It’s the most wonderful time of the year! But even if things aren’t so wonderful in the real world right now, what better way is there to escape than a holiday movie to transport you to a winter wonderland filled with romance and magic? As always, Philo has you covered with this weekend’s holiday entertainment guide. Check out the programming from Hallmark, Lifetime, AMC, GAC Family, UPtv, OWN and VH1, and enjoy a few hours of stress-free viewing.
Don’t forget to save your favorites so you can watch all the great holiday content on Philo, including the following:
Friday, December 17
Starring: Melissa Joan Hart and Duane Henry
Lifetime, 8pm ET
The plot: Welcome to Paradise Ranch, where city slickers get to be cowboys and cowgirls. Merry, who owns the ranch has been unlucky in love, but that’s about to change when a single father, Mark, and his two kids book the ranch for Christmas week. Adventure is on the menu, the holiday spirit is everywhere, and love is in the air.
Saturday, December 18th
Starring: Chad Michael Murray, Cindy Budby
Lifetime, 8pm ET
The plot: Workaholic designer Danielle (Cindy Busby) returns to her hometown of Holly Pines for the holidays with her young son Paul with hopes to introduce him to some beloved holiday traditions, in particular the town’s North Pole Express train. Once home, she discovers that the North Pole Express has been sidelined. Determined to help, Danielle reconnects with her former high school classmate Kevin (Chad Michael Murray), now a hobbyist and model train enthusiast himself. Together, Danielle and Kevin attempt to pull off a Christmas miracle that would get the old North Pole Express running–and quite possibly give Danielle many reasons, one of them romantic, to consider staying in Holly Pines for good.
The Christmas House 2: Deck Those Halls
Starring: Robert Buckley, Ana Ayora, Jonathan Bennett, Sharon Lawrence, Treat Williams, Brad Harder
Hallmark Channel, 8pm ET
The plot: The Mitchell brothers compete to see who can create the best Christmas House.
When Hope Calls Christmas (Season 2 Premiere)
Starring: Lori Laughlin, Daniel Lissing
GAC Family, 8pm ET
The plot: In this two-part season premiere, the residents of Brookfield come together to celebrate Christmas alongside some familiar visitors.
Starring: Ashley Newbrough, Ryan Rottman, Christa B. Allen, Marielle Scott
Hallmark Movies & Mysteries,10pm ET
The plot: At Christmastime, a close-knit group of childhood friends return home after 10 years to take part in the celebration of life of their beloved high school teacher.
Sunday, December 19th
Starring: Cindy Busby, Sam Page
GAC Family, 8pm ET
The plot: When her family firm’s annual Christmas toy drive is in jeopardy, Holly Silver (Busby) must convince pro athlete Jack Kane (Page) to be the public face of the campaign to help save it. As Noelle helps Jack rediscover the meaning of Christmas, Holly reconnects with her own family traditions. While Jack and Holly go through challenges of making Christmas dreams for others come true, they discover kindred spirits in each other and the potential for the gift of romance this holiday season.
Starring: Elise Bauman, Tattiawna Jones, Ricki Lake
Lifetime, 8pm ET
The plot: Marketing whiz Alma Beltran (Bauman) and Christmas tree whisperer Charlie Freemont (Jones) cross paths when Charlie finds the perfect tree for the Maine Governor’s Holiday Celebration — right in Alma’s back yard. While they initially spar, romantic sparks soon begin to fly.
Starring: Rachael Leigh Cook, Travis Van Winkle, Karen Malina White
Hallmark Channel, 8pm ET
The plot: Looking for a fresh angle to her book on relationships, Merry heads to snow covered Vermont. She finds a new perspective and Christmas cheer with charismatic aid worker Chris.
Starring: Vivica A. Fox, Anna Marie Dobbins, Marc Herrmann
UPtv, 7pm ET
The plot: A woman leaves the Big Apple for the City of Angels after a break-up and falls in love while renting a widowed father’s guest house.
Monday, December 20th
Starring: Nick Cannon, Lil Kim, Chrisette Michele, Kierra Sheard-Kelly, Tommy Davidson
VH1, 9pm ET
The plot: After battling drug addiction, a Harlem rapper returns to his family’s church to confront his past on Christmas Eve.
Stars: Jacky Lai, Jake Epstein
Lifetime, 8pm ET
The plot: Natural born leader Julia (Lai) returns to her hometown of North Falls for Christmas to drown her sorrows in eggnog, cookies, and Yuletide after her recent political campaign for city council ended in a landslide loss. It’s the perfect place for Julia’s holiday escape — until she realizes coming home means running into her old high school rival, Parker (Epstein), the arrogant know-it-all who beat her in a race for senior class president. When the North Falls mayor resigns, the town holds an emergency election, and Julia and Parker find themselves once again facing off. But as Julia and Parker campaign their way through the Christmas season and plan a toy drive together, Julia begins to see a different side of Parker, and the ice between them slowly begins to thaw. As their political race comes to a head, Julia and Parker discover winning isn’t everything.
Tuesday, December 21st
Stars: Deidre Mullins, Nick Hendrix, Caroline Langrishe
Lifetime, 8pm ET
The plot: When lead ballerina Clare Fitzgerald (Mullins) is let go before the Christmas season’s Nutcracker, she’s beyond devastated and jumps at the opportunity to visit her Aunt Bridget (Langrishe) in England during the holidays. Once there, she meets Liam (Hendrix), a local professor and historian who is helping Aunt Bridget preserve the family manor. Clare discovers that Christmas Regency balls were once held at the manor, prompting Aunt Bridget to propose they hold a ball as part of Liam’s presentation to the preservation society. As Clare and Liam work together, the two also waltz into a new romance.
Wednesday, December 22nd
Starring: Brooke Nevin, Corey Sevier, Alli Chung
Lifetime, 8pm ET
The plot: In order to make the town’s Christmas market a reality, Mayor Alex Foster (Nevin) must convince the reclusive Darcy Hawkins (Sevier) to loan out his family’s historic mill, which is no easy task thanks to a long-running family feud. But as Alex slowly chips away at Darcy’s frosty exterior, their feelings grow beyond the interest of the town, leading this unlikely duo to the prospect of love.
Thursday, December 23rd
Starring: Meggan Kaiser, Zane Stephens, Bryson JonSteele
Lifetime, 8pm ET
The plot: Successful real estate broker Abbey (Kaiser) is forced back to her hometown to repair a Victorian house she inherited from her grandmother. She decides to sell the house and hires single dad Josh (Stephens) to help with the repairs. Working together brings up memories from her past and as her relationship with Josh and his 8-year-old son, Noah (JonSteele), grows, Abbey finds her calling and makes a home for herself.
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