Christmas Eve. If you’re like us, you’re avoiding most people in your life because the thought of hearing your family members ask you why you’re single still or when you’re going to have babies isn’t ranking high on the list. Hell, it’s not on any list, except the we’d rather not have to deal with that.
Like ever.
But what will we be doing? Well we’re going to sit our pretty asses right on the couch, turn on Hallmark, scream at the television “that’s the type of man I want” not knowing who we’re talking about, and drinking soju out of our Tyler Hynes boot shot glass.
Of course when our family calls we’re gonna say that it didn’t ring and if they dare try to zoom, we’re going to have to get on the phone and cuss them out. We deal with that too much during the year. Like do people not realize a zoom can be an email?
We’re going to explain to them all that our Christmas gift to ourselves is Hallmark movies all day. If any of them remark that we’ve seen them all, we’ll remark that that sometimes things are worth a rewatch.
And what will we be rewatching? Here’s our top ten movies of the 2023 Hallmark movies that you should watch this weekend while you’re ignoring the world.
10. The Gift of Peace
We know what you’re going to say – this movie sounds religious. We thought the same thing, but we were wrong. The movie is a tale of loss, love, and finding one’s way. We had spoken with Brennan Elliott and Nikki DeLoach prior to the release of the movie and they had mentioned that it may be a movie that we needed.
And they were right. We were screaming at the television, crying and wanting to hug the characters. We were rooting for them to find peace. We were finding peace ourselves.
9. Christmas Bedtime Stories
We’re fully aware that everyone isn’t going to agree with this one but we’ll stand by it. First of all, we know that it’s a little farfetched, but we also were able to suspend disbelief and really just take in the magic of Christmas. We always love a Christmas miracle.
What got us about this movie was the fact that for this little girl – her father was her hero. Her biggest fear was forgetting the sound of his voice. And we can understand that. But finding that voice again and never having to loose it again – ya, we were on the ground in tears.
8. My Southern Family Christmas
There’s so much to unpack with this one. First of all, A+ cast. A cast that made us cry, laugh, smile, and really do a lot of research on sleigh pulling alligators. We had so many questions.
Jaicy Elliott and Ryan Rottman are a delight together, but it’s not a romance first movie. This is about a woman finding answers that she’s looked for her entire life. The father that she had thought abandoned her, the sisters that she never knew, and the stepmother who brought them all together.
And that ending. Get the tissues. Cause that ending…
7. The Holiday Stocking
You really don’t get what this movie is about just based off the synopsis – but it’s a reminder of time. The time we have, the time we loose, and the grace that we need to give. It’s the story of a family torn apart by not understanding each other and not asking questions, but just assigning blame.
It’s a story that reminds you about the miracle of giving, the lessons that you can learn from it, but most importantly it’s a story that reminds you that you siblings are your first best friends and that will always count for something. Treasure the times that you spend together.
6. The Holiday Sitter
Jonathan Bennett delivers in a movie that we looked at and said, we can’t wait for. And when we watched it, we loved every second of it. Yes, we don’t want to watch our nieces and nephews anytime soon, but if the potential love of our life is next door… we might be down.
5. Hanukkah on Rye
We love Hallmark, but we think that we can all agree that really haven’t gotten Hanukkah movies right in the past. At least that’s a hill that we’ll die on. But Hanukkah on Rye is different. It’s a movie that shows us the greatness of tradition, the beauty of New York, and the meaning of family. We have to admit at first we were like matchmaker – oh hell no. But the way this movie was written and it flawlessly moves from scene to scene, we were all in.
4. Haul Out To The Holly
Lacey Chabert has been a favorite of ours for quite some time and up until now Sweet Carolina had been our favorite Christmas movie from her. But this one – it was so different. Imagine your neighborhood HOA fining you for not being Christmasy enough. Hard pass. But the way that she takes on Christmas and finds herself cheering up and moving forward, we’re here for it.
3. Three Wise Men and A Baby
We know that some people are going to drag us for this one being #3, but we’re okay with it. We loved the movie. We found joy and laughter in it. We couldn’t find anything wrong with it. The movie made us start morning affirmations (although, not in a towel) and made us think about the differences between us and our siblings, though we’re not like the brothers in the movie and want to do a live nativity reading to win our Mama a cruise. The rest of it though – we’re down.
2. Ghosts of Christmas Always
We love a good retelling of The Christmas Carol and this one is one of the greatest that we’ve seen. It just finds a way to weave so many characters stories together and make us feel for each and every character. It’s a movie that has heart, reminds us of the beauty of giving back to others. It also does something that we’ve never seen before in a movie – but you’ll have to watch it and see the ending to see what
1. Time for Him to Come Home for Christmas
When it comes to movies, we love a movie that makes us feel an array of emotions. We love to laugh, cry, scream, root for people… and so many more things. Time For Him To Come Home For Christmas is one of those movies. But the reason that it’s our top movie? It’s because after the past few years, where life has really been hard, it reminded us of the importance of not jumping to conclusions, of loving everyone unconditionally and remembering that their lives have been difficult too, of being honest about feelings, and that you should always tell people you love them. We’re appreciative of a movie that encompassed the magic of Christmas, but also the magic of love.
Love the list except for Bedtime Stories. It’s poorly, poorly written and an insult to the military. Bad message. Misuse of a leading man. Should never air again.
Love all the movies chosen here but my favorite is an old one but I try to watch it every time it’s on. Journey Back to Christmas. Great story.