Christmas On The Farm

Rating: 9/10 

Reason: This was billeted as a comedy, and I'll agree. The actors were all top notch TV series who played their characters to a T. It was funny, the situations were convoluted at times, but it all worked.

*Watched on Amazon Prime Video (Age Rating 13+)

SPOILERS BELOW!

                                                    

NY Lady goes to Australia for her mother's memorial service.

The Australian farm is not doing well financially.

NY Lady is a writer with a book due, but she doesn't know what to write about. She decides to write a book about her mother starting the farm.  NY Lady returns to NY to write her book.

Publisher Guy needs to sign an author soon or his job is in jeopardy.

NY Lady is done writing her book, and decides it's time to get out of her apartment, so she heads to a bar and meets Publisher Guy. They hit it off. 

NY Lady has a lunch with her Agent, and none of the publishing houses want to buy her book. Agent suggests NY Lady change it so the book is about her instead of her mom to make it more modern. 

The major tweak will be that NY Lady will have to make up having a husband and a daughter to replicate the story, but Agent is not concerned about that. 

NY Lady rewrites the book. 

Publisher Guy makes an offer on NY Lady's book not knowing that he actually met the author.

 NY Lady accepts the offer not realizing she has met the publisher.

Agent realizes there is a clause in the contract that Publisher Guy and his Boss are going to the Australian farm for Christmas to meet NY Lady, her non-existent husband, and her non-existent daughter. Also, NY Lady doesn't farm, can't cook, and hates bugs and animals.

NY Lady flies to Australia to prepare. 

First order of business... A Husband

Cousin and Cousin's Husband live on the farm, so NY Lady convinces Cousin's Husband to pretend to be her husband. Cousin will remain a Cousin, and be visiting for the Christmas holidays. 

Second order of business... A Daughter 

Pretend Daughter is supposed to be a tween, so they decide to say she's at an extended sleep over over the holidays because she's mad at her parents. 

Third order of business... A Make-Under

NY Lady's look is way too city, and not country enough, so it's time to go shopping and dye her hair. 

Amongst other things NY Lady needs to relearn some farm skills (like milking cows, fetching eggs, etc) and lose her NY accent.

Publisher Guy and Boss arrive, and Publisher Guy doesn't recognize NY Lady. NY Lady is a bit thrown off at first, but rallies.

Neighbour Girl comes to feed the horses and Publisher Guy assumes this must be NY Lady's Daughter. NY Lady whispers to Neighbour Girl that she'll pay her of to play along, so now she's got a daughter! (This is getting complicated!)

Over dinner Publisher Guy reveals that they want to brand NY Lady's lifestyle and maybe even do a TV show! What a fabulous deal! (Except this charade can only continue for so long!)

NY Lady decides it's time to tell Publisher Guy the truth about who she is, but just as she's about to spill the beans, the cow goes into labour!

Publisher Guy's Ex-girlfriend shows up unexpectedly! She has decided to whisk him away to Bora Bora against his wishes...

NY Lady is jealous and feels inadequate.

Boss insists Publisher Guy has to stay, and since Ex-girlfriend flew all this way, she might as well stay for Christmas too.

Over Christmas dinner, Publisher Guy's Ex-girlfriend figures out NY Lady is actually from NY, and that NY Lady's Husband isn't really her husband...

Publisher Guy is angry that he fell for this ruse. NY Lady swears she didn't mean to hurt him, she didn't set out to trick him! She didn't even know he was the publisher until he showed up at the Australia farm! 

Publisher Guy, Boss and Ex-girlfriend leave for the airport. 

NY Lady decides to chase after Publisher Guy because she loves him. Publisher Guy almost get in an accident, and stops his car.  NY Lady tells Publisher Guy she loves him. Publisher Guy likes NY Lady too. Boss says the book is good either way, no matter whether it was all true or not. The book deal is still on! The Australia farm is saved! (Remember at the beginning it wasn't doing well financially?)

The end

Christmas By Candlelight

Rating: 7/10 

Reason: Kinda slow. I thought for sure it was getting to the end, and I was less than halfway through it. There were some good moments, and other than the daughter, the acting was good. I thought the fully inflated Santa decoration was going to be featured a bit more as well... 

*Watched on Amazon Prime Video (Age 13+)

SPOILERS BELOW!

                                                                  

(The main character works in an office. It's a Wellness/Lifestyle company. She is a Working Lady)

Working Lady is carrying a fully inflated Santa decoration through the streets. It's unclear why it's fully inflated. Working Lady delivers fully inflated Santa decoration to her friend at the office. Apparently Working Lady is delivering Office Friend's order of a fully inflated Santa decoration. (I don't believe for a second that the Santa decoration came fully inflated in the first place. I'm 2 minutes into this movie and I already need to suspend reality...). Office Friend wants to win the office decorating competition. That's why she needed a fully inflated Santa decoration.

Working Lady informs Office Friend that she broke up with her boyfriend because she made a spreadsheet, and they didn't look good on paper. 

Boss Lady breaks the news that profits are down 15% since last year. The board is freaking out! So Boss Lady told the board there's a new product launching before Christmas...

Working Lady doesn't understand.

Boss Lady tells Working Lady she is in charge of figuring it out. Create a scarcity mindset! Something new and luxurious!  If Working Lady succeeds, she will become the Senior VP! The pitch is due by 5pm! Good Luck! 

With the clock winding down, Working Lady heads out for inspiration. She ends up in Hot Candle Guy's candle shop. Working Lady knocks over a candle display. Hot Candle Guy is not too worried. Working Lady runs back to the office inspired. 

Working Lady pitches smelly candles to Boss Lady.

Boss Lady gives Working Lady 1 week to collaborate with Hot Candle Guy (HCG) and present a sample pack. 

HCG has a Daughter, but no special lady of his very own.

HCG is not on board with Working Lady's collaboration idea. He needs to protect his brand integrity. Working Lady is frustrated, and determined to change HCG's mind. 

HCG is against collaborating because he was burned by the last company he worked with. 

HCG's Mom (we'll call her Grandma) runs a charity, but they just lost a major donor, so now Grandma can't make it for Christmas. HCG's Daughter makes a wish that Grandma will come for Christmas.

Working Lady is just about to tell Boss Lady the smelly candles are not going to happen when HCG stops by. He realizes his company needs revitalization, so he is in.

HCG and Working Lady are having difficulty agreeing on the project. (I don't think they would make it past spreadsheet stage either).

Working Lady has made some spreadsheets about the scents for the candles (she really loves her spreadsheets). HCG says they need to explore the smells. Spreadsheets will not get them to a successful smelly candle.

HCG is ready. He's come up with 4 samples. All of them are 4 inch white pillar candles. 

Working Lady is not happy with HCG's offerings. She wants them to be different. 

HCG says they smell different.

Working Lady wants them to look different. 

HCG insists his brand is one singular look.

Working Lady convinces HCG to try different looks.

Candle making montage, complete with unnecessary touching of hands and giggling. The signs are pointing to them liking each other.

HCG invites Working Lady to come make Christmas cookies. HCG's Daughter helps. They bond over the family activity. 

Working Lady and HCG come up with the scents for the new smelly candles, and start working on them when the power suddenly goes out! Luckily they are surrounded by candles.

Just as they get the candles lit, the power comes back on. HCG's Daughter has a tummy ache, so HCG needs to go. Now HCG's Daughter will have to miss her Santa visit, and romance time is over!

Working Lady has a surprise up her sleeve. Office Friend happens to have a Mrs. Claus costume, so Working Lady brings Office Friend to HCG's Daughter in place of her Santa visit. 

HCG's Daughter has 1 Christmas wish. She wants Grandma (HCG's Mom who can't come for Christmas because her charity lost its donor) to be able to come for Christmas. 

Boss Lady is looking through the numbers. These smelly candle costs are too high. They'll need to be priced at $150 each!  Working Lady says they are worth it (That's insane)! Boss Lady thinks Working Lady is getting distracted by HCG, and she needs to focus on the project and get it done. 

Working Lady tells HCG they need to lower costs. HCG will not lower his standards! It feels like a bait and switch!  Working Lady tells HCG her promotion is riding on this! HCG doesn't want to be a pawn in her career moves! They figure out a compromise they are both happy with.

Working Lady managed to get the price down to $75 per smelly candle. Boss Lady is happy, and is ready to put the order in after she makes a few tweaks to the contract...

HCG receives the new contract, and he's angry! Boss Lady has activated an option to increase production and extend the collection of smelly candles. This isn't what HCG signed up for!  There's no way HCG will be able to fulfill the new requirements, and keep his smelly candle company standards. 

Working Lady has no idea about the tweaks to the contract. She didn't review the contract before it went out... Working Lady has no authority to change the contract, but she can help HCG expand operations.  HCG doesn't want to expand operations. He wants to stay small and protect what he has. This is why HCG was so against collaborating in the first place!

Boss Lady wants to do a live launch from the candle store. I don't think Boss Lady knows how mad HCG is. Working Lady announces during the live launch that the smelly candles will be produced by a sister company which will be revealed soon. HCG has no idea what Working Lady is talking about. Boss Lady also seems to be in the dark.

Working Lady smooths things over with Boss Lady by throwing HCG under the bus just to appease Boss Lady. Unfortunately for Working Lady, HCG heard her saying uncomplimentary things about him. HCG thought they had something special, but apparently Working Lady thinks he's weak. Working Lady assures HCG she just said that to make Boss Lady happy, but she didn't mean it. HCG doesn't like Working Lady talking about him behind his back, and saying things that aren't true. 

Boss Lady is pleased with the end result of the candles, so Working Lady got her promotion. Working Lady asks Boss Lady if she can choose the charity to make the Christmas donation to. Boss Lady says ok.

HCG's Daughter is sitting at home missing Grandma. Grandma comes in the front door. Someone made a donation to the charity, so she was able to come after all. 

Grandma wants to meet Working Lady since she made the donation on behalf of her company. HCG goes in search of Working Lady. 

HCG starts by apologizing. He was suspicious and stubborn. HCG thinks Working Lady is nice after all. He invites Working Lady to spend Christmas with him & his family. She says ok.

Kissing.

The end

Creating Christmas

Rating: 8/10

Reason: The acting was really good. There were a few over the top moments, but it wasn't too cheesy. I enjoyed the extra elements of the sister also finding some romance, as well as the old book partner's villainy.

*Watched on Amazon Prime Video (Age 13+)

 SPOILERS BELOW!

                                                            

Teacher Lady is very into Christmas. She is going skiing over the Christmas holidays with her Publisher Sister.  She goes to Publisher Sister's office to wait to leave on their ski trip together. 

Book Man has been burning through illustrators for his kids book.  He needs someone to draw pictures for his book or he'll miss his imminent deadline!

Teacher Lady overhears Publisher Sister and Book Man discussing the lack of available illustrators. Teacher Lady butts into the meeting and offers her services. She loves drawing, and she's good at it, and she's been working on a graphic novel, and she's a kindergarten teacher, so she can handle difficult people!

The book deadline means The Sisters will have to cancel their ski trip and work on the book instead. 

Book Man isn't so sure, but he's out of options. He agrees to it as long as Publisher Sister also comes to the cabin in the small town to work on the manuscript. 

Teacher Lady shows up at the cabin with a Christmas tree. 

Book Man is taken aback, and invites The Sisters in. He already has a Christmas tree...

Teacher Lady inserts her foot in her mouth and chews on it a bit as she explains that she figured Book Man wasn't very into Christmas... maybe this week won't be so bad after all... etc.

Publisher Sister takes Teacher Lady aside to remind her that they are here to help Book Man, not insult him.  Teacher Lady removes her foot from her mouth long enough to tell Publisher Sister she should leave so that Teacher Lady and Book Man can bond and collaborate on the book.

Publisher Sister sees the logic in that, and is about to scamper off with the extra Christmas tree when Neighbour Guy happens to stop by and offers to help with the tree removal. 

Book Man and Teacher Lady start discussing the book. It's about a cloud named Cloudy that doesn't want to talk to anyone. 

Teacher Lady tells Book Man, "Cloudy needs a friend to talk to. He seems lonely."

Book Man says, "Cloudy doesn't want to talk to anyone. That's the point." (Sounds like the book might be a bit autobiographical?)

Teacher Lady says it's time to make cookies!  Book Man is confused. 

"How can we work on the book if we are making cookies?"

Teacher Lady tells Book Man he's thinking too hard.  Book Man is annoyed.

Teacher Lady is breaking down Book Man's walls. Book Man is beginning to enjoy himself...

The Sisters meet for dinner at a bistro that is owned by Neighbour Guy! (Book Man stayed home to work on the book). Neighbour Guy is excited to see The Sisters, and invites Publisher Sister to go hiking. 

Teacher Lady has an idea for the book. Let's change the style of pictures! Book Man is not on board.

Book Man offers Teacher Lady a coffee. She says yes, then goes outside to make a snow angel, and giggle. Book Man is confused. 

Teacher Lady pulls Book Man down onto the snow. Book Man is cold. 

After dinner Teacher Lady and Book Man explore downtown and pop into the book store. Teacher Lady finds one of Book Man's kids books and reads it aloud to some random children. Book Man starts enjoying himself... but then he sees a poster for his Old Illustrator Buddy's new book. Book Man is jealous and worried. Book Man wants to go home and work on his book. 

Teacher Lady tells Book Man to stop being like Cloudy. Book Man is insulted and walks away. 

Book Man feels bad about leaving Teacher Lady behind, he finds her again and apologizes. Book Man is having trouble with his confidence since he and Old Illustrator Buddy had a falling out. Book Man wants to make his partnership with Teacher Lady official and truly collaborative. 

Teacher Lady says, "great! You should listen to my ideas more!" Book Man says, "ok."

Teacher Lady and Book Man flirt over Christmas ornament making. Publisher Sister and Neighbor Guy say they are going to pick out a Christmas wreath together. It's nice that Publisher Sister can take some time off work and relax and have some romance.

Back to the cabin for book time....

Teacher Lady shows Book Man her new illustrations. Book Man is impressed... Book Man is also skeptical.

Teacher Lady says, "it's ok to do something new since you have a new partnership."

Book Man understands, and agrees. 

Teacher Lady says, "do you want to build a snowman?" Then calls in Publisher Sister and Neighbor Guy to come help... Family bonding! 

Book Man and Teacher Lady show Publisher Sister the book so far. Publisher Sister is impressed!

Teacher Lady suggests dinner, but Publisher Sister is going on a date with Neighbor Guy. That leaves Teacher Lady and Book Man on their own. Book Man offers to cook for Teacher Lady. Teacher Lady is delighted, and buys a new dress on the way home.

Book Man read Teacher Lady's mind about the dress code and is also dressed up and serving wine. Book Man tells Teacher Lady she's pretty. There are candles everywhere.

Teacher Lady tells Book Man about her graphic novel. She also says no one has seen it because it's not ready yet. Teacher Lady doesn't always finish what she starts, so she doesn't want to show Publisher Sister her graphic novel until she knows she won't fail.  Book Man understands. 

The Sisters sing some Christmas karaoke at the bistro while Book Man and Neighbor Guy listen. The mood suddenly sours as Old Illustrator Buddy walks in. Book Man takes his leave. 

Teacher Lady follows Book Man into the town square. It's time for Book Man to tell her the tale of what happened with Old Illustrator Buddy...

Book Man and Old Illustrator Buddy had written several successful books together. Book Man had an idea for a new book. Old Illustrator Buddy stole Book Man's idea and wrote the book himself! Teacher Lady is outraged!

Book Man finds it difficult to open up and trust people because of Old Illustrator Buddy. Teacher Lady is thankful.

Teacher Lady, "thank you for sharing that with me."

Book Man, "thank you for helping me trust again."

Teacher Lady, "thank you for saying that."

Teacher Lady bumps into Publisher Sister on her way to Book Man's cabin. Teacher Lady is excited to show Book Man something she's been working on. Publisher Sister thinks it's Teacher Lady's graphic novel. Teacher Lady says it's something else. Publisher Sister says, "don't flake out. Finish what you've started." Teacher Lady takes offence.

Teacher Lady takes a break and sits on a bench downtown to draw. Old Illustrator Buddy sits next to her and tells her she is talented. Old Illustrator Buddy offers to send Teacher Lady's drawings to his editor. Teacher Lady is contemplative. Then Teacher Lady says, "thanks but no thanks."

Old Illustrator Buddy runs into Book Man and mentions that he offered Teacher Lady to illustrate his next book. Book Man is miffed.

Old Illustrator Buddy apologies for the way things played out in their partnership. He always felt like the dumb one, and he wanted to see if he could make it on his own. Book Man can see his point. 

Book Man tells Teacher Lady he knows everything. Old Illustrator Buddy told him, and Book Man wishes Teacher Lady well in her future endeavors. Book Man talks over Teacher Lady so she can't get a word in. Book Man says he's in no mood to finish Cloudy's book. 

The Sisters go to the bistro to talk to Neighbor Guy. Publisher Sister apologizes to Teacher Lady for their earlier conversation. Teacher Lady wants to find a way to salvage Cloudy's book. Publisher Sister says it's not possible. There's no time. 

Teacher Lady shows Publisher Sister her new book she's been working on. Publisher Sister is amazed.

The Sisters decide to work together on Cloudy's book. Publisher Sister brings the completed Cloudy manuscript to Book Man and tells him that Teacher Lady finished it for him. Also, Teacher Lady turned down Old Illustrator Buddy's offer. Then Publisher Sister shows Book Man Teacher Lady's new book... It's about Book Man!

Book Man heads downtown to find Teacher Lady. She is difficult to find.  Book Man eventually finds Teacher Lady. Teacher Lady is confused. Book Man is apologetic. Teacher Lady is understanding. 

Book Man tells Teacher Lady she should take Old Illustrator Buddy's offer, but Teacher Lady doesn't trust Old Illustrator Buddy. Book Man is glad that Teacher Lady is so discerning.

Book Man kisses Teacher Lady. Teacher Lady kisses Book Man

The end

Christmas In The Highlands

Rating: 8/10

Reason: I enjoyed the Scottish countryside. She didn't really have culture shock which I was kind of expecting. The acting was good and as an added bonus the captions were hilarious!  It was as if they had used AI and the AI misunderstood a lot of words because it didn't understand their accents. (ex."He's an Earl" became "he's a girl")

*Watched on Amazon Prime Video (Age 7+)

 SPOILERS BELOW!

                                                                        

Perfume Lady is having a bad day. Her sales numbers are down, and Boss Lady is mad. Perfume Lady wants to be a perfumer who makes perfumes instead of a perfume seller.

Santa is ringing a bell on the street and asks what Perfume Lady's Christmas wish is. Perfume Lady laughs and says she doesn't believe in that nonsense...

A package magically appears at Perfume Lady's door. Inside is a Scottish perfume.

Boss Lady tells Perfume Lady that if she can get the Scottish perfume on the shelves in 2 weeks for Christmas, she'll see about making Perfume Lady a perfume inventor.

Perfume Lady is nerv-cited as she heads off to Scotland to find the tiny perfumery the Scottish perfume is from...

Scottish Earl is single, and getting lots of invitations to balls and Christmas parties. He's an eligible man with a title after all! 

Scottish Ex-girlfriend's Mother (Lady Snob) is scheming a way to get Scottish Earl and Scottish Ex-girlfriend back together.

Scottish Earl apparently works at the Scottish Inn. Perfume Lady is a bit disgruntled about the wifi, and they have words.  When Perfume Lady heads back to her room, Scottish Earl looks a bit smitten! 

The next day Perfume Lady shows up at the perfumery, just as Scottish Earl shows up for work. Scottish Earl owns the perfumery, but was just helping out at the Inn. Since he knew Perfume Lady wanted to come to the perfumery, he decided to come open it for her this morning. It's actually closed for Christmas, but since Perfume Lady came all the way from New York, he figured it was the least he could do. 

Scottish Earl is very proud of his perfume, and absolutely will not sell to some big city corporate entity. It was his dead mother's past time, and he wants to keep it in the family.

Perfume Lady tells Scottish Earl she is making a documentary about Scotland, and would like to feature the perfumery in her film. 

Scottish Earl is chuffed, and would be honoured to have his perfumery in her documentary!

Lady Snob and Scottish Ex-girlfriend are staying at Scottish Earl's Castle over the holidays because their house is (not actually) being renovated. Lady Snob printed a fake university degree and is determined to show Scottish Earl how suitable Scottish Ex-girlfriend is as a wife. 

Perfume Lady buys a used video camera and gets a quick tutorial on how to use it. This does not bode well. 

Scottish Earl takes Perfume Lady on a stroll in the Highlands to see where it all starts. Perfume Lady doesn't know how to operate the camera, she fakes it...

Perfume Lady is interviewing Scottish Earl, and basically trying to trick him into telling her the formula.

When Scottish Earl is dropping Perfume Lady off at the Inn, they are told there's no electricity. Scottish Earl offers Perfume Lady a room at the castle since there's no other accommodation available.

At dinner, Scottish Ex-girlfriend and Lady Snob figure the best way to show how suitable Scottish Ex-girlfriend is for Scottish Earl, is to show how unsuitable Perfume Lady is. Mock, mock, mock. They are threatened by Perfume Lady.

Then Lady Snob and Scottish Ex-girlfriend google Perfume Lady and discover she is a perfume seller, not a filmmaker! Uh-oh!

Scottish Ex-girlfriend tells Scottish Earl's Brother that Perfume Lady is not a filmmaker, but a perfume lady. Brother is pleased. That means the family perfume is worth more than he thought. Especially if Perfume Lady came all the way from a perfume company in New York for it! 

Scottish Earl brings Perfume Lady to his Mother's perfume lab. Perfume Lady is in heaven! Scottish Earl has to dash, but tells Perfume Lady she can play around and try to create something. 

Perfume Lady successfully makes a nice perfume for her own mother, but accidentally leaves her notes sitting out. When she goes back for them, they are missing! 

Perfume Lady finds Scottish Earl to say goodbye. Scottish Earl insists Perfume Lady stay for the festivities, and she acquiesces.

Brother makes a quick phone call to his broker. The family perfume stock is about to go up! 

Lady Snob tells Perfume Lady she should stay for the wedding in a few days... of Scottish Earl and Scottish Ex-girlfriend!

Perfume Lady quickly packs and leaves for the airport. Uh-oh a flat tire! Perfume Lady calls Scottish Earl to pick her up. 

Scottish Earl tells Perfume Lady her perfume smells wonderful. When Perfume Lady informs Scottish Earl that she mixed it herself, he tells her she should think about being a perfumer.  Then Scottish Earl asks Perfume Lady to stay in Scotland, but she says they are from 2 different worlds. She couldn't possibly. 

Perfume Lady calls the office from the airport, and is informed that Boss Lady is on her way to Scotland! Perfume Lady has to get back to the castle, quickly! 

Scottish Ex-girlfriend is making moves on Scottish Earl saying they should never have broken up. Scottish Earl is very confused, and agrees to go to the ball with Scottish Ex-girlfriend.

Perfume Lady arrives back at the castle, and is told by the Housekeeper that everyone is at the ball! Housekeeper has just the dress for Perfume Lady (It's like Cinderella)! Of course it fits perfectly.

Scottish Earl tells Scottish Ex-girlfriend they are never ever getting back together. Then Scottish Earl asks Perfume Lady to dance. Perfume Lady has to tell Scottish Earl something important, but he shushes her and says, "let's dance." 

Perfume Lady tells him the truth.

Scottish Earl has something important to say...

Boss Lady barges into the ball. Confusion reigns! Brother announces he sold the rights to the perfume to a different perfumery. They paid more than Boss Lady, and it's all about the money to Brother.

Boss Lady fires Perfume Lady.

Perfume Lady says, "Too late. I emailed my resignation hours ago!"

Father Duke arrives, clueless about all that has happened and announces the coupledom of Scottish Earl and Scottish Ex-girlfriend. Perfume Lady races off in her fancy dress. 

Scottish Earl says he is renouncing his title, and he's leaving. Brother selling the perfume was the last straw. 

Lady Snob quickly hitches her daughter's wagon to Brother since he's now the Earl. 

Perfume Lady reviews her video footage and realizes Brother stole her perfume recipe.

Father Duke apologies to Perfume Lady for getting the wool pulled over his eyes, and Perfume Lady calls him a "mute swan" (basically a bumbling idiot). He takes it well.

Perfume Lady goes home for Christmas. Scottish (not an) Earl is already at her family home. Perfume Lady quickly tells Scottish Earl that Brother sold the wrong perfume recipe.  He actually sold her new perfume recipe. Yay! What a happy accident! 

Scottish Earl loves Perfume Lady. "Come live with me, and make perfume in my castle."

Perfume Lady says nothing, and kisses him (is she now a mute swan?)

Then they get married. 

The end

The Heiress of Christmas

Rating: 7/10

Reason: Good acting. Though the Spoiled Granddaughter could have really played it up and been really annoying, she wasn't. I enjoyed the story, though it wasn't ground-breaking.

*Watched on Amazon Prime Video (Age 7+)

SPOILERS BELOW!

                                                                                            

Department Store Lady decides it's time for Spoiled Granddaughter to start working in the department store. She knows just the person to pair Spoiled Granddaughter with... Loyal Employee! 

Loyal Employee is up for a promotion, and this will be just the task to prove that he's ready!

Spoiled Granddaughter is not on board with this plan. She was planning on going to Switzerland with her friends for Christmas! 

Department Store Lady tells Spoiled Granddaughter     to show up ready for work Monday, and she's not allowed to tell anyone that she's related. It's an undercover mission! 

Spoiled Granddaughter declares this plan unfair! 

Loyal Employee can't figure out how to train an employee who clearly has no desire to work, of course he doesn't know Spoiled Granddaughter is Department Store Lady's granddaughter.

Spoiled Granddaughter decides she needs a fancy coffee, and asks Loyal Employee to go get one for her.... Sorry, Spoiled Granddaughter, lowest man on the totem pole gets assigned that task, but there's no time for coffee right now! 

Spoiled Granddaughter informs Loyal Employee she's not there to sell stuff, she's there to boost sales, and the first order of business is taking some Christmas decorations down. Loyal Employee says, "I don't think so."

Spoiled Granddaughter is tasked with building a gingerbread house. She clearly has no idea how to do it, and a Kindly Old Man offers to help. Spoiled Granddaughter hands it over, and runs off in search of a cappuccino.

Loyal Employee tracks Spoiled Granddaughter down and scolds her for going for coffee. Spoiled Granddaughter corrects him, "this isn't coffee, this is an oatmeal cappuccino with 7 pumps of hazelnut, 7 pumps of vanilla bean, and 7 pumps of peppermint." (I need to also tell you, the drink in question was maybe a grande size (16 oz). That would be more syrup than coffee! Blech!)

Department Store Lady (DSL) tells Spoiled Granddaughter her ambition is bigger than her skills, so she needs to work in order to learn. Spoiled Granddaughter decides to revamp the jewelry counter since she knows what women are looking for when they shop. Loyal Employee tells Spoiled Granddaughter to stop it.

Loyal Employee comes up with a new plan. He's going to give Spoiled Granddaughter terrible tasks so that she'll decide to quit!

Spoiled Granddaughter decides 2 can play this game, and she's purposely misunderstanding instructions so that it'll reflect poorly on Loyal Employee.

Spoiled Granddaughter and Loyal Employee are starting to get on each other's nerves. Spoiled Granddaughter goes to DSL and asks if she can quit because, "if I don't have any authority, I don't know what I can contribute!" 

DSL says, "of course! You are free to do whatever you want! But if you do quit, you'll also forfeit your inheritance..." Harsh, but fair! 

Astonishingly, Spoiled Granddaughter decides to quit and tries to buy a plane ticket to Switzerland. Her credit card is declined. I guess DSL means business! 

Since she has no money, Spoiled Granddaughter has no choice but to go back to work the next day. So now Spoiled Granddaughter is determined to make this work, but Loyal Employee is still trying to get her to quit. 

Today's task is being an elf for Santa pictures! Complete with a costume AND elf ears! Unfortunately for Loyal Employee, Spoiled Granddaughter actually got into it and enjoys herself. 

Next up, delivering packages...

One of the stops happens to be Spoiled Granddaughter's Aunt's house, and Spoiled Granddaughter quickly hugs her aunt and whispers, "play along! Loyal Employee can't know I'm a Department Store family member!"

Just for fun, Aunt invites Loyal Employee and Spoiled Granddaughter to stay for dinner. Weirdly they accept (maybe it was the last stop of the day?).

Over dinner, Aunt & Cousin tell all kinds of stories about Spoiled Granddaughter that point out how spoiled she has been all her life. Spoiled Granddaughter is feeling sad that they only remember these spoiled things about her. Loyal Employee starts to defend Spoiled Granddaughter, and says what a great job she's doing at the store. He's having a change of heart toward her.

Loyal Employee takes Spoiled Granddaughter to see the Christmas lights on their way home from dinner. They share a moment.  Then it passes. 

Loyal Employee asks Spoiled Granddaughter what Christmas was like when she was a kid. They were normal days of the week. Nothing special.

Loyal Employee decides it's time to make a Christmas memory. Time for ice skating! Spoiled Granddaughter is a terrible skater, but she has fun despite falling!

Spoiled Granddaughter explains that her parents were so busy at Christmas time that they would feel guilty and buy her whatever she wanted. Then her parents got divorced. This is the first Christmas that Spoiled Granddaughter has enjoyed. 

Loyal Employee has decided this is the moment for a kiss! Just as they are about to lock lips, children pelt then with snowballs! Loyal Employee suggests going for hot cocoa instead...

Oopsies! The department store accidentally ordered too many teacups! It's a disaster! Now the department  store will lose tons of money! 

Spoiled Granddaughter comes up with a plan. She makes teacup candles, then advertises then on social media. People flood in to get these unique items. Crisis averted!

Loyal Employee is not happy for long, he has figured out that Spoiled Granddaughter is DSL's granddaughter. Now Loyal Employee is worried he won't get the promotion! He says mean things to Spoiled Granddaughter. Now Spoiled Granddaughter is sad. She thought Loyal Employee liked her...

DSL tells Spoiled Granddaughter she has done a great job. She's earned her inheritance! DSL tells Spoiled Granddaughter to get on a flight to Switzerland. She's earned it too! But Spoiled Granddaughter is not over Loyal Employee. She feels some type of way about him...

DSL finds Loyal Employee to let him know that she was the one who decided to keep Spoiled Granddaughter's identity a secret. DSL thinks Loyal Employee is great! He's earned the promotion! 

Loyal Employee feels bad and what he said to Spoiled Granddaughter. DSL tells him to go apologize and see what happens. 

All the teacups sold! It's a Christmas miracle! Spoiled Granddaughter and Loyal Employee start apologizing at the same time. Awe, how cute! They are meant to be! "Sorry. Sorry. Sorry too. Me as well, sorry."

Merry Christmas. 

The end

Just Another Christmas

Rating 5/10

Reason: it's labeled a comedy, and though there are some funny moments, I'd say it's a drama, and not really a romance either. Definitely not a Hallmark type movie (which is ok). It was dubbed from Portuguese, and the voice actors did a really good job with the voices and emotion. I was excited about the premise of reliving Christmas over & over, it just wasn't great.

*Watched on Netflix (Dubbed) (Age Rating: Mature)

SPOILERS BELOW! 

                                                                                      

A man with a Christmas birthday has always hated Christmas. 

Now he's married with kids, and everything changes when you have kids...

Christmas Man still hates Christmas and everything to do with it, but because of his kids he has to make an effort. 

Christmas Man's in-laws descend on the house, and it's not long until everyone's fighting.

Christmas Man is dressed up as Santa under duress, and complaining about it when he falls off the roof. 

Christmas Man wakes up the next day, and it's Christmas again, but it's NEXT Christmas...

Christmas Man doesn't remember anything that has happened in the last year. His wife tells him about the family vacation, and his promotion at work, but it's all news to him.

The whole family comes over for Christmas, and say all the exact same things they said last year. They have the same arguments, and it's just as unpleasant as last Christmas. 

Day 3

Christmas Man is getting fed up with only remembering his least favourite day. Apparently over the last year he went to a doctor about it, but the doctor couldn't figure it out. Christmas Man doesn't remember...

In-laws arrive, in-laws fight, in-laws leave. 

Day 4

Christmas Man wakes up, realises what day it is and takes some sleepy medicine. He left his Wife a note, "wake me up tomorrow."

Days 5-10

Repeat the sleepy pill process

Day 11

Wife is prepared as Christmas Man wakes up. She will not allow him to sleep through the day any longer. Because he only remembers Christmas Day, and he's slept through the last 7, he hardly recognizes his kids when they come to say good morning. 

In-laws arrive, but this year we're going to add Christmas Man's Angry Secretary to the mix. Christmas Man tells her to leave him alone. 

In-laws fight, in-laws leave. 

Christmas Man asks Wife why she woke him up this year. She says she misses the Christmas Man from 10 years ago. Wife doesn't like Who Christmas Man is during the rest of the year, and this was a way to get a piece of him back. 

Day 12

Christmas Man wakes up and Angry Secretary comes in the room with breakfast in bed. She tells him they have been living together for 4 months and he's getting divorced.

Christmas Man left himself a video from earlier in the year explaining what's been happening. He's a totally different guy throughout the year!

After viewing the video, Christmas Man jumps off the balcony in hopes that it will get things back to normal.

Angry Secretary brings Christmas Man back to Wife and kids' house. They can deal with him. 

In-laws arrive, in-laws are mad at Christmas Man. He's been a jerk during the year, but Christmas Man doesn't remember...

Wife is mad at Christmas Man. She used to think the Christmas version was the real Christmas Man, but now she thinks the during the rest of the year version is the real Christmas Man, and she doesn't like him. 

Daughter tells Christmas Man to use his 1 day a year to do something special for Wife if he really wants to get her back....

Angry Secretary threatens that next year she will take Christmas Man to a far away island for Christmas! 

Day 13

Christmas Man wakes up in a hut by the beach! He starts yelling, "I love Wife! I'm going home to Wife!" And starts packing a bag...

Wife steps out of the bathroom. Surprise! Apparently Christmas Man did something right during the year, and they are back together.

Day 14

Christmas Man wakes up in NY with Wife! 

Day 15

France

Day 16

London

Day 17

Alaska

Day 18 

Russia

Day 19

Home 

Christmas Man's a grandpa! Daughter has cancer though. Christmas Man is worried that he hasn't been a good dad through the rest of the year, but Daughter says he's been a great dad. 

Christmas Man wants to stay awake because he's afraid that next Christmas Daughter might be gone.

Day 20

Wife left him sleepy pills and a note saying, "I'll understand."

Christmas Man goes to the nursery and finds Grandkid and Wife together. Daughter died. 

Christmas Man enjoys his day with his family, and regrets all the things he missed out on in his life, all the things he took for granted...

Christmas Man wishes on his birthday candles...

Day...

Christmas Man wakes up back on Day 1! With a new attitude! He's a changed man! Let's do all the Christmas things! Christmas Man loves Christmas! 

The end