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I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 400 ( C H R I S T M A S ) MOVIES AND SPECIALS.

PLEASE BEWARE OF SOME REVIEWERS THAT ONLY HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW. WHEN ITS A POSITIVE THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE PRODUCTION. NOW I HAVE NO AGENDA! I REVIEW MOVIES & SPECIALS AS A WAY TO KEEP TRACK OF WHAT I HAVE SEEN! I HAVE DISCOVERED MANY GEMS IN MY QUEST TO SEE AS MANY " C H R I S T M A S " MOVIES AS I CAN.

Someone keeps reporting my reviews. I guess they are jealous because I do tell the truth. I want to point out that I never make snide remarks about actors weight or real life sexual orientation. If there acting is terrible or limited "I talk about that". If a story is bad "I will mention that" So why am I being "picked on"? IMDB will not even tell me what someone found offensive. Well on to the review :

When the office assignments are distributed for Secret Santa, Melanie is excited that she was given her crush, Donovan. Donovan however doesn't celebrate Christmas. He is not close to his family and so Christmas to him is just another day. He is not a Scrooge. However he doesn't understand what the big deal is.

Melanie however is now his secret Santa. She wants to find a perfect gift. After she finds she herself working side by side with him her feelings for him continue to grow. His eyes and heart also begin to grow.

Now my gripe with this film is that "A Christmas Campaign" kicks off way before "Christmas". Here this project kicks off 2 days before. Also I think Donovan however has been working for years at his job. He would have known how big of a deal his office made about Christmas.

Now it seems to me Hallmark loves casting AARON O'CONNELL as a stuffy business man. I think he is capable of doing more. I hope Hallmark cast him again and let him have a "Fun Role".

In all this film is enjoyable. Above Average

With a plot more structurated than other Christmas movies, it results both entertaining and endearing. It's Christmas time at the ad. Company where Melanie works. And the invisible friend whom she has to give a present is one who does not care about Christmas at all. While she tries to find out what would he like for Christmas she begins to know him well...and in the meantime their boss pairs them for a difficult client's Christmas ad. campaign. Since the communication with the invisible friend is by whatsapp, he does not know who she really is. Will the chemistry between them still remain when he discovers who his invisible friend really is? Not much of a mystery really but nice entertainment and enjoyable picture with plausible players in a more developed than usual plot...and do not miss the fairytale ending! Recommended.

Cute idea. This was an unashamed ripoff of You've Got Mail right down to at least one crucial line. Melanie is a woman who has trouble saying no, but she also loves Christmas like no one else. Donovan is a pretty stiff guy who has absolutely no love for Christmas.

I love Emilie Ullerup, as Melanie. She is so upbeat and has a megawatt smile. For me, she was what made this movie enjoyable. Aaron O'Connell, as Donovan, does stiff and business like so well that he never really lightened up or connected. He talked about having a new attitude about Christmas, but he still came off as stiff. I also liked Melanie's friends and family.

I was generous with my rating because I did mostly enjoy the movie.

A touching Christmas Hallmark film. First - for the details. And for performances. And for the references to classic on-line talks. And, maybe, for story, who has the gift to use familiar ingredients in not bad manner. A challenge for a team , from its coherence to promote a product. Romance. A Secret Santa . And fascinating old fashion details. Result - a love story in Christmas time but special for me who, crying a little at its end, I discovered one of Christmas films from Hallmark who could be defined more than junk food for too young sensitivities. So, a real nice film.

As part of my 2024 December Christmas movie marathon, I had the chance to sit down and watch the 2017 movie "With Love, Christmas", from director Marita Grabiak. Of course I had never heard about the movie prior to sitting down and watching it, but then again sappy Christmas movies is usually not my go-to type of entertainment.

Based on the cover alone, and with it being a Hallmark movie, it seemed that this movie would be particularly sappy. But I still opted to give writers Danni Hodson and Marcy Holland a fair chance.

And I am glad that I did, because "With Love, Christmas" turned out to be one the better sappy Christmas movies that I have watched. The storyline was well-written, and it had all the right contents to be a good, albeit archetypical, sappy Christmas movie. But isn't that something that Hallmark excels at, really?

The acting performances were good, and the chemistry between leading actress Emilie Ullerup and actor Aaron O'Connell was good. They carried the movie quite nicely, and I was rather impressed with their performances. In fact, the acting performances in general throughout the course of the movie were good.

"With Love, Christmas" looked and felt like a proper Christmas movie, complete with fake snow and all. If you enjoy the sappy Christmas movie genre, then you will definitely enjoy this movie, that I guarantee.

I was genuinely and wholeheartedly entertained by this movie.

My rating of director Marita Grabiak's 2017 movie "With Love, Christmas" lands on a well-deserved seven out of ten stars.

I really liked the main character. She was flawless. Of course we have the little kid who is around too much. Only turn off that should have been real was that fake cotton snowball snowman outside. Get a real one! Loved the cat too. Enjoying most of the new Hallmark movies this season and am also enjoying many of the old ones. Oh yeah, do all blondes have dyed blonde hair with dark brown roots these days?

I'm the first to review this movie? Very cool! I'm becoming a regular with 'firsts' on the reviews. I like this movie's script because it's different. It's got some good humor in it as well. Well, I'm just a sucker for Hallmark Christmas movies and this one is quite cute and clever! The seasonal settings and decorations are just exquisite, so there's lots of great holiday eye candy. And this kind of movie could open some minds about social activities and getting involved more, during the holidays and beyond. I'm sure we all could use a bit more skills in the teamwork department. And I'm certain a lot of small towns could use a big horse-drawn sleigh ride as well. I've been on one and they are so cool. But about this movie, it is definitely worthy of a viewing!

Like many Hallmark movies, the background music is non-stop and too loud. Sometimes even drowns out the dialogs. And, it just keeps going at the most inappropriate times. Remember, silence can golden. Fun show, typical holiday movie from Hallmark. We enjoyed Emilie Ullerup in the lead. Would like to see more of her.

Loved this movie. My only real challenge was to decide to rate it a 9 or a 10. I only rate about 10% of the Christmas movie a 10 and that is after using IMDB reviews to try to only watch the good ones. There was enough attention payed to the little things like Melanie collecting snow globes, adorable photo with Santa, snowflake earrings that I thought it deserves a 10. Emilee Ullerup and Aaron O'Connell were both just a delight. The two of them were suited well for their parts and that made the movie. Emillee appears to have a depth of acting ability. Emilee was in "Hearts of Christmas" in 2016 and Aaron has only had 9 acting parts in his career (many are Christmas movies- he is 31). Aaron had the lead in "12 Gifts of Christmas" in 2015.

The movie was fun, centered around an ad agency at Christmas time with mandatory Secret Santa participation. The story used the Secret Santa as the thread throughout the movie. Maybe the title should have been "My Secret Santa Love". "With Love, Christmas" does not describe the movie adequately. The head/owner of the ad agency was just great.

7/10 - festive Secret Santa Christmas flick that features two charismatic stars

If you have seen your fair share of Hallmark Christmas films, it would be safe to say that you are very likely to know what to expect generally, especially regarding the fairly samey stories, and one shouldn't expect any more. Have seen my fair share myself and have always watched them with mixed expectations. That are either met and even exceeded, or the film completely misses the mark and does little with any potential.

'With Love, Christmas' was actually, seeing as the premise didn't overly excite me but sounded cute enough, more or less what was expected. Not a bad film with things that are done well and there is nothing offensively bad about it. Also not a particularly great one either with quite a lot of the common flaws in Hallmark's Christmas films evident. If anything, 'With Love, Christmas' left me feeling rather mixed as an overall whole.

Shall begin with 'With Love, Christmas' good things. The production values are very pleasing to look at, nice use of locations slickly shot. The music captures the Christmas feel very well and is not near as over-scored or intrusive as too many of a lot of Hallmark films. There is a light-hearted charm in enough places.

Emilie Ullerup is a very engaging female lead and easy to like, which is not always said for actresses playing similar characters in Hallmark Christmas films. The supporting cast also do well with what they have, with Rebecca Davis being a scene stealer.

Aaron O'Connell on the other hand came over to me as rather stiff and not fully connected with his character, even for a character meant to be uptight. He and Ullerup didn't seem to have much chemistry together and what little there was felt cold and forced in a relationship that never felt fully developed. Excepting Melanie, the characters don't have enough to them to make me invest properly in them and development-wise they are sketchy. They did try with Donovan as well, but his type of character has been done in Hallmark Christmas films so many times and with very little different here.

The script is often excessive on the cheese and is over-sentimental in others, some of it doesn't sound natural either. The story has its moments, but generally there is far too little of it and what there is is very standard, formulaic Hallmark and feels rather stale and contrived. There is a light-hearted charm here, but the cheese and schmaltz go into overload and it never properly connected with me emotionally. The music could have been used less and could have had a quieter tone.

In summary, not bad but not great. 5/10

I've watched this movie several times and thoroughly enjoyed it. Emilie and Aaron have enough chemistry to make it work. The scenery is nice. My only complaint is that in the last scene when Emilie is in that gorgeous red lace dress, the wardrobe director should have told her she has a very noticeable panty line. Some form-fitting formal wear show everything and this is the perfect example. Other than that, I enjoyed the movie.

So many formulaic stories.. and this one checks all the boxes. But it's Christmas, and we can just have a glass of wine and pretend our Iives can be this happy and we all live happily ever after. . My only observation is the beautiful girl's teeth whitening went over the top.

I would have liked to give a bigger rating , even though the story is pretty lightweight. However, apart from the always excellent Emilie Ullerup as Melanie, there isn't much depth to the characters and not much chemistry between the 2 leads. I'll put that down to the script. I guess this movie will please most Hallmark viewers as it's pleasant enough - but for me, a bit more plausibility is needed in the storyline.Sorry !

This story is supposed to take place in Stamford Connecticut and many of the shots look nothing like Stamford. Would have been better selecting US city that is actually on a lake like the one used in many of the scenery shots.

This movie was pretty good for what it was: a light-hearted, Hallmark Christmas movie. The leads were likable and photogenic and you had the irresistible dynamic of the Christmas-phile paired with the Christmas-phobe, an oft used trope that gives us the satisfying opportunity to see the Scrooge-like character change his ways. If I had to fault anything, it would be that Emilie Ullerup's character was just too upbeat and too positive all the time. She seems too good to be true. I also thought that Aaron O'Connell's character was lacking in heart a bit too much. I know that's the whole point of his character arc, but advertising is all about appealing to people's emotions. How did he supposedly become such a star in the advertising with such an obvious lack of heart? Otherwise, a fairly enjoyable Christmas movie.

Warm and endearing, with lots of Christmas spirit.

Well written with fun dialog, and nice subtle touches of comedy. The secret Santa "mystery" is used effectively to help the characters learn about themselves while enjoying the season. The Christmas activities are part of the story, they never seem forced. The pacing is good, so the story never loses steam.

Excellent cast, including the supporting actors. The best friend, the sister, and especially the boss, Mr. Farnsworth, were all great.

This may be the only Christmas movie I've seen where neither lead is shown actually ice skating. Both carry the story and mood with their expressive faces and acting skills. They have good chemistry, which contributes to a very nice finish. A.

This is a Hallmark Christmas movie to watch over and over. I really like the Secret Santa storyline. Emilie Ullerup is a really great actress. The male lead was a bit robotic and unlikeable. Overall this is a fun movie that I think many Hallmark fans should enjoy.

Why is it that every actress in this film seem to have gone under the knife too many times. From foreheads that can't move to over inflated cheeks/ All of them are wax looking and unwatchable. In any scene they are in you can't not tell if the actress is happy. "Nothing Moves"! Sad because these women are under 40 and have had more needles in their face than candles on a cake. For a Christmas movie showing emotional happiness is important!

In this movie the office assignments are distributed for Secret Santa, Melanie is excited that she was given her crush, Donovan. Donovan is so taken by the thoughtful gifts and notes, he starts to fall in love. But someone else is stealing Melanie's credit.

Everyone in this film also lives way beyond what their paychecks. One of the worse.

At first we see ad execs ala MAD MEN doing their schtick and pitch. Then we see a bit of competition/love blossom between co workers. Yes this really happens in big and small town USA. Overall I found the story very entertaining. Nice deliveries. The true, magical, and sincere performance of O'Connell did it for me. At the end when he re kindles his relationship with his Dad my heart skipped a beat. The next day I wasthen was watching This Is Our Christmas and I see Arron again. He plays another executive named Winslow. He gives a wonderful performance pinning over the loss of his wife with holiday perennial actor Vincent De Paul. I will not give it away but the end of the latter films show Arron's range as an actor and he is so incredible and moving I heard that his real life wife co star with him in This Is Our Christmas.... LOVE ALL HIS FILMS.

Was anyone else distracted by the male lead's orange face? Also the fact that when he turns sideways, you can see the orange makeup line between his face and neck. It's called blending, people. Make the face and neck the same shade, please! Other than that, typical hallmark Christmas love story, with no chemistry between the leads and wooden acting by the male lead. I've seen him in a few movies now, and it is always the same role; reserved, uptight, barely any facial expressions.

Christmas movies are strangely antiquated in their view of what women can and should do.

This one's a bit different, and it's hinted in the poster: practically ALWAYS there's a female lead in red, a male in green. Now they're both in green.

What does it tell us? The leads are unusually equal in the movie. And it actually feels quite modern in the Christmas movie realm: that the woman doesn't have to sacrifice her career for love. She can have both - who knew!

The movie certainly uses the Christmas cues (to nice effect), but the plot is also more ambitious than in the other similar ones.

Moreover, I liked the main actors - especially the female is radiant - and their character development is believable.

A pretty refreshing entry into the Christmas movie genre.

It's a different hallmark movie. An uptight guy who does not like Christmas and a jolly girl who lives for Christmas. the whole pen pal thing is sweet and pleasant.

This Christmas movie focuses on Melanie Welch (Emilie Ullerup) and Donovan Goodwin, (Aaron O'Connell), coworkers at an ad agency who are teamed together and given the task of creating a heartfelt Christmas ad campaign for a cell phone company. The problem is while Melanie absolutely loves Christmas and has a positive attitude about life, on the other hand, Donovan views Christmas without the sentimentality and only as a retail money maker, he's also an all work and no play kinda guy. To complicate things even more, the company requires all employees to participate in a Secret Santa Gift Exchange, and as luck would have it, Melanie and Donovan are each others Secret Santas, but they can't tell each other, because well it's supposed to be a secret! The journey begins as the two must learn about each other not only for their Secret Santa gift, but for gathering ideas in order to come up with the perfect Christmas ad campaign for a very important client. Donovan develops an online relationship with his Secret Santa and as a result, a problem arises because Donovan makes a play for the wrong woman he thinks is his Secret Santa, and Melanie gets a little jealous. The movie pulls you in as we watch both Melanie and Donovan change and grow in character. This movie captures the viewer's interest and you can't wait for the big reveal, not only for the reaction to the Secret Santa disclosure, but also to see who will get the company promotion as well!!!

Emile Ullerup is delightful and her upbeat personality really captures Melanie's personality (Ashley Williams please take note on how this is correctly done without having a inane fixated smile). Aaron O'Connell portrays the stiff no-nonsense Donovan perfectly, and does a great job transforming Donovan into a more likeable and caring guy. This is one of the better Hallmark movies that draws you in. ENJOY!

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