Twas the Date Before Christmas (2024 Hallmark Channel)
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Cast: Robert Buckley, Amy Groening
Director: Bradley Walsh
Writer(s): Ramona Barckert
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DonateDonate monthlyDonate yearlySynopsis (via Hallmark)
To prevent her family from canceling the “Chamberlain Family Christmas Olympics,” Jessie (Groening) lies and says she’s inviting a date to the long-standing holiday tradition. She meets Bryan (Buckley) on a dating app, and he agrees to spend the holiday with her and her family. As Jessie and Bryan engage in eccentric activities like the search for the Christmas tree star, gift wrapping contest and snowball fight, they start to develop real feelings for each other. Soon her family begins to catch on to their secret and Bryan suspects she may be hiding the real reason for her unusual Christmas date request. As the celebrations continue, Jessie must work to keep all her stories straight and save her date with Bryan.
Let me know what you thought of the movie in the comments below or @lifetimeuncorked
Recap/Wine Thoughts
The movie starts in the big city. Jessie is on multiple dates around the holiday date. The guys aren’t great, and her BFF Shelly and brother tell Jessie to get her life together. (She is hyper-organized in every other part of her life and works in FIBR OPTICS FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!) To get Jessie to change her ways, her mother threatens to cancel the usual traditions. It doesn’t work, and Jessie lies about having a boyfriend to bring home for the holidays.
At Mattson Development, Bryan is not up for the temp CEO position. He is a builder and got the position from nepotism. (See family business.)
Jessie and Shelly devise a plan to make an online dating profile for a Blind Date on Christmas Eve. They must be up for ANYTHING! (Which can get weird.) Bryan responds to the ad, and they agree to meet. Bryan brings beautiful flowers and is a perfect gentleman.
Bryan meets the family, and they are sooooooooo excited to meet him. Especially when he calls them his future inlaws. Bryan and Jessie have a tense argument about her lying to her family about him and him doubling down. Bryan agrees to be a fake boyfriend, and they devise a safe word, “Rhubarb Pie.”
Chamberland Family Olympics BEGIN!!!! It is very competitive. There is a Christmas wheel of events. (They are mandatory! Sorry Bryan.) They look for a star, have a wrap-off, and Jessie’s brother will end the night with a Christmas light show.
The brother takes Bryan outside for a man-to-man talk. It is intense. They talk about Shelly’s candle business, which happens to be the one holdout from Bryan’s development deal. Bryan is conflicted.
After some intense baking, Jessie shows Bryan an ornament of her as a kid in a homemade frame. It breaks, and they go into town to fix it, escape the fanatical family, and enjoy some alone time. (Thankfully, the shopping happens off-screen.) As they walk, they talk about Bryan’s family, and he tells Jessie about the family business. He sweetly tells Jessie that he is having a lot of fun.
The family has a snowball fight, oh wait, sorry, “snowball dodge ball.” Bryan is interrupted by his co-worker/friend and is like, “BUSINESS!”
Jessie’s niece discovers that Bryan and Jessie are not a real couple because Bryan has no social media presence. (Which is a red flag!) Then, during a couples quiz, Bryan doesn’t know Jessie is allergic to rhubarb. Jessie starts to get the ICK from Bryan and confronts him about his lack of social media. He tells her that got is identity stolen and is keeping a low profile.
Jessie’s mother learns about Bryan being a blind date and tells her daughter to come clean about Shawn, Jessie’s ex. The mother also advises her daughter to give him a chance.
Dinner happens, and everyone drinks wine! Yay! Bryan talks about getting Christmas day takeout with his dad and running the family business. If the family wasn’t in love with Bryan, he would have won them over by now. (Too bad, the eviction letter has already been sent to Shelly’s candle shop.)
We learn that Shawn was an ex-boyfriend who had never been on a roller coaster. Sadly, he was killed by one. (He actually died while Jessie and him were planning their wedding.) Bryan tells Jessie it has been the best Christmas he has ever had, but he has to “rhubarb pie’ and bounce. Aunt Lily tells Bryan he can’t leave, and he stays?!?!?
Shelly gets a text and becomes upset. She doesn’t want to ruin the holiday festivities. However, she comes clean about being evicted by a new developer. (BRYAN!) Jessie looks at the eviction notice and puts together that it is Bryan’s
Jessie makes Bryan tell the truth, and he admits that his company is evicting Shelly and her soy candles. She also admits that Bryan isn’t her boyfriend and he is a TOTAL stranger. The family starts bickering, and it is a total hot mess.
Bryan and Jessie sit down and have a grown-up conversation. He apologizes for not speaking up sooner and gets a car back to the city. Did he miss the closing ceremony?!?!? Bryan goes to the candle store and looks at blueprints to look for a solution.
Jessie goes to her room to read a letter from her dead fiance. She cries to her mom about how hard it has been dealing with the loss. Her mother talks about the difficulty of divorcing her husband. She feels fortunate that Marcus came along unexpectedly.
The light show happens, and in my opinion, it is tacky. Bryan is impressed because he makes it back to the house with the blueprints and his colleague, Don. (Who tells them they “Christmas too much”, which isn’t possible.) Bryan pitches mixed-use buildings and residential and retail space. (It is groundbreaking)
Jessie is so moved by Bryan’s quick thinking and assertiveness. She takes off that cheap engagement ring. She tells him she wants to be with someone who fits into her family. They agree to get to know one another better, and then they make out while the family watches.
Note/Stray Thoughts
Marcus was an amusing character in this movie. #GayIcon
The leads have great chemistry and are an excellent way to kick off the holiday season.
Overall rating
Pour it up
Christmas Feels
🎄🎄🎄 (3 Christmas Trees)
Enjoyment Level: 🍷🍷🍷 (3 glasses of wine.)
What did you think of the movie? Let me know in the comments or on social media @LifetimeUncorked
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*Photo Credit: © 2024 Hallmark
What’s with all the Christmas movies in October??? Too soon.
Christmas gonna Christmas! Lifetime is only doing 12, thank God!