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    Ghosts of Christmas Always

    7.4/10 · 2,270 ratings·2022·1h 24m·Christmas·Weirdness 8/10
    Ghosts of Christmas Always poster

    At a glance

    8/10

    Certified weird

    What bumps it up: Ghosts/Spirits, Miracle happens.

    Holiday
    Christmas
    Season
    Winter
    Setting
    Small Town
    Time period
    Contemporary
    Leads start as
    Complete Strangers
    Runtime
    1h 24m
    Watch trailer
    IMDbLetterboxdTMDBHallmarkJustWatch

    Where to watch

    🇺🇸United States18 ways

    Stream

    • fuboTV
    • YouTube TV
    • Philo
    • Hallmark+ Amazon Channel
    • Hallmark+ Apple TV Channel
    • Hallmark TV Amazon Channel

    Free

    • Hoopla

    Rent

    • Amazon Video
    • Apple TV Store
    • Google Play Movies
    • YouTube
    • Fandango At Home
    • Cineverse

    Buy

    • Amazon Video
    • Apple TV Store
    • Google Play Movies
    • YouTube
    • Fandango At Home
    🇨🇦Canada12 ways

    Stream

    • Crave Amazon Channel

    Free

    • Crave
    • Hoopla

    Rent

    • Apple TV Store
    • Google Play Movies
    • YouTube
    • Amazon Video
    • Cineverse

    Buy

    • Apple TV Store
    • Google Play Movies
    • YouTube
    • Amazon Video
    🇬🇧United Kingdom1 way

    Stream

    • Hallmark TV Amazon Channel

    Via JustWatch · can change anytime.

    The premise

    It follows Katherine, a Ghost of Christmas Present, as she helps one soul to rediscover his Christmas spirit, but this year has something unusual in store.

    Themes:Legacy vs. ProfitCharity and CommunityBreaking Family CyclesThe Power of Memory

    How unusual is it?

    Very. Ghosts/spirits and an actual miracle all turn up in one movie — the strangest 7% of everything we've logged.

    Who’s in it

    Kim Matula headshot

    Our Girl

    Kim Matula

    as Katherine

    Ian Harding headshot

    Our Guy

    Ian Harding

    as Peter Baron

    Alongside them

    • Beth Leavel headshot
      Beth LeavelSusan Kraine
    • Kathleen Garrett headshot
      Kathleen GarrettMrs. Winchester
    • Christopher Innvar headshot
      Christopher InnvarRobert Baron
    • Kate MacCluggage headshot
      Kate MacCluggageLily Baron
    Show all 10 castShow fewer
    • Julian Gamble headshot
      Julian GambleGrandpa Bob
    • Blair Baker headshot
      Blair BakerCharlie
    • Liana Hunt headshot
      Liana HuntBetsey
    • Jack Carter Barton headshot
      Jack Carter BartonTeen Peter

    Behind the camera

    ShowHide

    Directed by

    • Rich Newey headshot
      Rich Newey

    Written by

    • Zac Hug headshot
      Zac Hug
    • Annika Marks headshot
      Annika Marks

    Wait, what?

    The quirks and curveballs that make this one a little weirder than your average Hallmark. No spoilers, promise.

    • The protagonist is a ghost who eventually comes back to life
    • The Department of Cosmic Order manages scrooging assignments like a corporate office
    • The love interest is the grandson of the ghost's former best friend
    • A ghost and a mortal have a romantic date involving 'registering the present moment' with falling snow
    • The movie meta-references Bill Murray's 'Scrooged' and other Christmas Carol adaptations

    Every trope, all in one place

    Here’s everything this one has going on, from the setting to the way it wraps up. Tap any of the 36 to find more movies that do the same thing.

    Setting2

    🏘️Small Town📍Other

    Time & season3

    ❄️Winter🎄Christmas🗓️Contemporary

    Premise3

    👻Ghosts/Spirits✨Supernatural📜Inheritance

    Characters5

    👥Lead: Ghost/Spirit💼Love interest: Executive/Corporate👥Pop Star/Singer🏠Returns home👥Celebrity

    Conflict6

    👨‍👩‍👧Family Expectations⚡Developer/Land Buyer🏘️Community stakes📉Business in peril😠Disapproving parent💔An ex returns

    Romance6

    💕Start as complete strangers💕First kiss: late (final third)💓Instant attraction🔥Slow burn💗Love confession🎁Grand gesture

    Tone & quirks5

    🎬Light/Heartwarming🎵Musical element👨‍🍳Cooking scenes❄️Snow activities💃Dance scene

    How it ends6

    ⭐A miracle💋Ends with a kiss🏘️Stays in the small town🔄Career change🤝Family reconciliation🏪Saves the business

    Why we’d put this one on

    Weirdness 8 and one of the higher-rated picks here at 7.4, which is a lovely combination. Kim Matula plays Katherine, the Ghost of Christmas Present, assigned to nudge a soul back toward the holiday spirit, only this year her target, played by Ian Harding, is already full of cheer and somehow the only mortal who remembers her from before. So it flips the Christmas Carol formula and runs with it. The world-building is the joy: a "Department of Cosmic Order" that manages scrooging assignments like a corporate office, and the film cheerfully meta-references other Christmas Carol adaptations. Inventive, warm, and unusually clever for the genre.

    How it all plays out

    Already seen it, or just can’t wait? Open this up for the whole story, ending included.

    Full story (spoilers)
    The film opens with Katherine (Ghost of Christmas Present), Arlene (Past), and Roy (Future) completing a successful mission with a singer named Susan Kraine. They are immediately sent to Hartford for their next assignment: Peter Baron. Katherine is unsettled because she encountered Peter the previous year, and he was able to see her, which is against the rules of the 'Department of Cosmic Order.' Peter is the heir to the Foodstuff Grocery Corporation, run by his cold, business-minded father, Robert. While Robert wants Peter to focus on the bottom line, Peter secretly spends his nights using company vans to feed the hungry in Frog Hollow. As the ghosts take Peter through his history, they visit his childhood where his grandfather, Bob, ran the 'Frog Hollow Angel' community center. We learn that Robert eventually shut the center down because it wasn't profitable, causing a rift in the family's values. Katherine begins to feel a romantic pull toward Peter, which is complicated by her status as a ghost. During the investigation, Katherine discovers a photo of herself in the old community center. She eventually realizes that in her mortal life, she was Katherine Marley, a waitress who died on Christmas Eve while helping others. She was also the best friend of Peter's grandmother, Betsy. In a bureaucratic twist, the ghosts' boss, Charlie, reveals there was a 'mistake' in the paperwork: they were actually supposed to scrooge the father, Robert, but Peter was the one listed. Because Peter can see Katherine, the team uses him as a proxy to reach Robert. Peter confronts his father with a heartfelt letter written by Betsy, which Katherine helped him find. This leads to Robert's redemption; he agrees to reopen the community center and keep the family legacy of charity alive. In the finale, it is revealed that the 'mistake' was a setup by the Department of Cosmic Order to bring soulmates together. Katherine is allowed to 'pass through' back into the living world. She wakes up as a mortal woman in the present day, meets Peter at the newly reopened community center, and they begin a real relationship, fulfilling their destiny.

    Beat by beat

    1. 1

      Opening

      Katherine, Arlene, and Roy finish scrooging Susan Kraine and are assigned to Peter Baron, whom Katherine met (and was seen by) the previous year.

    2. 2

      Midpoint

      The ghosts take Peter through his past, revealing his grandfather's charitable legacy and his father's shift toward corporate greed.

    3. 3

      Development

      Katherine discovers she was a real person named Katherine Marley who died on Christmas and was the best friend of Peter's grandmother.

    4. 4

      Twist

      The Department of Cosmic Order reveals they targeted the wrong Baron; they were meant to scrooge the father, Robert, but used Peter as a medium.

    5. 5

      Climax

      Peter uses a letter from the past to convince his father to abandon his greedy plans and reopen the Frog Hollow Angel community center.

    6. 6

      Resolution

      Katherine is granted a return to mortal life by Charlie and reunites with Peter as a living woman.

    Did you know?

    A few things that make this one stand out once you stack it up against every other Hallmark movie.

    • At a weirdness score of 8, it lands among the strangest 7% of Hallmark movies we've scored.

    Top 7% weirdest

    Out of every Hallmark movie we've scored, this one lands among the strangest 7%.

    How it stacks up

    Where this one’s rating lands against every other rated Hallmark movie.

    Rating 7.4 vs every rated Hallmark moviemedian 6.4This movie · 7.445678

    Higher-rated than 96% of every rated Hallmark movie. The median is 6.4.

    Where this one fits

    The corners of the catalog Ghosts of Christmas Always belongs to — handy if you’re after more of the same.

    • 🤯Weirdest Hallmark MoviesScores 8/10 on our weirdness scale — comfortably in the strange end.
    • 🎢Craziest Hallmark MoviesWild enough in premise to make the all-time list.
    • 🎄Best Hallmark Christmas MoviesIt is, of course, a Christmas movie.
    • 🎄Weirdest Hallmark Christmas MoviesA Christmas movie strange enough to make the weird list.
    • ✨Hallmark Supernatural MoviesHas a supernatural element.
    • 👻Hallmark Ghost MoviesA ghost plays a part.

    Lines worth quoting

    The lines that stuck with us — the ones you’ll be repeating after the credits roll.

    • “Destiny is a false construct.”
      — ArleneDiscussing the inevitability of Peter taking over the company.
    • “You never know something's happening for the last time until it's over.”
      — KatherineReflecting on Peter's last Christmas with his grandfather.
    • “I would rather be broke and good than rich and broken.”
      — Peter BaronHis voicemail to his father rejecting the company.

    Meet the characters

    Who’s who before you press play. Nothing here gives the ending away.

    • Katherine

      Lead

      Ghost of Christmas Present

      Love interest and spiritual guide

      CompassionateRule-breakerSelfless
    • Peter Baron

      Love interest

      Corporate Heir / Philanthropist

      The 'target' who can see ghosts

      KindGuilt-riddenVisionary
    • Robert Baron

      Antagonist

      CEO of Foodstuff Grocery Corp

      Father

      WorkaholicStingyEmotionally distant
    • Arlene

      Supporting

      Ghost of Christmas Past

      Teammate

      CynicalNo-nonsenseDirect
    • Roy

      Supporting

      Ghost of Christmas Future

      Teammate

      DapperOptimisticEnjoys Martinis

    Questions people ask about Ghosts of Christmas Always

    Where can I watch Ghosts of Christmas Always?

    Ghosts of Christmas Always is available via fuboTV, YouTube TV, and Philo. Streaming options change often, so check current availability before settling in.

    How long is Ghosts of Christmas Always?

    Ghosts of Christmas Always runs about 1 hour and 24 minutes, and was released in 2022.

    Is Ghosts of Christmas Always a Christmas movie?

    Yes. Ghosts of Christmas Always is a Hallmark Christmas movie, set during the holiday season.

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    Data and sources

    Curated by the Talking Hallmark team.

    Sources:IMDb·TMDB·JustWatch

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