One thing I love about Hallmark Channel is that there’s room for something new without losing the comfort that keeps me coming back. Give me different characters, new connections, and another reason to get emotionally invested—but let me settle in with the hope that something good is waiting for these people.
Especially at Christmas. Sometimes, I just want to watch people find their way to each other.
Adopting St. Nick, premiering Saturday, October 31, and starring Amy Groening and Michael Rady, has the kind of setup that gets my attention. There’s a single mother who spends her days helping everyone else, a man whose work keeps him moving, and a little girl who misses having a grandfather.
That already sounds like a movie that could make me emotional. Add a retirement-community resident named Kris who looks suspiciously like Santa Claus, and yes, I’ll be watching.
The Person Who Helps Everyone Else
Maren (Groening) is raising her adopted daughter, Leah (Taylor Blake), while running her late father’s hardware store. She’s the person locals turn to when something needs fixing, which leaves very little time for herself.
What interests me about Maren is the possibility of seeing what happens when the dependable person finally lets someone take care of her, too.
There’s a difference between being capable of carrying everything and wanting to carry it alone. I’m looking forward to seeing how the movie explores that distinction, particularly for someone whose work and family responsibilities leave so little room to ask herself what she needs.
Her father’s store also gives her story a connection to someone she’s lost. She’s carrying something of his forward, while Leah is missing the presence of a grandfather in her own life. That makes their introduction to the Christmas Companions program feel like more than another holiday activity.
It’s an opportunity for a new relationship to grow around a space that still hurts.
A Christmas Connection Across Generations
When Leah joins the program at Jolly Acres, a new retirement community, she’s paired with Kris (Randy Apostle), a cheerful resident with an uncanny resemblance to Santa.
And honestly? This might be the relationship I’m most curious about. I want to see the conversations, the small traditions, and the moments that turn a scheduled visit into something they both look forward to.
It also gives Maren a reason to become more involved at the center. When a contractor pulls out of work on the community room, threatening the program, she offers to help finish the project.
Of course she does. She’s seen what this connection means to her daughter.
But helping at Jolly Acres also brings her closer to Reid (Rady), the center’s Director of Community Launch and Operations—and that’s where things could get interesting for the woman who’s used to handling everything herself.
A Romance With a Reason to Stay
Reid’s job takes him from one facility to the next, helping launch new locations. Maren has a store, a daughter, and deep ties to her town. Their lives move at very different rhythms.
That gives their potential romance a question worth exploring: what happens when someone who’s always preparing to leave begins to want a reason to stay?
I’m interested in how their time together might challenge both of them. Maren has to make room for help and connection in a life that’s already full of responsibilities. Reid has to consider whether the next assignment is still what he wants when the people in front of him are beginning to feel like home.
For me, the romance will be in those smaller choices. Does he notice when she’s doing too much? Can she trust him enough to share the work? Do they start looking forward to being together long before either is ready to admit what that means?
Give me that kind of growing closeness, and I am very easy to win over.
Making Room for More Family
What draws me to Adopting St. Nick is the way its relationships connect. Leah’s wish for a grandfather brings Maren into a community where she might find support of her own. Maren’s willingness to help gives her more time with Reid. And Reid’s work introduces him to people who may make leaving harder than it’s ever been.
There’s room here for a story about belonging that extends beyond the central romance—about the people who become part of your life because you showed up, spent time together, and kept coming back.
That’s the kind of Christmas comfort I’m looking for. A little magic is welcome, but it’s the relationships that will make me care.
And if Kris has a hand in helping these people find each other? Well, I’m certainly not going to question Santa’s methods.
PLOT
Maren (Groening) is a busy single mother to her adopted daughter, Leah (Taylor Blake). As the owner of her late father’s beloved hardware store, she is often found helping repair just about anything for her fellow locals, leaving very little time for herself. When the chance to participate in the Christmas Companions program at Jolly Acres, a new-yet-thriving retirement community in town, Leah excitedly jumps at the chance as she misses having a grandfather in her life. Much to Leah’s delight, she is paired with Kris (Randy Apostle), a jolly resident who bears an uncanny resemblance to Santa Claus. While there, Maren crosses paths with the nomadic Reid (Rady), the center’s Director of Community Launch and Operations whose job has him traveling from facility to facility to launch new branches. But the Christmas Companions program is soon jeopardized as the contractor for the center’s community room suddenly pulls out. Seeing how much joy the program brings Leah and Kris, the always helpful Maren offers to help finish the project. As she spends more time at the center with Reid, Maren slowly realizes it’s okay to let others in, accept help and stop shouldering the entire load. Reid starts questioning whether to accept his next assignment which will take him far away from the people and center that have begun to feel like home. With the help of some Christmas magic – and a little assist from Kris – everyone finds where they belong.
PHOTOS
KEY ART
We’re not going to be trick or treating on Halloween, but we will be watching Adopting St. Nick. Will you?
