You might be asking, “Why are you already talking about Christmas?! It’s too soon!” Normally, I would be right there with you and shaking my head at how early Christmas stuff is being released out into the world. However, I make an exception for this event. And I mean, after the year (sometimes feeling like a million years) we’ve all had I think it’s okay to celebrate a happy time of the year for most.
The event I’m talking about is of course when Lifetime releases the new movies in their ‘It’s a Wonderful Lifetime!’ lineup. It’s my favorite time of the year! I don’t know if you know this about me, but I absolutely love a good Lifetime Christmas movie. Really, any Christmas movie is my favorite. But this time of year is when I become obsessive over these in particular. This obsession, if you will, started a couple years ago and hasn’t stopped for me. The movies start this Friday and I can’t wait!
Realistically, I would only watch the movies that I actually know the actors. But for you guys, I might just watch them all. Maybe 😏. I mean all the movies have the same plot line and are VERY predictable, but that’s what I love about them. Even so, I thought I would give you a synopsis and tell you whether I’m interested in watching them or not.
Here’s the lineup:
The 2020 ‘It’s a Wonderful Lifetime!’ Lineup (All airing at 8/7 central)
Christmas on Ice- Friday, October 23
A former figure skate is trying to save the local ice skating rink that she runs. She pleads with the mayor, but her attempts to convince the mayor fail. She teams up with a former profession hockey player to help save the rink. Of course, they find love in the process.
Starring: Abigail Klein, Ryan Cooper, Caroline Portu, Will Lyman, & Meara Mahoney Gross
Watching/Not watching: Watching
Christmas Unwrapped-Saturday, October 24
This is a Tiffany Haddish production. A reporter finds the true meaning of Christmas when she investigates a beloved member of a town she visits. This town member believes that all gifts should come from Santa.
Starring: Amber Stevens West, Marco Grazzini, & Cheryl Ladd
Watching/Not watching: Watching
Forever Christmas-Sunday, October 25
A reality tv producer rediscovers her Christmas spirit when she starts working on a new holiday show and starts falling in love with its star.
Starring: Chelsea Hobbs, Christopher Russell, Matthew Anderson, & Jill Morrison
Watching/Not watching: Maybe
A Crafty Christmas Romance- Friday, October 30
A craft shop owner finds an old copy of A Christmas Carol and discovers there is a 70 year old letter to Santa and a coin. She teams up with the donator, a contractor, to find the owner of the letter and coin. Along the way, they not only get closer to the author but also each other.
Starring: Nicola Posener & Bradford B. Johnson
Watching/Not Watching: Watching
Candy Cane Christmas-Saturday, October 31
A woman finds out that a neighbor tradition she loves is no longer happening. She then starts searching for a new tradition, but soon figures out that traditions are nothing without the people you celebrate them with. In that process, she finds love.
Starring: Beverly Mitchell, Mark Ghanime, Trudy Weiss, & Benedicte Belizaire
Watching/Not watching: Watching
The Christmas Aunt-Sunday, November 1
A woman returns home to Tennessee to take care of her niece and nephew while their parents are away. She ends up reconnecting with her childhood best friend. While trying to revive her niece and nephew’s holiday spirit, she rediscovers her favorite holiday activity (12 Days of Christmas). In the process, she rekindles her friendship with her childhood friend but also sees him in a new light.
Starring: Keshia Knight Pulliam & Jarod Joseph
Watching/Not Watching: Maybe
The Christmas Yule Blog-Friday, November 6
A social media travel writer is given an assignment in Carte De Amor to cover a 100-year old Christmas parade. She is not thrilled to go, but does it anyway. There she meets a high school music teacher who shows her a side of Christmas she’s never experienced before. Twelve days before Christmas, she falls in love with the holiday but also falls in love with him.
Starring: Sara Canning & Zak Santiago
Watching/Not Watching: Watching
A Welcome Home Christmas-Saturday, November 7
A woman has always been involved with and supported various military organizations. This includes the town’s Army toy drive. This year, she is teamed up with a recently returned veteran. They work together to get other veterans and active military personnel involved too. While gearing up for the annual Officer’s Christmas Ball, the woman and man realize that the greatest gift is each other’s company.
Starring: Jana Kramer, Brandon Quinn, Tim Reid, Cherlene Tilton, & Craig Morgan
Watching/Not Watching: Watching
A Very Charming Christmas Town-Sunday, November 8
A travel and lifestyle blogger visits a little town, Solvang, to work on her next holiday vlog. While there, she meets a local community coordinator and chocolate shop owner who is tasked with showing her around. She and he are at odds the whole time, but eventually the fall for each other.
Starring: Natalie Hall, Jon Prescott, Kelly Jakle, Jo Marie Payton, & Tracey E. Bregman
Watching/Not Watching: Watching
Christmas on the Vine-Friday, November 13
A young marketing executive returns to her hometown ready and excited to relive her favorite Christmas memories. She is also there to help out a local family-owned winery. She is partnered up with the owner of said winery and soon finds out that the town’s Christmas spirit has dwindled due to a conglomerate buying up all the local wineries. She is determined to bring the spirit back to the town and with the help from the winery owner is able to discover more than their shared loved of wine.
Starring: Juliana Guill, Jon Corr, & Meredith Baxter
Watching/Not Watching: Maybe
Christmas on Wheels-Saturday, November 14
A woman returns to her hometown to take care of her uncle who has broken his ankle. She soon learns that he has sold her mother’s vintage red convertible which holds a lot of Christmas memories for her. With the help of her uncle’s attorney, she is reunited with the car and restores it. Just as her mother did, she fills it with gifts for the community. In the process of reconnecting to her memories, she is torn on whether to return to the city or stay.
Starring: Tira Sircar & Michael Xavier
Watching/Not Watching: Maybe
The Christmas Edition-Sunday, November 15
An up-and-coming journalist finds herself at a crossroads until she is presented with an opportunity. That opportunity is to move to Alaska and run the small-town newspaper. While writing a series of Christmas articles, she is able to revive the newspaper to profitability. She falls in love with not only the town, but also the son of the former owner of the newspaper. But she soon finds out that her former boss wants to take over the paper for herself. The journalist must find a way to save the newspaper and keep her boss from taking it over.
Starring: Carly Hughes, Rob Mayes, Marie Osmond, & Aloma Wright
Watching/Not Watching: Watching
A Taste of Christmas-Friday, November 20
When a woman finds out that her cousin has to cancel her Italian restaurant opening, her heart goes out to all the people who were going to attend. She believes that no one should spend Christmas alone, she finds a way to open the restaurant anyway. She encounters the very stubborn chef who thinks the opening is impossible because there are only three days until Christmas. She convinces him to do it anyway. Soon these opposites attract while working together.
Starring: Anni Krueger, Gilles Marini, Nia Vardalos, Andrew Bordeur, & Emma Myers
Watching/Not Watching: Watching
Feliz NaviDAD-Saturday, November 21
An Arizona high school principle and single dad has lost his Christmas spirit after losing his wife during the Christmas season a few years ago. He does anything to avoid this time of year, which includes moonlighting as delivery truck driver. But this year, his daughter and live-in sister wants that to change and are determined to bring the holiday spirit back to the family. They hope to also find love for him via online dating. He soon matches with a witty musician who is also a customer on his delivery route and sparks fly.
Starring: Mario Lopez, AnnaLynn McCord, Paulina Chavez, & MaryCarmen Lopez
Directing: Melissa Joan Hart
Watching/Not Watching: Maybe
Homemade Christmas-Sunday, November 22
A young woman, with an affinity to hard work, uses the weeks leading up to Christmas to become a freelance holiday assistant. She gets the opportunity to save a Christmas party, but she must choose between a man of her aspirations or Mr. Right.
Starring: Michelle Argyris & Travis Nelson
Watching/Not Watching: Watching
Dear Christmas-Friday, November 27
A popular host of a podcast about true holiday love stories is seen as an expert on romance, but in reality she’s never experienced it. As she prepares to go on a promotional tour for her book, the host takes a trip back to her hometown to spend Christmas with her family. While there, she begins to experience a romance of her own with the local firefighter.
Starring: Melissa Joan Hart, Jason Priestly, Robin Givens, Ed Begley Jr., Faith Prince, & Nicky Whelan
Cameos: Jamie & Doug Hehner, Hilarie Burton, & Antwon Tanner
Watching/Not Watching: Most definitely watching!
Merry Liddle Christmas Wedding-Saturday, November 28
This is Lifetime’s first ever Christmas sequel to the hit of last year, Merry Liddle Christmas. It follows Jacqui Liddle and her fiancé as they plan their perfect destination Christmas wedding. The plans go awry, as they do, when her family interferes and her wedding planner quits. Nothing goes to plan, but they do end up having a very memorable wedding.
Starring: Kelly Rowland, Thomas Cardrot, Debbi Morgan, Bresha Webb, Latonya Williams, Jaime M. Callica, Nathan Witte, & Chris Shields
Watching/Not Watching: Won’t be watching because I did not watch the first one. However, I believe that might be showing because Lifetime does like to air their movies from past years.
People Presents: Once Upon a Main Street-Sunday, November 29
A woman buys an available storefront and plans to open it as a year-round Christmas shop. The excitement she has stops when she finds out that another person, a man, also has bid on the property. They both have the same idea to go to the seller and convince him to let them buy it. The seller is having a rough go, despite it being the holidays, and they see it. They both volunteer to take over chair duties of the annual Battle of Main Street decorating committee, in hopes to win favor with the seller. They end up at each other’s throats, figuratively, and trying to one-up each other until they start to put their competition for the storefront aside and work together. In the process, they even get the merchants to work together. They all learn that compromise is key.
Starring: Vanessa Lachey, Ryan McPartlin, Patrick Duffy, & Polly Draper
Watching/Not Watching: Watching
The Christmas Listing-Monday, November 30
A uptight, hardworking realty owner lost her Christmas spirit and has to spend five days at a Christmas inn with her business competitor. They are tasked with winning the bidding of a needed listing. While competing for the listing, they find that they have more in common than they thought.
Starring: Lexi Giovagnoli, Travis Burns, Greg Evigan, Rachel O’Connell, & Susan Chambers
Watching/Not Watching: Not Watching
Spotlight on Christmas-Friday, December 4
An actress, who is dumped two weeks before Christmas, decides to run away from her glamorous life. She secretly goes back to her hometown to escape. The unexpected happens and she is faced with not only her family she left, but also a new man and reporter trying to get the scoop. She yet again contemplates running away again, but in the end decides to face it all and realizes that home is where the heart is.
Starring: Tori Anderson, Victor Zinck Jr., Janet Kidder, Lia Franklin, & Andrew McIlroy
Watching/Not Watching: Not Watching
Let’s Meet Again on Christmas Eve-Saturday, December 5
Two college sweethearts make a pact to meet again in two years on Christmas Eve after each receives an amazing opportunity. Two years passes and one returns and the other does not. It seems they are not meant to be, until many years later when they are thrown together after being hired to plan a Christmas Eve wedding. Will their fate be sealed again?
Starring: Kyla Pratt & Brooks Darnell
Watching/Not Watching: Watching
Christmas Ever After-Sunday, December 6
A popular romance novelist always spends her Christmas time at her favorite B&B. Except this year, she is on a deadline for a new novel she is working on and is suffering from writer’s block. She finds inspiration in the most unlikely of places, the B&B’s new owner who happens to look a lot like the hero of her book.
Starring: Ali Stoker & Daniel de Tomasso
Watching/Not Watching: As much as I love Ali Stoker, I will not be watching.
The Santa Squad-Monday, December 7
An out of work art teacher finds herself working for the Santa Squad and helping a wealthy widower and his two daughters rediscover their Christmas spirit. As she helps them, she finds that her kindness is repaid with love.
Starring: Rebecca Dalton & Aaron Ashmore
Watching/Not Watching: Not watching
Inn Love by Christmas-Friday, December 11
A successful woman climbing her way up the corporate ladder does not make it home much. However, this year her Gram has convinced her to do so. But she has an ulterior motive. She wants to acquire the local inn for the company she works for. She soon finds out that her high school rival is also vying for the same inn.
Starring: Jonna Walsh, Jesse Hutch, Art Hindle, & Jayne Eastwood
Watching/Not Watching: Watching
The Christmas Setup-Saturday, December 12
A New York lawyer heads home to Milwaukee with his best friend to visit his mom during the holidays. While home and unbeknownst to him, his mother has arranged for him to “run into” his high school crush. They spend time together participating in all the festive activities and their attraction to each other grows. Until the lawyer finds out that he is up for a big promotion that requires a move to London. He must decided which one is more important, the promotion or love?
Starring: Ben Lewis, Blake Lee, Fran Drescher, Ellen Wong, & Chad Connell
Watching/Not Watching: Most definitely watching. Also side note, this is the first ever LGBTQ+ movie on Lifetime which is fantastic. But also, what took them so long?!
A Sugar & Spice Holiday-Sunday, December 13
A rising young architect returns home for the holidays where her Chinese-American parents run the local lobster bar. After the loss of her beloved grandma, who was a legendary baker, the architect is guilted into taking up her grandmother’s legacy by entering the gingerbread house competition. She teams up with her high school friend and has to find the best recipes while also infusing it with her family’s cultural traditions.
Starring: Jacky Lai, Tony Giroux, & Tzi Ma
Watching/Not Watching: Watching
Lonestar Christmas-Monday, December 14
A single mom returns to her estranged dad’s ranch with her two daughters. While there, she unexpectedly finds love and learns to forgive her father for the past.
Starring: Stephanie Bennett, Marco Grazzini, Brent Strait, Colleen Wheeler, Lina Renna, Emma Oliver, & BJ Harrison
Watching/Not Watching: Not Watching
Christmas on the Menu-Friday, December 18
A celebrated chef returns home to spend the holidays at the B&B where she grew up. Her mother has just opened a restaurant and a famous food critic, one that has given this chef harsh reviews, visits to review the restaurant. As the holidays get underway, the two spend time together and get to know each other better. Soon a romance brews between them.
Starring: Kim Shaw, Clayton James, Cynthia Gibb, Jesse Kove, Michael Steger, & Shanica Knowles
Watching/Not Watching: Watching
A Christmas Exchange-Saturday, December 19
A woman is looking for joy this holiday season and decides to do a house exchange with a financier in London. While facing ups and downs in her new life in London, she looks forward her correspondence with the London financier. He too finds that he looks forward to talking, through email, with the woman staying in his loft. Sparks fly while each is living in each other’s homes.
Starring: Laura Vandervoort & Rainbow Sun Francks
Watching/Not Watching: Not watching because it’s too much like You’ve Got Mail and I’m not a fan of that movie.
There is one more movie on this list, but it was not listed on the Lifetime site. If you’re interested, it’s called ‘A Christmas Break’ and it’s airing Sunday, December 20.
As you can see, these all have a predictability to them. But that’s what I love about these movies. I always know what’s going to happen in the end. It’s a comforting feeling to me. We all need some comfort after the year we’ve had. To be honest, I’m not as excited about this year’s lineup as I have been in the past. There aren’t a ton I’m looking forward to watching. But you never know, I might end up watching ones I never thought I would. Besides, I have already started setting up my DVR to record a lot of them 😏
I also want to add that Lifetime does throw in the movies from the past years. These are just the new ones for this year. If you would like to see some of my favorites from past years, you can find them here. I will continue to add my reviews to this list.
Jess xx
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