A Christmas... Present

It was so nice to watch a quality family move that had a great message too! So much more depth than most Christmas movies! I loved that if felt real, Candace Cameron Bure's relationship with her husband and their issues were something that happens to real couples. The teenagers just pretending to like the activities. But mostly how her and her brother, were both trying to fix each other but realized how much they need each other. Love that the Christmas activities were a little different than the typical snowman building, cookie making, gingerbread house contest, etc. I really loved this movie. Heartfelt, real, emotional and just a great movie!

The true meaning of Christmas is there, but don't turn away your attention because it's there quickly and then the story is back. I wonder if Candace purposely washed it so that the movie would be see by more people despite the message the world doesn't want to hear. That doesn't really make sense, but then burying the lead, so to speak, doesn't make sense either.

The theme of the movie appears to be how busyness obscures what's really important during the holidays. And a viewer could easily conclude that what is really important is family. Time with family. Really with them. "Present". And love. And this is a great message for a Christmas movie. It is certainly where most of the screen time and dialogue was spent. So why throw in the faith stuff which is also sprinkled in here and there?

I submit that the true message, whether intended or not, was in just a few minutes from when Candace/Maggie walked in the church door to when the pastor finished speaking. 2-1/2 minutes. First a verse of Silent Night that not everyone knows. "Son of God. Love's pure Light.... with the dawn of redeeming grace. Jesus Lord at Thy birth." Then the pastor answers the argument he and his brother had about who gave the best gift. "The one who gives the best gift of all every Christmas is God Himself. The gift of hope, joy, peace, forgiveness, eternal life, wrapped in swaddling clothes waiting to be opened by faith." There is forgiveness, redemption, in only one way through faith. Candace, whether this was your real message or not, thank you for giving us one of the tiniest few movies that tells us the real reason for the season.

The movie is well done with mostly good acting. The dialogue has funny moments and many more serious ones. The story is compelling.

I loved this movie! It's what Christmas is about, spending time with family. It's a beautiful Christian Christmas movie, and it's not traditional. There are a lot of Bible quotes and that's why our family really enjoyed it. I think we tend to forget what Christmas is all about, and this movie really shows the true meaning behind Christmas. It has a lot to do with church too. Her kids in the movie are respectful and kind to their parents, when we rarely see that in movies nowadays.

Candace is a beautiful actress, her movies are all wonderful. I love her! This movie is different from all her other movies, but it's more meaningful. I recommend this movie!

I had never loved a movie and raged with it as hard as I did with this one I am obsessed with christmas, I always love the decorations, the general cheer and family reunions, but never really plan, I let it all happen naturally, and this woman's obsession with planning every minute detail SHE wanted without being considerate of others, plus the two selfish teenagers that need to practically be coerced into doing stuff drove me crazy and made me laugh at the same time

As I said in the title, this movie is all about understanding that we need to be considerate and we can love the season, but we need to look out and not turn into monsters thinking we do what is best without considering other's wishes

All in all the message is good, and for christmas movies, you know that you can't go wrong with Candace C Bure, she is like the trademark christmas actress lol.

I've always loved Candace Cameron. Bure in any movies she appeared in. This movie was a real disservice to the persona she has built into all of her characters-optimism, consideration of others and attentiveness. Her character in this movie was oblivious to the needs of anyone but herself. Her family seemed like it was just an extension of her own need for control. She claimed she wanted to help her brother and niece through their grief yet she consistently ignored everything they wanted. It was painful watching how dysfunctional she made her entire family. I'm not sure what the writers were trying to achieve. She didn't seem to have a genuine epiphany and her family just grudgingly went along for the hellish ride she put them on. I finally turned it off three quarters of the way through. It felt like it took three hours just to get that far. I'm sure they finished the movie with some sort of personal revelation but it just wasn't worth it to me.