It’s Christmas time once again, and along with hot chocolate and fuzzy pajamas comes the inevitable wave of… that’s right… Hallmark Christmas movies.
This guilty pleasure is how I choose to spend a snowy evening – and it’s not just because of the happy endings and love in the air. They also evoke hopefulness and put you in the Christmas spirit. The comforting thing about Hallmark movies is that there must be other people like me or they wouldn’t dedicate over a thousand hours of film to them during the holiday season. So no, you’re not alone, and yes, I’m about to tell you why you love these movies so much.
As an avid movie watcher, I know that these movies are sub-par at best, but that doesn’t take my eyes off the screen – even the most cringey scenes keep me watching. It is hard to say why people like Hallmark movies, but I’d like to take a few guesses, which may apply to you and your rational addiction.
Photo from Hallmark Channel.
The easy answer of course, is wanting romance and needing happy endings. As humans, we are drawn to endings we want to happen for ourselves. Every time: the girl gets the guy, the dream job, and looks perfect doing it. Isn’t that what we all aspire to? We all want to feel that happiness and love what we do. Unfortunately, life is a little more crazy than what appears in the lives of these women. But that’s exactly the point. We want a break from our messy lives and we can do that by living through these characters.
After watching (please forgive me) 45 Hallmark Christmas movies, I finally realize why I adore them. With Christmas being the time to be around loved ones, it makes us single people feel that much lonelier. So, these movies give us the little love we’re looking for during the season. They fill us with hope that while we’re Christmas shopping we’ll bump into ‘the one’ or when we go back to our hometown we haven’t visited in years, we realize that’s where we belong because it has the best Christmas spirit and we will eventualy see who we truly are (yes there are multiple with this storyline, and yes I can refer you to them). These Christmas movies allow us to dream about where we could be in five or 10 or even 20 years around the Holiday season.
Now trust me, I know most of these movies have really nothing to do with Christmas other than taking place in December, but I believe that’s just another reason to love them. They remind us of the simple things we often forget. They allow us to take our mind off of the long list of things we have to do and get into the seasonal spirit.
So do not feel guilty about this pleasure of yours. It’s practical to like these movies, and it’s the same reason why your mom or grandmother reads all those romance novels. They are meant to lift your spirits and keep you hopeful during the Christmas season. If you’re reading this and not a fan of Hallmark movies, I understand, they are t-e-r-r-i-b-l-e. But maybe after coming home from a long day at school or work, try flipping to the Women’s channel. It will not only take your mind off the stress, but it may also get you a little bit more excited for your holiday break.