A Merry Holiday

I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did, it had the usual characters, but it was a watchable, feel good movie.

In general it was a movie with a good message, but it didn't have enough balance. I would have preferred that the Christmas celebration also mentioned the religious part of how and why Christians celebrate CHRISTmas. I work in an international school and we learn to appreciate different cultures and faiths. In my classroom parents were invited to share about theirs in special occasions: Diwali, Christmas, Hanukkah, Eid, also Carnival in the nice child's version. We also said not everyone had a religion and that also needed to be respected and accepted. So I would have liked to see the balance here as well. We say Happy Holidays but are sometimes constricted about saying Merry Christmas because it's 'religious'. Why?

You want different? This is different. Yes there was a movie a few years back with the similarities of blending a Christmas and Hannukah, but it was lame, and there are plenty of differences.

The story has enough different things going on that it does not get boring as it builds up to a great conclusion, even though it is plenty cheesy.

The leads! I loved Kelley Jackle last year in Christmas Harmony. I hope she continues to do Christmas movies. Some might think she is a little over the top cheerful or that her smile is less than sincere. But I love this kind of leading lady and Jackle is definitely growing on me as a favorite. Then there is Jake Epstein. Please let's see more of him in Christmas movies. He did a twofer for Lifetime this year and was great also in A Storybook Christmas. And chemistry, yes. I loved these two together.

Some will like that there is diversity and an educational aspect to this movie. Some will hate at least the latter. I liked it.

BTW: a couple of reviewers penalized the movie for not mentioning Jesus, which I find strange. It is true that Jesus is the reason for the season and this movie stressed family and community instead. But how many Hallmark or Lifetime movies can you name that do mention Jesus as anything more than a baby in a manger, or by singing a religious Christmas song? Even UPtv seems to be careful not to emphasize Jesus too much.

I kept saying last year that people were sleeping on Lifetime. I loved almost everything Lifetime in 2019. 2020 hasn't been so great but we never got to Mistletoe and Menorahs last year so we finally watched now. I LOVED IT. I hope more stories are written combing Christmas and Hanukkah because I've thoroughly enjoyed everyone I've watched with both holidays. I do believe this was the best of them though. The viewer actually really got to learn and see a lot of the Hanukkah traditions. Both lead roles really nailed their performances too. This was the perfect blend of everything I want in my holiday movies! So, more of this PLEASE!!

Congratulations Lifetime, Kelley Jakle, Jake Epstein and cast and crew for making a beautiful story about Hannakuh, Christmas, showing how traditions are different. but the love of family is still the same. I really enjoyed this movie.