It’s that time of year – not just the time of buying hot chocolate bombs and pumpkin spice bagels and cream cheese and coffee creamer and basically pumpkin spice everything. Not just the time of lighting fragrant fall candles and making caramel apples and buying cinnamon brooms to prop on the hearth. Not just the time of putting leaf garland and mums all around the mailbox, and not just the time of getting down the sweatshirts and cabin socks to sit around the fire pit getting lost in the aroma of burning wood.
There’s so much more to that time of year.
It’s Hallmark movie time.
Last week alone, I watched Pumpkin Everything, Pumpkin Pie Wars, Autumn in the City, Under the Autumn Moon, and Home for Harvest. It was my fall break, and I succumbed to the temptation to multitask by watching movies while cleaning. It was the perfect marriage – I was productive enough not to feel guilty, but indulgent enough not to feel overworked.
I tolerate the teasing from my husband, who rolls his eyes every time I push play on a different movie. He finds it amusing that I enjoy watching the same basic plot with different settings and characters from fall to winter. I find it amusing that while he teases me about it, he never fails to be drawn into the story and ends up watching most of the movie with me. And this year, I’ve even started adding secret incentives that he hasn’t quite figured out yet – – like setting out caramel popcorn on the coffee table so he’ll start watching more from the beginning.
I’m pretty sure Hallmark movies make me a nicer person. I go out into the world wanting to smile more and seek joy lurking around the corners of my town square. I can hear movie music in my head as I walk over to the coffee shop and the bookstore from work, and I start admiring all the scarves and boots I see people wearing. I smell balsam and cedar and feel all the excitement of the season ahead.
If you haven’t marked your calendar yet, here’s the 2023 Hallmark Movie Countdown Calendar. The countdown begins this weekend – October 20th, which is also the National Day on Writing. You can download the calendar and also the movie checklist app, and check out the details of each of the new movies.
I’m trying to decide which will be my favorite. I think I’m looking most forward to A Biltmore Christmas. What do you predict will be your favorite, and what are your best movie watching traditions?
Common Threads 
Ha! I love this post. It (almost) makes me wish I lived in a part of the world where autumn exists. Your secret incentives are ingenious your words and pictures had me picturing it all so clearly!
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Well, I’m fortunate to be in a world where people are being better people because of Hallmark movies. Unfortunately, no one is better off because of my fall tradition of mourning the losses by my baseball team. At least this year I was pleasant to people through the end of September! My wife watches Project Runway and the Gread British Baking Show…and I sometimes accompany her…for the popcorn, of course.
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Kim, I too love fall and all her scents, but I have not watched a Hallmark movie in decades. My mom loved the Hallmark channel. My sister and I took her to a resort in Acapulco years ago, and all she wanted to do was stay in the room and watch Hallmark and refer to me as “she.” 😬 🤣 My fest is Hallmark will make me more like my mom. She was not nice. Anyway, maybe I’ll break my Hallmark boycott based on your endorsement. I did, after all, let my friend Robin talk me into watching The Golden Bachelor. 🤢 Ken wants to know if those are the best women *they* could find, and episode 3 gave off serious Fatal Attraction vibes. I expected to see a boiling rabbit during the kitchen scene.
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So much fun to read! I love that you incentivize with stealth. I’d show up for caramel popcorn. It’s funny how, despite the same basic plot and tropes, there is real comfort in predictability. I also appreciate your insight that it makes you a kinder, gentler person out in the world. Great post!
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Great post! I have been watching those Autumn movies as well. Truly, I wish I could be a character in one of them or maybe even write my own. Enjoy the Countdown!
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MADE ME/US SMILE! I didn’t know about the Hallmark Countdown Calendar! Love this: “I’m pretty sure Hallmark movies make me a nicer person. I go out into the world wanting to smile more and seek joy lurking around the corners of my town square.” Ditto. Thank you, Kim!
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We all need our escapes! This one sounds wonderful. I love the idea of movies making us nicer – a prescription for the world. I have some soft films/streaming I love to get lost in, and my husband is squirreled away elsewhere – amused by me, I am sure. It’s super sweet that your husband gets drawn into the movies! Enjoy!
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Kim, what fun! I don’t have the Hallmark Channel, so I don’t think I can watch these movies, but I’m tempted after your ringing endorsement. I love to find these pairings that you mention here–“multitask by watching movies while cleaning. It was the perfect marriage”. Yes, it’s a win-win! Your fall snacks sound amazing! I do love pumpkin spice anything!
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