Get your fix of cringey romance tropes and feel-good Christmas vibes from popular, yet formulaic, Hallmark movies.
Written by Faith-Ann G. English
Let’s set the scene…
A woman has a corporate job in a big city, and she is forced to travel back to her hometown over the holidays. While she’s there, she makes it her mission to help a local family save their business, but she gets distracted because she runs into her high school sweetheart. They rekindle the flames and save the family business together. The story is wrapped up in a little bow and sealed with a passionate Christmas kiss.
Does this sound familiar? I would hope so because it is the plot to almost every Hallmark holiday movie ever made.
I grew up being forced to endure Hallmark movies during the holiday season. My mom was a huge romance novel enthusiast and my aunt was a die-hard Christmas enjoyer. This made for a toxic mix of personalities during the holiday season. They were obsessed with the formulaic plotline of Hallmark Christmas movies.
Hallmark has created over 300 holiday movies that follow a very similar plotline. Despite the formulaic plot, Hallmark movies have gained huge popularity with millions of viewers each year. According to Nielsen Media Research, in 2023, Hallmark was the most watched service on cable television for certain demographics. In fact, their “Countdown to Christmas” program has boosted Hallmark to the top of the most watched list for ages 18 and up for the last 10 years. There is no argument that Hallmark remains very popular year round.
As for the plot, there is always a woman with a very specific career who will most likely travel to a small-town for some personal or business related reason. She somehow always meets a man in that small-town. The relationship between the man and woman follows tropes such as enemies to lovers, rekindled romance, friends to lovers or a romantic setup. There is almost always a challenge they must tackle together like a competition, fundraiser, business in danger or mystery that needs to be solved. By the end of the movie, the man and woman are falling in love and kissing as it snows on Christmas day. It’s guaranteed that everything will work out, and there will be a happy ending.
The New York Times created a flowchart that follows the plot of many Hallmark movies as described previously. Follow along the flowchart to make up your own Hallmark plot. Then, you can visit IMDb’s website to find the movie that matches!
If you are interested in getting your fix of stereotypical holiday romance this season, Variety has ranked the most popular Hallmark holiday movies including:
“An Unexpected Christmas” starring Bethany Joy Lenz and Tyler Hynes. The plot of this movie follows the rekindled romance storyline with an added touch of fake relationship turned real.
“Let it Snow” starring Candace Cameron Bure, Jesse Hutch and Alan Thicke. This movie follows a real estate developer executive falling in love with a local man who tries to save the property. The man succeeds and, of course, they fall in love.
“Tree Wise Men and a Baby,” starring Paul Campbell, Tyler Hynes and Andrew Walker, has a little bit of a different storyline. Instead of romance, three brothers are forced to take care of a baby all while learning more about themselves and each other.
“Switched for Christmas,” starring Candace Cameron Bure, Eion Bailey and Mark Deklin, is fourth on Variety’s list, but just as interesting as the rest. In this movie, two twins decide to swap lives for the holidays and end up falling in love with men who think they are each other. Double the romance, double the drama.
Last but not least, Kimberly Sustad and John Brotherton star in “Lights, Camera, Christmas!” In this movie, a costume designer goes back to her hometown and accidentally falls in love with the lead in a Christmas movie.
To watch these movies and more, you can stream them on cable television, the Hallmark+ subscription service or Peacock. You can find the remaining list of movie rankings at variety.com. Enjoy the heartwarming holiday season with Hallmark!