The holidays are on the way, and whether you’re a December 1 devotee or have already begun playing Christmas carols, there’s no doubt you’ll be watching a holiday film in the next month!
The Hallmark Channel are known for their feel-good Christmas movies and deliver a swathe of heart warming and romantic films each year. While some are typical love stories, we’ve been impressed by the real-life situations and characters showing up in recent years. After all, Christmas can be wonderful – but it’s definitely not perfect. And these G/PG rated films have just enough reality to be encouraging, without losing the magic of the season.
From navigating family relationships and cancelled flights, too grieving and choosing to grow up, here are five films we think you’ll enjoy this season.
Christmas with the Singhs
Learning to blend families is a challenge for everyone, and for newly engaged couple Asha and Jake it means more than just navigating parental disapproval. Asha’s family celebrates Christmas using a mix of Christian and Hindu traditions, while Jake’s parents are divorced and have their own practices.
We loved the nuance of the cultural and religious differences between these two. This is funny, romantic, and light, but still shows how every family member is impacted when their preconceptions of Christmas and life are pushed.
Over all, this showed how couples and families can practice open communication and forgiveness in the face of conflict — something we all need this time of year.
Five More Minutes: Moments Like These
There's a lot to love about this film based on Scotty McCreery's song '5 More Minutes'. While this film does involve magic, the realism comes with the grief, hope and courage of our main characters. Widower Kaitlyn and her son Adam return home four years after the death of her husband, and Kaitlyn has to decide if she will sell their old house. Meanwhile, she meets her husbands old football buddy and her son is opening up, giving her plenty of reasons to stay.
We were so impressed with the way these characters portrayed the lifelong journey through grief, showing how locations and topics can be triggering. The way Kaitlyn had to wrestle with love for her now passed husband and feelings for a new flame, while taking into account the well being of her son, were also spot on.
The Five Year Christmas Party
Have you ever been in a situationship? For actor-graduates Alice and Max, a meeting at a Christmas party led them to five years of “Are we, are we not?” instances. While these two young adults navigate professional careers, dreams, grief and new relationships, their friendship becomes a safe landing place every Christmas.
The beauty of this indie-feeling film is that is shows a couple at a crossroads, forcing them to choose how to be healthy, vocalise their needs, and set clear boundaries. It may take them five years, but rest assured they get there in the end.
Trivia at St Nick's
A trivia competition isn’t the first thing that comes to mind during the holidays, but for astronomy professor Celeste, it is a lifeline on campus while she grieves her father who she lost as a child.
While loveable, Type-A Celeste is a picture of how we look for control and safety when we are in pain. Trying to control everything (a classic Enneagram 1), she pushes people away until she meets football coach Max, a spontaneous and fun loving Enneagram 7 who invites her to be vulnerable. This is a must watch for any recovering perfectionist and lover of romance!
Holiday Road
Based on a true story, this quirky film is about a road trip taken by strangers after their flight to Denver is cancelled. Each person on the road trip has a unique story – from the single mum trying to win the trust of her daughter and the women experiencing panic attacks on board, to the bilingual couple who are estranged from their son and wrestle with cultural differences.
This is a charming, funny and heartwarming watch. And while the reality of each characters circumstances will hit home, their road trip shenanigans lightens the load for the audience. Don’t miss this one!
