Graphic by LollyChristmas.com using Crown Media logo and photography.

Every late-June through July, Hallmark embraces the upcoming holiday season (which they always celebrate in a big way) by marking halfway through the year with a festive summer programming event. If you’re a Hallmarkie, you know this, but if you’re new to all of it – this is basically what happens: On Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, we’ll have two weeks of Christmas movies that’s followed immediately by Hallmark Channel for three weeks.

In the midst of that, Hallmark Movies Now will also stream holiday movies on the subscription service all month long. It truly is Christmas in July, and this year is no different.

Among the 100 movie collective of holiday titles streaming, HMNow is adding fifteen additional films, including: “Merry Matrimony”, “Finding Father Christmas”, “A Majestic Christmas”, “Signed Sealed Delivered for Christmas”, “A Nutcracker Christmas”, and many more.

Check out some debut highlights below!

I mentioned in a recent post that Lifetime would be getting into the Christmas in July mix again this summer with a special holiday programming event that will be available through their Lifetime Movie Club and Video On Demand services. That time is now. It’s going to be quite the holiday in the sun!

Lifetime has launched It’s a Wonderful Lifetime: Summer of Santas, a summertime extension of their beloved holiday season programming. For the entire month of July, viewers will be able to watch over 20 hit festive films from last year and heartwarming network classics on VOD and as part of the Lifetime Movie Club app.  Check out a list of available movies below!

Photo: Graphic by LollyChristmas.com using Crown Media imagery.

July is coming, and you know that that means, it’s the *second* most wonderful time of the year because it’s Christmas in July! Hallmark is one of the biggest supporters of this festive time during the summer season, which is why we can look forward to another year of Christmas programming on both the Hallmark Channel and its sister network Hallmark Movies & Mysteries.

Hallmark Movies & Mysteries will begins the Christmas in July programming slate today, June 25th — exactly six months before Christmas Day, and will run through July 8th. The programming on this network will include themed movie nights (read more on that here).

Hallmark Channel will kick off the celebration immediately after on July 9th until July 31st. Among the network lineup, a brand new movie will premiere. You can look forward to watching the premiere of “Crashing Through the Snow” starring Amy Acker, Warren Christie, Brooke Nevin and Kristian Bruun on Saturday, July 10th. Watch the trailer here!

Acker and Christie in CRASHING THROUGH THE SNOW (Crown Media)

Hallmark didn’t waste any time preparing us for their annual Christmas in July programming, today they announced the yuletide joy we can expect this summer — and it includes a new original movie!

Spend your days dashing through the sand before you unwind at night for the premiere of Amy Acker and Warren Christie‘s new film, “Crashing Through the Snow,“ which is set to premiere on Saturday, Saturday, July 10 (9 p.m. ET/PT), on Hallmark Channel.

Maggie (Acker) and her ex-husband, Jeff (Kristian Bruun, “Orphan Black”), have always been friends first. When Jeff’s new girlfriend, Kate (Brooke Nevin, “Jingle Around the Clock”), spontaneously invites Maggie along to their Christmas getaway in Aspen, she jumps at the chance to spend a Yuletide holiday away with her two daughters. Although Maggie feels like a third wheel crashing their Christmas, she’s not alone as Kate’s hapless brother, Sam (Christie), shows up unannounced with a plan. Always seeming to live in Kate’s shadow, Sam, for once, wants to come out ahead, and he convinces Maggie that, together, they can compete with Kate and make this Christmas the best one ever. Neither of them is adequately prepared for the blended family challenges that lie ahead — or the feelings they develop for one another.

I’m so excited about getting a Christmas movie premiere this summer! I hope this opens the doors for more Christmas in July premieres in the future.

But, wait, there’s a lot more joy this July!

Photos: Crown Media

It’s no secret that I look forward to Christmas movies every year; I write about casting news in the spring, celebrate Christmas in July, and start counting down to holiday programming in early fall. Some may say “oh, it’s too soon” but I don’t care. Holiday movies lift my spirits and that of my family, and don’t we all need as much of that as we can get on a normal basis, and even more-so these days?

I say “YES”.

Summer is coming up, and I’m already eager for Hallmark’s annual Christmas in July event where they show original festive films on their Hallmark Channel network dubbed Christmas Keepsake Week, and more on their sister channel, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries for their Gold Crown Christmas slate. Each year these holiday movie marathons coincide with the preview launch of their new collection of ornaments in Hallmark stores. At one point this only lasted a week on the networks, but the dedication of holiday viewers have increased it to practically a whole month.

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!