That’s 4 Entertainment

Despite a lot of setbacks due to the pandemic, Christmas Con NJ finally went off without a hitch last December for the second annual installment of the holiday event that brought Christmas movie fans, the stars, and festive activities together in one place to celebrate the ‘most wonderful time of the year’ — and it’s coming back this year for round three of holiday cheer!

That’s 4 Entertainment announced the first 10 celebrity guests out of the 30 who will be in attendance for Christmas Con New Jersey* when it takes place this December 9, 10 and 11th at the NJ Expo Center in Edison, NJ, including returning host Jonathan Bennett and headliner Lacey Chabert.  Show hours are: Friday 12/9 – 2pm-8pm, Saturday 12/10 – 10am-6pm and Sunday, 12/11 – 10am-5pm.  Check out the first batch of stars announced below!

UPDATE (9/18/22): We have updated the attendance list with a plethora of celebrities who will be taking part in the event!

UPDATE (11/7/22): Kimberley Sustad and Kristoffer Polaha had to cancel their appearances at Christmas Con: New Jersey 2022 due to scheduling conflicts.

UPDATE (11/10/22): Victor Webster had to cancel his appearance at Christmas Con: New Jersey 2022 due to scheduling conflicts. Jessica Lowndes and Benjamin Ayres have been added to the attendance list!

Chad Michael Murray (left) and Cindy Busby (right), Photos: Crown Media

To kick off the week, Chad Michael Murray shared some Instagram Story photos from the Ontario set of his latest movie, The Holiday Train (Update: It’s now called Toying with the Holidays)!  The former One Tree Hill star has been no stranger to holiday movies in recent years, so it doesn’t come as a surprise to see him filming one this summer.

In Toying with the Holidays, Chad will star alongside Cindy Busby (A Godwink Christmas: Meant for Love). The movie tells the tale of a single mother, Danielle Prescott (Busby), who discovers messages from her late father through a model train set they built together at Christmas, all while finding new love with the owner, Kevin Vaughn (Murray), of the local hobby shop.

The film also stars Callum Shoniker and Donno Mitoma, and is directed by Bradley Walsh.

I do not have confirmation for which network the movie will air on, or when, but — according to a source, it will debut on Lifetime this holiday season as part of the It’s A Wonderful Lifetime programming event. I’ll keep you posted!

Chad has previously starred in Lifetime’s Too Close for Christmas as well as The Road to Christmas and Write Before Christmas for Hallmark.

Stay merry!

L-R: Jessica Lowndes and Chad Michael Murray (Photos courtesy of Crown Media)

It looks like Jessica Lowndes and Chad Michael Murray are your next Christmas movie dynamic duo! The two actors popped up on Jessica’s Instagram story this week from the set of their new festive feature, which is supposedly titled “Too Close for Christmas”.

Considering their filmography history with the Hallmark networks, I believe this movie is set to premiere this holiday season for either Hallmark Channel’s Countdown to Christmas lineup, or on its sister network, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries for the Miracles of Christmas event.

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.

Silver Screens Events

IMPORTANT UPDATE (8/27/20): There was a post on the Fall Into Christmas Instagram page a few weeks ago considering postponing the event until 2021 due to current events, but that post has since disappeared — as well as the official Facebook page. The event holders announced today that the convention has officially been postponed until 2021 and has been renamed Spring Into Christmas!

Read their statement by clicking here.

We began seeing posts on social media late last fall regarding an upcoming Christmas in July convention that would happen during the summer of 2020—fast forward a few months and there’s a lineup of great celebrity guests as well as a major date change!

The Christmas in July convention is now Silver Screens Events’ Fall Into Christmas Convention, which will take place from October 2nd-4th* at the Sheraton Music City Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. The event organizers made an announcement this week that due to feedback and the current global COVID-19 health crisis, they felt it to be a wise decision to move the event to the fall.

There’s a lot to look forward to—from professional photo-ops with your favorite Christmas movie stars to contests, celebrity Q&A sessions, parties, games, and a special evening Christmas banquet!

Here’s hoping things are looking much more positive around the world come October.

Check out the list of celebrity guests scheduled to appear below!

Photos and screengrabs: Crown Media

As one of the Hallmark original new Christmas movies I was most looking forward to, “Write Before Christmas” starring Torrey DeVitto and Chad Michael Murray, did not disappoint! In the film, Jessica (DeVitto) sends Christmas cards to five people who have greatly impacted her life–one of which, gets received by the son (Murray) of her former teacher.

The story was great, the chemistry was bliss and the clothes were fabulous!

Valerie Halverson, the Costume Designer for the film, dressed Torrey in this Banana Republic ‘Melton’ Car Coat. Not only does she wear it for the official key art, her character also wears this look in the film with a plaid scarf.

Photos: All photos belong to LollyChristmas.com except the Christmas Con Logo (That’s 4 Entertainment).

There are many things I love to do at Christmas every year; I love the Hallmark Keepsake Ornament Preview weekends, decorating in early November, when the Starbucks red cup comes out and they drop the menu of festive drinks, looking at the Christmas lights around my town, seeing the decorations in the department stories, watching Christmas movies, listening to music – and most of all, spending time with my family. Imagine my absolute joy when I found out there was a way I could do nearly all of that in one place… enter the first annual CHRISTMAS CON!

That’s 4 Entertainment created the first ever 3-day winter wonderland convention of fun where you can shop for gifts, window shop decor, listen to music and engage with your favorite stars from beloved Christmas made-for-television films that help make your seasons bright every year.  The event, which was held November 8-10th at the NJ Convention and Expo Center in Edison, NJ, was then sponsored by the Hallmark Channel, which resulted in even more promised holiday magic!

When my daughters and I originally heard about the convention a few months ago, we knew it was going to be something we had to be apart of — I mean, this lineup was insane, we’re talking appearances from stars like: Chad Michael Murray, Melissa Joan Hart, Holly Robinson Peete, Lacey Chabert, Alicia Witt (who also performed!), Andrew Walker, Cameron Mathison, Ryan Paevey, Jackée Harry, Nikki DeLoach, Erin Krakow, Paul Greene, Melissa Claire Egan, Rachel Boston, Danica McKellar, Jack Wagner, Jesse Metcalfe, Ashley Williams and Jonathan Bennett, who also served as the M.C.

(L-R) Murray, Ricci and Turner. | Photos: Crown Media

When the Hallmark holiday movie lineup was announced back in September, you may remember seeing the title “Alice in Christmasland” included… and then it moved around the schedule before finally disappearing altogether. Well–it’s back, and with a little bit of a title change!

Chad Michael Murray announced in an Instagram post this morning that he began production on Alice in Winterland alongside Italia Ricci (Rome in Love) and Jack Turner (One Winter Weekend, One Winter Proposal, One Winter Wedding).

There is still a little bit to learn about this particular film project because, we don’t know the plot, if it’s staying on Hallmark Channel or heading to Hallmark Movies & Mysteries–or if it’s slated to premiere this holiday season or next year. In fact, the script might have even been reworked to premiere during the Winterfest 2020 lineup, which kicks off in January, considering the title change.

In the meantime, make sure you tune in for Murray’s film, Write Before Christmas when it premieres on Hallmark Channel on Sunday, November 17th.  If Alice in Winterland should premiere this holiday season, it would mean that Murray is the third actor to star in two holiday movies for Hallmark this season following Andrew Walker (Merry & Bright, Christmas On My Mind) and Michael Rady (Two Turtle Doves, A New Year’s Resolution).

Update 11/20/19: This movie has been confirmed for the Winterfest 2020 lineup with yet another title change! The current working title is Winter Inn Love.

I vote Alice Inn Winterland as the final title but, that’s just me.

Stay merry!

That’s 4 Entertainment

Wow, this has to be one of the most exciting posts to do yet. If you’ve been following along with me on Twitter, you may have seen me posting about Christmas Con, which is coming to New Jersey for three days in early November with some of your favorite holiday movie stars!

This jolly convention, presented by That’s 4 Entertainment, has been described as Comic-Con-meets-Small-Town-Holiday-Festival. You’ll be able to buy one of a kind holiday gifts from the “Christmas Market”, visit with Santa Claus himself, and visit various celebrity booths to meet your favorite stars!

Each celebrity guest will offer professional photo ops and take place in a Q&A panel to engage with the audience. Christmas Con will also support Toys for Tots by donating gifts; feel free to participate by bringing a toy to donate.

The convention will also host special events: Alicia Witt in Concert, an Ugly Sweater Contest and a Gingerbread Wars competition — all hosted by Jonathan Bennett! Additionally, there will be a “Creating Christmas” writers panel and “Podcasting Christmas” podcaster panel.

Christmas Con will take place this November 8, 9 & 10th at the NJ Convention and Expo Center in Edison, NJ. Show hours are: Friday 5-8pm, Saturday: 10am-7pm and Sunday: 10am-5pm.

Photo/Screencaps: Crown Media

Lacey Chabert brought the spirit of Christmas into the summer season by celebrating Christmas in July and hosting Hallmark Channel’s “Christmas: A First Look” Preview Special. The annual sneak peek show gave us a look at some of the original movies coming to the network during the 10th Anniversary of Countdown to Christmas, which officially kicks off on Friday, October 25th!

During the special, Chabert was joined by network pet ambassador, Happy the Dog, and “Home & Family” pet rescue expert Larissa Wohl — who brought along some kittens and puppies as she explained Hallmark Channel’s pet rescue initiative, “Adoption Ever After”. Learn more here!

Read on to check out the movies that were spotlighted during the special!