In order to prepare posts for Blogmas 2025, I’ve been watching a lot of romantic Christmas movies. The Hallmark Channel has many Christmas movies to watch, but this year I wanted to try something different: I wanted to watch the romantic Christmas movies that are not from Hallmark.
The first movies I decided to watch is My Christmas Inn. It is from Lifetime and premiere in 2018. This one caught my eye because it stars Tina Mowry-Hardict. I remember watching it a long time ago, but I felt like I forgot about most of it. I found it available other than watch for free on Lifetime’s official YouTube channel in order to review it for this post.
The plot summary from Lifetime’s website for the movie is…
With the holiday season in full swing, Jen Taylor (Tia Mowry-Hardict) is about to score a big promotion at the San Francisco ad agency where she works. But her life is unexpectedly turned upside down when she inherits a cozy inn in Alaska from her aunt. When she goes to inspect the property and meets handsome town attorney Steve Anderson (Rob Mayes), she’s surprised to find that nothing is what she expected. The small town community is full of fun and festive Christmas traditions and soon, Jen starts wondering if the inn might just be the place she belongs, and if Steve could be the Mr. Right she has been waiting for.
After watching multiple movies from different companies, I can say My Christmas Inn, and Lifetime’s Christmas movies in general, is comparable in quality to Hallmark’s. The filming locations, the acting, and other elements of the film are pretty high for a Christmas romance movie. In fact, for this movie, it is much higher than some of Hallmark’s movies.
This is why I think I like this movie so much. It is pretty easy to follow, but is complicated enough to keep the viewer interested. It also has depth, really good character development, and the twists in the plot are unexpected but believable. The filming locations are really pretty and Christmas decorations are really pretty as well. (I’ll get more into the decorations later)
I really enjoy this film. The acting is pretty good and the story is enjoyable. I recommend this film to anyone looking for a Hallmark type Christmas movie to watch, but is still in the wholesome and heartwarming spirit expected of the Hallmark movies. There is just one thing to be aware of: The movie mentions Balsam Hill, a company that specializes in Christmas and holiday decor.
Although I cannot find any announcements of a sponsorship or deal between Balsam Hill and Lifetime for Balsam Hill to supply the decorations for My Christmas Inn, Balsam Hill is mentioned specifically in the movie. This isn’t the first time Balsam Hill provided decorations for a movie, TV shows, or photoshoots, yet it is the first time I noticed it was mentioned specifically by name. Although this could be a way for Lifetime to subliminally thank Balsam Hill for providing the decorations, (That’s my guess about why Balsam Hill was included in the script) some may not like this. Even though the mentioning of Balsam Hill is not something that upsets me and prevents me from watching and enjoying the movie, some may not like it.
That’s all for now! Thank you for reading!