Williams (left) and Williams-Paisley (right) – Photos: Crown Media

We’ve been hearing about a double Christmas movie starring real-life sisters (and Hallmark faves!) Ashley Williams (“Never Kiss a Man in a Christmas Sweater”) and Kimberly Williams-Paisley (“Darrow Mysteries,” Father of the Bride) since, at least 2018, and now it’s officially in the works with air-dates set for this holiday season!

Crown Media announced today that the sisters have teamed up to executive produce two all-new original holiday movies movies, “Sister Swap: A Hometown Holiday” and “Sister Swap: Christmas in the City,“ premiering this year during the annual (and iconic) Countdown to Christmas programming event on Hallmark Channel.

In the movies, Jennifer (Williams-Paisley) and Meg Swift (Williams) are sisters who couldn’t be closer despite living hours apart. Jennifer is in Salt Lake City, running a successful restaurant she started with her late husband and raising her teenaged son Simon (Jacob Buster, “Christmas Wonderland,” “Ballers”). Meg stayed in their hometown of Hazelwood, helping their parents run the local bakery. This Christmas is the family’s first since the passing of Uncle Dave (Kevin Nealon, “Man with a Plan,” “Weeds”) who owned the town’s beloved theater, The Madison, where many memories were made over the years.

Photo via @thepioneerwoman on Twitter

Ree Drummond, host of Food Network’s “The Pioneer Woman,“ will be taking her first step into the acting field when she stars in “Candy Coated Christmas,“ the first original scripted movie to air on Discovery Plus.  Variety reported today that Discovery Plus and Food Network are exploring new territory by getting into the holiday movie business, and this seemed like the ‘sweetest’ route.

The network plans to host festive content surrounding the release of the movie, including recipes and other material for The Food Network.

Directed by Ellie Kanner, “Candy Coated Christmas” tells the story of a young woman (Molly McCook) who returns to her mother’s home town of Peppermint Hollow after her plans to launch a business are derailed by circumstance. Drummond plays the owner of a bakery who befriends the woman and introduces her around town.

Read more about the movie and the network’s plans for the holiday season by clicking here!

Stay merry!

Sevier and Nevin. (Photos: Crown Media)

Corey Sevier will be directing his second holiday movie, in which he also stars, this year with “It Takes a Christmas Village”. Sevier will star alongside Brooke Nevin (“Crashing Through the Snow”).

When construction on Main Street threatens to put the town’s shops out of business, mayor Alex Foster (Nevin) decides to throw a Christmas market to boost sales. To do it though, she’ll have to convince the reclusive Darcy Hawkins (Sevier) to host it at his family’s old mill, bringing up old family feuds and sparking romance in the process.

This will also mark the second movie Sevier has worked on with writer Kate Pragnell; they previously wrote and directed last year’s “Heart of the Holidays,” which premiered during Hallmark Channel’s Countdown to Christmas programming event.

Graphic by LollyChristmas.com

Today Marks 4 Months Until Christmas Day!

I really enjoy counting down until Christmas because it allows me to not only carry the spirit all year long, but I also get to share my excitement of the upcoming season with all of you!

The summer has really flown by; it both feels like forever since Christmas in July and also like I blinked and the entire summer flew by. In fact, next month we will reach the 100 Days Until Christmas mark! I’m excited for Christmas, but I also wish time would slow down just a little bit so I could get all of my holiday planning in order.

Parrish (left) and Paevey (right) | Photos: Crown Media

Production will soon wrap on the Vancouver set of Hallmark’s upcoming holiday film, Coyote Creek Christmas, which stars Janel Parrish (Holly & Ivy) and Ryan Paevey (Hope at Christmas, Christmas at the Plaza, A Timeless Christmas).

The two have been sharing Instagram photos as they film the movie, which is set to wrap up filming this week. While it’s unclear when exactly the movie will premiere, and if it will air on Hallmark Channel or its sister network Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, one thing is for sure — these are two very good leads. I’m excited to see Ryan and Janel work together!

Ryan will be playing the role of Dylan Bailey while Janel will star as Paige Parker. Hopefully we will get a synopsis soon, and when we do, I will update this post with more information.

Stay merry!

L-R: Heather Hemmens, Sheryl Lee Ralph and Luke Macfarlane. | Photos courtesy of Crown Media

Hallmark announced an upcoming holiday movie, “Christmas in My Heart,“ that is set to premiere during the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries “Miracles of Christmas” event later this year! The all-new original movie will be lead by Heather Hemmens (“Love, Take Two”), Luke Macfarlane (“A Shoe Addict’s Christmas,” “Chateau Christmas,” “Sense, Sensibility and Snowmen,” “Christmas Land”) and Sheryl Lee Ralph (“Christmas Comes Twice”).

In this new Christmas tale, with Christmas fast approaching, concert violinist Beth (Hemmens) returns to her hometown after the recent passing of her mother, the elementary school’s beloved music department head. She crosses paths with Katie (Maria Nash, “Elinor Wonders Why”), a young, promising violinist and daughter of country music star Sean Grant (Macfarlane), who’s been living a quiet life there since his wife’s passing. Sean’s mother-in-law Ruthie (Ralph) wants him to move on with his life, but he’s still coming to terms with his loss and hasn’t been inspired to create new music. Eager to sharpen her skills for the town’s upcoming recital dedicated to Beth’s mother, Katie finds a creative way to get Sean to hire Beth as her tutor, despite his skepticism about the value of formal music instruction.

Mickey and Minnie Wish Upon a Christmas | Photo: Disney Junior

Disney has announced the air-dates for two original made-for-television Christmas movies, and I’m very excited about them!  The House of Mouse confirmed that among their upcoming holiday offerings, Disney Channel’s previously announced movie, “Christmas Again”, and Disney Junior’s “Mickey and Minnie Wish Upon a Christmas” will both premiere in December.

Check out more information on the movies and the official air-dates below!

Liebert and Porte in 2019’s “Cherished Memories: A Gift to Remember 2”. (Photo: Crown Media)

There is no shortage of holiday cheer when it comes to the Hallmark Channel as we can look forward to thirty to forty all new original Christmas movies each year to fill our weeks with the festive spirit as we countdown to Santa’s return, but every once in awhile there’s a movie that makes such an impact that we’ll get a sequel. “A Gift to Remember” is one of those movies.

In the 2017 film, a hopeless romantic, Darcy (Ali Liebert), insists on being swept off her feet and gets that moment when she crashes into a handsome man named Aiden (Peter Porte) with her bike as he walks his dog one morning. After falling into a coma, Darcy takes Aiden’s dog home as she awaits to reunite the two companions… and sparks inevitably fly between Darcy and Aiden.

The sweet story ended up getting a sequel in 2019 titled, “Cherished Memories: A Gift to Remember 2,” in which the couple celebrates their second Christmas together while saving a beloved community center for a united holiday.  Now… we’re getting a third installment to the franchise.

That’s right, according to IMdb, “A Gift to Remember 3” is in development. Right now there isn’t a plot nor a confirmation that Liebert and Porte will reprise their roles as Darcy and Aiden, but I don’t think it’s out of pocket to assume they are.

Movies can sometimes be in development for awhile, so there’s a possibility we won’t get the new film this holiday season. As the production further develops, I will continue to update this post.

Please stay tuned!

Stay merry!

Marks in 2019’s “Angel Falls: A Novel Holiday” (Photo: Crown Media)

According to IMdb, Carlo Marks will be starring in a brand new Hallmark Christmas movie this holiday season entitled, “All Is Bright”.

The movie tells the story of Grace and Tony (Marks) who are from two separate families that are in the business of decorating homes for Christmas. Unfortunately they have also been in feud for as long as anyone can remember. But this holiday season they must try to find a way to get everyone to work together in order to win a town competition that could save their livelihoods.

Currently there isn’t a name listed for the role of Grace, but I will keep you updated as production information is revealed. “All is Bright” is being directed by David Bercovici-Artieda and produced by Shel Piercy. Marks has previously starred in in 2019’s “Angel Falls: A Novel Holiday” and 2020’s “Christmas with the Darlings” for the network.

Stay merry!

Photo: Crown Media

Last year Kimberley Sustad filled our hearts with holiday cheer when she appeared on Hallmark’s “The Bubbly Sesh” Podcast and revealed that she was working on the sequel to 2014’s “The Nine Lives of Christmas,“ and now it has been officially confirmed that the sequel is in development!

According to Production Weekly, “The Nine Kittens of Christmas” is in production, and the Twitter account Sleepy Kitty Paw confirmed that David Winning would be directing — and Brandon Routh would be returning alongside Sustad to reprise their roles as the main characters Zach and Marilee, respectively. It’s also rumored that the characters ‘did not live happily ever after,’ so perhaps the sequel will find them falling for each other all over again.

The possibilities of the not-so-common storyline of a sequel makes this even more exciting!

My guess (and hope) is that the sequel will be part of this year’s Countdown to Christmas lineup for the Hallmark Channel, but of course plans are always subject to change.

Keep checking back – I’ll keep you posted.

Stay merry!