Wonders (2024)
I’m taking a short break from the Wiscombe Cinematic Universe to watch A Christmas of Wonders. Don’t worry, the cliches are still there. Eliza is a travel writer who returns to her hometown after years abroad which means she returns to family dynamics and old love.
Tim pointed me towards these Hallmark Christmas movie bingo cards. I’m expecting every movie to reach a bingo within the first 30 minutes.
Not even 15 minutes into the movie and we’re already in the classic romcom Christmas territory: the main character is in a relationship but as soon as she comes home to a small town, that dude is forgotten and it’s all about the charming old crush. Not only is the dude charming, he has the classic backstory of a Christmas romcom love interest dude: he had a potentially uplifting career in big city but something happened and he came back home to live in a small town until the right woman comes along.
When half of the main cast don’t even have a picture in IMDB, you know you’re watching the best the genre has to offer. Not the Hollywood superstars but actors who can make everyday interactions feel more relatable on the screen.