I found myself looking at a list to find I had a ton of vacation days I never took. There was only one solution — take off the week before Christmas (and then some) to wrap all the things, bake all the things, and take all the naps. I decided I was equal to the task. All those hours of baking and wrapping require something in background. Enter the Netflix holiday movie rotation!
Most of the below are from this year, but there are some older ones in the mix towards the bottom. There was only one rule for this post — to exclude all those bigger holiday movies from over the year. I think you’ll see I made good on following that rule.
A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding
Last year, I watched this one and enjoyed it for what it was — a fluffy romantic story with a royal twist. This sequel, as many often do, did not live up to the original. Not even close. In this movie, the wedding is approaching but there’s trouble in Aldovia, with the country’s finances in question. And then there’s drama with Amber and her continuing to blog, directly violating royal protocol. Verdict? Skip and rewatch the original yet another time.
Christmas With a View
A celebrity chef wins a cooking competition and accepts a job at the Thunder Mountain Ski Resort, Clara is thrown immediately in his path. They quickly begin a romance which becomes complicated by a business opportunity Clara has to accomplish her own dream — running a restaurant of her own. The story line is a bit lacking on this one and I found the two character pretty underdeveloped. Verdict? Skip this one and check out the Nailed It! Holiday! season instead.
Christmas Wedding Planner
Kelsey Wilson is getting started as a wedding planner and is excited to do it in a big way, by organizing an over-the-top wedding for her cousin. A handsome man from her cousin’s past, Connor, turns up, investigating the groom and his intentions. Kelsey gets wrapped up in the investigation, worried about her cousin and her reputation as the wedding approaches. She’s also conflicted by her feelings for Connor, which change throughout the movie as they spend more time together. Verdict? Watch this one, and try to ignore the ending which is a total stretch.
A Holiday Engagement
This is one of the few older films that made their way into my watch list. When her fiancé breaks off their engagement right before Thanksgiving, Hillary evaluates two options: (1) show up embarrassed and alone to her family or (2) use a Mexican vacation she won to bait an attractive out-of-work actor to accompany her home to postpone sharing the inevitable with them. She learns that the relationships her siblings have aren’t what they appeared to be either and is surprised to find how her feelings change for both her ex and faux fiancé. Verdict? Watch this one. The storyline is cute and supporting characters actually developed. Win!
The Christmas Chronicles
We accidentally stumbled across this one when trying to find a “Santa Claus movie” to watch with Q. It didn’t take long for us to figure out this wasn’t quite the best selection for a two-year-old. It’s the story of brother and sister, Kate and Teddy, who unexpectedly find themselves in Santa’s sleigh and learning he’s not quite the person they expected. When Santa’s sleigh crashes, they find themselves needing to help get things back on track. Verdict? Worth a watch, even if not my fave. It’s interesting to see a less than polished representation of Santa and it somehow works.
What else have you found on Netflix this holiday season that you enjoyed? Share in the comments, below!
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