Trading Up Christmas | 2024 Christmas Movies

There are only a few more days left until Christmas. That means there are only a few more Christmas movies left to watch! The last movie from Hallmark Mystery is Trading Up Christmas. Did they end on a high note?

Keri (Meredith Forlenza) is a single mother desperately in need of a house. Her sister, Michelle (Italia Ricci), read the story of a boy who traded a red rubber band for a house. Michelle decides to try the same thing except she will trade a family heirloom stocking for a house for her sister. When the local newspaper catches wind of Michelle’s story, reporter Dan (Michael Xavier) gets assigned the story. Can they manage to get Keri a house before Christmas?

While this is a very sweet story, the execution is so boring. I didn’t hate the movie but I wasn’t very captivated by it. I was hoping that they would make the trading stuff more interesting. Also, the little conflicts between Michelle and Keri were kind of annoying. Despite the fact that they keep saying Michelle is the “dreamer” of the family and that she always makes her dreams come true, Keri was very negative about the whole trading idea. I get that she’s supposed to be a realist but she didn’t have to be so against it that she tells Michelle to stop trying. Like, let Michelle do her thing. If she gets you a house, great. If she doesn’t, you are in the same position you were before.

Rating: Will someone trade me something for this movie?

You Make It Feel Like Christmas | 2021 Christmas Movies

I wonder if this year’s theme in Christmas movies is non-romantic love. Or at least movies where the romantic love is secondary to another plot line. It is an interesting change.

You Make It Feel Like Christmas was originally titled A Christmas Mission. Aaron (Michael Xavier) returns home from active duty to find that his ex-girlfriend and childhood friend, Emma (Mary Antonini), isn’t coming home for Christmas. He takes it upon himself to travel into the city to convince her to spend the holiday with her father, Tom (Alex Poch-Goldin). However, Emma’s shop has caught the eye of the famous design guru Kate Marguiles (Stephanie Sy). Kate insists that they host a holiday charity art sale on Christmas Eve, not leaving Emma time to spend with her family.

As I said in the intro, the romantic relationship between Emma and Aaron isn’t really the main relationship here. It’s the broken father-daughter relationship between Emma and Tom. Unfortunately, most of the conversations with get with these two are Facetime-like video calls where they call to ask specific questions and avoid any real conversation. While their conflict could have been fixed with a conversation or, even better, therapy, they are the reason that Aaron comes back into the picture.

So let’s talk about Aaron. He is the most hands-off suitor I have seen in any of the Hallmark/Lifetime movies. Sure, they have known each other for years but he’s trying to convince her to come home. Why is his angle “I will help. Let me know what you need done - taking out the trash, cleaning the bathroom, whatever.”? And why does he try to rekindle the relationship by starting out with a blatant lie? Instead of pretending he didn’t know she was in the city, he should have just said “I came to see you.” It would have been simple and honest and she probably would have appreciated that more.

The best relationship in You Make It Feel Like Christmas, which we barely get to see, is between Emma’s best friend and shop co-owner Liz (Nadine Pinette) and Aaron’s cousin Sarah (Solange Sookram). They have the sly over-the-shoulder glances at each other and the “I’m interested” subtext in the few conversations they have. I think they would have been much more interesting than either of the main relationships. Too bad they get pushed way to the back of all of the plot lines.

While I appreciate the father-daughter relationship being the main story here, the movie itself is pretty boring. A lot of time is spent watching Emma do nothing as she tries to figure out what kind of wreath to make for the art sale. All of the relationship-building scenes are just as boring. Feel free to turn this on while you’re doing chores or something but don’t dedicate too much time to it. It is not worth it.

A Christmas Treasure | 2021 Christmas Movies

Hallmark, sometimes I worry about your decisions. You took Jordin Sparks, the extremely talented singer, and cast her as a writer. Sure, she sings two songs in the movie but I think you only added those in so her fans wouldn’t riot. I shake my head at you, Hallmark.

Lou (Jordin Sparks) is a writer for a small town newspaper. However, she wants to write a novel. So she plans on moving to New York City for inspiration and a change of pace. Meanwhile, Kyle (Michael Xavier) has moved to Pine Grove to spend the holidays with his aunt and figure out what he is going to do next. His dream is to run his own restaurant. Will they be able to make their dreams come true?

A Christmas Treasure is a little different from most Hallmark movies. Instead of one person being firmly planted in their current city trying to convince the newcomer to stay, one is packing to leave while the other is just arriving. I do wish that they made the twist a little more interesting. Lou kept talking about how she wanted to move to New York and how much stuff she had to pack but we never saw her actually doing anything to further this move. No packing, no looking online for apartments (perfect place for an Apartments.com sponsor!), not even booking travel to New York. Does she even have a job in New York? How is she going to pay to live there? If she’s going to move, dive into that.

Instead, Lou spends a lot of time helping plan holiday events for the town. I know that her family has been in the town for generations so people look to them as leaders but no one in her family is really a leader. Her family runs the local paper. It’s nice that they help out so much but I don’t think anyone would think lesser of her if she stepped back because she was preparing to move.

The core of the movie revolves around this time capsule that was buried 100 years ago. And it would have been great if that was what the movie was about. On the contrary, there are all of these side stories that don’t have time to really evolve into something special. There’s Lou reading her great-grandfather’s journal while trying to find inspiration for a book. Plus Kyle and his aunt Marcy (Lossen Chambers) trying to find the perfect Christmas recipe for a contest among the restaurants in town. Oh, and Lou’s best friend is pregnant. And Kyle is trying to find a new job as a fancy chef. And don’t forget we have to squish Lou and Kyle into a relationship so they have to spend a lot of time together for some reason. It’s just a big too much.

Should you watch it? The actors are all wonderful, even though the script doesn’t really give them a lot to work with. They should have cut out a couple of the side characters and a few of the holiday events to focus on Lou moving and Kyle helping his aunt. That need to be the conflict. Not whether or not the best friend can sing the solo at the concert. Who cares about that? We all know Jordin is going to sing it. Duh. Watch it for the cast but don’t be surprised if you are disappointed by the plot.

Christmas Comes Twice | 2020 Christmas Movies

Ugh, another time travel Christmas movie. When will writers realize that these stories are terrible?

Cheryl (Tamera Mowry-Housley) is an astrophysicist with a job reviewing grant proposals for the National Science Foundation. She isn’t particularly happy with her life as her job requires long hours and little science. When she comes home for the holidays, she rides a magical carousel at the Christmas Carnival that sends her back in time five years. Would she be happier if she made different life decisions?

I don’t understand why this movie was greenlit. When Cheryl goes back in time, it seems like she didn’t make bad decisions originally. She just didn’t want to say no to anyone. That job she dislikes? She knew what the job was. She agreed to it. Even when she had a second chance to turn down the job, she doesn’t tell the boss no. She tries to make herself sound like a terrible candidate so he won’t hire her. It’s perfectly fine to say no. Especially when it’s a job that you didn’t actually apply for.

The rest of the movie was Cheryl pushing her opinions onto everyone else. Her sister, Trish (Zarrin Darnell-Martin), wants to open a restaurant. Cheryl thinks it’s too risky and does everything in her power to talk her sister out of it. She has zero concern about what her sister actually wants.

Big surprise, she also doesn’t treat George (Michael Xavier), the romantic lead of the movie, very well either. She claims she’s competing with him but she isn’t doing it in a friendly manner. She spends a lot of time belittling him. And we’re supposed to believe that she loves this guy.

Christmas Comes Twice isn’t worth your time. This is another movie that I fell asleep watching. That is probably the best way to watch it. Turn it on for background noise and take a nap. You won’t miss anything.

Christmas on Wheels | 2020 Christmas Movies

This movie takes place in Washington state and they are going to drive a convertible around with the top down on Christmas Eve? Wouldn’t that be kinda cold?

Ashley (Tiya Sircar) has a love for all things vintage. When she finds out that her uncle sold her mom’s vintage car - the one they used to deliver gifts in - she turns to her uncle’s attorney/antique appraiser, Duncan (Michael Xavier), for help.

I generally enjoy Tiya Sircar’s acting. She is adorable in pretty much everything. This isn’t an exception. Granted, Ashley’s obsession with everything vintage and antique is a little weird but I guess there are people out there that only want to buy vintage items. It is sweet that she says she only likes the antiques for their story and not only because they are old.

To be honest, the whole middle part of Christmas on Wheels could be cut out. (Is this a new trend for 2020?) There’s this…thing…about the town mayor changing the look of the Main Street decorations but we never really meet the mayor. We see her once during a charity auction, where she bids on an item, and that is it. No one talks to her to find out why she’s making the changes. Ashley just makes Duncan help her change the decorations back to the old ones in the middle of the night. It is weird.

And there’s a subplot about the car not running properly. It doesn’t start and no one can figure out why. It seems that the car has the ghost of Ashley’s mom so it only runs when Duncan is with her? Yeeeah. People in these movies are too invested in other people’s love lives.

Lifetime has given us yet another movie that is just OK. There isn’t anything particularly stand-out about it. If you like magical cars or if you also think Tiya Sircar is adorable, it’s a perfectly fine way to spend an evening.