7 Best And 7 Worst Lifetime Christmas Movies

Lifetime Christmas movies are always ready to keep us entertained during the holiday season, as the network has a vast, ever-expanding roster of holiday flicks. 

According to Good Housekeeping, Lifetime decided to roll out 30 brand new movies for the 2019 holiday season, and that no doubt had some fans moving things around in their schedules so they'd have time to watch every one. As any Christmas fanatic knows, Lifetime's holiday movies have become somewhat of a seasonal staple. While often a bit over-the-top — and perhaps even a little cheesy — it's hard to deny the appeal of the network's cheery Christmas flicks. Even the "worst" of Lifetime's holiday movies are hard to look away from. After all, who wouldn't want to watch Melissa Joan Hart rediscover the true meaning of Christmas while saving her bakery and falling in love with a nutcracker? Lifetime's made-for-TV holiday movies certainly aren't for everyone — but to us, they are perfect.

To help you decide which movies to watch first, here's a list of the best and worst Lifetime Christmas movies. And, yes, we've checked it twice. Warning: Spoilers ahead!

Lifetime's Christmas Around the Corner has a fairly predictable plot. Luckily, however, its predictability never takes away from the film's charm. 

This cozy and quaint holiday flick follows Claire, a busy city venture capitalist who escapes her stressful job to visit a small town in Vermont that her late mother cherished for its magical, Christmasy feel. Unfortunately, when Claire arrives at the local bed-and-breakfast/bookstore, she's informed that Christmas is basically canceled, as a recent flood has ruined the town's small businesses (as well as everyone's Christmas spirit). As you might expect, this doesn't fly with Claire, and the venture capitalist wastes no time in rebranding the bookstore to help it thrive, spreading Christmas cheer to everyone she meets — and, of course, falling in love with the handy, rugged bookstore owner. 

If you ask us, Booked for Christmas would be a more fitting title for this Lifetime Christmas movie, as the majority of the action happens inside the bookstore/bed-and-breakfast Claire literally books for her holiday. Still, Christmas Around the Corner is a delightful little holiday film — especially for Christmas-loving bookworms.

In A Very Nutty Christmas, a recently dumped bakery owner named Kate is gifted a nutcracker that, as Kate is sleeping, magically transforms into a fully grown, human man. While Kate is startled to see a strange man in her home the next morning, she assumes he's her house share guest, despite his military uniform and many mentions of "battling the Mouse King." Kate doesn't seem to have any questions, but we definitely do. 

Later, the nutcracker (who goes by Chip) impresses Kate and her bakery employees by cracking thousands of nuts with his bare hands in a matter of minutes. This is the exact moment Kate starts to fall in love with Chip — and it's where A Very Nutty Christmas loses us for good. After all, nutcrackers crack nuts with their mouths, not their hands. Even more upsetting is the Lifetime Christmas movie's ending. Spoiler alert: Chip reverts back to being a regular ol' nutcracker — but not before implying he'd be back next Christmas. This kind of relationship is what the "it's complicated" option on Facebook was made for. 

Christmas in Tennessee is a Lifetime Christmas movie about a bakery that features some fantastical elements and obvious plot holes.

The movie follows Allison, a single mother to her daughter, Olivia. Along with her recently widowed mother, Allison runs a bakery in White Pines, Tenn. However, when a handsome real estate investor named Matthew comes to town with the intention of buying White Pines and turning it into a ski resort, Allison and her fellow townspeople must work together to protect the community they love. 

Aside from Allison and Matthew's overarching love story, the best part about the Christmas in Tennessee universe is that Santa is real — and Mrs. Claus is, too! The wife of the man in the big, red suit is played to perfection by Sabrina the Teenage Witch's Caroline Rhea, and, even though the entire town of White Pines genuinely believing in Santa's existence is a bit farfetched, Rhea's charming portrayal of Mrs. Claus makes up for any confusion.

Released in 2015 on Lifetime, The Spirit of Christmas could once be found on Netflix, where its description read, "As Christmas approaches, attorney Kate Jordan travels to Vermont to oversee the sale of an inn, where she falls for a handsome but cursed ghost."

"Cursed ghost" seems a tad redundant — but what do we know about the paranormal? The Spirit of Christmas follows Daniel (a.k.a. the handsome but cursed ghost) and Kate as they work together to try and solve his century-old murder. Of course, they fall in love along the way, but their relationship is complicated by the fact that Daniel is, you know, a ghost. However, as we soon learn, Daniel gets a break from his ghostly form each year from December 13 to December 26, because Lifetime Christmas movie logic is like no other. Surprisingly, Kate is fine with only seeing her new beau two weeks per year. 

While we're not the biggest fans of this cheesy Christmas murder mystery, we desperately want a sequel in which Kate has to awkwardly explain her relationship status to her family at Thanksgiving dinner. 

Lifetime's An En Vogue Christmas is the holiday movie we never knew we needed, but are so happy exists. 

For starters, if you're not familiar with the powerhouse group En Vogue, allow us to jog your memory. The group, originally consisting of members Dawn Robinson, Terry Ellis, Maxine Jones, and Cindy Herron, is responsible for classic earworms like "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)," "Free Your Mind," and many others. And, as Ellis, Herron, and newest member Rhona Bennett prove in An En Vogue Christmas, these ladies have still got it. 

The Lifetime Christmas movie's plot centers around Kendall, a young fan, enlisting the group's help in saving her family's club. David Alan Grier plays the role of Kendall's uncle, with whom En Vogue's former manager has bad blood, which subsequently leads to Christmas (and the club) being completely canceled. However, En Vogue, with their warm, melodic voices and undeniable star power, are able to save the day — and leave viewers hoping, wishing, and praying for a sequel to this soulful, seasonal flick.

The contrived storylines and overall creepy vibe of the Lifetime Christmas movie Dear Santa only serve to solidify the film's title as one of the weirdest Lifetime holiday movies we've ever watched. 

Dear Santa follows 30-year-old Crystal — a spoiled, big city socialite who has seemingly never held down a real job, relying instead on her wealthy parents' financial support. However, after a day of shopping, Crystal receives word from her parents that they're planning to cancel her credit cards unless she changes her lifestyle. Not knowing what to do, Crystal happens upon a letter addressed to Santa Claus, written by a girl named Olivia who wants Santa to send her widower father a new wife. In a rather concerning move, Crystal stalks the little girl and her father to the soup kitchen he runs, and soon begins working there as a volunteer with the hope of sparking romance with the single dad. Of course, unlike Crystal herself, her weird little plan works. 

Honestly, if Dear Santa had taken place during any other season, it would definitely fit the bill for a psychological thriller. 

As Bill Hader's Stefon would say, Lifetime's The Christmas Pact has it all — a sweet childhood promise, a relatable love story, and (for perhaps the first time ever in a Lifetime holiday flick) black Santas! Unfortunately, while plenty of Lifetime Christmas movies like to present Santa as a real-life, magical figure, these jolly guys were simply mall Santas. Still, we were grateful to see The Christmas Pact stray away from Lifetime's usual "white Christmas" vibes. 

The Christmas Pact seems to be Lifetime's answer to When Harry Met Sally, as it seeks to answer the question of the century — can men and women be best friends without one or both parties wanting something more? While we believe the answer to that question is a definite yes, we still loved to watch The Christmas Pact's Sadie and Ben — two childhood best friends — navigate their will they/won't they relationship over a 30-year time span until finally following their hearts and giving their love a shot. 

The Christmas Pact is sure to warm your heart, even if the weather outside is frightful.

In Christmas Pen Pals, Sarah Drew plays Hannah, a tech wiz who talks to her Siri-like assistant, Marvin, more than anyone else in her life. After her dating app, Perfect One, begins to plummet in popularity, Hannah escapes to her small hometown for the holidays. There, she gets her widower father to sign up for the town's Christmas Cupid pen pal program, reluctantly joining herself at her father's request. 

It quickly becomes quite obvious that Hannah's pen pal is Sam — a café owner/hater of all things tech-related with whom Hannah had a relationship years ago. Sam realizes this pretty much immediately, but instead of fessing up to Hannah, the guy keeps his identity a big, unnecessary secret, despite being very much in love with her after all these years. 

The Lifetime Christmas movie ends with Hannah and Sam sharing a romantic holiday kiss, but the fate of Perfect One is never revealed. Will small town Sam move to the city with Hannah, or will the tech-obsessed gal magically come around to the idea of living in a technology-barren town?  Marvin, we need some answers.

If you fancy yourself a One Tree Hill fan, Lifetime's The Christmas Contract definitely needs to be at the top of your must-watch holiday movies list. 

Essentially, the Lifetime Christmas movie is a cheery One Tree Hill reunion movie featuring the actors behind some of your favorite OTH characters. And while they technically portray characters unique to this Lifetime holiday flick instead of reprising the fictional high schooler roles that catapulted them to early-aughts fame, some of The Christmas Contract characters do share similarities with their OTH counterparts. For example, The Christmas Contract's Jolie, played by Hilarie Burton, is a web designer. As Glamour notes, this would be a fitting career for Burton's OTH character, Peyton, who had an affinity for webcams. Additionally, Jolie's brooding, sensitive attitude is incredibly reminiscent of Peyton's old soul outlook.

Even if you're not a One Tree Hill superfan, chances are you'll still thoroughly enjoy The Christmas Contract. Centered around a contractual relationship that leads to hilarious hijinks and unexpected love, this Lifetime flick will leave you with a warm, fuzzy feeling — and perhaps a craving for a OTH binge session.

As excited as we were to see Bethany Joy Lenz (best known as One Tree Hill's Haley James Scott) on our screens again, even she would have a hard time convincing us to spend nearly 90 minutes rewatching the 2018 Lifetime Christmas movie Poinsettias for Christmas. 

Look, there are hundreds of cheesy Christmas movies on the market, and they only continue to grow in number with each passing year. Obviously, not every made-for-TV holiday flick is going to be a winner. However, we can't get over the farfetched plot of Poinsettias for Christmas. The film follows Ellie, a woman who's forced to return to her family's poinsettia farm for the holiday season to try and solve the mystery of why the plants have yet to turn their vibrant, red hue. Eventually, she finds the answer in the stars — literally. Apparently, construction around town has blocked starlight from reaching the plants, subsequently causing them to remain green. 

While we're not convinced of the scientific accuracy of that conclusion, we are convinced that Poinsettias for Christmas could have benefited from a slightly more believable (and way more compelling) plot. 

Bethany Joy Lenz stars in Snowed-Inn Christmas as Jenna, an organized, by-the-books NYC reporter with hopes of earning the title of most valuable writer for her publication. Kevin, a colleague of Jenna's (and her complete opposite), has the same aspiration. The two are both tasked with flying to Aspen, Colo. to write a Christmas-themed story; however, their plane is unexpectedly forced to make an emergency landing in a little town called Santa Claus, Ind. What are the chances?! 

While staying at a tiny, struggling inn owned by an older couple who bear a striking resemblance to Mr. and Mrs. Claus, Jenna and Kevin ditch the Aspen story and start working on separate pieces about the historic inn in hopes of preventing it from closing. Of course, in true Lifetime form, the two reporters soon find themselves falling head-over-heels for one another, all thanks to a little Christmas magic. 

While there's not actually an airport in Santa Claus, Ind. (we checked), it is a real place — and this Lifetime Christmas movie has us wanting to book a flight to the nearest airport, pronto!

According to PBS, Little Women — the 19th century coming-of-age novel penned by Louisa May Alcott — was adapted for the screen as early as 1917. Since then, Little Women has been brought to life in numerous films, television specials, and stage plays. Of course, perhaps the most highly anticipated Little Women adaptation was Greta Gerwig's 2019 directorial effort, which stars Saoirse Ronan as Jo March.

Unfortunately, The March Sisters at Christmas is a Lifetime Christmas movie that totally misses the mark. While we're all for taking creative liberty with classic texts and bringing them into the modern era, there's just something inherently wrong with the idea that the strong-willed Jo March would set her own aspirations and writing talent aside to make a living as a ghostwriter for celebrity tweets. 

In theory, modernizing Little Women for The March Sisters at Christmas likely seemed like a great idea. However, in reality, these versions of the beloved March sisters don't inspire the same sense of warmth as the literary characters on whom they're based.

The majority of Lifetime films follow a basic, familiar structure — something especially noticeable throughout the network's many holiday movies. Usually, the plots for the made-for-TV Christmas flicks follow this general outline: A down-on-her luck, recently dumped businesswoman finds herself spending the holiday season in a small, snowy town, where a rugged, mysterious man helps her to realize the true meaning of Christmas — and true love. 

Lifetime's Wishin' and Hopin', however, breaks the network's usual story mold — which is why it's one of the best holiday films in Lifetime's entire library. Based on the novel of the same name by Wally Lamb, the Lifetime Christmas movie tells the story of Felix — a Catholic schoolboy who is struggling to navigate the complexities of fifth grade life. Queen of the '80s, Molly Ringwald stars as Madame Frechette – Felix's quirky substitute teacher who organizes a Christmas pageant like no other, turning Christmas of 1964 into a holiday Felix will always remember. 

If you're a fan of quirky humor, retro vibes, and Molly Ringwald, Wishin' and Hopin' will certainly make your Christmas merry and bright.

As cheesy and unrealistic as they may be, Lifetime's library of holiday movies offer a needed escape from the hustle and bustle of Christmas. That said, Lifetime Christmas movie A Twist of Christmas is a holiday flick that might just leave you more stressed than you were when you sat down to watch it. 

Starring Vanessa Lachey and Brendon Zub as Abby and Ryan — two very busy parents with hectic work schedules who accidentally switch bags after purchasing gifts for their respective children — A Twist of Christmas follows the pair as they team up to correct the accidental gift swap. Upon fixing their mistake, the two single parents — who are virtual strangers — decide to spend the rest of the Christmas holiday together, deciding they've fallen madly in love only days after their incredibly stressful meet-cute. Nice try, Lifetime, but you can't trick us into emerging from our cozy holiday hole and venturing anywhere near a department store at Christmastime. 

On a more positive note, A Twist of Christmas will leave you with a renewed sense of gratitude for the miracle of online shopping.