No other channel embodies the holiday spirit more than the Hallmark Channel. The Hallmark Channel runs a “Countdown to Christmas” promotion where holiday movies will play throughout winter. These movies are typically feel-good stories, so think rom-coms, comedies, and family-oriented programming.
The Hallmark Channel always releases new holiday movies, and 2024 will be no different. Over 45 new movies will air on Hallmark Channel during the holiday season. One of those films is Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story, a football romance inspired by a certain well-known pop star and her Super Bowl-winning boyfriend. Below, we curated a guide for the best Christmas movies on Hallmark Channel to watch right now.
Looking for more holiday movies? Check out our lists of the best Christmas movies on Netflix, the best Christmas movies on Hulu, the best Christmas movies on Amazon Prime, and the best Christmas movies on Disney+. Also, check out the best new movies to stream this week.
Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story (2024)
The relationship between international superstar Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce dominated the 2023 NFL season. Although Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story is not based on Swift and Kelce, their relationship undoubtedly inspired it. Alana Higman (Hunter King) and her family are Kansas City Chiefs superfans. Because of their undying love for the Chiefs, the Higmans are finalists for the organization’s “Fan of the Year” contest. Derrick (Tyler Hynes), the Chiefs’ director of fan engagement, must evaluate the Higmans and see if they’re worthy of winning the contest. As Derrick and Alana spend more time together, they form a romantic connection. When the lucky hat of Alana’s grandfather (Ed Begley Jr.) disappears, the pair will need some Christmas magic to save the day.
Three Wise Men and a Baby (2022)
7.6/10The Brenner brothers — Stephan (Paul Campbell), Taylor (Tyler Hynes), and Luke (Andrew W. Walker) — are still living with their mother Barbara (Margaret Colinng). Days before Christmas, a baby named Thomas is left at the doorstep of Luke’s firehouse. Much to his surprise, the baby comes with a note from the mom, asking Luke to take care of Thomas until Christmas.
Unsure what to do, Luke decides to watch the child until Christmas, and if the mother does not return by then, he will bring Thomas to Family Services. With Barbara away, Luke teams up with his brothers to watch Thomas. Despite their inexperience, the brothers slowly figure it out and repair their relationship in the process.
Marry Me at Christmas (2017)
6.5/10Madeline Krug (Rachel Skarsten) loves weddings so much that she started a bridal boutique business. Madeline thrives in all aspects of wedding planning, from planning the event and decorating the venue to finding the right bridal dress and arranging the perfect bouquet. This year, Madeline must organize a Christmas wedding.
Throwing Madeline’s plans into disarray is the bride’s movie star brother, Jonny Blake (Trevor Donovan). Madeline has always had a crush on his movie star persona. However, Madeline slowly begins to get to know the real Jonny, who is kind, handsome, and romantic. Madeline has a job to do, but she can’t ignore how she feels about Jonny. The question remains: does Jonny feel the same way?
Where Are You, Christmas? (2023)
6.4/10Addy Dean (Lyndsy Fonseca) used to love Christmas. Now, she can’t stand Christmas, electing to spend the holiday in a tropical locale instead of with her family in the small town of Red Lake Falls. This year, Addy agrees to come home to witness her brother’s engagement to his girlfriend. When the Christmas festivities become too much to handle, Addy wishes for the holiday to disappear.
Addy’s wish comes true, but it comes with severe consequences. Everything around her is in black and white, including the people. To bring colors and happiness back to the town, Addy enlists the help of mechanic Hunter Blakeman (Michael Rady) to inspire Christmas cheer, and with it comes a little romance.
An Unexpected Christmas (2021)
6.9/10Ex-couples always seem to reunite around Christmastime in Hallmark movies. An Unexpected Christmas is no different. Ad agency employee Emily (Bethany Joy Lenz) is sent to a small town for a job before Christmas. That town is the hometown of her ex-boyfriend, Jamie (Tyler Hynes). When Emily arrives at the town’s train station, she runs into Jamie and his family. However, the family still believes Emily and Jamie are still an item.
Desperate to keep the spirit of Christmas alive, Jamie convinces Emily to pretend to be his girlfriend again for the week to save the holiday for his family. During their time together, the duo confronts old feelings that resurface. Will these lost emotions be enough to start again as a couple?
Lights, Camera, Christmas! (2022)
6.6/10Tell me if you’ve heard this before: a small-town girl falls for a stranger from the big city. It’s a tried-and-true formula that continues to work in Hallmark movies, as evidenced by a recent addition to the genre called Lights, Camera, Christmas! Kerry Devine (Kimberley Sustad) owns a clothing boutique in her hometown of Twelve Oaks, Colorado. Kerry’s business is struggling financially and needs divine intervention to stay open.
Kerry gets her miracle when she’s hired as a costume designer for a holiday rom-com shooting in her town. Kerry works on the costumes for the film’s leading man, Brad Baxter (John Brotherton). Kerry and John fall for each other because they push each other to take chances and chase their real passions in life. They’ll have to choose if their relationship is worth pursuing despite coming from two different worlds.
A Bride for Christmas (2012)
6.5/10A Bride for Christmas is a hybrid between Julia Roberts’ rom-com, Runaway Bride, and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days with a holiday twist. Aiden MacTiernan (Andrew Walker) is a personal investment advisor whose cockiness and smooth-talking translate to his womanizing attitude toward women. Despite his fear of commitment, Aiden accepts a bet from his boss that he can find a fiancée in the four weeks leading up to Christmas.
Aiden’s boss, Matt Harper (Peter Benson), gets to select the girl. Matt’s pick is Jessie Patterson (Arielle Kebbel), a young woman who has called off three engagements. Jessie is not looking for another relationship, but Aiden convinces her to give love another chance. However, is Aiden in it for love, or does he want to win the bet?
A Christmas Treasure (2021)
5.7/10The Hallmark channel received a boost of star power to the 2021 holiday lineup thanks to the addition of former American Idol winner Jordin Sparks. The talented singer plays a conflicted writer named Lou in A Christmas Treasure. Lou works for her family’s newspaper in the town of Pine Grove.
Before heading to New York to further her writing career, Lou discovers her grandfather’s journal in a 100-year-old time capsule. Further complicating matters is the arrival of Tyler (Michael Xavier), a friendly chef who forms an instant connection with Lou. Will Lou go through with her move to New York, or are the journal and Tyler enough to make her stay in Pine Grove?
Love on Iceland (2020)
6.3/10Setting a Christmas film in Iceland, one of the most beautiful locations in the world, is a good recipe for success. In Love on Iceland, Kaitlin Doubleday stars as Chloe, a hardworking producer for a Chicago podcast network. In search of inspiration, Chloe books a trip to Iceland for the holidays with her college friends. To combat her micromanaging personality, Chloe cedes control as the planner to her tour guide, Johann (Jóel Sæmundsson), a charming and sweet local.
Chloe’s efforts to bond with Johann change with the arrival of Charlie (Colin Donnell), her college boyfriend, who works as a travel photographer. Though skeptical at first, Chloe and Charlie slowly rekindle their relationship as they collaborate on a new project for work. By the end of the trip, Chloe must decide on her career and, more importantly, choose between Johann and Charlie.
On the 12th Date of Christmas (2020)
7.2/10You have heard the song The Twelve Days of Christmas, where each day brings a new gift, like five golden rings or three French hens. Now, swap out the presents for dates, which is the premise for On the 12th Date of Christmas. Jennifer Holloway (Mallory Jansen) and Aidan Walsh (Tyler Hynes) are two incompatible game designers battling for a promotion within their company. The duo is forced to create a Christmas scavenger hunt based on The Twelve Days of Christmas.
The scavenger hunt contains a new romantic activity, like ice skating and cooking class, that must be completed each day. As Jennifer and Aidan test out each task, they slowly fall for each other, realizing they are not so different after all. With the promotion waiting at the end of the 12 days, will the co-workers choose love or business?
My Christmas Family Tree (2021)
7.7/10In My Family Christmas Tree, Vanessa Hall (Aimee Teegarden) is a social worker who works for child care services, assigning kids to foster homes. With no relationship to her parents, Vanessa takes an ancestry test, discovering the identity of her biological father, Richard (James Tupper), who lives in Connecticut with his wife and three children.
Richard invites Vanessa to spend Christmas with his family and offers the services of his friend, Kris (Andrew Walker), to pick her up in New York City and bring her to Connecticut, which Vanessa accepts. Despite a rough introduction, Vanessa slowly bonds with the family she never knew while getting closer to Kris. However, a shocking revelation may put an end to Vanessa’s homecoming.
Christmas Sail (2021)
6.2/10Many Hallmark Christmas movies tend to blend together, but Christmas Sail changes up the formula. There is a romance in the cards for Liz Darling (Katee Sackhoff), but the most important relationship she needs to fix is with her estranged father, Dennis (Terry O’Quinn).
With Dennis facing financial ruin, Liz takes it upon herself to decorate his boat for the local Christmas parade in the hopes of winning the prize money to save his home. Liz’s childhood sweetheart, Luke Fletcher (Patrick Sabongui), provides some much-needed assistance, and he may win her heart along the way.
You, Me and the Christmas Trees (2021)
6.4/10A Christmas Together With You (2021)
6.5/10Next Stop, Christmas (2021)
7.1/10We can’t all have someone to spend Christmas with. In Next Stop, Christmas, Angie Reynolds (Lyndsy Fonseca) made her choice a long time ago to focus on her career as a surgeon. But after falling asleep on the train to her hometown, Angie awakens to find herself 10 years in the past with another chance to get things right. Back To the Future’s Christopher Lloyd steals the movie as the enigmatic train conductor behind Angie’s journey.
Once Angie realizes that her choices in the past will affect the present, she has to decide whether to change her future. And that includes deciding whether she loves Ben (Chandler Massey) or Tyler (Eric Freeman).
A Christmas Visitor (2002)
6.8/10Unlike many of the films on this list, there isn’t a romance at the heart of A Christmas Visitor. Instead, it’s about the Boyajian family working through their grief on one special Christmas. A decade earlier, John Boyajian (Aaron Ashmore) was killed while fighting in a war, and the family hasn’t celebrated the holiday since.
However, the arrival of a young veteran, Matthew (Dean McDermott), helps John’s parents, George (William Devane) and Carol (Meredith Baxter), rediscover their holiday spirit. Matthew also comforts John’s sister, Jean (Reagan Pasternak), in her moment of need.
Silent Night (2002)
5.7/10A Gingerbread Romance (2018)
5.5/10Memories of Christmas (2018)
6.1/10The lead heroine of Memories of Christmas, Noelle (Christina Milian), doesn’t exactly love the holiday season. That was her mother’s specialty, and she was “the Queen of Christmas” in their small town.
Upon returning home to put her late mother’s affairs in order, Noelle meets Dave (Mark Taylor), the man who had been hired to decorate her family home. During the town’s annual Christmas celebration, Noelle opens her heart to both Dave and the Christmas spirit that she had denied herself for years.
The Christmas Note (2015)
6.7/10The Christmas Note bucks the trend of Christmas romance movies. Instead, this adaptation of Donna VanLiere’s novel focuses on the friendship between Gretchen (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) and Melissa (Leah Gibson).
While Gretchen and her son await word on her husband’s return from an overseas military hospital, she finds and delivers a message to Melissa that may change her life. But more importantly, the two women have each other in their hour of need.
The Christmas Card (2006)
6.9/10Ed Asner has a solid performance in The Christmas Card as Luke Spelman. However, the movie belongs to Luke’s daughter, Faith (Alice Evans), and Cody Cullen (John Newton), a U.S. Army Sergeant who has come home from war.
While stationed in Afghanistan, Cody is emotionally affected by a Christmas Card written by Faith as part of her Church’s outreach program. When they meet in her hometown, Cody becomes close to both Faith and her father, just in time for the holiday season.
The Christmas Ornament (2013)
6.8/10Crown for Christmas (2015)
6.9/10Who doesn’t love a good rags-to-riches story? Crown For Christmas stars Danica McKellar as Allie Evans, a former maid who suddenly finds herself in a foreign country called Winshire, as the new governess for Princess Theodora (Ellie Botterill).
While Allie adores her new charge, she also has eyes for King Maximillian (Rupert Penry-Jones), Theodora’s father. Their attraction is mutual, but Maximillian’s betrothal to Countess Celia (Alexandra Evans) may thwart the romance with Allie before it even begins.
The Christmas House (2020)
6.0/10The most recent entrée on this list, The Christmas House, is also the first time a Hallmark Christmas movie has prominently featured a same-sex couple. Brandon (Jonathan Bennett) and his husband, Jake (Brad Harder), are invited to the home of Brandon’s parents, Bill (Treat Williams) and Phylis (Sharon Lawrence), for an annual Christmas tradition.
Brandon’s brother, Mike (Robert Buckley), also comes home for the holidays, as he gets closer to his former neighbor, Andi (Ana Ayora). All three couples face emotional crises leading up to Christmas, but they overcome their trials together as a family.
A Grandpa for Christmas (2007)
6.8/10While Hallmark Christmas films typically focus on romance, A Grandpa For Christmas follows a family as it comes back together after a long period of estrangement. For years, Bert (Ernest Borgnine) and his daughter, Marie (Tracy Nelson), have avoided speaking to each other.
However, Bert steps up to take care of Marie’s young daughter, Becca (Juliette Goglia), when Marie is injured in an accident. The growing bond between Bert and his granddaughter helps him reconnect with Marie as they face the uncomfortable secrets that kept them apart for too long.
