Why I Love Lifetime & Hallmark Christmas Movies—And You Should, Too
This year, skip A Christmas Vacation and head to the Lifetime channel.
’Twas a few days before Christmas, but all through the year. Not a smile was seen, the world low on cheer. But then Hark! sang a Savior, no, not divine. I’m talking of course about Hallmark and Lifetime.
Christmas caroling ain’t happening this year. Neither is blacking out at your office holiday party. Look, I understand that you don’t need another article telling you that Christmas is gonna suck this year, so allow me to get straight to the point. There is wondrous opportunity to begin new traditions this holiday season. Here’s where you should start.
Several years ago, I was spending Christmas with my parents. We had watched the classics — A Christmas Story, Elf, Home Alone, Charlie Brown Christmas Special (AKA the GOAT) — and we were scrolling through the on-screen TV guide for something new and festive.
Enter the Hallmark and Lifetime channels. My family may not have known it yet, but a wrecking-ball-sized ornament just tore through the living room smashing to pieces what we called Christmas tradition. A fresh tradition had entered our lives — bingeing the ever living snow out of made-for-TV Christmas movies for six weeks.
Before I continue, I want to ask a question to all the Grinches and Scrooges now looking for that back button on their browser window. Have you ever watched a Hallmark or Lifetime Christmas movie? You haven’t? I know you say haven’t. And those that are rolling their eyes at the idea of watching what has essentially become a seasonal meme are the ones that need a Hallmark or Lifetime Christmas story the most.
The Hallmark/Lifetime Christmas template is well established. I am not here to dispel that. A well-to-do, independent, career woman — that is too busy and grown up for Christmas — reluctantly travels from the big city to a small town during Christmas for a job assignment or to see family. Meanwhile, the town prepares for a bake sale, Christmas ball, festival or parade.
Begrudgingly, the career woman is thrown in the center of the preparations and rediscovers the magic of Christmas. All thanks to the charm of a Christmas-obsessed small-town hunk with whom she shares a Christmas kiss with in the last 60 seconds of the movie. Ringing a bell? It should. Hallmark and Lifetime have made this movie 100+ times.
Although these movies won’t see the silver screen that does not mean you should ignore them — not many other people are. In 2018, 85 million people watched a Hallmark Christmas movie. Statistically, one of your friends is pretending they’ve never seen a Hallmark movie. They need to shed that shame. They are romantic, festive and, most importantly, happy.
“You been around the last five years?” chuckles screenwriter Bob Sáenz, “People want positivity. They want something they can watch that isn’t about death, dying, and destruction. They want to watch something where they know the guy and the girl are gonna get together.”
He would know, having written a total of nine movies for Lifetime and Hallmark — five of which center on Christmas. He’s an expert on spreading Christmas cheer. Although well versed in the greeting card version of Christmas traditions, he knows that the Coca-Cola Santa, winter wonderland image of Christmas is not everyone’s image of Christmas. And he wanted to bring that truth to Lifetime.
“Look, I don’t want snow. Let’s do it in New Mexico and let me make it Hispanic,” Sáenz says. This wasn’t some PR move cooked up by a board of out of touch TV executives — this was how Sáenz knew Christmas. “My grandmother didn’t even speak english. She was 100 percent Cuban and I’m half Cuban.” He had an idea for a different kind of Hallmark movie. “I said (to the producers) let me talk about what we did.” What became of this pitch was The Christmas Yule Blog, a story that subverts the traditional (white) image of the season. One that breaks the cookie cutter mold — figuratively and literally. “Guess what? The two movies I have coming out this year — no Christmas cookies in either one of them.”
Centering around — you guessed it — a career woman too busy for Christmas, The Christmas Yule Blog introduces new traditions via a familiar medium — traditions I plan to fully embrace. Traditions that are genuine to Sáenz and it’s these that give the film its heart. Without giving too much away, because I encourage you to see this movie for yourself, I’ll be replacing my ugly Christmas sweater with an ugly Christmas poncho.
This Holiday season is going to be different, but there’s no reason it can’t still be as heartwarming and joyous as always. Whether you’re spending Christmas with your family, your roommate, or by yourself, I encourage you to adapt and embrace new traditions. Christmas doesn’t create traditions, people create traditions that become Christmas traditions. Despite what Hallmark and Lifetime might tell you, there is no formula to tradition. If it brings you joy, then you’re doing it right. There is no test at the end of December — you don’t have to complete your cliche Holiday checklist.
This year, skip A Christmas Vacation and check out The Christmas Yule Blog on Lifetime. You’ll be surprised how familiar an unfamiliar Christmas can feel. Because it isn’t cookies, Santa, or snow that make Christmas Christmas. You and yours make Christmas Christmas — even over Zoom. And if you find your heart warmed by the time the credits roll, you’ve got plenty of others to continue your — what I hope becomes — new seasonal binge watch tradition.
Also, check out Bob Sáenz’s other work here. Great writer and a kind man.
