I was a huge Good Witch fan (I wish more of those were being made) and I love Catherine Bell and James Denton, which is why I was excited to see them together in a Hallmark holiday film. So, I came for the two of them...but found myself enjoying quite another storyline instead, that of John Brotherton (John Hamilton) and Erin Cahill (Lizzie). John and Lizzie play a couple who have just moved into their first home, expecting a new baby, money is tight, they haven't unpacked, and Lizzie's big family descends on them for Christmas when they expect to have a quiet Christmas Eve just themselves. Funny and real with each other, this was definitely the story at the heart of this film.
Cleverly the writers tied three stories in three different time periods together in the same house...and with some of the same people, like their neighbor on Cherry Lane played exceptionally by the same actress in all three time periods.
There were some inaccuracies with their time frames, but they did try to throw in some time period specific notes...like the oil crisis and a hallmark keepsake Christmas ornament. I appreciated having a foster child pay it forward and make another foster kid's Christmas special. That was a really nice touch.
This wasn't really a romance, but it was a family drama. If you like holiday family dramas then this might be for you.
