Would it be absurd to suggest that the Hallmark Channel is essentially the Christmas Channel? There are some Valentine’s Day movies too, and other assorted holiday flicks. But Hallmark has been known to run a lot of Christmas movies every year. From October to January (let alone Christmas in July), you’re going to see a fresh batch of Christmas flicks to go along with a library of Christmas movies from previous years. In that timeframe, Christmas never really ends.
There’s a reason these films are so popular. Hallmark Christmas movies are heartwarming and life-affirming in charming and familiar ways. There is definitely a formula, but the formula works. Netflix and others have tried hard to replicate it, but Hallmark has mastered it. Even the current batch of Christmas films have that Hallmark magic. Yet not all Hallmark movies are created equal. That’s why we’ve updated the list of the best Hallmark Christmas movies, so you know which ones are worth your time.
Looking for more holiday movies? Check out our lists of the best Christmas movies on Netflix, the best Christmas movies on Hulu, the best Christmas movies on Amazon Prime, and the best Christmas movies on Disney+.
Christmas Sail (2021)
Many Hallmark Christmas movies tend to blend together, but Christmas Sail changes up the formula. There is a romance in the cards for Liz Darling (Katee Sackhoff), but the most important relationship she needs to fix is with her estranged father, Dennis (Terry O’Quinn). With Dennis facing financial ruin, Liz takes it upon herself to decorate his boat for the local Christmas parade in the hopes of winning the prize money to save his home. Liz’s childhood sweetheart, Luke Fletcher (Patrick Sabongui), provides some much-needed assistance, and he may win her heart along the way.
Stars: Katee Sackhoff, Patrick Sabongui, Terry O’Quinn, Emma Oliver, Tosca Baggoo
Director: Stacey Brodie, Stacey N. Harding
Rating: N/A
Runtime: 86 minutes
You, Me & the Christmas Trees (2021)
Danica McKellar has starred in a lot of Hallmark movies, but You, Me & the Christmas Trees may be her swansong because she is moving on to a rival network. Fortunately, McKellar is still full of charm as Olivia, an expert tree doctor whose stay in Avon is extended when she tries to help Jack (Benjamin Ayres) save his Christmas tree farm from an illness that is killing his crop. Romantic sparks fly between the pair, even though Olivia knows her time in town is limited … unless she has a really good reason to stay.
Stars: Danica McKellar, Benjamin Ayres, Linda Darlow, Amanda Lisman, Billy Wickman
Director: David Winning
Rating: N/A
Runtime: 84 minutes
A Christmas Together with You (2021)
In A Christmas Together With You, Megan (Laura Vandervoort) is still reeling from the end of her engagement when she forms a friendship with her customer, Frank (Harry Lennix), a widower who is also haunted by lost love. To help bring some joy to their holiday season, Megan convinces Frank to come with her on a search for his first love, Claire (Liza Huget). While on the trip, Megan also finds a second chance for love with Steve (Niall Matter). Despite their romantic entanglements, the movie never forgets the bond between Frank and Megan, which plays like a surrogate father and daughter relationship on screen.
Stars: Laura Vandervoort, Harry Lennix, Niall Matter, Liza Huget
Director: Kevin Fair
Rating: N/A
Runtime: 83 minutes
Next Stop, Christmas (2021)
We can’t all have someone to spend Christmas with. In Next Stop, Christmas, Angie Reynolds (Lyndsy Fonseca) made her choice a long time ago to focus on her career as a surgeon. But after falling asleep on the train to her hometown, Angie awakens to find herself 10 years in the past with another chance to get things right. Back To the Future’s Christopher Lloyd steals the movie as the enigmatic train conductor behind Angie’s journey. Once Angie realizes that her choices in the past will affect the present, she has to decide whether to change her future. And that includes deciding whether she loves Ben (Chandler Massey) or Tyler (Eric Freeman).
Stars: Lyndsy Fonseca, Chandler Massey, Eric Freeman, Erika Slezak, Christopher Lloyd
Director: Dustin Rikert
Rating: N/A
Runtime: 84 minutes
A Christmas Visitor (2002)
Unlike many of the films on this list, there isn’t a romance at the heart of A Christmas Visitor. Instead, it’s about the Boyajian family working through their grief on one special Christmas. A decade earlier, John Boyajian (Aaron Ashmore) was killed while fighting in a war, and the family hasn’t celebrated the holiday since. However, the arrival of a young veteran, Matthew (Dean McDermott), helps John’s parents, George (William Devane) and Carol (Meredith Baxter), rediscover their holiday spirit. Matthew also comforts John’s sister, Jean (Reagan Pasternak), in her moment of need.
Is Matthew too good to be true? Sure, he’s got his secrets. But his heart is definitely in the right place.
Stars: William Devane, Meredith Baxter, Dean McDermott
Director: Christopher Leitch
Rating: N/A
Runtime: 100 minutes
Silent Night (2002)
One of the most amazing aspects of Silent Night is that it is based on a real event from World War II. During the last days of the war, Elisabeth Vincken (Linda Hamilton) and her son, Fritz (Matthew Harbour), attempt to survive in a remote cabin. However, their peace is broken by the arrival of three American soldiers and three German soldiers. Despite the tension between the two sides, Elizabeth convinces them all to share a Christmas meal with her family. The danger remains, but the friendships forged in that night left an indelible impression on all involved.
Stars: Linda Hamilton, Matthew Harbour, Romano Orzari
Director: Rodney Gibbons
Rating: TV-PG
Runtime: 100 minutes
A Gingerbread Romance (2018)
Hallmark’s Christmas movies tend to lean into romance. For example, A Gingerbread Romance proudly displays its genre in the title. Tia Mowry-Hardrict stars as Taylor Scott, an architect whose career is on the rise … if she can successfully create a life-sized gingerbread house. Enter Adam Dale (Duane Henry), a single father and a struggling baker. Taylor suggests an unlikely team-up that can help both of them achieve their dreams. But what they really need is the love and emotional support that they find in each other.
Stars: Tia Mowry-Hardrict, Duane Henry, Jordana Lajoie
Director: Richard Gabai
Rating: TV-PG
Runtime: 100 minutes
Memories of Christmas (2018)
The lead heroine of Memories of Christmas, Noelle (Christina Milian), doesn’t exactly love the holiday season. That was her mother’s specialty, and she was “the Queen of Christmas” in their small town. Upon returning home to put her late mother’s affairs in order, Noelle meets Dave (Mark Taylor), the man who had been hired to decorate her family home. During the town’s annual Christmas celebration, Noelle’s opens her heart to both Dave and the Christmas spirit that she had denied herself for years.
Stars: Christina Milian, Mark Taylor, Jaime M. Callica
Director: Tibor Takács
Rating: TV-G
Runtime: 120 minutes
The Christmas Note (2015)
The Christmas Note bucks the trend of Christmas romance movies. Instead, this adaptation of Donna VanLiere’s novel focuses on the friendship between Gretchen (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) and Melissa (Leah Gibson). While Gretchen and her son await word on her husband’s return from an overseas military hospital, she finds and delivers a message to Melissa that may change her life. But more importantly, the two women have each other in their hour of need.
Stars: Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Leah Gibson, Lynda Boyd
Director: Terry Ingram
Rating: N/R
Runtime: 85 minutes
The Christmas Card (2006)
Ed Asner has a very strong performance in The Christmas Card as Luke Spelman. However, the movie belongs to Luke’s daughter, Faith (Alice Evans), and Cody Cullen (John Newton), a U.S. Army Sergeant who has come home from war. While stationed in Afghanistan, Cody is emotionally affected by a Christmas Card written by Faith as part of her Church’s outreach program. When they meet in her hometown, Cody becomes close to both Faith and her father, just in time for the holiday season.
Stars: Edward Asner, John Newton, and Alice Evans
Director: Stephen W. Bridgewater
Rating: N/R
Runtime: 84 minutes
The Christmas Ornament (2013)
The Christmas Ornament has a wonderfully understated romance between Kathy Howard (Kellie Martin) and Tim Pierce (Cameron Mathison). For years, Kathy and her late husband celebrated Christmas by trading ornaments as gifts. As a widow, it’s a practice that Kathy has abandoned out of heartache. But when Tim gives Kathy an ornament as a gift, it helps her process her grief and find a way to potentially accept a new future with Tim.
Stars: Kellie Martin, Cameron Mathison, Jewel Staite
Director: Mark Jean
Rating: TV-G
Runtime: 83 minutes
Crown For Christmas (2015)
Who doesn’t love a good rags-to-riches story? Crown For Christmas stars Danica McKellar as Allie Evans, a former maid who suddenly finds herself in a foreign country called Winshire, as the new governess for Princess Theodora (Ellie Botterill). While Allie adores her new charge, she also has eyes for King Maximillian (Rupert Penry-Jones), Theodora’s father. Their attraction is mutual, but Maximillian’s betrothal to Countess Celia (Alexandra Evans) may thwart the romance with Allie before it even begun.
Stars: Danica McKellar, Rupert Penry-Jones, Ellie Botterill
Director: Alex Zamm
Rating: TV-G
Runtime: 86 minutes
The Christmas House (2020)
The most recent entrée on this list, The Christmas House, is also the first time a Hallmark Christmas movie has prominently featured a same-sex couple. Brandon (Jonathan Bennett) and his husband, Jake (Brad Harder), are invited to the home of Brandon’s parents, Bill (Treat Williams) and Phylis (Sharon Lawrence), for an annual Christmas tradition. Brandon’s brother, Mike (Robert Buckley), also comes home for the holidays, as he gets closer to his former neighbor, Andi (Ana Ayora). All three couples face emotional crises leading up to Christmas, but they overcome their trials together as a family.
Stars: Robert Buckley, Ana Ayora, Treat Williams, Sharon Lawrence
Director: Michael Grossman
Rating: TV-G
Runtime: 84 minutes
A Grandpa For Christmas (2007)
While Hallmark Christmas films typically focus on romance, A Grandpa For Christmas follows a family as it comes back together after a long period of estrangement. For years, Bert (Ernest Borgnine) and his daughter, Marie (Tracy Nelson), have avoided speaking to each other. However, Bert steps up to take care of Marie’s young daughter, Becca (Juliette Goglia), when Marie is injured in an accident. The growing bond between Bert and his granddaughter helps him reconnect with Marie as they face the uncomfortable secrets that kept them apart for too long.
Stars: Ernest Borgnine, Juliette Goglia, Tracy Nelson
Director: Harvey Frost
Rating: TV-PG
Runtime: 84 minutes