Movies 20 festive Hallmark Christmas movies to watch this weekend With flicks like "Silent Night" and "A Biltmore Christmas," there's a sleigh-load of options to watch. By Dana Schwartz Dana Schwartz Dana Schwartz is a former correspondent at Entertainment Weekly. She left EW in 2019. EW's editorial guidelines and Kevin Jacobsen Published on December 20, 2024 05:14PM EST Comments Danica McKellar in 'Crown for Christmas'; Brendan Penny and Lacey Chabert in 'Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe'; Nicollette Sheridan in 'The Christmas Spirit'. Photo: Gabriel Hennessey/Crown Media; Shane Mahood/Crown Media; Patty Bamber/Crown Media For many, Hallmark Christmas movies have become a perennial treat. Whether putting them on in the background while decorating the tree and wrapping presents or curling up on the couch and giving them your full attention, there's a reliable warmth to these TV movies that is simply unmatched. Yet, with dozens and dozens of them released every year, it can be daunting to know where to begin. We're here to provide you with a guide to the best Hallmark Christmas movies of the past, from old-school favorites like Silent Night (2002) to newer hits such as A Biltmore Christmas (2023). Here, in alphabetical order, are our 20 favorite Hallmark Christmas movies, most of which are available to watch on Hallmark+. A Biltmore Christmas (2023) Kristoffer Polaha and Bethany Joy Lenz in 'A Biltmore Christmas'. David Scott Holloway/ Hallmark Media We love a good escapist Christmas fantasy, which is exactly what A Biltmore Christmas provides, centering on a screenwriter (Bethany Joy Lenz) who accidentally travels back in time to an old movie set and falls in love with one of its stars (Kristoffer Polaha). Hijinks ensue! —Kevin Jacobsen Where to watch A Biltmore Christmas: Hallmark+ The Christmas Spirit (2013) Nicollette Sheridan in 'The Christmas Spirit'. Patty Bamber/Crown Media Desperate Housewives alum Nicollette Sheridan stars in The Christmas Spirit as a journalist involved in a car accident. While in a coma, her ghost has to save the town from a greedy developer. Her love interest is played by Bart Johnson, Troy Bolton's dad in High School Musical. —Dana Schwartz Where to watch The Christmas Spirit: Hallmark+ See Jimmy Fallon and Cara Delevingne spoof Hallmark Christmas movies: 'It's all the same plot, everyone's hot' The Christmas Train (2017) Kimberly Williams-Paisley and Dermot Mulroney in 'The Christmas Train'. Alexx Henry/Crown Media A journalist rides a cross-country train and falls in love with a fellow passenger. Yes, that is Dermot Mulroney! Danny Glover and Joan Cusack are also in this movie that's kind of like Murder on the Orient Express without the murder. —D.S. Where to watch The Christmas Train: Hallmark+ Christmas Under Wraps (2014) Candace Cameron Bure in David O'Donnell in 'Christmas Under Wraps'. Fred Hayes/Crown Media Former Hallmark standard Candace Cameron Bure stars in this film about a doctor who takes a position in a remote Alaska town. —D.S. Where to watch Christmas Under Wraps: Hallmark+ Crown for Christmas (2015) Danica McKellar in 'Crown for Christmas'. Gabriel Hennessey/Crown Media Part Maid in Manhattan (2002), part A Christmas Prince, this one is about a former hotel cleaner (Danica McKellar) who becomes the governess to a young princess (Ellie Botterill) — who happens to have a hunky older brother (Rupert Penry-Jones). —D.S. Where to watch A Crown for Christmas: Hallmark+ The Holiday Sitter (2022) George Krissa and Jonathan Bennett in 'The Holiday Sitter'. Hallmark Media/Craig Minielly In the first Hallmark film centered on a gay love story, Mean Girls' Jonathan Bennett plays N.Y.C. businessman Sam whose Hawaiian vacation is derailed when he's tasked with babysitting his sister's (Chelsea Hobbs) two kids (Everett Andres, Mila Morgan) over the holidays. Seeking assistance from their neighbor, Jason (George Krissa), Sam finds himself in a sudden romance. —D.S. Where to watch The Holiday Sitter: Hallmark+ A Kiss Before Christmas (2021) James Denton and Teri Hatcher in 'A Kiss Before Christmas'. Ian McCausland/Crown Media The perfect way for Desperate Housewives costars Teri Hatcher and James Denton to reunite nearly a decade after their series ended is to star in a Christmas film about second chances. In A Kiss Before Christmas, dissatisfied Ethan (Denton) wishes for a more profitable career and wakes up as CEO of his own company — no longer with a wife and kids — which forces him to figure out if this silk-stocking life is what he really wants. Although this is another Christmas wish-fulfillment flick in the Hallmark universe, Hatcher and Denton's undeniable chemistry is a gift that keeps on giving. —D.S. Where to watch A Kiss Before Christmas: Hallmark+ Let It Snow (2013) Candace Cameron Bure and James Hutch in 'Let It Snow'. Eike Schroter/Crown Media Another Candace Cameron Bure joint, in which she plays a businesswoman staying at a local inn that her company is going to acquire. Three guesses as to whether she gets into the Christmas spirit? —D.S. Let It Snow is currently not available to watch or rent. How to watch all 110 new Christmas movies this year Mingle All the Way (2018) Jen Lilley and Brant Daugherty in 'Mingle All the Way'. Bettina Strauss/Crown Media The woman (Jen Lilley) who developed an app that's supposed to be just for networking ends up finding love on it, with a man (Brant Daugherty) who can best be described as "Canada-handsome." —D.S. Where to watch Mingle All the Way: Hallmark+ The Nine Lives of Christmas (2014) Kimberley Sustad and Brandon Routh in 'The Nine Lives of Christmas'. David Owen Strongman/Crown Media It's Brandon Routh, and he plays a firefighter. What else do you need to know? —D.S. Where to watch The Nine Lives of Christmas: Hallmark+ November Christmas (2010) Sam Elliott, Emily Lind, and John Corbett in 'November Christmas'. Erik Heinila/Hallmark Hall Of Fame The cast of this movie is John Corbett, Sam Elliott, and *checks notes* SARAH PAULSON. —D.S. Where to watch November Christmas: Hallmark+ Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe (2018) Brendan Penny and Lacey Chabert in 'Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe'. Shane Mahood/Crown Media Lacey Chabert (a.k.a. Mean Girls' Gretchen Wieners) stars as a "career woman" named Darcy who's always been too busy for love...until now. —D.S. Where to watch Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe: Hallmark+ A Princess for Christmas (2011) Katie McGrath and Sam Heughan in 'A Princess for Christmas'. Toni Salabasev/Crown Media A pre-Outlander Sam Heughan stars as the son of a duke (played by Roger Moore?!) who hates Christmas, and falls in love with an American visiting for the holidays. It's essential for you to know that the exterior shot of their castle is the same castle as 2017's A Christmas Prince on Netflix, and yes, I identified it immediately. —D.S. Where to watch A Princess for Christmas: Starz A Ring by Spring (2014) Rachel Boston and Kirby Morrow in 'A Ring by Spring'. Bettina Strauss/Crown Media A Ring by Spring is about a woman (Rachel Boston) who's made it to the age of 30 and still hasn't found a generic brunet husband. —D.S. Where to watch A Ring by Spring: Peacock Silent Night (2002) The cast of 'Silent Night'. Philippe Bosse/Crown Media Linda Hamilton stars in this TV movie, which takes place during the Battle of the Bulge, in a small cabin where a platoon of injured American soldiers have to share a cabin with German civilians. —D.S. Where to watch Silent Night: Amazon Prime Video The Sweetest Christmas (2017) Lacey Chabert and Brendan Sutherland in 'The Sweetest Christmas'. Ricardo Hubbs/Crown Media Lacey Chabert is back, this time playing a struggling baker who enters a gingerbread competition. Bakers and journalists make up 80 percent of the economy of the Hallmark universe. —D.S. Where to watch The Sweetest Christmas: Hallmark+ Switched for Christmas (2017) Candace Cameron Bure in 'Switched for Christmas'. Jeremy Lee/Crown Media Candace Cameron Bure gets her own Parent Trap/Princess Switch in this endearingly goofy film in which the Full House alum plays twin sisters who agree to swap lives ahead of the Christmas festivities. —K.J. Where to watch Switched for Christmas: Hallmark+ Three Wise Men and a Baby (2022) Paul Campbell, Andrew W. Walker, and Tyler Hynes in 'Three Wise Men and a Baby'. Bettina Strauss If the title doesn't hook you, we don't know what will. After a baby is left at a firehouse with instructions for Luke (Andrew W. Walker) to take care of him, the firefighter gets his two estranged brothers to help him, forging a stronger bond in the process. —K.J. Where to watch Three Wise Men and a Baby: Hallmark+ A Timeless Christmas (2020) Erin Cahill and Ryan Paevey in 'A Timeless Christmas'. Bettina Strauss/Crown Media An affluent man from 1903, Charles Whitley (Ryan Paevey), time travels to 2020 and falls for a 21st-century woman, Megan Turner (Erin Cahill), who's a tour guide of his 1900s mansion–turned–historic landmark. —D.S. Where to watch A Timeless Christmas: Hallmark+ An Unexpected Christmas (2021) Tyler Hynes and Bethany Joy Lenz in 'An Unexpected Christmas'. Allister Foster What's Christmas without an elaborate ruse? When Jamie (Tyler Hynes) runs into his ex, Emily (Bethany Joy Lenz), he convinces her to pretend they're still together for the benefit of his family at Christmas. Naturally, their relationship evolves in, you guessed it, unexpected ways. —K.J. Where to watch An Unexpected Christmas: Hallmark+ Hallmark's Finding Mr. Christmas blends ho-ho-hot guys with holiday spirit Close