If You Watch One Holiday Movie This Weekend: Lifetime's A Carpenter Christmas Romance Is Our Pick

With Hallmark Channel's annual Countdown to Christmas and Lifetime's It's a Wonderful Lifetime now in full swing, and Netflix and other networks loading their sleighs, we're here once again to help you choose between the season's many offerings. Each Thursday, we'll spotlight the original holiday romance that should be at the top of your weekend list and preview why other debuts will make you merry.

THE ONE TO WATCH

A Carpenter Christmas Romance
(premieres Saturday, Dec. 21 at 8 pm on Lifetime)

From Sarah Drew, writer of last year's A Cowboy Christmas Romance, comes Lifetime's sexiest holiday movie of 2024 (with an equally shameless title). Pretty Little Liars' Sasha Pieterse stars as fantasy romance novelist Andrea, who takes refuge at her late grandpa's farmhouse when readers threaten to boycott the last book in her best-selling series after its final page killing off a fan favorite leaks. She may still have one admirer, however: Seth (Mitchell Slaggert, The Sex Lives of College Girls), who's described as Andrea's "very own Jordan Catalano." Growing up, she'd spend her summers on the farm and tutor/make out with the popular athlete — who made her feel like his "nerdy little kept secret" in public (Normal People vibes).

This "Jordan" looks more like a Hemsworth brother than Jared Leto, but artisanal woodworker/handyman Seth embodies the growth we never got to witness on My So-Called Life. We find out why he treated Andrea poorly when they were young, how his post-high school life unfolded, and what happened to make him the stand-up guy who's literally rebuilding his town after a fire decimated it. Because this is Lifetime, that noble transformation is accompanied by a surprise-appearance shirtless scene, slo-mo wood carrying, a hand-on-hand sanding tutorial, a rain-soaked sex scene, and a blow-up before Seth renews Andrea's faith in happy endings. Fingers crossed we get A Man in Uniform Christmas Romance next year.

Our runner-up pick, Deck the Halls on Cherry Lane (streaming now on Hallmark+), is the best of this year's three sequels to 2023's Christmas on Cherry Lane. We travel back to 1981, when familiar couple Lizzie (Erin Cahill) and John (John Brotherton) are keeping life-changing secrets from each other (he's got that job offer that takes them to Michigan; she's pregnant with their second child). In 1966, single computer engineer David (Benjamin Hollingsworth) begrudgingly poses as his neighbor Stephanie's (Chelsea Hobbs) husband after she uses his address for a contest to a host a popular live Christmas Eve TV special in your living room (the '60s set design is particularly groovy). And in 2000, old friends Rebecca (Brooke D'Orsay) and Matt (Sam Page) try to solve the mystery of random acts of kindness on Cherry Lane while sorting through some emotional baggage following her divorce and his latest failed relationship. Their link to the other timelines is an emotional one that matches the feels from the original film.

The Best of the Rest...

Trading Up Christmas (premieres Thursday, Dec. 19 at 8 pm and repeats Friday, Dec. 20 at 6 pm on Hallmark Mystery)
Inspired by people who spend years trying to parlay something small like a rubber band or paper clip into a new home via increasingly valuable trades, this film gives Michelle (Italia Ricci) 10 whole days to turn her heirloom Christmas stocking into a house for her sister and niece. Grinch reporter Dan (Michael Xavier) is assigned the feel-good story and — surprise! — his heart grows three sizes as he helps Michelle broker deals and reconnects with his estranged real estate-agent brother. It's unrealistic yet heartwarming, and a definite conversation-starter as you and yours will 100% debate whether to try it.

Queens of Christmas (streaming now on BET+)
Perhaps the most enjoyably outrageous of BET+'s 2024 holiday offerings: Frenemies Doris (Terri J. Vaughn) and Julia (Vanessa Bell Calloway) want nothing more than to defeat their neighbor Nancy (Essence Atkins) in this year's decorating contest (a "Pimpin' Santa" is not to be missed). That is, until they learn a mysterious acclaimed filmmaker is watching their every move to select one of them to star in his next Black Christmas movie. Prepare for a running gag with a narcoleptic church bishop (Russell G. Jones), the heartfelt resolution of multiple longstanding feuds, and the season's best twist when the auteur makes his long-awaited appearance.

Engaged by Christmas (premieres Sunday, Dec. 22 at 8 pm on Lifetime)
Professional proposal planner Zoe (Brittany Bristow) is about to launch her own broader romance-based business with a "12 Dates of Christmas" blog when taking the suggestion of her most trusted advice columnist, Aunt Adora, to have an honest conversation with her boyfriend about their future results in her being suddenly single. Once desperate Zoe discovers Aunt Adora is actually nephew Adam (Marcus Rosner), she blackmails him into being her de facto plus-one and publicizing her services. Bristow and Rosner, holiday movie pros, make this predictable plot go down as smoothly as the beverages served at Zoe's hot cocoa pop-up.

Happy Howlidays (premieres Saturday, Dec. 21 at 8 pm on Hallmark Channel)
Ezra Moreland, the winner of Hallmark+'s Finding Mr. Christmas, stars as dog rescue owner Max. When his heartbroken pup Jules falls head over paws for Russell, a stray reluctantly fostered by Seattle Tourism Board coordinator Mia (Jessica Lowndes), the canine couple become a city favorite — and the foursome is forced to go on more holiday outings together for content. There's a depth to hot mess Mia's story that you won't be expecting, and a cameo from a Hallmark fave that you won't find too surprising. Moreland has yet to master the necessary charm to remain a Hallmark Leading Man, but a shirtless scene shows promise for him to at least become a go-to Ex.

24-Karat Christmas (premieres Saturday, Dec. 21 at 9 pm on OWN)
When jewelry designer Trish (Samantha Marie Ware) misplaces custom wedding rings and fears she accidentally sent the unmarked box out with her deliveries, she and best man Booker (Curtis Hamilton) — her recent bad blind date — race to find them ahead of her clients' Christmas Eve nuptials. Of course, there's always time for him to seductively mansplain how to savor eating cookies.

North by North Pole: A Dial S Mystery (premieres Sunday, Dec. 22 at 7 pm on UPtv)
Interior designer Zoey (Abby Ross) and architect Dalton (Joe Scarpellino) both need her town's fundraising Christmas festival to go off without a hitch for the sake of their future renovation of a historic building. So they have to figure out who's sending her threatening letters and breaking in to the storage room that houses decorations and auction items, stat! You'll get a triple dose of budding romance with their colleagues (played by Andrea Reindl and Aason Nadjiwon) being teamed up for minor tasks and Zoey's diner-owner mother (Kehli O'Byrne) joining forces with a rival (Robert Parent) to keep a chain from winning a baking contest.

A Royal Christmas Ballet (premieres Sunday, Dec. 22 at 8 pm on Great American Family)
Prince William (Jonathan Stoddard) is ordered to accompany prima ballerina Medea (Daniela Couso) to America for a cultural-exchange performance and struggles to balance his attraction to resident creative director/retired dancer Carrie (Brittany Underwood) with his duties to keep lovestruck Medea happy. Had this been Lifetime, jealous Medea would've gone darker, which we might have preferred.