Lets Talk Hallmark: 2012 Countdown to Christmas Movies

We are now already in the month of December (when I wrote this). Christmas is in full display here in the United States of America, and in some of the countries of the northern hemisphere. It’s time for Christmas trees, decorations, and lights. And it’s also time for Christmas-themed movies on TV.

Of course, favorites of many fans are the Christmas movies of the Hallmark Channel. When I watched the first one in 2017, I became a big fan. Now I don’t miss one! I try to watch as many as possible, as all are beautiful productions and lovely stories.

As always, I like to remind all readers that, even though I love the movies, I’m only a fan. I have no rights or access to any production or merchandise. None. But if you’re interested, you may visit the website https://www.hallmarkchannel.com. I check the Hallmark Channel page every day! I check the merchandise page too! See all they have in stores here https://www.hallmark.com/. The design in the picture below is from merchandise available for purchase. All images/posters used for this post are from Hallmark Channel/Crown Media Holdings.

This year, 2019, the Hallmark Channel network is celebrating the 10th anniversary of “Countdown to Christmas”. This celebration has been promoted throughout the network, including the other channels Hallmark Movies and Mysteries, Hallmark Drama and Hallmark Movie Now.

I’ve been working hard, but happily, doing this research. This is my sixth post about the Hallmark Christmas movies.

For the year 2012, Hallmark Channel added a total of 14 movies to the Countdown to Christmas premieres. They were added to the schedule, and continued showing until the end of December, with all the movies from previous years.

Let’s take a look:

• A Bride for Christmas – premiered on Hallmark Channel, with Andrew Walker and Arielle Kebbel. This was Andrew’s first Hallmark Christmas movie. Jessie (Kebbel) has called off her third engagement, and swearing off serious relationships until she finds “the one”. Aiden (Walker) is committed to being single, and bets his friends he can convince a woman to marry him by Christmas. I’ve seen this one. It’s on Hallmark Channel schedule. (Information retrieved from Hallmark Channel web page).

• Baby’s First Christmas – premiered on Hallmark Channel, with Casper Van Dien and Rachel Wilson. Kyle (Van Dien) and Jenna (Wilson) are two lawyers at a prestigious law firm. When Jenna and Kyle’s siblings fall in love, it binds the two together. When Jenna and Kyle visit their siblings for Christmas, Jenna’s sister goes into labor. I haven’t seen this one. It has been added to the Hallmark Drama schedule. (Information retrieved from Hallmark Drama channel web page).

• Christmas Dance/Come Dance with Me – premiered on Hallmark Channel, with Andrew McCarthy and Michelle Nolden. Jack (McCarthy) is an executive in a financial brokerage firm trying to impress the firm’s president in hopes of a promotion. However, Jack happens to be dating his boss’ daughter. Trying to create the perfect marriage proposal, he signs up for dance lessons in preparation for his proposal at the family’s lavish annual Christmas Dance. Sparks start to fly between Jack and his dance instructor, Christine (Nolden). I’ve seen this one. It’s on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries schedule. (Information retrieved from Hallmark Movies and Mysteries channel web page).

• Christmas Song – premiered on Hallmark Channel, with Natasha Henstridge and Gabe Hogan. Music teachers Diana (Henstridge) and Ken (Hogan) are forced to compete for a single music department position by entering musical acts in a televised Christmas song competition. I haven’t seen this one. It’s not on schedule. (Information retrieved from Hallmark Movies and Mysteries channel web page).

• Christmas with Holly – premiered on ABC as part of the Hallmark Hall of Fame, with Sean Faris, Eloise Mumford, and twins Lucy and Josie Gallina as Holly. Mark (Faris) and his orphaned niece Holly move in with his brothers to small-town in Washington State. Holly hasn’t spoken a word since her mother died. Maggie (Mumford) moves to the same small-town, after being stood up at the altar, and opens a toy store dedicated to expanding kids’ imaginations … and meets Mark and Holly. I’ve seen this one many times, and I love it! It’s a precious story, one of my top favorites. It’s on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries schedule. (Information retrieved from Hallmark Movies and Mysteries channel web page).

• Help for the Holidays – premiered on Hallmark Channel, with Summer Glau, Eva La Rue and John Brotherton. Santa was played by Steve Larkin. When Santa receives an emergency wish from a little boy, he puts his elf Christine (Glau), on a special assignment, sending her to give the VanCamp family a holiday wake-up call. Christine comes in as a nanny, and meets the kids’ uncle, Dave (Brotherton). I’ve seen this one. It’s another lovely story. It’s on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries schedule. (Information retrieved from Hallmark Movies and Mysteries channel web page).

• Hitched for the Holidays – premiered on Hallmark Channel, with Joey Lawrence, Emily Hampshire, Marilu Henner and Paula Shaw as Rob’s Grandma. Rob (Lawrence) is criticized by his big Italian family about his inability to keep a relationship. Wanting to prove them wrong and fulfill his dying grandmother’s (Shaw) wish to see him happy in love, he goes online and finds Julie (Hampshire), another single New Yorker who’s meddling Jewish mom (Henner), has driven her to find a temporary boyfriend. They agree to pose as a couple through the holidays. But things get complicated when Rob’s Catholic clan and Julie’s Jewish family get involved. I haven’t seen this one. It has been added to the Hallmark Movies Now streaming service. (Information retrieved from Hallmark Channel web page).

• It’s Christmas, Carol – premiered on Hallmark Channel, with Carrie Fisher, Emmanuelle Vaugier, Tygh Runyan and Carson Kressley. Carol (Vaugier) has become a ruthless businesswoman. The staff hates her and they all wish that founder Eve (Fisher) was still alive. After quarrelling with her ex-boyfriend on Christmas Eve, Carol tries to compose herself when she comes face to face with the ghost of her former boss, Eve, who takes her on a journey through her past, present and future showing Carol the unhappiness she has created. I haven’t seen this one. It has been added to the Hallmark Movies Now streaming service. (Information retrieved from Hallmark Channel web page).

• Jingle & Bell’s Christmas Star (animated) – premiered on Hallmark Channel, with Thomas Stroppel (Jingle’s voice), Ryan Bley (Andrew’s voice), Julie Reiter (Bell’s voice) and Ami Shalabh (Sofia’s voice). This is a sequel to “Jingle All The Way”. A little girl named Sofia and her Husky pup, Bell, have moved from sunny Palm City to Pineville just before Christmas. This looks like it could be the worst Christmas ever. With a little help from Jingle and Andrew, Sofia and Bell will soon discover that Christmas isn’t about where you are, it’s about who you’re with. Another animated movie that I didn’t know about! I haven’t seen this one. It’s not on schedule. I have to find this one! (Information retrieved from Hallmark Channel web page). This sequel movie also has a cute promo released by Hallmark Channel. Check here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKmRYPG_Qto

• Love at the Thanksgiving Day Parade – premiered on Hallmark Channel, with Antonio Cupo and Autumn Reeser. Chicago native Emily loves her city, and has dedicated her career to coordinating its Thanksgiving Day parade every year. Then, the parade director hires Henry, a consultant, to analyze the finances of the parade and increase profits. The two are forced to work together to pull off a successful production, and Emily is determined to show Henry she’s in charge. I’ve seen this one! It’s another top favorite of mine and of many fans. It’s on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries schedule. (Information retrieved from Hallmark Movies and Mysteries channel web page).

• Matchmaker Santa – premiered on Hallmark Channel, with Lacey Chabert and Adam Mayfield. Also starring in this movie were Florence Henderson, John Ratzenberger, Lin Shaye and Donovan Scott as Santa. This was Lacey’s first Hallmark Christmas movie. Melanie (Chabert) runs her own bakery and is dating a handsome CEO, Justin (Thad Luckinbill), who asks her to spend the holidays at his beautiful lake house. Melanie finds herself spending more time with Justin’s best friend and loyal assistant, Dean (Mayfield), who just might be harboring a secret crush on her. I’ve seen this one! It’s one of my top favorites. It’s on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries schedule. (Information retrieved from Hallmark Movies and Mysteries channel web page).

• Naughty or Nice – premiered on Hallmark Channel, with Hilarie Burton and Matt Dallas. Krissy Kringle is fired from her job and is still receiving misdirected Santa mail at her home on Candy Cane Lane. One package in particular stands out: Santa’s “Naughty or Nice” book, which he left behind when visiting a child. She realizes the book is magical and will show her all the bad deeds of those around her, so she sets out to expose everyone she knows who has been naughty. But Krissy discovers that the book’s powers also reveal the nice in people. I haven’t seen this one. It’s not on schedule. (Information retrieved from Hallmark Channel web page).

• The Christmas Heart – premiered on Hallmark Channel, with Teri Polo, Tess Harper and Paul Essiembre. The neighbors on Arthur Avenue have proudly lit Christmas luminaries for 40 years, but the tradition is cancelled when Matt (Ty Wood), a teenage boy in the neighborhood, is hospitalized in desperate need of a heart transplant. As his parents Ann (Polo) and Mike (Essiembre) anxiously pray by his bedside, a donor is found. I haven’t seen this one. It has been added to the Hallmark Drama schedule. (Information retrieved from Hallmark Drama channel web page).

• The Wishing Tree – premiered on Hallmark Channel, with Jason Gedrick, Erica Cerra and Richard Harmon. Widower Evan Farnsworth (Gedrick) is a professor at a prestigious boarding school in Maine. He accepted to teach the students left behind during Christmas vacation, including talented scholarship student Juliet (Emmalyn Estrada), nerdy outcast Albert (Amitai Marmorstein) and privileged bad boy Drew (Harmon). He faces a challenge when Drew gets into trouble, as Drew takes his anger out on the neighboring town’s ancient Wishing Tree, a tree decorated with handwritten notes containing the townspeople’s holiday wishes. I haven’t seen this one. It has been added to the Hallmark Drama schedule. (Information retrieved from Hallmark Drama channel web page).

Of these 14 movies, I’ve seen 6. These are only the premieres from the year 2012. The network has continued adding plenty more movies in the following years. Yes, there are many more movies still to cover.

I’ll be writing some more. I have plenty more to add, more to write about, and more movies to watch and love. I love writing, I love Christmas, and I love Hallmark movies. It’s time for my tacita de café. Salud!

Para versión en español, vea https://fullofcoffee.blog/2019/12/08/hablemos-hallmark:-2012-peliculas-del-conteo-regresivo-de-navidad/