It's that time of year again! Yes, Christmas.., I mean Thanksgiving no, wait, I mean Halloween. Well, yes, technically, it is only October 16th, and we have yet to experience trick or treating. But, I know what's Really on your mind. Will Hallmark have new Christmas movies in 2020? With all of the COVID 19 shutdowns, and people's lives quarantined through the beginning of the year, you're wondering, is there still going to be new shows for Lifetime Christmas, Hallmark movies, and mysteries Christmas, and Hallmark Christmas movies this year?
As I stated in the title of my blog, Yes, Virginia, there will be a Hallmark Christmas in 2020.
Now before you get all twisted and say bah humbug, stop pushing Christmas before I get to enjoy my Pumpkin Spiced Latte, I ask you to pause your cynicism (yes, I had to look that word up) for a moment. I don't want to be a shill for the Hallmark channel or Christmas, for that matter. I want to write about a guilty pleasure I have watching Candace Cameron Bure, Holly Robinson Peete, Rachael Leigh Cook, and any other actor with three names acting in a charming Christmas tale with intrigue and sentimental connection. I truly, love sitting on the couch at night, having the fireplace on, and watching an old or new Hallmark or Lifetime Christmas movie.
As a 54-year-old man with a wife and young daughter, I realize that this is not something most of my peers would agree with me on, let alone confess their love for these shows. Yes, if you're a reader of my blog, you'll know that I have a deep love of the
Chicago Bears, Corvettes, and quantum physics, but if you read the rest of this blog, each of these elements is a part of and adds to my love for these holiday movies.
I'll give you an example of what I mean. A few years ago, I was going through a transformation both personally and in my career. I was emotionally spent at the time, dealing with a lot of old energies that I had ignored for many years. I felt no connection to myself and what I was doing in my career. Even though I was having the most financial success in my life, I was unhappy. All my life, I had pursued money as the gauge of my success, and when I finally achieved my goals, I felt empty and unsatisfied. This was a huge mind shift for me, and I was confused. How could I be unhappy if I was making money and was good at my job? I had the respect of my colleagues and customers. I could pick and choose which accounts I wanted to support. Yet, I continued to have a gaping hole in my spirit, and no sense of myself.
Enter the Hallmark channel. As I was channel surfing between a Monday Night Football game and some show on the DIY Network, I stumbled upon a movie called, A town without Christmas, starring Patricia Heaton. The made for tv movie was about a boy named Chris, who goes missing. Before he disappears, he had written a letter to Santa Claus, wishing that he would no longer exist because he didn't want to trouble his divorcing parents and cause them any pain. As the movie goes on, Patricia, a jaded news reporter, is asked to go check out this missing person story by her boss. She is soon joined by a down on his luck writer, played by Rick Roberts. As the story builds we learn that the two of them have to share a hotel room due to the busy holiday bookings. They are reluctant partners in this search, but as they combine their efforts, they soon get to the heart of this story. Oh, I almost forgot, they also meet and work with Peter Faulk, Max, a kindly older man who is, unbeknownst to them, an Angel sent to help. Max is the key to helping these two wayward soles find clues to where the young boy is and consequently, who they truly are along the way. I won't ruin the rest of the story for you, but the ending is not a typical one, so be sure and watch it this year.
This made for tv movie was not a spectacular movie, like It's a Wonderful Life, but it hit a chord with me. It renewed my faith in believing in something that I couldn't touch or see. It reminded me of the love that is out in the world, the selflessness of others, and, more importantly, how people in a community can come together over a common cause or goal. This movie represented how we deal with our pain and that you always have a chance to meet with it head-on if you choose to. I also love the idea that no matter what happens to us, we have some benevolent energy supporting us along our journey. In this cause, it was Peter Faulk.
A town without Christmas, was originally developed for CBS as a Christmas movie back in 2001, and I didn't see it until probably some 13 years after it was made, back in 2014, on the Hallmark Channel. But the fact remains, it started me on a journey to record and watch as many Hallmark and Lifetime Christmas movies as I could. I wanted to keep that feeling and understanding that there is good in ourselves and others, always. We have the power to create what it is, we believe.
Each of these shows that air on The Hallmark Channel, Lifetime, CBS, ABC, NBC, or any other channel is here for us to be with that message. We have indeed created this. I love people, and I'm sure these networks are filled with decent, caring individuals, but they wouldn't air these shows unless they could sell advertisers. And advertisers wouldn't spend money if there weren't big enough audiences. And those audiences are made of people who love and care about an enduring message of hope, love, pain, redemption, and fulfillment. As you can see by the statististics
below, I'm part of a large group of people who feel this way.
So, as you move into the holiday spirit of Halloween and Thanksgiving and you decide you want to get in touch with that loving part of yourself, remember to watch these Christmas shows with an open mind and open heart for what you already are and yearn to continue to be.