Christmas Joy debuted last year and quickly became one of my all-time favorite Christmas movies. Danielle Panabaker and Matt Long are absolute perfection together. They have this great, easy chemistry that's not necessarily sexy, but they play and banter off each other so well that it really is a joy to watch. (See what I did there?)
Joy is a corporate marketing consultant - she runs focus groups for clients - in Washington, DC. She has to take off for North Carolina in a hurry when her aunt takes a tumble off of a stepladder while preparing for the town's annual Cookie Crawl (ah-maz-ing idea). The Cookie Crawl, btw, is basically like Christmas trick-or-treating where people sign up to bake cookies and the Cookie Crawl group goes house to house and then votes on a winner. When Joy gets home she reconnects with Ben, a high school acquaintance who has been helping her aunt with the Crawl. Ben - spoiler alert - is adorable and when he's not baking cookies or teaming up with his mom for the gingerbread house contest (this town hearts Christmas cookies) and running the local hospital, is nursing a sizeable chip on his shoulder care of his ex-wife. You see, Ben's a country mouse, the ex decided she was a city mouse. Anyway - with Joy's aunt out of commission she signs on to defend the Golden Wreath title and handle the cookies herself. Eventually, she realizes she needs Ben's help.
You all know how this ends, right? Of course you do, but spoilers ahead...
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One of my favorite bits of this movie is Mrs. Weatherton's super awkward assistant/bodyguard/chauffeur.
Ben has a wreath on the front grill of his pick-up. This is only acceptable from Matt Long or Kevin McGarry, otherwise, it's a no from me dawg.
Matt Long looks more like Pete Buttigieg than Pete Buttigieg does. That's not a bad thing. (Boot-edge-edge! Boot-edge-edge!)
Ben and Joy have an epic re-meet-cute when she becomes tangled in the lights he's decorating the hospital lobby with.
It takes Joy's aunt and Ben's mom approximately .03 seconds to start matchmaking. Everyone needs meddling old ladies in their life.
Ben's mom lays some epic guilt trips on him for not being able to be her gingerbread partner for the past few years and keeps reminding him just how disappointed she'll be if he can't partner this year.
Here's last year's Golden Wreath winning cookie list: 20 dozen sugars, 14 dozen thumbprints, 10 dozen shortbread, 4 dozen lemon bars, 40 dozen chocolate chip - regular and chocolate chocolate, 30 dozen brownies - with and without nuts. Plus 4 trees.
Joy overshares with her boss. Not sure she needed to know the Cookie Crawl details.
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| from Hallmark Channel |
Joy is a corporate marketing consultant - she runs focus groups for clients - in Washington, DC. She has to take off for North Carolina in a hurry when her aunt takes a tumble off of a stepladder while preparing for the town's annual Cookie Crawl (ah-maz-ing idea). The Cookie Crawl, btw, is basically like Christmas trick-or-treating where people sign up to bake cookies and the Cookie Crawl group goes house to house and then votes on a winner. When Joy gets home she reconnects with Ben, a high school acquaintance who has been helping her aunt with the Crawl. Ben - spoiler alert - is adorable and when he's not baking cookies or teaming up with his mom for the gingerbread house contest (this town hearts Christmas cookies) and running the local hospital, is nursing a sizeable chip on his shoulder care of his ex-wife. You see, Ben's a country mouse, the ex decided she was a city mouse. Anyway - with Joy's aunt out of commission she signs on to defend the Golden Wreath title and handle the cookies herself. Eventually, she realizes she needs Ben's help.
You all know how this ends, right? Of course you do, but spoilers ahead...
-
One of my favorite bits of this movie is Mrs. Weatherton's super awkward assistant/bodyguard/chauffeur.
Ben has a wreath on the front grill of his pick-up. This is only acceptable from Matt Long or Kevin McGarry, otherwise, it's a no from me dawg.
Matt Long looks more like Pete Buttigieg than Pete Buttigieg does. That's not a bad thing. (Boot-edge-edge! Boot-edge-edge!)
Ben and Joy have an epic re-meet-cute when she becomes tangled in the lights he's decorating the hospital lobby with.
It takes Joy's aunt and Ben's mom approximately .03 seconds to start matchmaking. Everyone needs meddling old ladies in their life.
Ben's mom lays some epic guilt trips on him for not being able to be her gingerbread partner for the past few years and keeps reminding him just how disappointed she'll be if he can't partner this year.
Here's last year's Golden Wreath winning cookie list: 20 dozen sugars, 14 dozen thumbprints, 10 dozen shortbread, 4 dozen lemon bars, 40 dozen chocolate chip - regular and chocolate chocolate, 30 dozen brownies - with and without nuts. Plus 4 trees.
Joy overshares with her boss. Not sure she needed to know the Cookie Crawl details.
"This is bonkers!" Aunt Ruby does not mess around.
"Captain Christmas" is definitely a compliment.
I love Joy's glee in hearing office gossip. Hallmark characters, they're just like us!
Oatmeal raisin cookies are seriously underrated!
You are so buying me dinner."
"Yes. Yes, I am."
I genuinely can't tell if Ben's mom is annoyed or excited that the kids look like they're on a date in this scene. She's all over the place.
Man, when he pulls away? Poor Joy, go get you some brownies girl.
"Captain Christmas" is definitely a compliment.
I love Joy's glee in hearing office gossip. Hallmark characters, they're just like us!
Oatmeal raisin cookies are seriously underrated!
You are so buying me dinner."
"Yes. Yes, I am."
I genuinely can't tell if Ben's mom is annoyed or excited that the kids look like they're on a date in this scene. She's all over the place.
Man, when he pulls away? Poor Joy, go get you some brownies girl.
That carousel should have won the gingerbread contest and I think we all know it.
Oh Ben, that was a gross overreaction.
"Hello! Bought a new one so I thought I'd bring back your old snow shovel-"
"Why aren't you calling Joy back?!'
"... and good morning, mom."
So pretty!
What the Hallmark does auntie do to have a house like that?!
... and they lived happily ever after.
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