Eight Gifts of Hanukkah

This would have to be one of my all time favorite Hallmark movies and I don't even celebrate Hanukkah. The Story is a great love story during the holidays. It is mainly about Hanukkah, but it throws just a little Christmas in as well. The story alone isn't what makes the movie so great though. It just makes the movie good. What makes the movie great is also having a really great lead actress INBAR LAVI(Prison Break, Imposters, Lucifer) starring as Sara who receives eight anonymous gifts, one each night of Hanukkah from a secret admirer. I watched this movie on tv and ordered it online the next day I enjoyed it that much.

Despite producing Hannukah movie less than three years, Hallmark does a great with them. I haven't watched one that was bad and I've sat through a good hundred. And Eight Gifts of Hannukah doesn't disappoint, especially in the romance department.

As a person who loves to find packages on their doorstep, I was eagerly anticipating each and every one of Sarah's gifts. And every time, I squeed inside because they were so thoughtful and meant something, on a personal level, to the heroine.

Overall, this is a really, cute movie with a friends to lover trope with a believable reveal. I thoroughly enjoyed learning all the different traditions and foods eaten during Hannukah.

Out of all the Hallmark movies I've devoured over the past two or so years, (I've gone back and watched about a hundred 😭😅) this one is easily in my top ten.

I really enjoyed the online dating opening with Sarah going to meet online guys at a coffeeshop. Sarah is an eye doctor, she does meet one good one a top chef named Nigel. Also a client at her eye clinic also asks her out...things are looking up. If only she can get her confidence up from her breakup with Paul.

Hanukkah celebrating Sarah has been single for four months and is finally ready to try dating again. Her childhood friend, Daniel, is doing a remodel on her business and always has her back...this is where he comes in to bolster her confidence.

"I think this is my cue to remind you that he didn't deserve you."-Daniel.

"The bean counters are not just a garage band."-Sarah

The commentating on the dreidel spinning Hilarious!

This was one entire introduction to Hanukkah for Sarah's friend and Christmas celebrating business partner.

One the first day of Hanukkah Sarah receives an anonymous gift of white roses fro a secret admirer. This is followed by seven more gifts...leaving her to wonder who is sending these special gifts?

"Cardboard boxes are an unrelated medium."-Daniel.

"I'm like the Jewish Nancy Drew."-Sarah.

Enjoyed the movie, Really likeable and relatable characters, however, like so many Hallmark movies, they cheat us out of a satisfactory ending. It's like, "If a bear s...ts in the woods and no one sees it. Did it really happen?" So if a couple kisses at the end of the movie (and they always do) and it's not noticed and reacted to by others, who cares? After watching a movie for two hours, I think we all deserve a little satisfaction. Geez!

The anonymous gift premise isn't the most common and since this is Hanukkah, the traditional activities are different from all the Christmas movies, but there is still a charity function that all the romantic interests work on.

Jake Epstein's Daniel and Inbar Lavi's Sara (spelling as per the gift cards) have great chemistry despite supposedly being just friends. I'm beginning to really appreciate Epstein who seems to bond well with his opposite whether the story is about Hanukkah or Christmas. Lavi is new to me, but I liked her almost at once.

I think the viewer knows who the sender is almost from the first gift, but it's not long in the movie before he confesses to a friend. A lot of attention is paid to his frustration that all the other male candidates are getting.