Happiness ‘Hallmark’ of holiday movies

I love this time of year. There’s a nip in the air. The leaves on trees glow in shades of red, yellow and orange. Families and friends gather for festive meals. And Hallmark airs countless Christmas movies.

Between those I watch “live” and those I record to watch later, it’s practically Christmas movie season year-round at my house.

I realize watching a Hallmark movie is not something everyone can appreciate. They are hokey. They are filled with seasonal, geographical and timing inconsistencies. And they are extremely predictable.

Most of these movies involve someone aiming for a promotion at work, struggling in their current relationship and needing to come home to help their family solve a crisis at the town’s festival or holiday celebration. While home, they run into a former flame. By the time the movie is over, the crisis has been averted, the person decides there’s no place like home and they rekindle their passion for their ex and seal the deal with a kiss as snow falls.

Knowing all of this doesn’t make watching the movies any less enjoyable. Believe me, you don’t watch these movies for their stellar storylines or Academy Award-winning performances.

And it’s not because I can’t get enough Christmas in my life, am looking for new ways to celebrate or need inspiration for my home holiday decor.

Simply put, I watch them because they make me feel good. Especially this year.

I know each movie will always involve some type of romance and there will always be a happy ending. And who doesn’t need more happiness in their life? After the year we have had, I believe we can all use a little bit more.

They also allow me to relax a bit as they don’t tax my brain, which is often necessary after a grueling day of work. If I happen to close my eyes and miss a few minutes of action, I can easily follow the storyline without having to rewind.

The movies tout the healing properties of a steaming cup of hot chocolate, which is the beverage of choice as the characters struggle with a new set of problems or perplexing dilemma, often while sitting in front of a roaring fireplace. It’s something that can easily be emulated, and quite often is whenever I need a break.

But more than this, each movie serves as a tiny reminder that if you work with each other and believe enough in what you are doing, you can accomplish anything. It’s like a two-hour motivational class.

Hallmark movies are a guilty pleasure that I don’t have to feel guilty about.

So, if you call and I don’t answer my phone, odds are I can be found in front of my fireplace, in my recliner with a steaming mug of hot cocoa watching a movie about a Christmas festival on the verge of being canceled until someone comes in to save the day, their family and their love life.

Perhaps, if we are lucky, some of this holiday magic will spill over into our lives and bring us all a little happiness and joy.

Hali Bernstein Saylor is editor of the Boulder City Review. She can be reached at hsaylor@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9523. Follow @HalisComment on Twitter.