The Best Hallmark Christmas Movies

The Hallmark Channel has become synonymous with the Christmas season. It’s also become notorious for holiday cheesiness and seldom deviating from a very specific formula. While Hallmark Christmas movies’ popularity proves that they fill an important need for holiday comfort watches, the network’s allegiance to that corny, predictable blueprint leaves little for the average watcher to show up for.

However, there are a few movies that stick out among the crowd and prove good watches for Hallmark and non-Hallmark lovers alike. These are the five Hallmark Channel Christmas movies that are worthwhile watches this holiday season.

Table of Contents

A Christmas Melody

A Christmas Melody was destined to be a holiday favorite, because it was directed by Mariah Carey, a Christmas icon known for her monopoly over holiday music playlists for years running. The movie visits the familiar Hallmark trope of “woman returns to her hometown after being in the big city” but with a twist. The look and feel of that hometown, Silver Falls, is just as warm, cozy, and Christmas-y as it sets out to be (infamous Hallmark fake snow and all).

This unexpected gem actually has the ability to transcend niche network product and venture into yearly holiday rewatch territory. The leads, Lacey Chabert and Brennan Elliott have a palpable, lovable chemistry and are also joined by Kathy Najimy and Mariah Carey herself. But, the true star is Fina Strazza who plays Kristin’s (Lacey Chabert) daughter, Emily. She has so much charisma and precociousness that it’s almost believable that she actually wrote a hit Mariah Carey Christmas song (as the plot claims), and her final performance scene is perfectly done. In spite of a script that could’ve used a few edits, there are many moments that feel pleasantly ad-libbed by a cast that had a wonderful time making their movie. A Christmas Melody delivers a message about believing in your dreams and that “Christmas wishes” come true. It will make you smile and leave that other Mariah Carey Christmas song in your head for days (in a good way!)

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Karen Kingsbury’s Maggie’s Christmas Miracle

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The quintessential Hallmark Christmas movie, this is the pick for you if you are looking for that cozy, romantic, Christmas-y feeling delivered to you in a well-made package. Maggie’s Christmas Miracle feels like a Christmas classic and ends with a twist that, unlike other Christmas romance ending twists, actually does feel like a pleasant surprise. The leads, Jill Wagner, Luke MacFarlane, and Lauren Guci have a delightful chemistry. They deliver some sad and emotional moments that will tug at your heartstrings, but of course, it all comes together in a pleasantly happy ending. This is a tale for the many people who find that Christmas isn’t “the most wonderful time of the year” but are looking for a little holiday cheer. As a whole, this movie is a sweet Christmas romance you might even want to rewatch annually.

The Christmas Train

Adapted from the book by David Baldacci of the same name, The Christmas Train meets somewhere between what’s typical for Hallmark and what’s typical for Baldacci. It has a little more mystery than the normal works of the Christmas cheer-filled network and a little more holiday corniness than what you expect from the suspense-loving author’s thrillers. This mix, strangely enough, works perfectly. A part of the Hallmark Hall of Fame (AKA boasting a high-profile cast), this movie stars Dermot Mulroney, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Danny Glover, and Joan Cusack (playing a variation of that Joan Cusack character everyone knows and loves). This movie is a romantic drama about folks stuck on a long train ride together. There are little mysteries throughout, a major twist at the end, and even a train that takes on a lore of its own. This mystery, twists and turns, and a wonderful cast help The Christmas Train stand out among others as a more serious and poignant holiday watch.

A Very Merry Mix-Up

A Very Merry Mix-Up is the perfect recommendation if you’re looking for something fun and light. Alice (Alicia Witt) is traveling to meet her in-laws-to-be for the first time over the holiday. Through a series of mishaps and miscommunications, Alice ends up at the wrong house, though it takes her quite some time to realize it. She doesn’t realize, in fact, until after she’s fallen for a man who she thinks is her fiance’s brother (Mark Wiebe). The plot is even more convoluted and wacky than it already sounds, but somehow it works and makes for a very enjoyable watch. Most of this likely has to do with Alicia Witt and Mark Wiebe, whose charm and chemistry takes a silly story, makes it feel real and fun, and has viewers rooting for them.

A Shoe Addict’s Christmas

A very loose take on A Christmas Carol, A Shoe Addict’s Christmas takes the “re-examining one’s priorities around the holidays” trope and adds a sprinkle of Carrie Bradshaw. Like most of Hallmark’s roster that deviates even slightly from the usual plot structure, A Shoe Addict’s Christmas is based on a novel from 2016 by Beth Harbison.

This recommendation is not for the faint of heart when it comes to cheesiness: it is chock full of it. But expected cheesiness, religious undertones, and a few strange directorial choices aside, this movie is super sweet and a great, cozy comfort watch. The two leads are Hallmark sweetheart, Candace Cameron-Bure and Luke Macfarlane, who is one of Hallmark’s most watchable and likable leading men. Still, the true gem of A Shoe Addict’s Christmas is Jean Smart. Smart plays Charlie, a kind of ghost of Christmasses past, present, and yet to come all rolled into one and dressed in a bizarre Christmas outfit. Jean Smart brings Charlie to life in a way that makes viewers wish that they, too, had her around to deliver omniscient advice in a sarcastic tone, which is more than enough to earn A Shoe Addict’s Christmas a place on the list.