PEOPLE It's a Wonderful Lifetime Christmas

By Meredith Corporation

To spread the joy, People is celebrating Lifetime's holiday movies along with their stars, starting with Christmas Queen Melissa Joan Hart, who has headlined eight films, plus directed, produced and outfitted characters in ugly holiday sweaters from her personal collection. Reba McEntire, Mario Lopez, Marie Osmond and more stars share their own holiday traditions. After everything the world has endured these past few years, couldn't we all use a little (or a lot) more comfort and cheer? Happy Holidays.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Meredith Corporation
• Release date: Oct 22, 2021
• ISBN: 9781547859689

Book preview

IT’S HOLIDAY MOVIE TIME!

AS SURELY AS RUDOLPH’S NOSE GUIDES SANTA’S SLEIGH, LIFETIME’S TV CHRISTMAS TALES DELIVER LIGHT, GOOD CHEER—AND LOVE

INSIDE: Movies from Christmases past and present, plus star interviews, recipes and more.

AS HOLIDAY TIME ARRIVES, thoughts turn again to tradition. (And by holiday time we mean the crisp days when Halloween candy shares space with the season’s first in-store Santas.) Unpack the heirloom ornaments and the matching flannel jammies. Find that reliably potent eggnog recipe and those trusty reindeer cookie cutters. Crank up Bing Crosby! In these times the lure of familiar comforts is stronger than ever. For many that means gathering in the glow of the television for Lifetime’s cascade of Christmas movies. The network introduces some 10 new titles a year, carrying on a tradition that, if not quite as storied as your aunt’s fruitcake, is just as immutable and—let’s just put it out there—even more beloved.

What those made-for-TV delights get right year after year is recognizing the seasonal need for the familiar. At the center of just about every Lifetime holiday movie is a woman. She’s probably single and devoted to her Important Job, which is more often than not located in a Big City. There’s a good chance that (owing to the Important Job and the Big City) she’s had no time to think about love or about the holidays. In fact, she may have forgotten the True Meaning of Christmas. But that will change when she returns to her Quaint Hometown, where, odds are, she’ll find that a Beloved Family Business needs saving and that her high school ex is now Unexpectedly Hot. Predictable? No! Traditional. Besides, what is there ever not to love about love?

To spread the joy, People is celebrating Lifetime’s holiday movies along with their stars, starting with Christmas Queen Melissa Joan Hart, who has headlined eight films, plus directed, produced and outfitted characters in ugly holiday sweaters from her personal collection. Reba McEntire, Mario Lopez, Marie Osmond and more stars share their own holiday traditions. After everything the world has endured this year, couldn’t we all use a little—or a lot—more comfort and cheer? Happy Holidays.

An Emoji Film Guide

Throughout the issue, small icons will call out favorite recurring tropes.

Main character is called Holly—or other apt seasonal name: Nick, Belle, Noelle, Kris.

Our leading lady is a Busy Career Woman.

Big City woman returns to her adorable hometown.

That guy from her hometown turns out to be hot!

A heart will be broken—but usually not for long.

Getting snowed in leads to canceled plans—and love!

Someone’s got to save the family business!

A Grinch-y heroine gets roped into a Christmas tradition (making her heart grow three sizes).

Time for a Christmas competition: Bake-Offs, decorating contests and more.

Expect a visit from a ghost of Christmas past—or other spirit.

In these films Santa is real. (So real, he has in-laws.)

She discovers the true meaning of Christmas is love!

The 12 Ways of Christmas

A TREASURY OF HOLIDAY MOVIE FARE: FROM MERRY MUSICALS TO SCROOGE STORIES & MORE

ROM-COMS TO LOVE

Mistletoe Magic

IT’S THE HOLIDAYS AND NOBODY WANTS TO CELEBRATE ALONE—ALL THESE MOVIE HEROES WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS A NEW ROMANCE

DEAR CHRISTMAS

2020, MELISSA JOAN HART, JASON PRIESTLEY

LET’S GET UGLY! Melissa Joan Hart and her Dear Christmas costar Jason Priestley show off the best of the season’s worst apparel.

Natalie (Hart) hosts a popular podcast, Holiday Love, about a special something that she has yet to experience in her own life: romance during the Christmas season. That changes when she’s getting ready to go on tour to promote her new book and decides to make a quick trip home for Christmas with her family. She runs into a local firefighter named Jack (Beverly Hills, 90210’s Jason Priestley) and, well, flames ignite.

THE CHRISTMAS GIFT

2015, MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG, STERLING SULIEMAN

JOY OF GIVING Michelle Trachtenberg takes Secret Santa to a new level with Sterling Sulieman in The Christmas Gift.

Newspaper reporter Megan (Trachtenberg) approaches her editor with a novel idea for a story: finding the boy who sent her a meaningful Secret Santa gift many years ago when she was a child in need. All Megan has to go on is the boy’s photo and her intrepid journalism skills, yet she manages to track Wesley (Sulieman) down and tell him what his generosity meant to her. Bonus: He’s handsome, and her editor loves the article. I never thought I would meet someone who received one of my gifts, marvels Wesley. Clearly he’s never seen a Christmas movie.

12 MEN OF CHRISTMAS

2009, KRISTIN CHENOWETH, JOSH HOPKINS

HUNK-A-MONTH A PR whiz (Kristin Chenoweth) coaxes rescue workers to appear in a sexy calendar in 12 Men of Christmas, giving one local hero (Josh Hopkins) a leg up.

Publicist E.J. (Chenoweth) thinks she’s got it made with a splashy New York City apartment, a great career and a loving fiancé. Then, bam!