Top 10 Made-for-TV Christmas Movies Synopses for 2025

It has been five years since the last Alicia Witt Hallmark Channel Christmas movie, “Christmas Tree Lane.” I know, I remember it, both well and not at all because My Beautiful, Perspicacious Wife and I watched it on Election Night 2020 in a futile effort at distraction. Witt has always been my favorite Made-for-TV Christmas movie lead because she tends to elevate their formulaic nature by infusing a sense of complication, soul, and wit, no pun intended. Heck, she’ll often wear gloves and a hat even if she’s filming in the middle of summer, a commitment to veracity not often replicated by her peers. Since 2020, though, she has suffered some serious personal strife, and so it’s wholly understandable if she wanted to step away, and she has since seemed to focus more on her music career, and hey, I respect a multi-hyphenate too. But while you occasionally still get a surprising lead performance in these movies, like Emily Arlook in last year’s “Leah’s Perfect Gift,” or Reshma Shetty in 2022’s “Jolly Good Christmas,” the Made-for-TV holiday movie season has not been the same without her. I don’t want to say my Christmas wish is for her return, because that still feels presumptuous given what she endured. No, I just want her to know that the Hallmark Hive loves her and misses her and hopes she is doing well and if she ever wants to return, we will break out the celebratory peppermint bark in her honor.

Now, as always, here are this season’s best synopses. (All movies from the Hallmark Channel except where otherwise noted.)  

Top 10 Made-for-TV Christmas Movies Synopses for 2025

10. Champagne Problems. (Netflix) “A driven American exec heads to Paris determined to acquire a champagne brand by Christmas and accidentally falls for the heir to the bubbly empire.” Boy, I just hope this driven American exec embraces the Parisian lifestyle more than Emily Cooper.

9. A Royal Montana Christmas. “When a princess abandons her royal duties to unwind at a Montana ranch ahead of Christmas, she meets a charming guide who offers her a glimpse of rustic life—and it’s entirely different from her regal one.” The royal-themed ones are trendy these days and it’s why if I were the publicist for Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, I’d council the best way to improve her PR would be to go through the looking glass and star in one of these as herself.

8. Rodeo Christmas Romance. (Lifetime) “When fiercely independent equestrian Emma finds herself ranch-sitting for a friend while caring for her injured horse over Christmas, she clashes with a brooding veteran.” I always appreciate a nice twist on the traditional hard-charging event planner, or career-oriented CEO, and a fiercely independent equestrian is a good one.

7. Christmas at Mistletoe Manor. (GAC) “When Alice, a spirited East Coast cooking show influencer, journeys to a centuries-old English castle to honor a WWII nurse by laying her remains in the castle gardens, she finds herself swept into the castle’s holiday magic — and the unexpected warmth of its charming proprietor.” But maybe not as good as “spirited East Coast cooking show influencer.” What even is a cooking show influencer? Someone who hosts a cooking show but does not cook and instead just hawks brand name ingredients for meals that you, yourself, can figure out how to cook on your own time? And why East Coast? Is this a dig at New California Cuisine? 

6. Merry Christmas, Ted Cooper. “A Christmas-loving weatherman has had a tough year; upon returning to his hometown, he bumps into a former teacher who always cheered him on, and his former crush — and things start to look up.” Solid em dash action there. 

5. A Wisconsin Christmas Pie. (GAC) “A pastry chef returns to Door County, WI for the holidays, and must choose between her dream job and the legacy of her family’s cherry orchard business - with a little help from her high school sweetheart, and a lost cherry pie recipe.” A little digging reveals our pastry chef heroine is returning to Wisconsin from Chicago, and so, I mean, sure, 300 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline is nice and all, but who wants that, really, when you can get scenic views of the Chicago River from your CTA train car which has been stuck on the Wells Bridge for 45 minutes due to switching problems? 

4. Oy to the World! “When a broken water line forces a church and temple to share space for overlapping Hanukkah and Christmas Eve, rival choir directors Nikki and Jake must collaborate on a joint music program, discovering harmony, unity, and unexpected romance along the way.” According to sources, the FCC will be counting each utterance of Christmas and Hanukkah and if there are more Hanukkahs than Christmases, then Hallmark Countdown to Christmas will be cancelled. 

3. She’s Making a List. “The top inspector of a consulting firm, which Santa hires to help him build the Naughty and Nice List, unexpectedly falls for the widowed father of a misbehaved 11-year-old she’s assessing.” A consultant? What’s next, Santa hires an efficiency expert?

2. The More the Merrier. “Sparks fly between an emergency room doctor and a cardiologist as they work together to deliver three babies just in time for Christmas.” Our first Sparks Fly of the list! A synopsis that truly jibes with the titular pun is what makes the season bright. 

1. Melt My Heart This Christmas. “A spirited glassblower lands a last-chance gig assisting her artistic idol at a famed Christmas market, but as sparks fly with the uptight event manager standing between her and her dreams, she discovers that sometimes love is the most unexpected masterpiece of all.” The real masterpiece is this synopsis.