L-R: Ryan Paevey and Erin Cahill (Photos: Crown Media)

Getting casting announcements for Hallmark Christmas movies has been pretty rare this year, but today, I bring you news of an exciting pairing for an upcoming movie thanks to the sleuths at RyanPaevey.net. Apparently the movie that Ryan Paevey has been quarantining to film in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada is “A Timeless Christmas”, which is based off the book “A Timeless Christmas: An Enchanting Time Travel Romance” by Alexis Stanton.

It was speculated that Erin Cahill would be co-starring, and the actress confirmed it by responding to a tweet from a fan account with “Woohoo I love being part of the @hallmarkchannel family. Here’s to more Christmas magic! #Hallmarkies” (click here to see the tweet).

Need a little bit of holiday cheer to lift your spirits? Christmas Con has you covered!

That’s 4 Entertainment has announced Christmas Con Virtual, a special virtual event with some of your favorite Christmas movie actors that’s launching this weekend!

Scheduled across two weekends (August 22-23 and August 29-30), the virtual convention will feature four types of fan experiences you can purchase — and availability is worldwide! You can have a one-on-one video chat with your favorite Christmas Con star or a personalized recorded message, which can be used as a gift for a fellow fan or a friend. There will also be a celebrity panel hosted by Jonathan Bennett that will be held each day of the virtual con and will be free to all who sign up. Additionally you can purchase an autograph from the participating talent.

(L-R): Haddish, Stoker and Priestley. | Photos courtesy of Lifetime

As we get closer and closer to the holiday season, Lifetime has given us a summer treat with a preview of their upcoming 2020 It’s A Wonderful Lifetime programming slate…and it’s going to be the networks biggest year for Christmas! With 30 new movies and over 1200 hours of programming on the agenda, Lifetime is planning to go full-festive 24/7 from mid-October through December.

There will be many network favorites returning as well as some fresh faces, and the network is committed to include ‘diverse storytelling with its storylines, talent and characters,’ including their first LGBTQ-led Christmas movie, “The Christmas Setup” and a film centered on a Chinese-American Family in “A Sugar & Spice Holiday”, directed by Jennifer Liao and written by Eirene Donohue. Both movies are currently casting and go into production this month.

“We are thrilled to continue our legacy of creating a holiday destination that is welcoming to all at Lifetime,” said Amy Winter, EVP and Head of Programming, Lifetime and LMN. “With more new movies than any one cable network for streamer, I couldn’t be prouder of the incredible talent joining us in front of, and behind the camera, on these new holiday movies.”

As previously reported: Melissa Joan Hart and Mario Lopez are back for this year’s lineup; Hart will team up with Jason Priestley and Robin Givens for “Dear Christmas”, while Betty White will star in her own film, and Kelly Rowland will return for the sequel to the 2019 holiday hit “Merry Liddle Christmas”. Tiffany Haddish is set to executive produce “Christmas Unwrapped” led by Amber Stevens West, Marco Grazzini and Cheryl Ladd, and Tony® award winning actress Ali Stroker will lead her first Christmas movie in “Christmas Ever After”.

While a full programming report will be released in September, check out this sneak peek below!

Graphic by LollyChristmas.com

MERRY CHRISTMAS IN JULY!!  Let’s swap out sweaters for a festive swimsuit – if you’re relaxing by the pool, or a pair of jolly jammies – if you’re lounging inside with a Christmas movie!  This year we may be celebrating a lot different than we have in the past, but I hope your spirits are lifted a lot today with a little bit of Christmas.

You can stream Christmas movies (via Lifetime, HMNow and Hallmark Channel Everywhere) or catch a marathon of holiday favorites on Hallmark Channel — and they’ve extended it until August 1st! Make yourself a frozen hot chocolate and nibble on a strawberry Santa, kick back and enjoy!

Did you get any new ornaments at this year’s Hallmark Keepsake event?

Stay merry!

Photos: Capitol Records Nashville

There had been some chatter about Carrie Underwood finally releasing a Christmas album over the past few weeks, and the singer officially announced today that her first ever Christmas album, My Gift is coming out in September!

“I’ve always wanted to make a Christmas album and it’s been a long time coming,” says Underwood in an official statement. “I knew this would be my next music project after wrapping my tour last year, and I think it’s turned out to be the perfect time for an album like this, in this period of such personal and spiritual reflection. For me, it’s more important than ever to focus on the true meaning of Christmas in a project like this. Even though it has been a tough year for all of us, sometimes I feel like the greatest realizations can be inspired by the most difficult times, and make us more grateful for the things we do have and for what truly matters.”

Photo: Graphic made by LollyChristmas.com with Lifetime images.

Because we could always use a little more Christmas, especially these days, Lifetime got into the Christmas in July mood by offering three original 2019 holiday titles to stream on their website.

“Christmas Unleashed” starring Vanessa Lachey and Christopher Russell, “A Very Vintage Christmas” starring Tia Mowry-Hardrict, Jesse Hutch and Patricia Richardson, and “No Time Like Christmas” starring Kyla Pratt and Ed Ruttle, which premiered last year during the It’s A Wonderful Lifetime programming lineup, will be available to stream throughout the month of July.

Learn more about each film below and enjoy!

That’s 4 Entertainment

IMPORTANT UPDATE (10/02/20): That’s 4 Entertainment announced today that they have officially postponed the Christmas Con New Jersey event to next year due to the pandemic. The new dates are December 10th-12th of 2021. Refunds are available if you can not make the event next year, but if you can, hold onto your tickets as they will be valid for the new dates!

FYI: The California event has also been postponed.

Christmas Con is coming back to New Jersey! Last year That’s 4 Entertainment held the the first-ever Christmas convention that featured holiday fun along with many of your favorite stars from Christmas movies and other popular creatives in the festive field. The LollyChristmas.com team was able to attend, and we had a merry blast!

Many thought with the announcement of Christmas Con: California that the event would be moving location entirely, but due to the success, Christmas Con will be returning to the Garden State this December with several returning stars plus additional fan-favorites for a weekend filled with cheer.

Elliott and Drew in a scene from CHRISTMAS IN VIENNA. | Photo: Crown Media

I believe it’s easy to say that “Christmas in Vienna” is one of the most highly-anticipated Hallmark Channel original holiday movies of the year, which is partly due to the fact that we’ve been waiting to see it since last fall! Last November Brennan Elliott and Sarah Drew, who lead the new Yuletide romance, posted on social media about filming the movie on location in Vienna, Austria — and that early prep clearly came in handy when productions had to abruptly halt this spring/summer.

In “Christmas in Vienna”, violinist Jess (Drew) travels to Vienna for a performance and discovers a inspiration in both romance and music, thanks to a little Christmas magic. Hallmark Channel has uploaded the first trailer to give you a real sneak peek! Check it out below.

Yesterday Hallmark announced several new movies and actors joining the network family this Christmas, so if you missed that, get the scoop by clicking here!

(L-R) Sarah Drew, Aaron Tveit & Holly Robinson Peete. | Photos: Crown Media

Ho! Ho! Ho! Major holiday movie news has arrived!

In just 100 days Hallmark will kick off their iconic end of the year holiday programming event, and to celebrate, Crown Media has announced that there are 40 original Christmas movies on the way! Hallmark Channel‘s Countdown to Christmas will premiere 23 all-new original films while Hallmark Movies & Mysteries is set to air 17 all-new original movies for the Miracles of Christmas lineup.

Familiar faces like Candace Cameron Bure (“A Shoe Addict’s Christmas”), Lacey Chabert (“Christmas in Rome”), Andrew Walker (“Christmas On My Mind”), Alicia Witt (“Our Christmas Love Song”), Brennan Elliott (“Christmas at Grand Valley”), Holly Robinson Peete (“Christmas in Evergreen”), Laura Osnes (“A Homecoming for the Holidays”), Nikki DeLoach (“Two Turtle Doves”), Tamera Mowry-Housley (“A Christmas Miracle”), Luke Macfarlane (“The Mistletoe Secret”), Mark Taylor (“Memories of Christmas”), Michael Rady (“Christmas at Pemberley Manor”), Rukiya Bernard (“Christmas in Evergreen”) and Tyler Hynes (“The Mistletoe Secret”) are among the fan-favorites set to return for festive films, but there will also be many new stars you won’t want to miss either.

Sarah Drew (“Grey’s Anatomy”), Aaron Tveit (“Graceland”), Krystal Joy Brown (“She-Ra and the Princesses of Power”), Janel Parrish (“Pretty Little Liars”), Jeremy Jordan (“Supergirl”), Alvina August (“Nancy Drew”), Lucia Micarelli (“Treme”), Marisol Nichols (“Riverdale”), Mallory Jansen (“Shooter”), Rochelle Aytes (“S.W.A.T.”) and Ronnie Rowe (“Star Trek: Discovery”) will join the Hallmark family to lead Christmas movies this year! I’m happy to see that there will be more diversity.

The 24-hour festive programming officially begins on Friday, October 23rd and between now and then, there will be many announcements. Keep checking back at LollyChristmas.com for movie updates and casting news as we get closer to ‘the most wonderful time of the year’!

Check out the slideshow below for a list of the announced movies!

Photo: Crown Media

Hallmark has combined Christmas and wine for their latest venture! The holiday heavy-hitter has announced Hallmark Channel Wines, two festive bottles of crisp flavors to enhance any seasonal gathering — or for when you want to relax and enjoy a Countdown to Christmas movie!

• Jingle’s 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon glistens a warm ruby color with aromas of dark chocolate, cherry, and a hint of holiday spice. It is rich, merry, and fully textured with profound dark fruit.

• Joy’s 2019 crisp and refreshing Sauvignon Blanc has notes of tropical fruits, white peach, and ripe pineapple. Juicy, fresh and lively citrus fruit flavors come alive in a joyous finish.

To reserve your wines in time for the holidays, Hallmark invites you to pre-order now. For more information about pre-ordering and when you can expect your delivery, click here. There are also many options whether you want to give the bottles as a gift.

This announcement comes just in time for the annual Hallmark Keepsake Ornament Preview Weekend, which has officially kicked off.  This year the tradition is obviously looking a little different for my family and I.  We won’t be able to physically visit the store to select our annual ‘first batch’ of ornaments, but we look forward to browsing the website to get our festive fill.

This year can’t take our Christmas joy!

Stay merry!