TV Week Cover story: Programming includes movies and nostalgic specials

Christmas is coming to a channel on your TV

Amber Riley stars in the UP TV movie My One Christmas Wish.
Amber Riley stars in the UP TV movie My One Christmas Wish.

At about this time every year I turn into a sucker. I'm not talking about a little Dum Dum or the somewhat larger Tootsie Pop. What I am is an all-day sucker brightly colored red and green -- with sparkles.

I blame it on the yearly spate of Christmas movies. And the sappier they are, the better.

I love movies like The Muppets Christmas Carol, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Home Alone and A Christmas Story. I watch those every year.

But the ones I'm really drawn to these days are the "you can go home again, boy meets girl and they save the town with a cookie contest" kind that you find on the Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, and UP TV. ABC Family brings up the rear, but they offer less original stuff.

Christmas programming for Hallmark and UP started the weekend of Halloween. By now a lot of the original movies have already premiered. But there are still a few waiting in the wings and the older ones will air again.

Hallmark Channel has six still to roll out. They are:

Angel of Christmas, 7 p.m. today

Jennifer Finnigan, Jonathan Scarfe and Holly Robinson Peete star in this boy meets girl romance, with an enchanted ornament thrown into the mix. It's based on the Jane Maas novel of the same name.

Hallmark Hall of Fame's Just in Time for Christmas, 7 p.m. Dec. 5

Eloise Mumford, Michael Stahl-David, William Shatner and Christopher Lloyd star. It's a boy meets girl, major decision, should I stay or should I go storyline.

Karen Kingsbury's The Bridge Part 1, 7 p.m. Dec. 6

Katie Findlay, Wyatt Nash, Ted McGinley and Faith Ford star in this boy meets girl and it's a defining moment movie.

On the 12th Day of Christmas, 7 p.m. Dec. 12

Brooke Nevin and Robin Dunne star in the story of a woman torn between her journalistic integrity and helping her longtime crush as he works to regain his love for Christmas.

A Christmas Melody, 7 p.m. Dec. 19

Mariah Carey stars along with Lacey Chabert and Kathy Najimy in the story of a divorced clothing designer (Chabert) who returns to her hometown. Drama ensues when she runs into her former high school rival (Carey).

Christmas Land, 7 p.m. Dec. 20

Nikki DeLoach, Luke MacFarlane and Maureen McCormick star in this boy meets girl tale of a woman who inherits a Christmas tree farm. When she revisits the farm, she falls in love with the townspeople and meets a handsome lawyer named Tucker.

There are also a few new offerings over on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel:

The Christmas Note, 8 p.m. today

Jamie-Lynn Sigler plays a down-in-the-dumps mom who finds a new purpose in life when she befriends her neighbor (Leah Gibson).

• Magic Stocking, 8 p.m. Dec. 6

Bridget Regan and Victor Webster are the girl and boy in this story of a woman who finds her life magically changed when she buys a stocking at her town's Christmas craft fair.

Debbie Macomber's Dashing Through the Snow, 8 p.m. Dec. 13

Meghan Ory and Andrew Walker play a pair thrown together on a Christmas road trip that includes adopting a puppy, car trouble and being tailed by federal agents.

If you are a murder mystery fan, be on the lookout for Murder, She Baked: A Plum Pudding Mystery. It premiered Nov. 22, but it will air again.

It's based on a Joanne Fluke book about cookie baker Hannah Swensen (Allison Sweeny), and it offers a little sleuthing and holiday romance.

For more information, check out HallmarkChannel.com or HallmarkMoviesandMysteries.com. You can find information on their Facebook pages too.

UP TV

Ever since The Gospel Music Channel became UP TV, they've done their best to offer a family-friendly lineup of series and movies. This year's Christmas offerings include:

My One Christmas Wish, 6 and 8 p.m. today

Amber Riley plays Jackie Turner in this fact-based film about a lonely college student who advertises on Craigslist for folks to spend Christmas with her.

Beverly Hills Christmas, 6 and 8 p.m. Dec. 6

Dean Cain, Donna Spangler and John Savage star in the story of a materialistic teenage girl who, with the help of a guardian angel, learns that true value is found in helping others, not in material things.

A Baby for Christmas, 6 and 8 p.m. Dec. 13

This is the third installment of UP's Chandler family movie series. This time Marci (Malinda Williams) and Blair (Karon Riley) are expecting a Christmas baby.

For more information, go to UPTV.com.

ABC FAMILY

Starting Tuesday, ABC Family kicks off "25 days of Christmas."

My holiday favorites are the Rankin/Bass specials like Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town, The Year Without Santa Claus and Rudolph's Shiny New Year.

How can anyone not love the stop-animation antics of characters like the Miser Brothers and Burgermeister Meisterburger. Or the timeless tales of Frosty the Snowman, the young, red-haired Kris Kringle and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

They're also airing big-screen films like Tim Burton's the Nightmare Before Christmas, The Polar Express, Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Elf, The Santa Claus and all three Toy Story films.

Does Toy Story really scream "Christmas-y"?

ABC Family offers a few original Christmas films. I've seen many of them, but my favorite is still Holiday in Handcuffs starring Melissa Joan Hart and Mario Lopez. Hart plays a waitress who kidnaps a handsome guy (Lopez) to take home to her parents for Christmas. It airs several times in December.

You should find a schedule on ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas Facebook page.

Style on 11/29/2015

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