At Thanksgiving, 1978 I was living in Allentown, PA with my husband of about 3 years.
The week prior to the big holiday, found me making ready our small apartment to accommodate most of our family travelling in from Michigan.
The list of family was going to be a little overwhelming. Our sister Cookie would travel with my mother and step-father. Our oldest sister, Ginger, would come with her husband and two small sons. And we can’t remember if Beth travelled with her husband or not, but she definitely came with her three kids.
Did I mention it was a small apartment?
They all arrived maybe a day or two before Thanksgiving and we had a ball together, including braving Black Friday traffic as we 3-car caravanned into Manhattan from Pennsylvania.
And then all of a sudden, they were gone. Travelling back to Michigan the Sunday after the holiday.
My husband (now ex) who was a pharmaceutical salesperson and consistently crisscrossing his sales territory also left that same Sunday.
I was so lonely. The apartment with its unmade beds and full fridge of leftovers and fuller sink of dirty dishes suddenly felt cold instead of cozy.
What I needed was a human hug. What I settled for was a cup of tea, a blanket wrapped around my shoulders and a TV movie.
That was the day, I was introduced to my first Hallmark Holiday movie.
I don’t remember the name of the movie, but boy did it take me to another place. It lifted my spirit and gave me back my holiday good cheer.
How Hallmark does Christmas
With Hallmark Holiday Movies, it’s like the privately-owned parent company, Hallmark Cards Inc. simply breathes life into their holiday card collection.
In these movies that typically run for about 90 minutes, Hallmark introduces us to a group of well-groomed men and women whose problems are easily solved within that timeframe.
Usually those very problems and misunderstandings (which btw contain no conscious malice) are cleared up while the characters reconcile and finally kiss. All while standing in winter snow and ice in heels and flimsy coats.
Beth and I along with tons of other people love every minute of it.
Hallmark’s largest demographic of loyal watchers are mostly women - no surprise there. And its viewers up to a few years ago, had been heavily populated with Baby Boomers.
That all changed when Hallmark consciously made the necessary, and not so subtle shift to be more inclusive and diverse to attract a younger audience.
It worked. Hallmark now appeals to younger viewers, particularly millennials and Gen Xers, who now make up the majority of viewers.
Regardless of our age or ethnicity, what we seem to love about Hallmark movies is the lack of reality in their movies. From plot to production, Hallmark movies follow a simple feel-good script and a predictable outcome. Cheesy romances are the name of the game in a classic Hallmark movie and a happy ending is guaranteed.
And we keep coming back for more.
We have favorites. I’m sure if you’re a Hallmark Holiday movie fan you too have favorites.
It’s almost embarrassing to admit (what with all the escapism and predictable nature of the plots,) but Beth and I can have a bit of a conversation about our Hallmark movie preferences.
There’s The Christmas in Evergreen Series, a lovely trilogy taking place in a fictional Vermont town. The town is so cute. The big red truck. . . .we love it.
Then, of course there’s The Sweetest Christmas (2017) Kylie is expecting a proposal from her boyfriend/boss instead she’s offered a promotion. She’s sad and frustrated. Spoiler alert: everything turns out fine.
One that debuted this season, A Merry Scottish Christmas, was lovely. A brother and sister team travel to Scotland to see their mom at Christmas. All sorts of wonderful things happen, including a big family secret is revealed.
We could go on and on. But I’ll stop now and share one of our all-time favorite Hallmark Holiday Movies.
Released by Hallmark Movies in 2016, The Mistletoe Promise storyline is classic Hallmark. An attractive woman (who owns a travel agency with her ex-husband) meets an equally attractive man (a lawyer) at of all places the food court at the mall.
Through a bit of conversation, they both realize they are “bah humbugs” – not fans of Christmas.
Over bowls of food court noodles, they hatch a plan that turns into a “promise.” The Promise is to help each other with Christmas-related professional obligations and goals – she wants to win complete control of her company back and he wants to make partner at his law firm.
Over the course of the movie, they realize they are becoming attracted to each other. . .but I didn’t need to tell you that part, did I??
Where the narrative is familiar to all who watch Hallmark, this particular cast seems to bring a higher level of believability or credibility to the storyline. And the fashion was top notch for 6 years ago.
We think you will enjoy The Mistletoe Promise. I watched it again over the weekend on YouTube and where it seems just a tiny bit dated now; it still gave me that Hallmark warm-fuzzy.
With this post we’re by no means saying that Hallmark movies replace other treasured holiday movies.
We love, It’s a Wonderful Life, White Christmas, Miracle on 54th Street, and Christmas in Connecticut as much as any other holiday movies lovers. Nor as we are discounting fun movies like The Preacher’s Wife, Elf, Christmas Vacation, The Holiday, etc.
What we are saying is we certainly would not like to go through a holiday season without the cheesy romances, the lack of reality at all levels, and the happy endings of a classic Hallmark movie.
Do you have a favorite holiday movie? We’d consider it a gift if you shared it with us.
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