The Biggest Unwritten Rules Of Hallmark Christmas Movies
The Hallmark Channel has new movies all year round, but Christmastime is when they really shine. The network starts airing their holiday programming in mid-October, and they celebrate by premiering upward of 30 new original holiday movies by the time the season is over. Those of us who've watched some of the best Hallmark Christmas movies know there are some key elements that all of these flicks seem to have in common. Interestingly, though, the untold truth of Hallmark holiday movies reveals some surprising unwritten rules that make these beloved films what they are.
For starters, before a script gets the go-ahead to become a Hallmark Christmas movie, network execs ensure it doesn't have any of their no-gos. Some of these are obvious: sex, nudity, and drugs, for example, are off-limits. Other non-starters may not seem quite as glaring, like swearing, fighting, drunkenness, and, when possible, divorce. Karen Schaler has written Christmas movies for the Hallmark Channel, as well as Netflix, so she knows firsthand how particular Hallmark can be. "It has to feel good, it has to be uplifting, it has to take you to a magical place, it has to make you feel safe," she told Bustle in 2021. According to her, "'No snow, no go. Clink clink, don't drink. If I'm not crying, I'm not buying.' Those were all rules I heard." Yes — that means snow, in some form, is a necessity. Similarly, the more Christmas decorations and activities, the better.
Hallmark has written rules too, and also tried-and-true tropes
Some weird rules that Hallmark movies follow are more than unwritten guidelines. Per Stephen Follows, Hallmark reportedly lays out written directives for their TV movies. This document apparently states that they must always be " ... very family friendly and PG/G in nature. A rule of thumb when watching our movies is you want to be able to watch with your 80-year-old grandmother and your 5-year-old niece/nephew." When it comes to Christmas season content or movies set during any other holiday, " ... we like that season to almost feel like a character in the movie with lots of imagery."
Other repeated tropes that Hallmark lovers know well aren't hard and fast rules. Unsurprisingly, the channel's go-to stars have come to have their favorites over the years. Frequent Hallmark leading lady Rachel Boston told Us Weekly in 2022, "The near-miss kiss is always fantastic," referencing when two characters nearly smooch but are interrupted before it actually happens. Star Brant Daugherty agreed, saying, "It always comes in right at the end of act six. Whenever I read one of these [scripts] I'm like, 'How are they going to do it from this one?'" He remarked that no two movies do the almost-kiss the same and added, "It's fun." Hallmark's written rules reportedly state "a kiss is enough to show the romance in our movies," noting, " ... we usually save this moment for the end when our lead gets her fairytale ending" (via Stephen Follows). Ideally that happens after a near-miss kiss. And, if it's under the mistletoe? That's even better.