Peete echoes this sentiment—”Hallmark Channel is very family oriented, so they have respect for us hard-working mamas”—as does Loughlin. “Bill Abbott, the head of the network, and Michelle Vicary [EVP of programming and publicity at Hallmark] are parents,” she says. “They have children. They really understand if you say, ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t make it to this thing’ or ‘I can’t do this’ or ‘I have to leave set because it’s my kid’s birthday.’ They’re like, ‘Yup, go. You do whatever you need to do.’ They’re so understanding about kids and obligations that parents have in regards to their children. “
Accommodating the Hallmark actors who are mothers is a priority for Abbott. (He says three-quarters of the employees in his direct reports are women, and approximately half of them have children.) “We owe it to our employees who give so much, and our talent who give so much,” he says. “It’s more than just a job. It’s a relationship—it’s a long-term relationship. It fits our brand and it fits our style and it just works for us, and we are very focused on it.”
Of course, the actors without children have different reasons for staying in business with the network. Witt, for example, enjoys balancing her darker work (like on The Walking Dead) with Hallmark’s lighter fare.
“It’s fun to come out with a movie where every day you have a happy ending and it’s a sweet love story [or] family story,” she says. “I just spent the last week in winter clothes and people I really enjoy working with and Christmas lights everywhere and snow and gingerbread cookies and vegan eggnog. There’s very little heaviness on my psyche right now.”
Witt says the more uplifting work makes Hallmark’s movie sets really enjoyable—which is another reason she keeps coming back for more. “There’s something about the lighter material that I think lends itself to everyone just having so much fun,” she says. “If you’re making a movie about something really dark, it does something different to your psyche. You’ll get home from work and try to shake it off, and you’re kind of in a darker place.”
Alicia Witt in The Mistletoe Inn (2017)
HALLMARK CHANNEL / COURTESY: EVERETT COLLECTION
Loughlin agrees. “If you’re dealing with disturbing content, that affects everybody on set,” she says. “With Hallmark, we’re not going to the dark side, so these sets tend to be super lighthearted and more fun because the content we’re working on is lighthearted and fun.”
This past weekend, there was a lot of controversy around the Hallmark Channel—right in the middle of the network’s jam-packed “Countdown to Christmas” season.
In case you missed it, here’s what went down. Zola, a wedding planning website, aired a number of ads on the channel including some that featured same-sex couples. The conservative group One Million Moms took issue with a particular ad featuring two brides (briefly) kissing and started a petition to have it removed. “The Hallmark Channel has always been known for its family friendly movies. Even its commercials are usually safe for family viewing. But unfortunately, that is not the case anymore,” the petition reads. “Recently, One Million Moms received concerns about Hallmark airing a commercial from Zola.com in which two lesbians are shown kissing at the end of their wedding ceremony. Similar concerns from regular viewers are posted on an online complaint board for the Hallmark Channel.”
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Initially, Hallmark decided to pull four of the six ads from the Zola campaign. “The decision not to air overt public displays of affection in our sponsored advertisement, regardless of the participants, is in line with our current policy, which includes not featuring political advertisements, offensive language, R-rated movie content and many other categories,” a Hallmark spokesman told the New York Times on Friday, December 13. However, one ad that featured a bride and groom kissing was not pulled.
The online backlash to this was swift.
Now, Hallmark reps have announced that the network is reversing the decision. “We are truly sorry for the hurt and disappointment this has caused,” Hallmark CEO Mike Perry said in a statement. “Across our brand, we will continue to look for ways to be more inclusive and celebrate our differences.” He also said “Hallmark Channel will be reaching out to Zola to reestablish our partnership and reinstate the commercials.”
Hallmark is debuting a whopping 40 new holiday movies in 2019, and you won’t have to wait long to watch a few of them. According to Entertainment Weekly, the network is releasing two of those new movies in—wait for it—July.
The first one, titled Christmas Camp, comes specifically from the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel. Here’s the official synopsis, courtesy of Hallmark’s website: “To get a promotion, Hayley, an advertising executive who specializes in social media, must land a toy company that is all about traditional Christmas as an account.” It stars Lily Anne Harrison, Bobby Campo, and Ben Gavin and is set to premiere July 7 at 9 P.M. ET.
A second film is coming the following week on the original Hallmark channel: A Merry Christmas Match, starring Ashley Newbrough and Kyle Dean Massey. This one, per EW, centers on a woman (Newbrough) whose annual tradition of directing a Christmas pageant in tribute to her later father is disrupted by a mystery man (Massey). Intrigued? Feeling festive? Me too! I’m fully prepared to decorate my pool chair with ornaments.
There’s an actual reason why Christmas is coming early this year. Hallmark Movies & Mysteries is running its “Gold Crown Christmas” campaign from June 28 to July 14, while Hallmark has a “Keepsake Christmas” special going from July 12 to July 27. The brand has a history of airing Christmas movies in July as a ramp-up to its holiday slate, but last year’s lineup didn’t include any new additions. This year, we have two. It’s a Christmas miracle!
Lacey Chabert in Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe (2018).
Hallmark via Everett
Hallmark’s 2019 holiday season is shaping up to be one of its most star-studded. Network favorites like Lacey Chabert and Candace Cameron Bure are set to appear in new Christmas movies, as is musical theater queen Kristen Chenoweth. Does this mean we’re getting a Wicked-inspired holiday flick? Fingers crossed.
Either way, catch me watching every single one of these movies—starting with the two airing in July. Hand me the SPF and a Santa hat.
Watching a Hallmark Channel Christmas movie can put anyone in a festive mood. This year, there’s 36 new original movies airing on the network—which means 36 new chances to observe Hallmark’s holiday charm in action. But the more you watch, the more you realize that Hallmark’s Christmas movies follow a strong-as-hell formula. Each film is nearly identical, with small details to differentiate between plots: The lead is always a straight woman looking for love, she’s always over-worked, and her story always ends with rediscovering the true meaning of Christmas (and finding a boyfriend-slash-fiancée-slash-spouse). The network even casts several of the same women to bring these stories to life.
In a way, it’s comforting. No matter what’s going on in December, you’ll always know what you’re getting into with Hallmark Channel Christmas movies—and that’s what makes them so fun. So to enhance your viewing experience, we’ve compiled a guide to the most common tropes you’ll encounter this holiday season. Next time you can’t choose between Mingle All the Way and Marrying Father Christmas, you’ll know what’s up no matter which one you pick.
The title is almost always a pun.
Mingle All the Way. It’s Christmas, Eve. It’s Christmas, Carol!. Fir Crazy. A Carol Christmas. Need we go on?
The leading lady is career-oriented.
The Workaholic Woman is one of Hallmark’s most frequent tropes. She’s a big city career girl who comes home for the holidays to be reminded that when she steps back and slows down, true love awaits. This year there are plenty of career women waiting to be swept off their feet in Hallmark films, like the app developer in Return to Christmas Creek, or the Chicago-based business executive who heads to Memphis in Christmas at Graceland. There’s also a “keenly intelligent market researcher” working overtime to get a promotion in time for the holidays in Christmas Joy and an artist tired of the gallery world in Christmas at Grand Valley.
PHOTO: Hallmark
Joy, the titular over-worked woman of Hallmark’s Christmas Joy.
PHOTO: Hallmark
Country singer Kellie Pickler (left) plays a workaholic returning to her country roots in Christmas at Graceland.
A lot of the time, she’s also a baker.
In the Hallmark Christmas movie universe, there’s nothing quite as charming as a woman who knows her way around an oven. Falling for You, Christmas in Love, and Truly, Madly, Sweetly are just three of many Hallmark Christmas movies where the romantic lead owns a bakery. The bakery might be in financial distress, or it’s a local success story—it all depends on the specific flick. Expect to see lots of delicious gingerbread in them all.
Everyone is Christian…
Christmas is the one and only reason for the Hallmark Channel holiday season, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a mere mention of another holiday or religion. This is a one-stop shop for films with titles like Christmas in Love, A Soldier’s Christmas, A Godwink Christmas, and Return to Christmas Creek. However, Hallmark is embracing the wonders of diversity next year: The channel announced that it will be adding two Hanukkah-themed movies to 2019’s holiday repertoire.
…and usually white, straight, and cis-gendered.
Hallmark Christmas movies are overwhelmingly filled with white, straight actors. Of the 36 new Christmas films being released this year, only five of them feature actors of color in lead roles. They include: Christmas Everlasting, A Majestic Christmas, A Gingerbread Romance, and Focus on Love. Meanwhile, there isn’t a single queer character in a lead role this year. The closest Hallmark has come to featuring a queer person is when a gay couple decorated a tree in a 2016 commercial. Hopefully Santa will bring more diverse casting choices next year.
There’s inspiration from the royal wedding.
It’s not all that surprising that Hallmark would capitalize on the Meghan Markle frenzy with several royalty-inspired films in 2018. If you’re looking for even more royal wedding content, you can’t go wrong with Royal Matchmaker, Royal Hearts, Christmas at the Palace, or Royal New Year’s Eve.
PHOTO: Hallmark
No surprises here: Christmas at the Palace depicts a holiday romance at…a palace.
A family’s land is at stake.
The plots often center around family homes and businesses in jeopardy. In Christmas at Holly Lodge, a property owner must save her land from aggressive real-estate developers. In Northern Lights of Christmas, our ambitious leading lady gives up her longtime career goals when she inherits a reindeer farm that needs a lot of work. In All of My Heart, The Wedding, Hallmark star Lacey Chabert is plagued with financial issues that could cause her to give up her beloved country inn. Will each heroine save her family land? Probably yes, but you’ll have to watch to know for sure.
A knight in shining armor comes to the rescue.
The majority of male characters in Hallmark films hold jobs like a mechanic or handyman, with the occasional artisan in the mix. Careers aside, they’re all handsome and they all save a woman from personal or professional ruin. Whether it be sharing a ride when the leading lady’s in a fender-bender in Welcome to Christmas or setting up an entire store window Christmas display á la My Christmas Dream, these traditionally handsome men always arrive in the knick of time. The trope is taken to the extreme in Once Upon a Christmas Miracle, when a man offers a dying woman a piece of his own liver for a transplant, a gesture that in turn leads to a Christmas miracle.
PHOTO: Hallmark
Chad Michael Murray returns to the small screen as a swoon-worthy lead in Road to Christmas.
PHOTO: Hallmark
Even A Shoe Addict’s Christmas wouldn’t be complete without romantic intrigue.
Most scenes are set to twinkly music.
The scores for Hallmark Christmas movies sound nearly identical, providing a sense of warmth, comfort, and familiarity no matter which one you happen to watch. Hallmark rotates a vast group of composers through its films, yet they all harness that quintessential Hallmark sound: twinkly, festive, and a little cheesy. You can thank composer Lawrence Shragge for the sweet melodies of Christmas at Pemberley Manor, Love on the Slopes, Christmas in Homestead, The Christmas Note, Wedding Bells, The Christmas Secret, The Nine Lives of Christmas and many more.
The plot closely follows Pride and Prejudice.
Jane Austen’s classic novel is an endless source of inspiration for romantic holiday stories. (Not that we’re complaining about more P&P content.) Christmas at Pemberley Manor features a grinch-like billionaire (William Darcy) who comes up against an event planner (Elizabeth Bennett) who’s determined to use his sprawling mansion for a holiday festival. Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe stars Hallmark fave Lacey Chabert as—you guessed it—a career-obsessed woman forced to return home for the holidays, only to go head-to-head with an old nemesis in Pride and Prejudice fashion. Fingers crossed that these films feature a dashing and devious Mr. Wickham as well.
PHOTO: Hallmark
Christmas at Pemberley Manor re-imagines Elizabeth Bennett (right) as a charismatic party planner. William Darcy remains the grumpy owner of a manor.
PHOTO: Hallmark
Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe brings its romantic rivals together to plan a charity event. This time, they’re named Luke (left) and Darcy.
Every character uses the same interior designer.
The decor! A Hallmark Channel leading lady always lives in a spacious, carefully decorated home regardless of profession or location. The houses are all set up like a window display in a furniture store, featuring big, wooden block words spelling out commands like “Dream,” “Eat,” and “Live, Laugh, Love!” What we really want to know is: Where can we get one of the artfully draped blankets on the back of every single couch?
A small town goes all-out for Christmas.
Most cities are known to put on a spectacle come the holiday season, but the fictional towns in Hallmark Channel Christmas movies take it to another level. Welcome to Christmas and A Majestic Christmas are among the films that feature streets bedecked with lights, wreaths, and ribbons in every shot. Decorations play heavily in some plots too: In A Majestic Christmas, the leading lady is tasked with turning the town’s historic playhouse into its annual holiday tableau, all while battling a new theater owner who isn’t in the mood for decorations.
PHOTO: Hallmark
Spoiler alert: It looks like the holiday decorations in A Majestic Christmas come together after all.
A woman lacks Christmas spirit.
Skimping on holiday cheer is a big no-no in Hallmark films; the Christmas spirit must be at an all-time high at all times. When that’s not the case, communities pull together to get the leading lady into the spirit. In the upcoming Memories of Christmas, for example, Noelle (played by Christina Milian) inherits her Christmas-obsessed mother’s house and has to be convinced to keep her mother’s traditions alive. Everyone is very invested in Noelle’s holiday mood and goes to extreme lengths get her in the spirit. There’s a similar set-up in Return to Christmas Creek, where a grumpy app-developer Amelia leaves her big city to return to her hometown—you guessed it—Christmas Creek. At home, she patches up relationships with her childhood best friend and estranged uncle in an effort to rediscover the meaning of Christmas.
Someone gets a new beginning.
The female protagonists in Hallmark Christmas films are often at a crossroads in their lives that lead them find a fresh start. Sometimes that’s the end of a marriage; other times, it’s an unexpected move or lay-off from work. In Hope at Christmas, a recently divorced woman and her daughter spend Christmas in a house she has recently inherited. As luck would have it, she meets a handsome local who wants to make her daughter’s Christmas wishes come true. Then, there’s some unexpected do-overs that only Hallmark could dream up: In Northern Lights of Christmas, a woman starts anew after inheriting an entire reindeer farm. Now that’s a new beginning.
Santa is real—and interferes in the lives of grown women.
Santa is just a jolly old fellow who wants to see everyone happy and deeply in the throes of love. He turns up unexpectedly in several movies to work some romantic magic, or is pulling the strings in the background. In Matchmaker Santa, a baker (another baker!) who is dating a fancy CEO is thrown into compromising situations with her boyfriend’s BFF, who is harboring a secret crush on her. Then, a white-bearded, elderly gentleman appears and encourages the two to hang out, forcing our sweet baker to recognize her feelings for both men. There’s also Marrying Father Christmas, which, judging on title alone means that someone is marrying Santa. (It’s actually about a woman who gets married on Christmas day. Close enough.) Even without an immediate connection Mr. Claus, there’s a proxy force in his place: Take A Shoe Addict’s Christmas, for example, in which a “guardian angel” who looks a lot like Mrs. Claus helps a woman correct her present by traveling to Christmases past.
It’s been a stressful year, but at least you can count on Hallmark, Lifetime, and Netflix to come through with the holiday cheer. After all, what’s more relaxing than watching an overworked woman fall in love with a Christmas tree farmer? So decompress with all of our delightful holiday content right here.
It’s been a stressful year, but at least you can count on Hallmark, Lifetime, and Netflix to come through with the holiday cheer. After all, what’s more relaxing than watching an overworked woman fall in love with a Christmas tree farmer? So decompress with all of our delightful holiday content right here.
Alexa PenaVega is in the middle of filming her Hallmark Christmas movie, Christmas Made to Order (which premiered December 23), when she lets me in on a secret: Her character may dream of becoming a holiday decorator, but Alexa’s not good at it herself. “That’s [my husband] Carlos’ thing,” she says. “He has a great eye for it, and I don’t. Yet I’m the one that’s like, ‘I want Christmas all year round!'”
But what PenaVega lacks in decor skills, she more than makes up for in holiday spirit. And like her character in Christmas Made to Order, if there’s something lacking in her life she’ll find a way to change it.
PenaVega has had a lot of practice with that. In the business for more than 20 years, she started with the Burt Reynolds/Marilu Henner series Evening Shade in 1993. She followed that with roles in films like Little Giants, Nine Months, and Twister, but it was her debut in Spy Kids that made her a star. Since then, she’s done everything from Broadway to Dancing with the Stars.
Her personal life is her biggest priority now, and that’s what drew her to Hallmark. Because of the network’s commitment to families (especially for women), PenaVega has become one of its familiar faces. Christmas Made to Order marks her fourth Hallmark movie, and another one—Picture Perfect Mysteries—is already planned for 2019.
“Carlos and I want to be able to do films that our families are proud of and everybody can watch,” she says. “They just feel good, and Hallmark has been that place for us. They’re all about family, and they want to keep [me and Carlos] working together. They really do walk the walk. That’s what separates them from other networks.”
Here, PenaVega opens up more about what it’s like to do a Hallmark Christmas movie, the changes she’s noticing on-screen, and more. Read on.
Fred Hayes/Crown Media
Glamour: Are Hallmark Christmas movies everything you thought they would be and more?
Alexa PenaVega: Yes, I love Hallmark Christmas movies because they’re out-of-control awesome. There are no limits. We had 15 trees in a scene the other day, and our director asked for another one. He wasn’t kidding! You can’t go overboard. In fact, one of my first married fights with Carlos was over Christmas trees. [Laughs] I was adamant about a real tree because I’ve only had real trees. Christmas trees are my jam.
What other traditions are important to you during the holidays?
APV: This is going to be a weird thing to say, but my ex-husband’s mom is incredible—we’ve always gotten along so well. There were so many traditions from his family that she taught me, and one of them was making homemade caramels. I wrote her a couple years ago on Mother’s Day and said, “I just wanted you to know that we’ve taken this tradition into our family.” She wrote me back, “I’m crying!” There was a lot of peace in that breakup, and I love his family. Even in a difficult situation, it’s special to be able to bring beautiful family traditions that Carlos and I love and can give to our son, Ocean, as he grows up. Carlos was super positive about it. You don’t ever hear stories about stuff like that, because usually it’s “the breakup was terrible.” I took so many beautiful traditions from his family, even this amazing mustard dip that I make every year. My ex’s mom is from South Dakota, so it’s the best Midwest food. Carlos and I are Latino, so we can give you a Columbian Christmas with Midwest [traditions].
It’s been a stressful year, but at least you can count on Hallmark Christmas movies to come through with the holiday cheer. After all, what’s more relaxing than watching an overworked woman fall in love with a Christmas tree farmer? So decompress with all of our delightful holiday content right here.
“Wait, we added too many Santa hats!” is not a line you hear that often on the set of a movie. But then again, I wasn’t on just any set—I was in Ogden, Utah for the filming of Christmas Made to Order, one of Hallmark’s Countdown to Christmas originals. When I arrived (in early November, when the temperature was a chilly but mild 40 degrees), stars Alexa PenaVega and Jonathan Bennett were in the middle of a three-day shoot at a cozy log cabin bed and breakfast high in the mountains.
PHOTO: Jessica Radloff
It felt surreal to be there. For all the times I’ve said, “This looks like something straight out of a Hallmark Christmas movie!” now it was actually true. The phenomenon that is Hallmark’s Countdown Christmas has propelled the network to record ratings, and it’s growing with each passing season.
But back to this film, Christmas Made to Order: It took about a year to make, from the first pitch meeting to filming. (It premieres on Saturday, December 23 at 8 p.m. ET.) When I was on set in early November, it was one of two Hallmark Christmas movies still in production—the other being Small Town Christmas, which premiered last weekend. The bulk of Hallmark’s 36 Christmas movies were finished earlier this fall.
And while all Hallmark Christmas movies are showered in holiday cheer, there was an added element of authenticity to Christmas Made to Order. Holiday decorations were up around the town of Ogden and the air was crisp. When I arrived at the Alaskan Inn—today’s filming location—I noticed how charming it looked nestled at the bottom of Ogden Canyon alongside mountain homes and pine trees. The scenery was so inspiring, I seriously debated never leaving.
PHOTO: Jessica Radloff
The cast and crew actually stayed about 20 minutes away in a suburb of Salt Lake City and were at the tail end of two-plus weeks of production. Half the crew on the film were locals, while everyone else came from L.A. For many crew members, this was the third or fourth Hallmark Christmas movie they’ve worked on this year. “It’s a lot, but so much fun,” Lawrence Humphreys, the film’s on-set dresser, said. “I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
As we walk to the Inn, there’s a huge truck unloading Christmas props, including a plastic Santa (but of course). Humphreys tells me that they have two trucks and a cargo van dedicated solely for props, and it’s completely filled with Christmas decorations. Basically, it’s like a Hallmark store meets Party City on wheels.
PHOTO: Jessica Radloff
The Inn is closed to the public for the next three days, and a production trailer with a makeshift office is set up nearby. The crew brings their pets to work so they can hang out with the cast and producers in between scenes. It dawns on me that spending one day on set is not going to be enough. I should have stayed the whole week.
Before I went onto set, though, I talked to Jonathan Bennett at one of the individual log cabins on the property. Each log cabin has a different theme, and I’m pretty sure this one was the equivalent of Grizzly Bear Cottage. Everything from the toiler paper rack to the mirrors had bears on them. There was even a five-foot bear in the entry way. You can’t make this stuff up.
PHOTO: Jessica Radloff
Jonathan—or Johnny, as he said I could call him—burst in with the energy of a five-year-old. Christmas Made to Order is his first Hallmark movie as a lead, and he said he was just as excited as when he was cast in Mean Girls. “Both are such amazing guilty pleasure, fun movies to watch. There’s nothing better than to be involved in a movie that brings so much people happiness.”
He certainly knows firsthand what a feel-good movie can do, which is why he credits Hallmark with helping him out of a dark time he endured after his parents passed away. “The holidays always meant a time of sadness,” he said. “Once my parents passed, each Christmas wasn’t what it used to be. But then I started being involved in and watching these movies, and it really reminds you that it’s all about love.”
Bennett also said his Hallmark “roster of angels”—Alexa PenaVega, Danica McKellar, Lacey Chabert, Rachel Boston and Jen Lilley—helped him find joy after so much heartache. “They are some of the most beautiful human beings I’ve ever met, so it makes me so happy to be part of a network with so many dear friends.”
At that point, production called him for camera-blocking with PenaVega—my cue to leave Grizzly Bear Cottage and finally head to set.
PHOTO: Jessica Radloff
The lobby of the Inn was a bustle of activity, with prop artists, set designers, and production assistants working hard to get everything in place. The scene I saw being filmed features PenaVega teaching Bennett’s on-screen family how to make apple cider. The set was completely decked out in Christmas props, but the crew still stressed the importance that each and every frame in each and every scene look festive. In other words, details, details, details. As easy as it is to laugh at the directions given on set (“Rotate the ribbon!” and “That gentleman in the elf hat…can he take a step to the left to fill the space?”), it’s a crucial part of Hallmark’s success. Viewers tune in for Christmas magic, and Christmas magic is what they’re going to get.
PHOTO: Jessica Radloff
Color, no surprise, is a big part of each scene as well. “There’s no such thing as grey or white or neutral in Christmas movies,” PenaVega told me, when we talked later that day. “It’s got to be colorful, and you cannot blend. Sometimes that can get a little hard because if you’re in a colorful red Christmas sweater, you have to make sure that the background—which is also colorful—doesn’t clash.”
Humphreys loves a white tree with silver bulbs, but he told me those are often reserved for high-rise office buildings in cosmopolitan cities. Since this scene was at a log cabin, the vibe was more “old-school Christmas with big, colorful bulbs.” Basically, cozy is in, chic is out.
At this point, as if on cue, we were told that the production office had homemade cinnamon buns. While it’s not unusual for a production to amp up the “welcome” factor when press like myself visit, I was told this is a regular occurrence. A that point, if Mr. and Mrs. Claus had shown up with real reindeer I wouldn’t have been that shocked.
PHOTO: Jessica Radloff
Upstairs at the Inn, production designer Melissa Mae and her team were putting last minute touches on signage and wooden props. It’s the ultimate arts and crafts store—and if not for my sticky cinnamon bun fingers, I would have offered a helping hand. Instead, I turned my attention to the festive Christmas village nearby. Amber Dahl, the film’s art director, even used a few pieces for the film that were donated by her mom. “There’s a lot of homemade stuff in this movie,” Humphreys said. “The ornaments are actually handmade from Amber’s family.”
PHOTO: Jessica Radloff
Aside from homemade pieces, Humphreys said they try to shop locally whenever possible. Nearby mom and pop stores are great options, especially for all the food scenes in Hallmark films. “We like to go to the local bakeries to help local business. It’s good for everybody.”
As for all those Christmas trees, they’re usually not real, but that’s a matter of convenience above anything else. “We’ve tried to use real trees in the past, but they just make too much of a mess and die halfway through filming,” Humphreys explained. “Even the fake trees can get banged up over time because we move them around so much.”
Later in the day, PenaVega’s husband, Carlos, and their son, Ocean, stopped by for a visit. Bennett had finished filming, and Carlos offered to drive him back to the hotel where they were all staying. (When Hallmark says they’re a family network, they’re not kidding.)
I, on the other hand, stuck around to watch one more scene: a fireside chat featuring PenaVega and the woman playing her aunt. It was a touching moment about taking a leap of faith and trusting that things will be OK. And in today’s world, who doesn’t need more of that?
PHOTO: Jessica Radloff
Christmas Made to Order premieres on Sunday, December 23 on Hallmark. For more behind-the-scenes photos and videos from the set, follow @glamourmag on Instagram, where West Coast editor Jessica Radloff will be doing an InstaStories takeover this Saturday.
