Happy Weekend before Thanksgiving Week, everyone!
Oh my goodness, it's hard to believe Thanksgiving Day is just next week! Even though I've been preparing for it, the day always seems to come faster than I anticipated!
As we look forward to Thanksgiving, we have plenty of NEW Christmas movies to enjoy this weekend, including one I know many here have been looking forward to seeing since Great American Family announced it during Christmas in July: "A Little Women's Christmas!"
The movie themes in "A Little Women's Christmas" center around coming home again, sisters reuniting, spending Christmas with family and those you love, and celebrating the true meaning! It's sure to be an ideal, heartwarming story as we approach Thanksgiving.
And the sibling love continues! While "A Little Women's Christmas" focuses on the four March sisters, the Hallmark Channel's "Three Wiser Men and a Boy" focuses on the three Wise brothers. This movie is, of course, the sequel to the original comedy, "Three Wise Men and a Baby," which was a hit with viewers during the 2022 Christmas season.
Additionally, NEW Christmas movie premieres will also air on UPtv and Lifetime! See all of the details below...
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Thursday, November 21, 2024:
Storyline: A successful New York City book editor (Gonzalo), who is losing touch with her passion after a few setbacks this year learns she was chosen to run a bookstore in the small town of Saint Ives for the month of December. While realizing a childhood dream, but butting heads with the handsome son (Penny) of the bookstore owners, she comes to realize that her love for bringing out the creativity of others is still her true calling, and untapped talent (and love) can be found anywhere... even in the writings of a cranky business-minded man, especially at Christmas.
Premieres Thursday, November 21, 2024
at 8pm/7c. on Hallmark Mystery
Find Julie Gonzalo's festive sweater from A Novel Noel - via It's a Wonderful Lifetstyle.
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Friday, November 22, 2024:
Storyline: In the lead-up to Christmas, emergency room doctor Hannah Michaels (Canning) juggles her demanding job and a budding romance with EMT Wes Sullivan (Blain) in Philadelphia. They spend time together as Wes helps her become more acquainted with the sights, sounds and tastes of Philadelphia, it's clear that they're starting to fall for each other. As the local First Responders balance duty with holiday celebrations, they come together to face challenges, support each other, and find moments of joy.
Premieres Friday, November 22, 2024
at 8pm/7c. on the Hallmark Channel
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Saturday, November 23, 2024:
Storyline: Cub reporter Sofia thinks she's found a Christmas story that will save her career when she discovers a long-lost, undelivered Secret Santa gift addressed from B. to Claire.
Premieres Saturday, November 23, 2024
at 7pm/6c. on UPtv
Movie Reviews:
🎄 "The Search for Secret Santa. Not family friendly. Such a shame because this was a cute and cozy movie with good lead actors and a fun Nutcracker mystery up until the one-hour mark. As the mystery is unfolding, we then hear a detailed story on how there was a royal prince back in the late 1800’s in a small European country and he was the only one left to carry on the royal line. But Peter “was not the marrying kind”. Twenty-four-year-old “Peter loved Finn, a male commoner” and he showered Finn with gifts and Finn took some of the gems and made a gold and precious-gem-encrusted nutcracker as a gift for Peter. The king found out about their relationship and separated the two and banished Finn, and young, heartsick Peter died of a heart attack and the valuable nutcracker became cursed forevermore. After being told this secret tale the lead actress says, “it’s 100 years later and we’re still struggling to accept people for who they are and who they love”. That’s when I was about to hit delete but I decided to fast forward through the movie to see if I could confirm a suspicion I’d had since the beginning of the movie. And, sure enough, at the end of the movie we find out that the lead actress's two best girl friends are actually lesbian lovers and about to get married and go on a honeymoon. Ugh. This makes two Ion movies that I’ve tried to watch that were not family friendly so I’m thinking I’ll not watch anymore Ion movies?" ~~Jane
🎄 "The Search for Secret Claus Unfortunately I don’t see that coming until end of the movie in fact, Sophia’s best friends named Nancy & Laura ahead to their honeymoon in Austria to take historical nutcracker to honor Prince & Finn the commoner. I thought this family friendly but isn’t . Unless Sophia lectures nutcracker until see above until others asking Sophia about Tony & Abigail - Abigail shows up & sees Sophia so, Sophia walks toward Abigail until she calls out Tony, Abigail says Tony & Tony says Twirly, Abigail’s nickname. Jonathan carves heart (Jonathan & Sophia), Jonathan hands handmade nutcracker to Sophia Jonathan & Sophia need to avoid the thieves who want nutcracker named Justin Hawkins & Simon with eye patch just before cops come so, Jonathan asking Simon where’s his Sister in somewhere in the theater 🎭" ~Anonymous
🎄 "The Search for Secret Claus is not family friendly" ~ Anonymous
🎄 "The Search for Santa Claus is not family friendly when I found out at the end of the movie about 45 mins. Sophia lectures the audience by saying her best friends named Laura & Nancy are about to get married & ahead to their honeymoon to take historical nutcracker in Austria 🇦🇹 to honor the Prince & Finn the commoner" ~Anonymous
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Saturday, November 23, 2024:
Storyline: A Little Women’s Christmas is a contemporary retelling of the beloved classic novel, following the lives and loves of the March sisters in a small Tennessee town at Christmas. Jo March is played by Jillian Murray, Trevor Donovan is Friedrich “Fritz” Baehr, Meg March is played by Jen Lilley, Laura Osnes plays Beth March, Julia Reilly is Amy March, and John is played by Jesse Hutch. The one-and-only Gladys Knight performs “Joy.”
Premieres Saturday, November 23, 2024
at 8pm/7c. on Great American Family
Find Laura Osnes' lovely fashion from A Little Women's Christmas via It's a Wonderful Lifetstyle - here and here.
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Saturday, November 23, 2024:
Storyline: The story begins five years later with the Brenner brothers preparing for another memorable Christmas. In a crazy turn of events, possibly brought on accidently by the brothers themselves, the director of Luke's (Walker) son Thomas' (Miles Marthaller, Round and Round) school holiday musical steps down. Luke is desperate to make his son's stage dreams come true, so he enlists the help of his brothers Taylor (Hynes) and Stephan (Campbell). Meanwhile, the trio navigates meeting their mom Barbara's (Colin) new boyfriend and the brothers grapple with their own feelings about this relationship. In true Brenner brother fashion, they are all in for a Christmas they will never forget.
Premieres Saturday, November 23, 2024
at 8pm/7c. on the Hallmark Channel
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Saturday, November 23, 2024:
Storyline: Christmas in the Spotlight follows Bowyn (Jessica Lord), a popular musician and celebrity, who despite always singing about love and relationships, hasn’t found Mr. Right yet. Her fame and busy recording schedule make it nearly impossible to date, but when she meets Drew (Laith Wallschleger), a pro football player, backstage at her show with his niece, there’s an undeniable spark between the two of them. When Drew publicly declares he has a crush on Bowyn, they decide to give dating a shot, much to the excitement of her manager Mira (Jeannie Mai). With each passing day they spend together, their feelings grow stronger… but can it last in the limelight, especially when they both have such hectic schedules? With people questioning if their feelings for each other are real or just for show, the pressure mounts from the press, paparazzi, their fans and even their family, including Drew’s sister-in-law, Nicole (Haley Kalil). The pair has until the end of the holiday season to decide if they want to stay together, or let it go down in flames.
Premieres Saturday, November 23, 2024
at 8pm/7c. on Lifetime
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Sunday, November 24, 2024:
Storyline: Jacquie Miller is an interior designer desperate to catch a break. The city’s annual Festival of Trees decorating competition, known for putting local artists on the map, may be just the answer! But competing with the city’s top designers is not for the faint of heart. With the help of her quirky assistant, a charming stranger and an inspirational young girl, Jacquie embarks on a humor-filled and heart-warming journey to create a tree that will knock the stockings off Santa himself.
Premieres Sunday, November 24, 2024
at 7pm/6c. on UPtv
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Sunday, November 24, 2024:
Storyline: Juliet pitches Christmas candles to her boss to earn a promotion and enlists the help of a candle store owner (Tom), who refuses at first but reluctantly agrees when he realizes the money will help make his daughter’s Christmas wish come true.
Premieres Sunday, November 24, 2024
at 8pm/7c. on Great American Family
Movie Reviews:
🎄 Reel One's Christmas by Candlelight is clean and very sweet! -Maria
🎄 Christmas by Candlelight is family friendly about Wellness expert Juliet pitches selling Christmas memory candles to her boss hopes of earning a promotio, & enlists the help of boutique candle store owner Tom Turner to create new candle scents. He refuses ho thinks the wellness industry is a scam, refuses at first but agrees when he realizes the money will help make his Daughter named Olive Turner’s Christmas wish come true. Can Juliet and Tom work together to impress the boss or will their differing views result in disaster. Grandma Ruth Turner is Tom Turner’s Mother who babysits when Tom goes after Juliet who with her assistant named Lucy. Lucy leaves those 2 alone: Tom & Juliet. Tom & Juliet are in front of Christmas tree 🌲 ~Anonymous
🎄 Christmas by Candlelight – This is a lighthearted, sweet, family-friendly movie. Juliet has to create a unique, highly sought after product just before Christmas, and is struggling to figure something out until she meets Tom, who is a candle maker and single father. The two work together on making memory scented candles, which is a nice idea, but I wasn’t sure this product idea would be all the rage, as Juliet’s boss had hoped. It’s a fairly standard Christmas rom-com, and Tom and Juliet have good chemistry. For me, it was an okay one-time watch. ~Net
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Sunday, November 24, 2024:
Storyline: When Celeste (Arthur) gets engaged to Jason (Bazzocchi) after just a few months of dating, her father and the couple's would be officiant, Pastor Mark (Close), insists on putting them through a pre-wedding "bootcamp" filled with Christmas-themed challenges. As the couple grows stronger through the festive activities, Celeste considers following her dreams in the fashion industry. Meanwhile, Pastor Mark learns to trust his daughter's choices, leading to a heartwarming holiday season for the whole family.
Premieres Sunday, November 24, 2024
at 8pm/7c. on the Hallmark Channel
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Sunday, November 24, 2024:
Storyline: When event planner Christina (Paula Brancati) is fired just before Christmas, she makes a wish that magically comes true. Armed with the ability to hear what people want for Christmas, Christina learns that bringing reclusive one-hit-wonder Dan Copen (Howard Hoover) out of retirement could help get her job back. But to get to Dan, she’ll need to go through handsome realtor Robert (Jake Epstein) who needs help finding the perfect Christmas gift for his son.
Premieres Sunday, November 24, 2024
at 8pm/7c. on Lifetime
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I hope you all enjoy the new Christmas movies this weekend... and some great classics, too!
What I'm watching...
I'll be recording MANY of the NEW Christmas movies, but I'll definitely be recording and watching "A Little Women's Christmas" on Great American Family! Most of all, I'm looking forward to seeing the March sisters relationship with each other and hearing Laura Osnes sing in it! I truly can't wait to watch this phenomenal cast altogether. I'm most intrigued to see how this modern adaptation will transform these classic characters. It's my hope that this is the movie that truly brings viewers to the channel. I believe "A Little Women's Christmas" may be THE MOVIE of the Christmas season!
In case you missed it, you can see my interview with the creator and co-writer of "A Little Women's Christmas," Dione Sheehan - see here.
Please note: I haven't pre-screened all of the new movies listed above. If you'd like to post a review on whether a film is family-friendly, please share in comments. By the way, there are reviews above for two movies: The Search for Secret Santa and Christmas by Candlelight.
Visit the *Christmas TV Schedule* for the dates and times of NEW Christmas movies.
You can find the 2024 Christmas Movie Review post *here*.
Happy Christmas Movie-Watching!
Net 🎄
SHINING HIS LIGHT:
The scriptures I chose for this weekend were inspired by "A Little Women's Christmas" and the approaching Thanksgiving holiday. I pray these verses bless you...
"O come, let us sing unto the Lord:
let us make a joyful noise
to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come before his presence
with thanksgiving,
and make a joyful noise
unto him with psalms."
The Little Women Devotional: A Chapter-by-Chapter Companion to Louisa May Alcott’s Beloved Classic
Little Women Jigsaw Puzzle
