Who loves Hallmark Christmas Movies?
I love catching Hallmark Christmas movies each season. I've had several friends ask if I could review them so they know what movies to watch and what movies to skip. Here is my annual Hallmark rankings of each movie!
Now as the season goes on sometimes the way I rank movies, I end up liking one's better vs how I initially ranked them. My rankings list is the go to order I would watch them again in.
Love Podcasts?
Hear my thoughts along with my co-host Eric Rutin on our weekly Hallmark Mysteries & More Podcast. You can find it where ever you tune into podcasts.
On Instagram?
Follow my Hallmark account to get live updates following each movie and stay up to date on what new movies are coming each weekend!
Watch our Preview episode
Our third annual YouTube top 5 most looking forward to movies, and least looking forward to movies of the season!
My top 5 most looking forward to movies:
- We Met in December- 2.5 stars
- A Keller Christmas Vacation-5 stars
- Tidings for the Season-3.5 stars (but probably more like 3 stars)
- Christmas Above the Clouds- 5 stars
- A Newport Christmas- 3 stars
2025 Movie Rankings in order that I would watch again
- Three Wisest Men
- Single on the 25th
- Christmas Above the Clouds
- Melt My Heart This Christmas
- A Grand Ole Opry Christmas
- An Alpine Holiday
- A Keller Family Vacation
- Merry Christmas, Ted Cooper
-
Christmas at the Catnip Cafe
- Christmas Angel Match
- We Met in December
-
She’s Making a List
- Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story
- Tidings for the Season
- A Royal Montana Christmas
- The More the Merrier
- A Newport Christmas
- The Snow Must Go On
- Christmas on Duty
- The Christmas Cup
Must Watch Movies this season
- Three Wisest Men
- Single on the 25th
- Christmas Above the Clouds
- Melt My Heart This Christmas
- A Keller Family Vacation
- Merry Christmas, Ted Cooper
- An Alpine Holiday
- A Grand Ole Opry Christmas
Middle of the road movies
- She's Making a List
- We Met in December
- Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story
- Tidings for the Season
- Christmas Angel Match
- A Royal Montana Christmas
- A Newport Christmas
- Christmas at the Catnip Cafe
Not my favorites
- Christmas on Duty
- The Snow Must Go On
- The More the Merrier
- The Christmas Cup
Hallmark TV Shows
Mistletoe Murders
5/5- Highly recommend this show to all if you love a good holiday mystery.
Baked with Love: Holiday
5/5- Another cute fun series, that I can't wait to find out who will get the money and their baked goods on the holiday channel.
Finding Mr. Christmas
5/5- I love this series. What a fun show!
Twelve Dates Til' Christmas
5/5- This might be my favorite thing on Hallmark all season. I love this series so much!
Non-Hallmark Christmas Movies
Hulu Movies
Joy to the World
A fake relationship on steroids with an entire fake family. The Christmas feels are top notch in this movie. The premise right up my alley with a lifestyle guru/author faking her way with a family on a cooking show.
Chad Michael Murray has chemistry oozing through his pores with Emmanuelle Chriqui. The run-ins with the girl Max had a date with before getting into the fake relationship scenes were hilarious.
The lessons learned in the end, this movie kept my interest from start to finish. It was so much fun and even the geese at the end of the movie, attention to detail was paid!
You can find this movie on Hulu!
5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A Royal Montana Christmas
You are going to make the guests muck up the stalls! That doesn’t seem like my kind of vacation..plus she would never be that clean with a white outfit, trust! Also the accent wasn’t my favorite 😬
This is a typical Royal movie feel to it. Funny accents, the Royal trying to act like a civilian, a burst pipe so they need to use the barn for a dance.
Your career doesn’t define you your character does. What a great line from the mom in this movie. The way the gal described home coming kings and queens is not how most vote on that I always thought it was a popularity contest 😂
The kiss paired with the music was so good!
Overall a better start than expected but just a middle of the road movie overall for me.
3 out of 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
A Christmas Angel Match
Right off the start the quirky fun energy is right up my alley, then the middle happened and it slowed down quite a bit.
The Christmas feels of this movie are so good 🎄🎄🎄
The Christmas flash mob so much fun! Meghan must do yoga her warriors were perfect form..
Favorite line-
You are not too much Daisy, they are just not enough!
I disliked the partial hearing of the some people don’t have it and Monica thinking it was her he was referencing.
The older couple was my favorite. They really were a fun duo. I liked so much of the premise of this one but it got a little off in parts.
Both leads were wonderful!
Overall I would watch again if it was on but maybe wouldn’t seek it out.
3 out of 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Merry Christmas, Ted Cooper
Brendon Penny is in this with Robert Buckley instant enjoy for me! The too small sweater, witty lines really enjoyed the start of this one. I enjoyed the fun dialogue and the antics of Ted. The fun limo ride, the Christmas decor.
I thought at times it was a bit slow the escape room felt slow as did a few other spots in the movie.
I wasn’t a big fan of Hopes attitude, so that was my tough point for this movie. Often I think would I hang out with this person.. Ted 100% I would, Hope wasn’t always my favorite to watch.
Overall I enjoyed this one but maybe I’m holding off on my 4 and 5 stars for ones I just can’t get enough of this was close if the Hope character was a little more well rounded.
3.5 out of 5 stars ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️.5
Christmas on Duty
Christmas on Duty
The military theme is a tough one for me to get into, I just struggle with these movies. The leads were a delight and would love to see him in future movies. Janel was lovely but the material they were working with was rough.
This movie is serious and funny so it makes you feel like you are starting a race and abruptly stop than they say go and we are off to the funny races again and then they say stop. That was this movies pacing for me, 
.
Ezra seemed like a more well rounded actor in this one, so kudos to him for nailing his scene.
I think it might have worked with a non-military backdrop but that like horse movies just don’t do anything for me.
Not so bad that you should skip it altogether though. The acting does save it from being a disaster for me. Janel’s singing was also wonderful as were the Christmas sweaters in the last scene.
2 out of 5 stars 
A Newport Christmas
This movie very much reminded me of Journey Back to Christmas they both even focused on having comets helping the time travel move.
The Bing Crosby (or older version of) it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas was a nice touch in the movie.
This movie I’m torn on how to rate.. I enjoyed it but not sure it would be one I want to watch multiple times.
I did like a little mystery element to it trying to figure out all the moving pieces. The fun ball gown was a pretty blue.
The CGI was a little fake looking by the water scenes. I usually don’t notice those things but this one was quite noticeable.
Of course the ending was what occurred it was quite predictable but that doesn’t mean I didn’t love it! Any other ending would have been a disappointment.
Overall it wasn’t quite what I was hoping for but a solid middle of the road movie.
3 out of 5 stars
Christmas Above the Clouds
It’s always a good sign when I haven’t taken any notes and I’m halfway through a movie. I really enjoyed this one. If you love a Christmas Carol story and twists on it this is well done. Love the airplane twist of it and the 3 ghosts.
Of course Erin and Tyler have such great chemistry together.
Each ghost and scene for Ella was so good. I was heavily entertained. I thought they did a great job popping in and out of the airplane.
The kiss, the ending with her seeing her sister with Jake, Bobby and Tim reuniting in time for Christmas.
This is my favorite of the year right now and it’s not even close.
5 out of 5 stars for me! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A Keller Christmas Vacation
As someone who has 3 brothers I could relate to Emory so hard 😂I don’t remember the last time they reached out to me, well did you reach out to them? Well no 😂
The Ruins of Pompeii the gingerbread building scene 😂😂
We get to see European Christmas markets and the dancing from Jonathan Bennett so good.
This one had laughter, love and felt like a fun family adventure. The skating scene at the end 😭
What a fun movie loved it and will definitely watch again!
5 out of 5 stars for me!
Three Wisest Men
Note- I watched the extended cut on Hallmark + which has a different ending and a bit longer. So if some of what I mention wasn’t in your version that’s why 😀
The script for this movie was so quick witted, smart, funny 🫰🏼
All three brothers had interesting plot points and their mom did as well.
Lochlyn Monroe cast as Susie’s dad was great casting. The deciding where to sleep in the parents house so relatable and fighting over which room you get 😂
The moms speech to her sons about how they will get through things made me tear up 🥹The brother scenes worked so well, and they play wonderfully off each other.
Some other great lines
✔️Son in law, son in awe- Taylor to Bob about Stephen. So many great lines and that was one of them!
✔️They are looking for 3 fashion less ding-dongs.
Getting a Christmas tree 3 days before Christmas again can relate to that as my family has done this a few times and they end up with the Charlie Brown tree…😂
The entire scene with Kimberly Sustad in the hospital!
I loved how they had the serious scene with Taylor while the brothers were fighting over the toy in the ball pit. Kept you entertained and got the point across.
I loved this movie favorite of the year!
5 out of 5 stars ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Tidings for The Season
Well they had me at Minneapolis! The little boy actor was adorable and very good. Both leads were great as well. If the news was actually like this I might watch it.
This was a cute movie. I had fun, loved the stories with the local community members as part of the news. It brought great local stories to light.
It had your usual Hallmark older troupes to it with one lead being pulled in a different direction but ultimately makes the “right” Hallmark decision.
I didn’t give it 4 stars as I don’t see myself going back to watch this on demand but would watch again if it was on.
3.5 out of 5 stars ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️.5
Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story
Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story
This movie had more going on than just football as the main theme. I personally enjoyed the mystery element of finding who gives the gifts to her uncle for years.
Did I google if the Bills are really building a new stadium? Yes and yes they are it’s set to open July 2026 I read for anyone else who’s curious.
This movie relied more on the story less on just being a football movie so for me it worked so much better than the Chiefs movie.
The sister with her influencer tips about keeping the baby in was hilarious 😂.
The lady being scared to tell him her feelings after all these years 🤔 what do you have to lose if you haven’t seen him in all these years?
I liked how that got the leads together though forcing them to admit their feelings. The ending was fun.
Cameos I noticed
Andrew Walker
Tyler Hines
Hunter King
Santa and now a Mrs. Clause
Old Bills players that I’m glad they said their names because 🤷🏼♀️
Current Bills players don’t remember their names either
Overall better than expected for me!
3.75 stars out of 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75
Melt My Heart This Christmas
This has a classic Hallmark feel to it. Bad boss, grandpa going to sell to a developer, Holly getting stuck in the middle of her work blowing up and her idols mediocre work.
Bianca Bonhomme forgetting or not caring about people’s names I did find amusing. The market was a charming setting. There wasn’t much to the setting of this movie. It was mostly the market and Bianca’s shop.
The redemption story I enjoyed and love how fast the marketing works in this Hallmark movie, I wish it was like that in real life.
I do wonder why she would continue to be an assistant if she was selling well? I don’t know if many people would decide to do that.
Can we shout-out Stephen Huszars hair in this one and the strands that just wouldn’t stay in place 😂
Overall this was a fun treat! Much better than expected and maybe in my top 5 right now 🫣
4 out of 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
We Met in December
They mentioned Michael Jordan in this movie which was a highlight for me. Both leads are wonderful the movie though a bit slow.
Chance encounter app that looks to be a real thing called perchance. When the girl stopped by to ask if her boss was the one she met but didn’t immediately show him the picture is head scratcher.
Unfortunately this movie didn’t live up to my hopes for it. The plot was one I just had trouble investing in. Plus it was a bit slow for me.
Fav line
Stop doing and start being, can you be present with us?
2.5 out of 5 stars ⭐️⭐️.5
The Snow Must Go On
The Christmas sweatset is so good and Sandra had such amazing Christmas sweaters.
This movie started strong and got slow for me with the high school kids musical being the main plot with the leading guy trying to get back on Broadway.
Corey is phenomenal he is a great singer and actor. Heather is also wonderful but the plot isn’t my jam. Samantha Kendrick as the sister also shined. I would have liked the plot of his sister selling her candles at Christmas markets and falling for her neighbor more than the musical side of this movie.
If you like musicals I think you will enjoy it. If they are not your thing, it’s a bit slow and didn’t pass the phone test. It’s hard to rate this one as the performances were good the plot isn’t super interesting to me.
2 out of 5 ⭐️⭐️
The More The Merrier
If you love hospital setting shows or movies this will hit the cozy mark for you. For me those are not my favorite even though I love Diagnosis Murder they are light on the hospital more heavy on the mystery. Which I prefer.
Love the leads and it’s not a bad movie just not a plot I have much interest in.
All the babies being born were cute and adorable.
It was an Abbott health infomercial at times. Nice to have Damar Hamlin in two movies this year.
I really enjoyed the adopted parenting storyline and the gal who came into their coffee shop.
2 out of 5 ⭐️⭐️
An Alpine Holiday
Ashley and Laci are great sisters. They felt believable and Ashley brought such great comedic effect to this movie. France was 😍
I enjoyed the market singing scene with the potential love interest and how easily Kelly got a bit jealous. The cold plunge scene was great, even if it was just a warm pool.
So many great one liners and quick dialogue I really enjoyed this script.
A few of my favorite lines- You invited a stranger into our place this is how true crime podcasts start.
I’m in tune with Mother Nature when she wakes up I wake up. (I connected with that line personally 😂)
There is no bigger priority than a flushable toilet.
Was the mountain scene real? It seemed like it how gorgeous was that view! I mean the cabin in the woods with all the lights on when they get there is a bit of a stretch 😂
I thought it was a super cute ending though.
Overall I enjoyed this one more than others so 4 out of 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ knowing in other years it might not be that high but this year it works!
A Grand Ole Opry Christmas
A Grand Ole Opry Christmas - extended cut
I didn’t realize this was going to be a time travel movie. They nailed that 90s country fashion. Those sweaters and dresses Nikki tried on were spot on memories for me that my mom wore and made me wear 😂
A Surprise Erin Cahill sighting! Lots of country stars didn’t know all of them but great music non the less.
The 90s sitting on Gentry’s bed and talking was so much fun! And boy Nikki can sing!!
I really liked the guy who played Nikki’s father-Rob Mayes he also starred in A Christmas Murder Mystery which is a 2025 movie I now need to watch. Both actresses who played Rita were fabulous Eliza Hayes Maher and Sharon Lawrence crushes as usual.
I enjoyed the father daughter relationship and seeing it progress and Mac and Gentry’s relationship unfold as well.
I really enjoyed this movie it is in my top 5 right now.
4.5 out of 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
A Christmas Cup
We are starting off rough.. I’m from a small town and our mayor is not going to house parties in the neighboring small town to count how many people are at the party. I’m from a town that combined 8 small towns to make up our high school and even the smallest town had their own volunteer fire department (pop. 120) 🤷🏼♀️
The mom telling her daughter to behave kinder and turns around and is mean herself. 🤦🏼♀️
The Bakers Corner is the cutest little coffee shop.
There were so many WCTH actors in this one. I only recognized a few besides Ben. Pascale Hutton and Kaven Smith of course was a fun cameo and their banter of being 100 years since they have seen each other 😂 that was my favorite scene of the movie.
How boring would watching people untangle lights be for a contest, wait we got a preview of that in this movie 😂
Well needless to say this is now my bottom movie edging out Christmas on Duty.
1 out of 5 stars ⭐️
Christmas at the Catnip Cafe
Christmas at the Catnip Cafe
Always a good sign when I got 24 minutes into the movie and couldn’t believe how fast the movie was flowing!
As a cat person this one landed for me. Two great leads and lots of cats 😻
The puppet show was so good and the accent was 😂 I laughed out loud through most of that performance and when the audiences disappeared so good.
Kimberly Sustad popping in for a cameo so great!
Loved both their houses and the cute cat cafe. All gorgeous and well decorated!
Overall a fun cute movie the first half was a bit better than the second half for me but overall I enjoyed it.
3.5 out of 5 stars ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️.5
She's Making a List
Steve Basic! That was my highlight of this movie he was great! I am having a tough time with this one. I enjoyed it but also felt slow at times as well.
I think it didn’t go wacky enough for the concept it started that way but dropped off a bit in pacing. I did like the pushback on the algorithm concept. Human connection is better than the algorithm trying to dictate our relationship with others.
There were many plot points happening and not sure it all pulled together as well as I would have liked. I usually don’t notice things like this but it felt a bit all over the place at times.
Love the leads in this one though. Overall middle of the road movie for me. One I would watch again if it was on as background movie.
3 out of 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Single on the 25th
I think they used the same market as the glass blowing movie right?? Either way both movies worked for me! If you love a good old school Hallmark movie this one will hit that note!
I liked the neighbors falling for each other and Cooper getting invited to partake in Nell’s activities. The scene with the sleigh ride and the mistletoe bell if the driver saying if you want to stop and see the sights I guess you can ring that bell since she was solo on the sleigh.
I found them to be so awkward and believable as neighbors who didn’t talk at first but just put up with each other.
You can see the enemies to lovers troupe working for me in this movie.
I also love the theme of the movie to not shrink and it’s okay to be alone, not just at Christmas but anytime.
We had the predictable overhearing the conversation fight to break up but they come back together moment.
I enjoyed the co-worker admission about never watching the game but always asking his co-worker if he did, so funny.
4.5 out of 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
A Suite Holiday Romance
Oy to the World
A Make or Break Holiday
The Christmas Baby
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