Here's when all 40 new Hallmark Christmas movies will air: first photos

In a year when everyone could really use a good Christmas, Hallmark is decking all halls in preparation.

Not even a pandemic will keep the leader in happy-endings entertainment from delivering sleighloads of Yuletide spirit to your fireplace-warmed living rooms, in the form of a record-tying 40 new holiday movies. When Hallmark Channel’s “Countdown to Christmas” and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries “Miracles of Christmas" campaigns commence on Oct. 23 — more than a week before trick-or-treating and the turning back of clocks  — you will be present-ed with every imaginable incarnation of unlikely romances, holiday homecomings, charming inns, and reporters seeking holiday scoops.

The 40-film slate — which includes plenty of adoptions, time travels, and carousels —  will feature a familiar Christmas welcome crew: Candace Cameron Bure discovers what happens If I Only Had Christmas, Lacey Chabert is doubly festive with Christmas Waltz and Time for Us to Come Home for Christmas, Tamera Mowry-Housley hosts a Christmas Carnival, Holly Robinson Peete is The Christmas Doctor, and Alicia Witt can be found on Christmas Tree Lane.

Fresh snow will bring fresh faces to the Hallmark holidays, too, including Broadway veterans Laura Osnes, Krystal Joy Brown, and Aaron Tveit, along with Janel Parrish, Marisol Nichols, Alvina August, Victoria Clark, and Jeremy Jordan. The 2020 slate looks to be more diverse, and features a gay couple trying to adopt (Christmas House, starring Jonathan Bennett and Brad Harder) as well as a woman who discovers via a DNA test that she's Jewish (Love, Lights, Hanukkah!, starring Mia Kirshner, Ben Savage, and Marilu Henner). There's also a movie titled... Never Kiss a Man in a Christmas Sweater. Hallmark is also expanding its holiday empire with wines and books, the return of the Bubbly Sesh podcast, Yultetide-themed episodes of the Hallmark Channel's talk show Home & Family, and, yes, enough reruns of Hallmark Christmas movie classics to sew you to your sofa through January. But before you reach for the remote, scroll through this gallery of merriment to get the premiere dates and synopses on all 40 new movies, plus exclusive photos. 

Airs: Dec. 24 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel) (Premiered Oct. 24)
Stars: Julie Gonzalo, Ronnie Rowe Jr.
Contains: A quest for a flower that goes beyond the contiguous 48 states, wedding planner
Official synopsis: “Wedding planner Jessica Perez (Gonzalo) travels to a remote town in Alaska to find a rare flower for a celebrity client and is charmed by the small town during Christmas, as well as the handsome local (Rowe Jr.) helping her.”

Airs: Dec. 9 at 4 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries (Premiered Oct. 24)
Stars: Alicia Witt, Andrew Walker, Drake Hogestyn, Briana Price
Contains: A mission to save a shopping district, music store
Official synopsis: “Music store owner Meg (Witt) spearheads the community effort to save the Christmas Tree Lane shopping district from demolition. As she finds herself falling for Nate (Walker), a recent acquaintance, she’s thrown when she learns his surprising tie to the developer."

Airs: Dec. 13 at 2 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel (Premiered Oct. 25)
Stars: Merritt Patterson, Luke Macfarlane
Contains: Classical music, fancy holiday digs
Official synopsis: “Margot (Patterson), a world-renowned pianist, returns to Chateau Newhaus to spend the holidays with her family and is reunited with an ex (Macfarlane) who helps her rediscover her passion for music.”

Airs: Dec. 9 at 10 a.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries (Premiered Oct. 25)
Stars: Alvina August, Eion Bailey
Contains: Widower, baker
Official synopsis: “Bakery owner Molly (August) meets Josh (Bailey), a widower who recently moved to town with his young son, but she is also charmed by a mysterious client whom she’s never met in person and doesn’t realize that they’re the same man.”

Airs: Dec. 12 at 10 a.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel (Premiered Oct. 31)
Stars: Laura Osnes, Aaron Tveit, Krystal Joy Brown, Victoria Clark, Tom McGowan
Contains: Stranded by snowstorm, royalty
Official synopsis: “When Anna (Osnes) offers a stranded mother (Clark) and son (Tveit) shelter in a blizzard, she learns that they are the Royal Family of Galwick. Anna shows the Prince how they do Christmas in her hometown, encouraging him to open his heart and be true to himself.”

Airs: Dec. 16 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries (Premiered Oct. 31)
Stars: Nikki DeLoach, Benjamin Ayres
Contains: Spouses in need of sparks, Christmas festival
Official synopsis: “A separated couple (DeLoach and Ayres) feign marital bliss on national television to help their town's Christmas festival — and their business.  But what will the future hold for them when rekindled love is complicated by new opportunities?”

Airs: Dec. 19 at 10 a.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel (Premiered: Nov. 1)
Stars: Mallory Jansen, Tyler Hynes
Contains: Scavenger hunt, The 12 Days of Christmas
Official synopsis: “Two seemingly incompatible game designers team up to create a romantic, city-wide scavenger hunt themed for The 12 Days of Christmas.”

Airs: Dec. 9 at 2 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries (Premiered Nov. 1)
Stars: Janel Parrish, Jeremy Jordan, Marisol Nichols
Contains: Adoption, renovation
Official synopsis: “When Melody’s (Parrish) neighbor, Nina (Nichols), learns that her illness has returned, Melody promises to keep Nina’s kids, Holly and Ivy, together. To adopt the children, she must renovate her new fixer-upper, which she does with the help of contractor Adam (Jordan).”

Airs: Dec. 13 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel (Premiered Nov. 7)
Stars: Ashley Williams, Niall Matter
Contains: Single mom, unruly visitor
Official synopsis: “Single mom Maggie (Williams) is facing Christmas alone until Lucas (Matter) crashes into her life and becomes an unexpected houseguest. Together they overcome Christmas while finding comfort in their growing bond.”

Airs: Dec. 11 at 6 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries (Premiered Nov. 7)
Stars: Nazneen Contractor, David Alpay
Contains: Jewelry mystery, journalism
Official synopsis: “A reporter (Contractor) searches for the love story behind an antique engagement ring. With the help of the ring’s owner’s grandson (Alpay), they learn the legacy his grandparents left behind.”

Airs: Dec. 17 at 2 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel (Premiered Nov. 8)
Stars: Katrina Law, Carlo Marks
Contains: Young lawyer, orphans
Official synopsis: “Just before the holidays Jessica Lew (Law) is ending her tenure as the assistant to her wealthy boss to use her recently earned law degree within his company, but offers to help his charming, younger brother (Marks) as he looks after his orphaned nieces and nephew over Christmas.”

Airs: Dec. 11 at 4 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries (Premiered Nov. 8)
Stars: Lucia Micarelli, Michael Rady
Contains: Classical music, injury, old friend-turned-romantic interest
Official synopsis: “When an accident puts her music dreams on hold, a gifted violinist (Micarelli) reconnects with an old family friend (Rady), who helps her heal and find love during the holidays.”

Airs: Dec. 19 at 12 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel (Premiered Nov. 14)
Stars: Sarah Drew, Brennan Elliott
Contains: Disheartened violinist, a Vienna visit
Official synopsis: “Jess (Drew), a concert violinist whose heart just isn’t in it anymore, goes to Vienna for a performance. While there, she finds the inspiration she has been missing, and a new love.”

Airs: Dec. 16 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Movies & (Premiered Nov. 14)
Stars: Catherine Bell, Mark Deklin
Contains: Wedding planning chaos, romance with bride’s uncle
Official synopsis: “When Joan’s (Bell) son’s wedding planner unexpectedly quits, she must coordinate his Christmas Eve wedding with the help of Beau (Deklin), the bride’s uncle. As they work alongside each other they discover their fates and pasts are intertwined.”

Airs: Dec. 13 at 6 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel (Premiered Nov. 15)
Stars: Ryan Paevey, Erin Cahill
Contains: Time travel, tour guide
Official synopsis: “Charles Whitley (Paevey) travels from 1903 to 2020 where he meets Megan Turner (Cahill), a tour guide at his historic mansion, and experiences a 21st century Christmas.

Airs: Dec. 17 at 6 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries (Premiered Nov. 15)
Stars: Holly Robinson Peete, Adrian Holmes
Contains: Medicine, mysterious blast from past
Official synopsis: “A week before Christmas, Dr. Alicia Wright (Peete) is offered an assignment away from home. A mysterious man (Holmes) from her past journeys to find her before Christmas and brings with him a revelation that could change Alicia’s life forever.”

Airs: Dec. 20 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel (Premiered Nov. 21)
Stars: Jessy Schram, Wes Brown, Wynonna Judd, Sara Evans, RaeLynn, Kix Brooks, Kimberly Williams-Paisley
Contains: A country-tinged Christmas, a ghost, a Judd (Wynonna), a Williams (Kimberly)
Official synopsis: “Vivienne Wake (Schram), a workaholic television producer in charge of a country music Christmas special showcasing newcomer Alexis (Raelynn), never lets personal feelings get in the way of business. On the verge of accepting a job in L.A., and with the return of Gavin Chase (Brown) — her childhood sweetheart and manager to the special’s headliner, Belinda (Evans) — she receives a visit from the ghost of her recently deceased mentor, Marilyn (Judd). Her mentor warns her current path leads to a dark future and has recruited both the Spirit of Christmas Past (Brooks) and the Spirit of Christmas Present (Williams-Paisley) to help her get back on track. The Spirits’ time-jumping adventures force Vivienne to take hold of her life."

Airs: Dec. 13 at 6 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries (Premiered Nov. 21)
Stars: Ashley Greene, Brendan Penny
Contains: Jewelry mystery, journalism
Official synopsis: “Holly (Greene), a jewelry designer, finds a lost charm bracelet and teams up with investigative reporter Greg (Penny) in hopes of finding the owner and returning it by Christmas Eve.”

Airs: Dec. 17 at 6 p.m. ET/PT on on Hallmark Channel (Premiered Nov. 22)
Stars: Robert Buckley, Jonathan Bennett, Ana Ayora, Treat Williams, Sharon Lawrence, Brad Harder
Contains: Sons’ homecoming, gay couple’s journey to adopt
Official synopsis: “Working through some difficult decisions, Mitchell family matriarch Phylis (Lawrence) and patriarch Bill (Williams), have summoned their two grown sons — TV star Mike Mitchell (Buckley) and Brandon Mitchell (Bennett) — home for the holidays. It is their hope that bringing the family together to recreate the Christmas house will help them find resolution and make a memorable holiday for the entire family and community. As Brandon and his husband Jake (Harder) make the trip home, they are anxiously awaiting a call about the adoption of their first child. Meanwhile, Mike reconnects with Andi (Ayora), his high school sweetheart.”

Airs: Dec. 18 at 6 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries (Premiered Nov. 22)
Stars: Jill Wagner, Lucas Bryant
Contains: Reunion of childhood friends, anonymous good Samaritan
Official synopsis: “A writer (Wagner) seeks the identity of the person who helps grant wishes that are placed upon the angel tree, and in the process, reconnects with her childhood friend (Bryant).”

Airs: Dec. 25 at 8 a.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel (Premiered Nov. 23)
Stars: Vanessa Lengies, Corey Sevier 
Contains: Reigniting of old flames, the stock market
Official synopsis: "When Sam (Lengies) was a little girl, all she wanted was to make a difference in the world. Now as a high-powered stockbroker on Wall Street, she couldn’t be further from her small-town roots. After a misunderstanding, Sam heads back home for the holidays where she comes face-to-face with her high school sweetheart Noah (Sevier). Together they rediscover what matters most in life."

Airs: Dec. 25 at 12:30 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel (Premiered Nov. 24)
Stars: Rochelle Aytes, Mark Taylor
Contains: A VIP spruce, romantic sparks with firefighter
Official synopsis: “Erin (Aytes) is planning the town’s Christmas celebration and must win over firefighter Kevin (Taylor) in order to obtain the beautiful spruce tree from his property for the celebration.”

Airs: Dec. 14 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel (Premiered Nov. 25)
Stars: Alison Sweeney, Marc Blucas
Contains: Small-town Christmas, big-time rival TV hosts
Official synopsis: “Two competing TV hosts (Sweeney and Blucas) are sent to a festive small town over Christmas. While pretending to get along for the sake of appearances, they discover that there’s more to each other than they thought.

Airs: Dec. 17 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel (Premiered Nov. 26)
Stars: Kimberley Sustad, Paul Campbell
Contains: Restaurant in jeopardy, lawyer doing unusual pro bono work
Official synopsis: “Annie (Sustad), a lawyer, must help her loved ones this holiday season. Her family’s restaurant, the Starlight Café, is slated for demolition. The heir to the development firm responsible, William (Campbell), makes her an unlikely proposition: He’ll spare the café if Annie spends the week ‘appearing’ as the legal counsel his father is demanding he hire in the wake of some costly mistakes.”

Airs: Dec. 11 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel (Premiered Nov. 27)
Stars: Bethany Joy Lenz, Victor Webster
Contains: Family B&B, travel critic
Official synopsis: “After moving back to her hometown, Lisa (Lenz) plots with her siblings and grandparents to help her father’s new bed and breakfast get a five-star review from an incognito travel critic (Webster), but ends up falling for him, not knowing he is the real critic.”

Premieres: Nov. 28 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel
Stars: Lacey Chabert, Will Kemp, JT Church
Contains: Nixed nuptials, dancing, Lacey Chabert
Official synopsis: “After Avery’s (Chabert) storybook Christmas wedding is canceled unexpectedly, dance instructor Roman (Kemp) helps her rebuild her dreams.”

Airs: Dec. 20 at 10 a.m. on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries (Premiered Nov. 28)
Stars: Jen Lilley, Trevor Donovan, Barbara Niven
Contains: A Christmas cruise, reporter, naval officer
Official synopsis: “Maddie (Lilley), a reporter for a Norfolk newspaper, embarks on a Tiger Cruise during Christmastime where she meets a handsome naval officer (Donovan) and stumbles upon a mystery in the ship's archive room.”

Airs: Dec. 16 at 8 a.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel (Premiered Nov. 29)
Stars: Candace Cameron Bure, Warren Christie
Contains: Charity, publicity, Candace Cameron Bure
Official synopsis: “At Christmas, a cheerful publicist (Bure) teams up with a cynical business owner (Christie) and his team to help a charity in need.”

Premieres: Dec. 5 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel
Stars: Holly Robinson Peete, Colin Lawrence, Rukiya Bernard, Antonio Cayonne, Barbara Niven
Contains: Christmas wedding, museum
Official synopsis: “As Michelle’s (Peete) wedding approaches, Hannah (Bernard) steps up to help finish the launch of the new Evergreen museum while questioning her relationship and future with Elliot (Cayonne).”

Premieres: Dec. 5 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries
Stars: Lacey Chabert, Stephen Huszar
Contains: A connection between five strangers, Lacey Chabert
Official synopsis: “Five guests are mysteriously invited to an inn to celebrate Christmas. With the help of the owner Ben (Huszar), Sarah (Chabert) discovers that an event from the past may connect them and change their lives forever.”

Premieres: Dec. 6 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel
Stars: Danica McKellar, Dylan Neal
Contains: Suddenly unemployed romance writer, homecoming
Official synopsis: “When Kayleigh (McKellar), a romance writer, has her column canceled right before Christmas, she heads home to reconnect with her family. Kayleigh gets an unexpected visit from the man (Neal) who canceled her column who fights not only to bring her back to the publisher but also for her heart.”

Premieres: Dec. 6 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries
Stars: Brooke D’Orsay, Sam Page
Contains: Homecoming, old flames reignite
Official synopsis: “After 15 years, Pat (Page) moves home from Hawaii with his two sons and through a series of coincidences, or Godwinks, ends up stuck in traffic next to his high school sweetheart, Margie (D’Orsay), at Christmas.”

Premieres: Dec. 12 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel
Stars: Rachael Leigh Cook, Greyston Holt
Contains: Reunited classmates, homecoming versus snowstorm
Official synopsis: “Former classmates Lina (Cook) and Max (Holt) are traveling home for the holidays, until a storm hits and they have to work together to make it home in time, no matter the mode of transportation.”

Premieres: Dec. 12 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries
Stars: Autumn Reeser, Antonio Cupo
Contains: Heiress, hot fireman
Official synopsis: “As Christmas nears, heiress Jessica Morgan (Reeser) seizes what seems like her last chance to experience a relaxed Christmas and heads off to the small town of Glenbrooke, where she meets a handsome fireman (Cupo).”

Premieres: Dec. 13 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel
Stars: Tamera Mowry-Housley, Michael Xavier, Sheryl Lee Ralph
Contains: Time travel, magical merry-go-round
Official synopsis: “Cheryl (Mowry-Housley), an astrophysicist, returns home for Christmas and attends the annual Christmas Carnival.  She takes a ride on the carousel and is somehow transported to Christmas five years before.  While in the past Cheryl spends time with her beloved science teacher (Ralph), gains a new appreciation for her path in life and begins to see her 'frenemy' George (Xavier) in a new light.”

Premieres: Dec. 13 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries
Stars: Taylor Cole, Steve Lund
Contains: A key, a romantic riddle
Official synopsis: “When a mysterious key and a holiday riddle arrive on their doorsteps, Kate (Cole) and Kevin (Lund) embark on a Christmas romance adventure they’ll never forget.”

Premieres: Dec. 19 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel
Stars: Rachel Boston, Neal Bledsoe
Contains: Broken merry-go-round, royalty
Official synopsis: “When Lila (Boston) is hired by the Royal Family of Ancadia to repair a carousel, she must work with the Prince (Bledsoe) to complete it by Christmas.”

Premieres: Dec. 19 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries
Stars: Lindy Booth, Justin Bruening
Contains: Antiques   
Official synopsis: “An antique seller and a cleaner clash over how to downsize a magnificent estate right before Christmas. As the two uncover the house’s treasures, they find a way to reconnect the reclusive owner with his own Christmases past.”

Premieres: Dec. 20 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel
Stars: Mia Kirshner, Ben Savage, Marilu Henner
Contains: Lineage revelation, restaurant stress
Official synopsis: “As Christina (Kirshner) prepares her restaurant for its busiest time of year, she gets back a DNA test revealing that she’s Jewish. The discovery leads her to a new family and an unlikely romance over eight nights.”

Premieres: Dec. 20 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries
Stars: Amanda Schull, Travis Van Winkle 
Contains: Wish granting, small-town Christmas
Official synopsis: “For years, Lucy has played Santa to her small town’s community by making their holiday wishes come true. But when Lucy grants a little girl’s wish for a Christmas like she used to have with her mom, she unexpectedly finds her own wishes coming true in life and love.”