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Even as Mariah Carey slowly defrosts, there’s another sure sign that the holidays are upon us: The slow trickle of cute and cozy movies debuting on Hallmark, Lifetime, Hulu, BET, OWN, and Netflix is soon to become a deluge. Hallmark alone produces 30 to 40 holiday movies—”holiday” typically but not always meaning “Christmas”—in a given year, and they’re far from the only game in town.
It’s a challenge for even the most dedicated consumer of seasonal movies to watch them all, so I’m trying to narrow down the list to highlight the most promising of the new batch: the biggest, the silliest, the weirdest, and the sappiest holiday movies that generally sound like they’ll be the best use of your couch-and-cocoa and present-wrapping time. (For a long time a holiday movie skeptic, I have come around in recent years, so we’re going to curl up under a fuzzy blanket and enjoy these seasonal comfort movies without shame.)
Christmas on the Ranch (November 1)
A relationship expert (Jade Harlow) gets stranded at a ranch (thus the title) just in time for Christmas. Is there perhaps a charming rancher in residence who might help her overcome her own hangups and find love? (There is: He’s played by Houston Rhines).
Where to watch: Hulu
Holiday Mismatch (November 3)
Caroline Rhea and Beth Broderick reunite; they were, of course, the aunts on Sabrina, the Teenage Witch for seven seasons back in the ’90s. Here they play a couple of moms—one free-spirited, one uptight—who clash at a Christmas committee meeting but then discover they’ve accidentally set up their adult kids on a dating app. Now, they’re determined to stop that romance before it starts.
Because I’ve seen a movie before, I’m betting they fail.
Where to watch: Hallmark Channel
Meet Me Next Christmas (November 6)
Veteran TV and movie director Rusty Cundieff (Tales from the Hood and Chappelle’s Show, among many other credits) helms Meet Me Next Christmas, starring Christina Milian as a woman who finds herself rushing around New York City in search of sold-out Pentatonix tickets (oddly specific, but sure). You see, she met a guy named James last year at Christmas, and they’d agreed to reunite at the concert, An Affair to Remember-style—but wait! The handsome ticket concierge (Devale Ellis) helping her out is pretty cute, too…
Where to watch: Netflix
A Christmas Miracle (November 7)
A Christmas Miracle
Credit: A Christmas Miracle/BET+
A family goes into full-on panic mode to save the local community center over the holidays. Noree Victoria, Blue Kimble, Victoria Rowell, Nadia Simms, and Aaron D. Spears star.
Where to watch: BET+
Santa Tell Me (November 9)
Succesful interior designer Olivia (Erin Krakow) finds a note from Santa telling her that she’s going to meet the love of her life on Christmas Eve, and that he’ll be named Nick. But then she meets three guys named Nick! And also finds herself drawn to Chris (Erin Krakow) from work! Given that it’s a Hallmark Channel movie, I’m guessing that she picks one, rather than inviting them all over for a festive Christmas orgy.
Where to watch: Hallmark Channel
Hot Frosty (November 13)
Lacey Chabert leads up the cast in this instantly meme-worthy romance about a recently widowed woman who brings a snowman to life (as you do) to help her through the holiday season. The title and synopsis sound seem a little smutty, but I’m betting we get somethinga lot more wholesome.
Where to watch: Netflix
Style Me for Christmas (November 14)
Style Me for Christmas, BET+
Credit: Style Me for Christmas/BET+
A fashion designer (Raven Goodwin) whose business is barely staying afloat gets an unexpected boost from her newest client, a famous R&B singer (played by one-named crooner Mario), who also happens to be a bit of a playboy.
Where to watch: BET+
Christmas with the Singhs (November 15)
Christmas with the Singhs, Hallmark
Credit: Christmas with the Singhs/Hallmark
Newly engaged Asha Singh (Anuja Joshi, The Resident) and Jake O’Brien (Benjamin Hollingsworth, Virgin River) are all ready to spend Christmas together, but their relationship is tested when cross-family cultural and holiday traditions clash.
Where to watch: Hallmark Channel
Christmas at Plumhill Manor (November 16)
Maria Menounos takes a break from doing those movie theater intros to star as Margot Stone, a woman who inherits an English manor with the stipulation that she stay there for a week. Oh no, how harrowing! Will she strike up a romance with the hot groundskeeper’s son? (She will.)
Where to watch: Lifetime
The Merry Gentlemen (November 20)
A Broadway dancer (Britt Robertson) decides to put on a show to save her parents’ small-town performance space. Oh, and it’s going to be an all-male revue lead by Chad Michael Murray, if you’re looking for a little spice in your eggnog.
Where to watch: Netflix
A Wesley South African Christmas (November 21)
A Wesley South African Christmas, BET+
Credit: A Wesley South African Christmas/BET+
Following up 2022’s A Wesley Christmas (and its sequel, A Wesley Christmas Wedding), this one finds Todd (Terayle Hill) heading off to Durban for some holiday business dealings—followed, of course, by the entire family. Dorien Wilson and Jasmine Guy return, as do the rest of the Wesley family cast.
Where to watch: BET+
Three Wiser Men and a Boy (November 23)
The sequel to Three Wise Men and a Baby catches up with the Brenner brothers (Paul Campbell, Tyler Hynes, and Andrew Walker) five years after they overcame their family squabbles and personal setbacks to care for wee baby Thomas. That was Hallmark’s most watched holiday movie of 2022, so expect this new one—involving the brothers coming together to save Thomas’ school play—to do pretty darn well.
Where to watch: Hallmark Channel
Our Little Secret (November 27)
Lindsay Lohan is back in her third Netflix movie, following her big comeback in 2022’s Falling for Christmas. Here she joins a stacked cast, including Kristin Chenoweth, Ian Harding, Jon Rudnitsky, and Chris Parnell, in the story of a couple of exes forced to spend the holiday together (her new boyfriend’s sister is dating her old boyfriend, and neither of them wants anyone to know). Shenanigans will certainly ensue.
Where to watch: Netflix
A ’90s Christmas (November 29)
A ’90s Christmas, Hallmark
Credit: A ’90s Christmas/Hallmark
Like most every working woman in a holiday movie, busy lawyer Lucy Miller (Eva Bourne) is geared up to spend Christmas alone. At least until a magical ride share transports her back in time to 1999, where she gets to relive the holiday season with her mom, sister, best friend—and her high school crush.
Where to watch: Hallmark Channel
Nutcrackers (November 29)
Nutcrackers, Hulu
Credit: Nutcrackers/Hulu
The cast is the big draw here, with Ben Stiller starring (alongside Linda Cardellini and Tim Heidecker) as a work-obsessed guy who suddenly finds himself in the role of caregiver for his rambunctious nephews. David Gordon Green, best known for his Halloween and Exorcist reboots, directs.
Where to watch: Hulu
Make or Bake Christmas (December 1)
Make or Bake Christmas, Lifetime
Credit: Make or Bake Christmas/Lifetime
Vivica A. Fox and Jackée Harry (sold!) star in the story of Leslie (Fox), a lifestyle leader looking to expand her brand by buying out a local bakery owned by Denise Sugarbaker (Harry). Leslie sends one of her employees, Emma (Jasmine Aivaliotis). undercover as a seasonal employee to convince Denise to sell…but Emma soon finds herself drawn not only to the bakery’s cozy holiday charm, but also to the owner’s son, David (Landon Moss).
Where to watch: Lifetime
Season’s Greetings From Cherry Lane (December 5)
Season’s Greetings From Cherry Lane, Hallmark
Credit: Season’s Greetings from Cherry Lane/Hallmark
2023’s clever Christmas on Cherry Lane, involving three lightly-connected stories set over generations at one particular house, gets not one but three followups this season. The first sees couple Mike and Zian (Jonathan Bennett and Vincent Rodriguez III) returning in a present-day story, while a doctor in 1951 tries to make a special Christmas for his wife before shipping off to Korea, and a newlywed couple in 2003 struggle to please their in-laws, and each other, during the holidays.
Where to watch: Hallmark+
A Season to Remember (December 7)
Sports reporter Symone Gibson (Michele Weaver) has a week before Christmas to find the story that might push her career forward—and luckily meets charming, handsome, and driven freelance photographer (Nathan Owens), who can help her out.
Where to watch: OWN
A Very Merry Beauty Salon (December 7)
A Very Merry Beauty Salon, Lifetime
Credit: A Very Merry Beauty Salon/Lifetime
Sienna (Tia Mowry), owner of Atlanta’s most bustling beauty salon, is due to receive a humanitarian award at the annual Tinsel Ball. There’s romance in the air when the (sexy) CEO of a prestigious wine brand (RonReaco Lee) takes over sponsorship of the event, but also concern that his new ideas could ruin the traditions that have made the ball so beloved.
Where to watch: Lifetime
Happy Holidays From Cherry Lane (December 12)
Happy Holidays from Cherry Lane, Hallmark
Credit: Happy Holidays from Cherry Lane/Hallmark
In the second of three Cherry Lane follow-ups this year, we get a couple taking in a curmudgeonly father in 1960, a first meeting between Nelson (James Denton, returning from the first movie) and future wife Regina in 1998, and a last-minute Christmas Eve wedding in 2015.
Where to watch: Hallmark+
Hanukkah on the Rocks (December 13)
A newly out-of-work corporate lawyer (Stacey Farber) sets out across Chicago in search of the last box of Hanukkah candles, and instead finds Rocky’s, a quirky bar where she meets Jay (Daren Kagasoff), a doctor from Florida, and his grandfather Sam (Marc Summers). What else to do but get a job as a bartender, plan a big Hanukkah blowout, and learn a lesson or two about the value of doing something unexpected?
Where to watch: Hallmark Channel
Christmas on the Alpaca Farm (December 15)
Jess (Kirsten Comerford) leaves her big-city, highfalutin’ job at a New York fashion label to start her own line. Which requires her to, you guessed it, spend Christmas on an alpaca farm. Luckily there’s a hunky single dad (Matt Wells) on the premises too.
Where to watch: Lifetime
Deck the Halls on Cherry Lane (December 19)
Deck the Halls on Cherry Lane, Hallmark
Credit: Deck the Halls on Cherry Lane/Hallmark
In the final Cherry Lane film for 2024, John Brotherton and Erin Cahill are back as John and Lizzie, providing a sequel to the first movie 1981 segment. A section set in 1966 sees a single’s guy’s Christmas plans dashed when a neighbor volunteers his house to be used in a TV special, and a couple of friends start to develop feelings for each other in a segment set in 2000.
Where to watch: Hallmark+
Happy Howlidays (December 21)
Jessica Lowndes plays Mia, a webpage editor for the Seattle Tourism Board who finds holiday companionship in a stray dog…and then in shelter owner Max. We don’t actually know who’s playing the love interest yet, as it’ll be the not-yet-announced winner of Hallmark’s reality show Finding Mr. Christmas, the lead role here being the prize. Fun? Maybe?
Where to watch: Hallmark Channel
24-Karat Christmas (December 21)
Jewelry designer Trish (Samantha Marie Ware) sends off some wedding bands to the wrong person, so now she and the very cute best man Book (Curtis Hamilton) have to hunt them down in time for a Christmas Eve wedding.
Where to watch: OWN
