20 festive Hallmark Christmas movies to watch this weekend
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)
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+
Crown for Christmas (2015)
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)
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)
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)
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.
Mingle All the Way (2018)
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+
A Princess for Christmas (2011)
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)
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)
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)
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+
Three Wise Men and a Baby (2022)
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)
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)
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+
