The holidays are all about tradition. Families gather around kitchen tables for Thanksgiving, and friends celebrity their bonds with Friendsgiving meals. Starting on Thanksgiving Day and running throughout December, celebrations are accompanied by parties, decorations, and a spirit that causes many to search out ways to help those less fortunate or to thank those who often go unnoticed or unappreciated, such as mail carriers or school teachers.
Another tradition in households across America is the viewing of tried-and-true holiday movies. Feature films like Home Alone and Christmas Vacation are favorites, and both children and the young at heart enjoy children’s classics like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman . At the top of many lists of must-see holiday shows, however, are any holiday movies brought to viewers of the Hallmark Channel and Lifetime Network. Admittedly and unapologetically sentimental, they’re just the heart-warming experience that so many seek during the holiday season. This year, both channels have a fresh batch of movies that are sure to bring the spirit of the season to any home. Here are eight new offerings from Hallmark and Lifetime to add to your holiday movie must-watch list this week.
Saturday brings one new movie from Hallmark and one from Lifetime. They also happen to be airing at the same time, so set that DVR for 8 p.m. ET to make sure you don’t miss either one. On the Hallmark Channel, catch Christmas Everlasting . This one is worth watching for the mere fact that it features none other than the legendary godmother of soul, Patti LaBelle. Tatyana Ali of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air also joins the cast. The film centers around a woman who achieves her dream of becoming a partner at her law firm, only to learn that her special needs sister has died and that she must return home to handle her will. Showing opposite Christmas Everlasting on Lifetime Network is Every Day is Christmas , which stars Toni Braxton in a modern-day version of the A Christmas Carol .
Refill that glass of wine or cup of hot chocolate when those movies wrap up, and settle yourself back into your chair for another treat, as Hallmark Channel brings you Christmas on Honeysuckle Lane at 9 p.m., and Lifetime features Christmas Harmony at 10 p.m. Colin Ferguson and Alicia Witt star in Christmas on Honeysuckle Lane , the story of a woman who returns to her parents’ home following their death, where she and her siblings have to decide what to do with the house, and face the task of going through the home’s contents. The cast of Christmas Harmony on Lifetime includes Kelley Jakle of Pitch Perfect as a woman named Harmony whose relationship ends, sending her home to the people and music that formed her.
Come Sunday night, settle in about 8 p.m. again and program that DVR as both channels deliver more new offerings. There’s more Tatyana Ali on Lifetime in the movie Jingle Belle about two musically gifted high school sweethearts who go their separate ways after graduation, only to reunite years later when they both return to their hometown to work on a Christmas pageant. Over on the Hallmark Channel, catch A Shoe Addict’s Christmas in which Candace Cameron Bure stars as Noelle, a woman facing problems with bother her career and her family. Things take a turn when she gets locked in the department store where she works and comes face to face with her guardian angel. A Christmas Carol sort of encounter follows when her guardian angel shows her scenes of Christmases past. Then at 10 p.m., Lifetime brings viewers the new movie Christmas Perfection about a control freak played by Caitlin Thompson who wakes up in an idyllic Irish village.
To wrap up the week, Lifetime brings you one more new holiday movie Friday night at 8 p.m. — A Very Nutty Christmas . In a modern, humorous take on the classic Nutcracker , Melissa Joan Hart faces the end of a relationship that destroys her Christmas spirit and awakens one morning to find a handsome soldier in her living room.