Overview: This Hallmark movie is about two sisters that go on a christmas vacation after they are fired from their jobs as waitresses for a party planning company. They choose to go to Ireland because that’s where their late Father’s biological family is from (he had been adopted as an infant). While in Ireland the sisters meet the town Earl and lie about who they are to help host his Christmas ball. The main sister falls in love with the Earl but of course since she was lying about who she was, there were problems. Of course love won out and he looked over the blatant lies that she told. The sisters also found their family and were welcomed in with open arms.

Actors: Lacey Chabert has always been a favorite of mine. She is often confused with Jennifer Love Hewitt as they look very similar. In fact, Lacey was once cast in Ghost Whisperer as Jennifer look alike. Anyways, Lacey is a fabulous actress and did a great job with her role. As for the Earl, he was a fine actor but nothing special. The sister was fine but looked nothing like Lacey, they should have cast Jennifer Love Hewitt, she would have been much more believable as a sister.

Setting/Costumes: The sets were fine. They claimed that the movie was filmed in Ireland in a real castle but the shots of the castle looked much more like a green screen. The ballroom scene was beautiful. The one thing this movie had going for it was the costuming. All the clothes were fabulous, particularly the red dress Lacey wore to the ball.

Overall this movie was pretty average. Lacey did a fabulous job acting and the clothes were great but the plot was very predictable and even at times unbelievable. Also, I don’t enjoy movies where people are lying the whole time. You are just waiting for disaster to strike and of course there were no consequences. I give Christmas at Castleheart 6/10 candy canes.

An Unexpected Christmas centers around two main characters, Emily (Bethany Joy Lenz) and Jamie (Tyler Hynes). In the beginning of the movie, Emily and Jamie have recently broken-up after a long-term relationship. Emily is looking forward to going to Hawaii to celebrate the Holidays and is going to seize the opportunity to truly get over the breakup. Her plans are turned upside down when the Ad Agency she works for sends her to a small town to work on a Christmas marketing campaign.

To no one’s surprise, she is sent to the exact same small-town Jamie grew up in. They run into each other at the train station, where Jamie’s family is ecstatic to see them both. After some confusion, Emily realizes that Jamie never told his family that he had broken up with Emily. Not wanting to cause a scene, Emily goes home with Jamie and his family and speaks to Jamie privately. He assures Emily he will tell the family about the in the morning, and Emily reluctantly agrees to spend the night.

As you can imagine, Jamie keeps avoiding talking to his family about the break-up, much to Emily’s frustration. She ends up running into some significant issues with her marketing campaign and is desperate for some help. Her and Jamie strike up a deal. Emily agrees to pose as Jamie’s girlfriend throughout Christmas, and Jamie agrees to get the Governor to come and make a speech in town on Christmas Day as part of Emily’s marketing campaign (Jamie has recently become a speech writer for the Governor). The two spend the next several days touring the town and enjoying time together. By the end of the movie, the two realize they were truly made for each other.

While you feel the Christmas spirit in this movie, it is extremely predictable. They should have named the movie, An EXPECTED Christmas. There is nothing special or surprising about the plot. Bethany Joy Lenz did a fantastic job acting, and even sang a song played during the movie credits. Unfortunately, most of the other acting was subpar. For these reasons, I give An Unexpected Christmas a 6.5/10.

This movie was a surprise for Hallmark movies.  It isn’t your typical sappy, two young strangers falling in love in a small hometown.  This movie is much more about finding the true meaning of Christmas and what really matters in life.  I loved that this movie goes into what could happen if one thing in your life was different and how it can affect a lot of the outcomes.  It shows that what you may be wanting in someone else’s life that has it “all together” isn’t what it seems.  I really enjoyed the message in this movie about how doing the right thing is more important than making money.  Connections with people are what matters in life and will give you lasting happiness.  This movie was a beautiful reminder to appreciate the day to day and not get caught up in the hustle and bustle we all find ourselves in.  I would highly suggest this movie to get you in the Christmas spirit without the really sappy lovey dovey couple that you always see ending up together in most Hallmark movies.

I rate this movie 8/10

Sister Swap is was everything I hoped it would be and more! I will be honest, it is rare that I love a Hallmark movie so much that I re-watch it every year. I can only think of two or three that fall into this category, but Sister Swap stepped into that category! I loved several things about this movie, but overall the pure talent of the Williams sisters really made the movie! They have such a fun relationship and it makes we dream that if I had a sister we would be the same. (Side note, if you do not follow them on social media, do so now!) The supporting talent in the movie was also really good! I loved the teenage son, parents and Eric (high school boyfriend/debate rival) were all really great.

Eric and Jennifer are cute and perfect for each other, of course! And the fact that the sisters are going into business together is darling. Not to mention the small town charm the movie captured perfectly. It is also such a good idea to do two movies together, I can’t wait to see part two next week!

I give this movie a 9.5 out of 10.

By Susie Snowflake

Ever since I discovered the Hallmark Christmas movies, I’ve been HOOKED. I mean, who DOESN’T love a happy ending? But I’ll be the first to admit that some of the movies in the past have been beyond sappy. Not so in 2018 though – this Christmas season was the best by far. And at the top of that list of greats is “A Return to Christmas Creek.”

This movie has all the expected ingredients: small-town charm, Christmas traditions, romance and love. But it’s also full of some of life’s more realistic “messy moments,” like family feuds, individual mistakes, and reminders of what’s really important –sacrificing for the people you love.

“A Return to Christmas Creek” features tech-savvy app developer Amelia, who decides to forego her annual trip to Turks and Caicos over Christmas to return to her childhood home, Christmas Creek. There she reconnects with her uncle, whom she hasn’t seen in nearly two decades because of a fight he and her dad got into over the family business. Amelia not only reconnects with her uncle, but she also reconnects with her childhood bff, Mike, who has moved back to town and is still in love with her. Suffice it to say that they are perfect for each other and there is a happily ever after ending!

The true magic of this movie is not only the love stories (Amelia’s uncle also has his own chance to find love again) but also the themes that are dear to Hallmark viewers’ hearts: families coming together to create and share memories, individuals sacrificing for those they love, and the truth that Christmas wishes can come true!

I give this a 9.8/10.

Such a cute movie! I really enjoyed this one. Samantha goes to Cape Cod for a family wedding and needs to take the perfect picture to get her promotion at work. She ends up spending time with her old flame, Mike, who takes her all over to find the perfect one. As you can imagine, they end up falling for each other again, and she also bonds with her dad and new future step-mother. I thought it was really cute. Great chemistry between the two main characters and winning story.

This one scores a 8.4 out of 10.  

This movie was definitely one for the books, and not in a good way. Definitely was not my favorite Hallmark movie, but at least the plot was something a little bit different. Joanna is a popular romance and life coach. She travels and gives seminars on finding romance, and even pretends she is in a relationship. Well as you can guess, she finds out that she doesn’t have all of the answers when it comes to relationships, and her pretend boyfriend helps her to realize that.

In the end she of course ends up with the very handsome Ted. I’m going to rate this one a 4.5 out of 10. Not the best storyline and I didn’t connect with the characters.

This movie was pretty cute, I really liked the two main leads, Kelly (Danica McKellar) and Leo (Brennan Elliott). I thought the two of them had really good chemistry and I loved that they worked together in the end to save the lodge. AND Kelly found her passion for painting again. In the end, we thought Kelly was going to go back to Chicago to open a new art studio, but she realizes that she is happiest in Grand Valley.

Is it just me or are there a ton of Christmas movies about saving lodges? I don’t mind so much because they are always beautiful locations to film from.

I think this storyline has been done too much, but I liked the main characters and it kept me entertained, so I am giving this a 7.9 out of 10. 

This movie was very difficult for me to enjoy. It just seemed so unrealistic and extremely cheesy (especially for Hallmark). So Zoey (Ashley Williams) inherits the ranch from an old mentor in Alaska and she has plans to sell the ranch. I think in a dream world, it could work out for someone to give up their life and job and inherit a ranch in Alaska and keep the ranch running, but I just don’t find that realistic. So at the end of the movie when she makes that decision, I was a little disappointed.

I was also really bothered by the the male lead actor. Alac Wynn’s character, played by Cory Sevier, seemed to be so emotional and whiny the entire movie. He really bothered me, and I had a hard time connecting to him. I was glad that in the end he was easier to get along with, and he finally shared his feeling with Zoey. I also thought that it was foolish of Zoey to keep the ranch and stay there to date Alac, when it didn’t seem like they had much of a connection.

The good thing about this movie, it takes place in Alaska, which is a beautiful part of the world. I’m giving this one a 5 out of 10. 

So I am a big When Calls the Heart fan, so this movie was a hit with me. SPOILER ALERT: I am so glad that Elizabeth had the baby during this movie instead of dragging it out during the regular season. I also love the relationship between Elizabeth, Abigail and Rosemary. I think the movie provides some great insight into the power of deep friendships, which is a blessing everyone can have. You can definitely sense that during this movie, the tight community is always there for one another.

My favorite part in the movie was when Elizabeth heard someone in town say “Let’s take a walk” which is what Jack used to say to her. It was a subtle reminder that he is always looking out for her. So that was a nice touch, good job Hallmark!

I am definitely looking forward to the next season. I hope that Elizabeth can find love again, I’ll keep my fingers crossed for that!

I’m giving this one a 9 out of 10.