Summary

  • Hallmark Christmas movies thrive on cheesy and predictable tropes, making them comfort watches during the festive season.
  • The inclusion of specific storylines and tropes in Hallmark Christmas movies brings familiarity and comfort to viewers.
  • Hallmark Christmas movies often feature former child stars, making it a common career move for them and appealing to nostalgia.

The many Hallmark Christmas movie tropes are why the channel's original films have become a popular holiday tradition. The attraction of Hallmark Christmas movies is arguably that they're cheesy and predictable, and it's thanks to the many tropes throughout that Hallmark movies new and old have become comfort watching for so many during the fetive season. They’ve become so successful that other networks like Lifetime, Ion and Netflix have copied the genre. What makes Hallmark Christmas movies so fun to watch, is that they come with a very specific set of storylines and tropes that viewers can expect to see in almost every single one.

Hallmark Christmas movie tropes go beyond average romantic comedy plots and are the ones viewers often only see during the holidays. Especially with something as lighthearted as holiday romance, audiences get a lot of comfort out of familiar tropes being played with in refreshing new ways. That can even be a way of spreading equality, with the new Hallmark movie The Holiday Sitter finally letting LGBT+ characters take part in the cheesy plot lines and guaranteed happy endings they have historically been excluded from. No matter what subgenre of the Hallmark Christmas movie genre is a person's favorite, they all present similar tropes and themes that make them heartwarming.

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25 Meet-Uglies Are Becoming The Norm In Hallmark Christmas Movies

A Clumsy Or Uncomfortable First Encounter Is The Standard

Ashley Williams and Niall Matter in the Hallmark Channel movie "Never Kiss a Man in a Christmas Sweater."

Romantic comedies have long made use of the concept of a meet-cute. Two characters, very obviously fated to be together, meet in a seemingly random way and a connection instantly forms. A meet-ugly involves that first meeting, but the connection tends to be more hostile. They can simply be on opposite sides of an issue, or they might literally meet-ugly with one of the pair actually running into the other or injuring them by mistake.

Hallmark's Christmas movies have featured these sparsely over the years, but meet-uglies have become a trope in recent releases. There are movies like Never Kiss A Man In A Christmas Sweater, in which the woman actually hits the male love interest she meets with a Christmas tree and sends him to the hospital. There's also Project Christmas Wish, in which the two main characters get off on the wrong foot when they don't see eye-to-eye on the fate of a small town.

24 Many Hallmark Christmas Movies Feature Former Child Stars

Moving Onto Trope-Filled Festive Tales Is A Common Career Move For Young Actors

Jodie Sweetin in A Cozy Christmas Inn on Hallmark

There's a difficult hurdle that child stars have to beat to find success in their adult acting careers, but Hallmark makes that a little bit easier by frequently casting former child stars in the leading roles. Whether that is for the actors' sake or to cash in on nostalgia, Hallmark Christmas movies are full of familiar faces, and the return of a child actor is definitely a Hallmark Christmas movie trope.

Some of the actors that audiences are most likely to see in a Hallmark Christmas movie include Lacey Chabert, Candace Cameron Bure, and Chad Michael Murray. Though Bure eventually broke ties with Hallmark, her Full House co-star Jodie Sweetin can be seen in A Cozy Christmas Inn, and other former child stars like Peyton List and Tamera Mowry-Housley starred in their own 2022 Hallmark Christmas movies too.

23 Dogs Bring People Together In Hallmark Christmas Movies

Animal Companions Are Guaranteed Romantic Catalysts

Dogs may be man's best friend, but according to Hallmark, they're also pretty great as wingmen. Often, the perfect couple needs some motivation to meet and spend time with each other, especially if they dislike each other from the start. This is where a run-away or troublesome dog tends to shine, and one of the most beloved Hallmark Christmas movie tropes is a romance that starts because of a faithful animal companion.

Generally, this trope involves a Golden Retriever or a similarly well-loved breed, and the utopian world of the film means nobody ever has dog allergies. This year, Hallmark is releasing A Royal Corgi Christmas, but other classics include the A Golden Christmas trilogy and The Christmas Shepherd. It's not just dogs either, as cats also become romantic catalysts in festive Hallmark movies like Nine Lives of Christmas.

22 Hallmark Christmas Movies Encourage Well-Meaning Meddling

Intervening In The Romantic Lives Of Others Is A Common Hallmark Movie Trope

Dean and Melanie in Matchmaker Santa

Matchmaking is one of the most popular Hallmark tropes in general, but it definitely has its place in Christmas movies as well. In some cases, this falls to the children of single parents, but that's an entirely different trope. More often, it falls to coworkers or friends of the main character to find them a romance for the holidays.

The idea is always either that the main character has been single for so long that their friends are worried about them, or that they're in a relationship with the wrong person. The matchmaking is always well-intended, and almost always works out perfectly. Even Santa Claus gets in on the matchmaking sometimes, as there's literally a Matchmaker Santa movie.

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21 Christmas Brings Creativity In Hallmark Movies

The Festive Season Always Unlocks An Artistic Spark

Christmas movies often focus on characters who are artists or creative, and Hallmark Christmas movies definitely aren't exempt from this trope. The female leads, in particular, often have the kinds of jobs that involve baking, singing, dancing, or decorating. This often factors in either while they try to win a competition or save a school/town program.

Any movie can feature music, but the number of Hallmark Christmas movies that make art central to the plot and characterizations means that there is a direct connection between Christmas and arts and crafts. Perhaps it's because Christmas is often a time for wishes, not practicality, but the idea of making a comfortable living by following a passion is an incredibly common part of movies like In Merry Measure and A Christmas Cookie Catastrophe, where the characters learn to follow their hearts in their careers and their love lives.

20 Hallmark Christmas Movies Often Include Someone Changing Their Career Path

Romantic Leaps Aren't The Only Pivotal Moments

Sam laughing while setting up lights by the Christmas tree in Heart of the Holidays

Because so many Hallmark movies feature a character from a big city coming to a small town (another popular trope), or someone returning home for the first time in years (another trope), there are a lot of Hallmark Christmas movies that also feature many big non-romantic life decisions for the central character. One common Hallmark Christmas movie trope is that a main character will also make a career change in addition to starting a new chapter of their love life.

That often involves one of the main characters making a big career change, like taking over the family business they had initially abandoned, or finding that their passion lies somewhere completely unexpected. The Christmas Bow, for example, sees a formerly passionate violinist rekindle her love for music, and Heart of the Holidays features a woman leaving her big city job by the end of the movie for life in her small hometown.

19 Losing A Parent Adds Emotive Depth To Hallmark Christmas Movies

Processing Grief Is A Common Theme In Hallmark's Holiday Films

Caroline Rhea as Mrs. Miracle in the kitchen in Hallmark's Debbie Macomber's A Mrs. Miracle Christmas

It's rare for Disney princesses to have both parents, and that's just as true for heroines in Hallmark Christmas movies. To explain why the female lead is resistant to falling in love, she often has a heart-to-heart with her father about how losing her mother prompted her to build up walls and keep people out.

While the grief is often secondary to the romance aspect, it's still incredibly common as a way of developing the characters. Movies like The Christmas Train use the loss of a parent to prompt the characters to explore life, but for others, it's more subtle, with the missing parent inspiring their child's love of the holiday. Either way, it's uncommon to find a Hallmark Christmas movie with all four parents.

18 Hallmark Movies Love Main Characters Coming Home For Christmas

Heading Home For The Holidays Is The Start Of Many Seasonal Hallmark Romances

Sophie and David walk in front of a holiday display in Picture A Perfect Christmas

One of the most common holiday movie tropes in the Hallmark Christmas movies, even in some of the best ones, is the return to the small-town home like in Picture a Perfect Christmas. The set-up of this common festive plot thread is inevitably the same — the main character has left home and become successful in their choice of a career somewhere else and likely hasn't returned in years.

When the central character returns, plenty of attention is paid to the things that they loved about their hometown, and the soon-to-be love interest they left behind who hasn't changed a bit. There's also usually tension with their family that is smoothed over just in time for the holiday celebration and a romantic happy ending.

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17 In Hallmark Movies It Always Snows On Christmas

No Hallmark Characters Are Limited To Dreaming Of White Christmases

Hallmark Christmas movies are all about the idyllic setting with plenty of snow on the ground. It doesn't seem to matter where the fictional small town or big city in the movie is, either. There's always snow on Christmas in Hallmark movies. This trope is so prominent because it's literally a rule. Hallmark Christmas movie writers have discussed that they are prohibited from writing any movie that even suggests that Christmas might come without a perfect snowfall (via EW).

16 Hallmark Movies Emphasize The Importance Of Christmas Traditions

The Formalities Of The Festivities Are Always Celebrated

In a Hallmark Christmas movie, one of the leads has to love Christmas, while the other can be more resistant to it. This gives a good excuse for a montage of the couple decorating, ice skating, baking cookies, and playing in the snow. Through these traditions, the couple grows closer and each of them realizes how much magic has been missing in their everyday lives.

Assuming they then separate for part of the movie, there's something visual to represent the time they spent together. Whether the traditions are classics or unique character quirks, they do a lot of the story work while prompting audiences to think about their own Christmas activities. 2022's We Wish You a Married Christmas is a great example, with married couple Becca and Robby rekindling their marriage with some holiday cheer.

15 Hallmark Christmas Movies Regularly Include The Big Relationship Misunderstanding

Miscommunication Is A Tried-And-Tested Yuletide Drama Tool

The Perfect Christmas Present

Though it might be clear to the audience that the two main characters in any given Hallmark Christmas movie are perfect for one another, there's always a misunderstanding that drives them apart. It might be that one of them believes the other is going back to an old relationship or leaving town, or it could be something more drastic.

In The Perfect Christmas Present, for example, the two characters are brought together when a man hires someone with a reputation for perfect gifts to figure out what his girlfriend wants. They fall for each other, but she's incredibly hurt by the deception — until everything works out in the end.

14 No Hallmark Christmas Is Complete Without The Holiday Competition

The Seasonal Showdown Is A Common Hallmark Trope

Lacey Chabert in the Hallmark Channel movie The Sweetest Christmas.

Many of the Hallmark movies set in small towns will feature competitions year-round. It could be a talent show at a child's school, float decorating in a parade, or something related to baking. Community competitions are a common Hallmark Christmas movie trope, especially those involving food.

In the Hallmark Christmas movies, baking is common seasonal contest. In fact, Lacey Chabert, queen of Hallmark's Christmas movies, even featured in The Sweetest Christmas, in which her character works on the ultimate gingerbread cookie presentation, complete with a working carousel. Of course, her character finds love through her love of baking as well.

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13 Even In Hallmark Christmas Romances, First Love Is True Love

The Festive Season Doesn't Make Hallmark Break From Tradition

The characters smiling in A Christmas Love Story

There are many ways couples can meet, but Hallmark tends to like it when they have already met before. This trope usually happens when the main character returns to their hometown for the holidays, only to run into their ex. Whether their breakup was a misunderstanding or the one who messed up makes amends for it, the characters inevitably discover that the old spark is still there. There's something special about first love, where it feels stronger than anything that followed, and this Hallmark trope feeds on that energy. 2022's All Saints Christmas and When I Think Of Christmas, for example, both include the trope.

12 Someone Sings A Holiday Song In Most Hallmark Christmas Movies

Hallmark Has Included Many Hit Singers In Its Christmas Films

Dolly Parton smiles while sitting in a sleigh in Christmas at Dollywood

Hallmark is known for its romance, and not usually a network full of musicals. There are a few summer movies featuring country music festivals, but when the Christmas movies throw holiday music into the mix, someone in the cast must be a singer.

This could mean a kid creating their own holiday song for a presentation, or it could mean rival pop stars reuniting to make some holiday magic. It could also mean the cast is celebrating Christmas At Dollywood while Dolly Parton herself dispenses dating advice.

11 Hallmark Movies Remind Viewers Christmas Is About More Than Presents

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Anna and Marc sit together on the sofa in Hallmark's 12 Gifts Of Christmas

No matter their age, everyone loves receiving Christmas presents. It’s one of the best parts of the holiday for those who celebrate it. Of course, it’s not the only reason to celebrate Christmas, and Hallmark is not especially subtle about reminding viewers of that fact.

Several of its movies — including Noel Next Door — revolve around workaholics being reminded that there’s more to the season than presents. In case the audience is new to the genre, the real meaning of Christmas is love and family: something the network will repeatedly let you know, in between commercials for its newest ornaments.

10 Quaint Small Towns Are Better Than The Big City For A Hallmark Christmas

Homely Locales Make For The Best Hallmark Holiday Movies

Lauren laughs along with Santa Clause in the sleigh in Christmas Under Wraps

While it’s true that several Christmas movies take place in New York, Hallmark definitely has a preference for small towns. Sometimes, a former resident has to come home because life has taken a turn, and that’s when they figure out they never should have left. In 2022 the trope returned to Hallmark once again in My Southern Family Christmas.

There’s also a version of this story where a woman is passing through a beautiful little town on her way to someplace else, and when fate intervenes she’s forced to stick around. She inevitably falls in love with the town and the local heartthrob. In the end, the message is clear: only family-friendly small towns really know how to celebrate Christmas.

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9 A Christmas Ceremony Will Save The Town In Most Hallmark Movies

No Matter The Problem A Festive Communal Get-Together Can Solve It

Stuart Townsend and Lacey Chabert at a festival in Hallmark's Christmas at Castle Hart

Most cities have their own special Christmas traditions. From tree lighting to concerts to parades, these events bring everyone together and force them to all get along for a few small moments. In the Hallmark universe, these Christmas celebrations are usually central to keeping the town alive.

There’s never a solid reason given why the celebration is so crucial to the Hallmark town’s survival. It’s usually something vague along the lines of tradition. All viewers know is that the fate of everything important rests on those kids singing at the Christmas concert, as seen in When I Think of Christmas.

8 Hallmark Christmas Movies Often Opt For A Hometown Hero Love Interest

Pillars Of The Community Make For Great Partners

Christmas Under The Stars on Hallmark

Lots of viewers loved Luke Danes in Gilmore Girls, and his archetype of gruff but beloved town fixture is a staple in Hallmark classics. This man in flannel is perfect for helping pick and take home the perfect Christmas tree, as well as hauling broken-down cars to the local auto shop for repairs.

Often, the Hometown Hero is a volunteer firefighter, known for setting up Christmas decorations for the town's older residents and maybe even saving the life of someone close to the female lead. He is the heart of the town, and as the female lead falls in love with him, she's also falling in love with a completely different way of living. The Hallmark classic Christmas Town is the perfect example of this trope, but there's at least one film using this trope every year.

7 Christmas Is When Best Friends Become Lovers In Hallmark Movies

The Holiday Season Is When Hallmark Digs Up A Tried-And-Tested Rom-Com Trope

The main characters get a ride in a one horse open sleigh in Love Always Santa

Romantic comedies are often built on the premise that someone has secretly been in love with their best friend for years. With that in mind, it makes sense that Hallmark decided to set the trope during the holidays and make it Christmasy, as seen in A Fabled Holiday.

The audience knows the story. A guy or girl is in a relationship is clearly wrong for them, and even though everyone else can see how perfect the two friends would be together, the person doesn’t break up with said boyfriend or girlfriend and realize who they’re really in love with until it’s time for the big tree lighting.

6 Hallmark Christmas Villains Are Corporate Big Shot Wants To Close The Factory/Lodge/Tree Lot

No Matter The Town There's A Business Executive Who Wants To Ruin It

Elise and Darren smile at one another in Hallmark's Fir Crazy

An incredibly common Hallmark Christmas movie tope is a business that's central to the plot or even the whole town. It’s either a factory, lodge, department store, or Christmas tree lot like in Fir Crazy. Sadly, it’s usually in financial trouble, but luckily a big corporation wants to invest. Of course, they really just want to turn it into corporate copy or shut it down completely, and they’ve sent someone to facilitate the takeover.

Fortunately, spending time in the charming town has melted their cold business heart and they no longer want to close down the factory/lodge/store/tree lot. Naturally, they also fall in love. It’s really shocking how many corporate takeovers lead to romance, as they're the start of many relationships in Hallmark Christmas movies.

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