A Reason For The Season | 2024 Christmas Movies

Now we’re heading back over to Hallmark Mystery with A Reason For The Season. Is it a mystery? Not really. But I’ve now resigned myself to the knowledge that this is the channel Hallmark uses for all of the non-traditional romance movies. Which is fine.

Thirty-five years ago, Elizabeth Lane (Taylor Reid in the flashback, Sarah-Jane Redmond in the present time) suddenly gave birth to her daughter, Evie (Taylor Cole), in a small town diner with the help of six strangers. Now, realizing that her adult daughter doesn’t appreciate the wealth she has built, Elizabeth sends Evie back to that small town to find the six strangers and grant their Christmas wishes. With the help of Kyle (Kevin McGarry), the only lawyer in town, Evie sets her sights on completing her mother’s challenge.

This is one of those movies that could have gone very wrong. We get a lot of “spoiled rich girl goes good” type of Christmas movies. And a lot of them are bad. Thankfully, I didn’t think A Reason For The Season was that bad. It’s a Hallmark movie so of course there is some terrible dialog and a handful of cheesy acting. But I thought that the actors got the message across well enough.

I suppose, if I had to find something bad with the movie, I would say that it was a little unbelievable that someone with access to THAT much money wouldn’t have gotten a credit card or driver’s license in their fake name instead of pretending they keep forgetting their stuff all over the place. It wouldn’t have been that difficult for Evie to get everything she needed to make herself successful. Especially if she was just giving away $1,000 diamond tennis bracelets. But, to be honest, this is a small nitpick. It was a little annoying that she had to keep hiding her real name but it didn’t ruin the movie. In the end, it was still decent.

Rating: Can I get my Christmas wish granted too?

Long Lost Christmas | 2022 Christmas Movies

I was hoping that we would be able to continue the small streak of good Christmas movies. Sadly, Long Lost Christmas ruined it.

Haley (Taylor Cole) is an interior designer whose father recently passed away. Her mother, Patricia (Jacqueline Ann Steuart), is depressed and alone. Haley decides to find her long lost brother, Gordon (Grant Vlahovic), who Patricia hasn’t seen since she was a little girl.

The most annoying thing about this movie is that it could have been solved with one simple question that Haley never bothers to ask. Haley seriously should have just let her friend, Sarah (Stefania Indelicato), do all the work. I understand driving to the town Gordon is currently living to ask questions in person since it is a delicate situation but then all she does the entire time is beat around the bush. Just walk in and say “Hey, I know this is really weird but my mother, Patricia, got separated from her older brother when she was little. Some things kinda match up with things I read about you so I was wondering if maybe you were her brother Gordon.” Instead Haley asks weird random questions: Do you have any brothers or sisters - if someone hasn’t seen their only sibling in like 50 years, why would they tell a stranger about it. What was she expecting? “Well, yeah, I had a sister but I left her in a foster home after I aged out of the system.”

Then Long Lost Christmas shoehorns in this romance with Gordon’s business partner, Blake (Benjamin Ayers). It’s a terrible romance. The entire thing seems based on Haley spending one more day in a town that she only intended to spend half a day in to begin with! I really hate this movie.

No, don’t watch Long Lost Christmas. Maybe stay away from the whole Movies & Mysteries channel from Hallmark. They don’t seem to do anything well.

Making Spirits Bright | 2021 Christmas Movies

What if Romeo & Juliet took place in modern times? And what if, during the Christmas season, the feuding families decorated houses? That is pretty much the plot of Making Spirits Bright.

The Ryan family and the Scotto family used to decorate houses for Christmas together. When Bill (Garry Chalk), and Frank (John Cassini) started fighting, the business broke up. Now their children, Grace (Taylor Cole) and Tony (Carlo Marks), are trying to get them back together in order to beat a new decorating company in the annual neighborhood competition.

At first, I thought I already watched this movie. It seemed very familiar. It wasn’t until I realized that the male lead character’s name is Tony and his sister is Maria that it clicked. Making Spirits Bright is basically Romeo & Juliet. (Tony and Maria are the lead characters in West Side Story, which is a musical version of Romeo & Juliet.) Since this is a Christmas movie, no one dies but Tony’s father, Frank, does fall off a ladder.

I actually kinda liked this one. Sure, there are a few scenes that could have been shortened or cut completely and we didn’t really need the parallel story of Grace and her friend/business partner, Sarah (Sarah Surh). But, otherwise, it was quite charming. I would have liked to have seen a little more of the Christmas displays but I think that is just me.

Is this something everyone would enjoy? I don’t think so. There are a few parts where the movie does begin to drag and it’s easy to lose interest. But if you like the feuding family storyline and want to see it with a Christmas twist, Making Spirits Bright isn’t a total waste of time.

Unlocking Christmas | 2020 Christmas Movies

The Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel gives us another mysterious Christmas movie. This time it’s a riddle-based adventure around town.

Kate (Taylor Cole) is a doctor working on her fellowship. Kevin (Steve Lund) is trying to figure out what he wants to do with his life now that he has returned from the Air Force. Each of them find a mysterious key and riddle on their front door, leading them on an adventure through town.

Unlocking Christmas is an interesting movie. The idea of a sort of riddle-based scavenger hunt isn’t a new one. Giving the pair two envelopes - one to open now and one to open after they completed their task - is a strange twist. It relies on them being honest enough to not open that second envelope immediately. Considering the riddle-makers (yes, we do find out who is behind all of this) don’t really know Kate, it was awfully trusting of them to be like “Don’t open this!!” It would have been better if they just gave them the second envelope after completing the first.

Despite that, it isn’t a terrible movie. Some of the solutions to the puzzles are a bit of a stretch but it isn’t anything that ruins the movie. If anything, I would have liked for the ‘scavenger hunt’ to last longer. I think the movie takes place over a week or so. It would have been nice to have it last a couple of weeks so Kate and Kevin could get to know each other better. As it is, the Big Kiss at the end feels forced. I didn’t see anything in the movie that looked like they were falling in love.

Go ahead and watch Unlocking Christmas. Maybe you’ll get some ideas for new Christmas traditions for your family.