Where Are You, Christmas?

Name: Where Are You, Christmas?
Genre: Christmas, Small Town, Magic/Wishes, Supernatural, Amnesia
Released: 2023-01-01
Duration: 1 h 24 min
Rating: 6.3
Cast: Lyndsy Fonseca, Michael Rady, Jim O'Heir, Julie Warner, Andrew David Bridges

6.3/10 · 1,550 ratings20231h 24mChristmasWeirdness 10/10Bingo card

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The premise

Addy wishes for a year without Christmas and she wakes up in a world of black and white. She must work together with the town mechanic to restore Christmas.

Themes:The danger of burnout Emotional vulnerability Healing through memory Community connection Forgiveness of self

How unusual is it?

Very. Magic, amnesia, Santa himself and an actual miracle all turn up in one movie — the strangest 1% of everything we've logged.

Who’s in it

Our Girl

Lyndsy Fonseca

as Addy

Our Guy

Michael Rady

as Hunter

Alongside them

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Behind the camera

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Directed by

Wait, what?

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

The film uses a literal black-and-white color palette for the majority of the runtime to represent a world without Christmas.
A 'creepy' marketing app with a robotic Santa voice acts as a supernatural monkey's paw.
Characters regain their physical color like characters in the movie Pleasantville.
The protagonist tries to 'logic' her way out of the spell by using Hallmark movie tropes, such as forced kissing.

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 32 to find more movies that do the same thing.

Why we’d put this one on

Weirdness 10, and the boldest visual swing in the whole catalog. A burnt-out marketing exec wishes the holiday would just go away and wakes up in a world drained of color, the only person who still remembers Christmas. The film actually shoots in black and white for most of its runtime and restores color Pleasantville-style as people heal, while a creepy app with a robotic Santa voice plays the monkey's paw. Lyndsy Fonseca leads, with Michael Rady as the town mechanic she has to win over. She even tries to logic her way out by triggering Hallmark tropes from the inside, which is the kind of self-aware joke this network rarely lets itself make. Clever, strange, and unlike anything else here.

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)

Addy Dean is a high-powered marketing executive in Chicago who spends 365 days a year planning Christmas campaigns, leading to extreme holiday burnout. When her brother Connor calls to announce he is proposing to his girlfriend Sienna on Christmas Eve, Addy reluctantly cancels a solo trip to the Maldives to return to her festive hometown, Red Lake Falls. Overwhelmed by the town's aggressive holiday spirit and her father's perceived coldness, Addy makes a wish on a 'Quick Ship' marketing app: 'Honestly, Santa, sometimes I wish there was no Christmas.' During a sudden storm, she crashes her car and faints. She wakes up to find the world has literally turned black and white, and no one in town has any memory of Christmas existing. Addy encounters Hunter, a local mechanic and veteran, who is the only other person to regain his color after he touches his late grandfather’s service ring and is flooded with holiday memories. The two realize that the 'creepy' Santa app has granted Addy's wish, and they have until the 25th to restore the holiday or it will be gone forever. They discover that people regain their memory and color when they heal a personal emotional wound associated with the season. They successfully 'convert' a teacher named Dana by reminding her of sewing pageant costumes with her mother. However, Addy struggles to reach her father, Nick, who feels she has abandoned the family for her city life. As the deadline approaches, Addy helps Connor remember his love for Sienna, leading to a public proposal at a makeshift pageant. Finally, Addy confronts her own habit of using her busy career to keep people at a distance. After a sincere conversation with her father and a heartfelt kiss with Hunter—performed for love rather than just to 'break the spell'—Addy’s color returns, the world is restored, and she decides to embrace her family and a potential future with Hunter.

Beat by beat

Opening
Addy, exhausted by year-round Christmas marketing, returns to her Christmas-obsessed hometown for her brother's proposal.
Inciting Incident
Addy makes a wish for Christmas to disappear on a mobile app and subsequently gets into a car accident.
Midpoint
Addy wakes up in a grayscale world where Christmas is forgotten; she finds Hunter, who also regains his color and memory.
Rising Action
Addy and Hunter work to 'cure' the townspeople by triggering sentimental holiday memories that restore their color.
Climax
Addy reconciles with her father and helps her brother propose, but she remains in black and white until she admits her own emotional faults.
Resolution
A sincere kiss with Hunter restores Addy's color just as the Christmas morning deadline arrives.

Did you know?

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

It scores a perfect 10 on our weirdness scale — 1 of just 15 movies in the whole catalog to do that.
It's 1 of only 8 Hallmark movies to combine supernatural elements and amnesia.

Top 1% weirdest

Out of every Hallmark movie we've scored, this one lands among the strangest 1%.

How it stacks up

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

Higher-rated than 37% of every rated Hallmark movie. The median is 6.4.

Where this one fits

The corners of the catalog Where Are You, Christmas? belongs to — handy if you’re after more of the same.

BINGOA first impression that turns out completely wrongA heart-to-heart on a porch or benchA happy endingA town mechanic who is a veteranA cosy interior full of warm lightingSomeone races to catch the other before they leaveA wise elder dispenses adviceA quiet moment under string lightsA best friend who has all the answersA heartfelt love confessionA burnt-out Christmas marketing execA prince, princess or royal appears★A big public romantic gestureSomeone apologises and means itA creepy app talks in a Santa voiceThe two leads are forced to work togetherHealing an old wound restores a personThe story ends with a weddingA walk-and-talk through townThe whole world goes black and whiteSparks fly the moment they meetSomeone decorates a Christmas treeA classic Hallmark meet-cuteA charming local cafe or diner

Hallmark Bingo

Your Where Are You, Christmas? card is dealt.

Twenty-four squares pulled from this movie’s own quirks — the cosy classics, a few only-in-this-one curveballs, and a couple of decoys. Mark them as you watch.

Open your card

Lines worth quoting

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

“The wishes you make this Christmas will last a lifetime.”
— Electronic Santa VoiceThe recurring ominous warning from the marketing app.
“I even kissed you, and I still didn't change.”
— Addy DeanAddy expressing frustration that a romantic cliché didn't break the supernatural spell.
“Speeding through life is a way of keeping people at arm's distance because they can never catch up.”
— Nick DeanAddy's father explaining why she is still stuck in black and white.

Meet the characters

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

Addy Dean
Lead
Marketing Executive
Burnt-outCynicalWorkaholicSentimental
Hunter
Love interest
Mechanic / Veteran
Romantic interest and partner in breaking the spell
GrievingStoicKindHandy
Nick Dean
Supporting
Accountant / Town Councilman
Father
TraditionalSensitiveStubborn
Connor Dean
Supporting
Police Officer
Brother
RomanticFamily-oriented

Questions people ask about Where Are You, Christmas?

Where can I watch Where Are You, Christmas??

Where Are You, Christmas? is available via fuboTV, Philo, and Hallmark+ Amazon Channel. Streaming options change often, so check current availability before settling in.

How long is Where Are You, Christmas??

Where Are You, Christmas? runs about 1 hour and 24 minutes, and was released in 2023.

Is Where Are You, Christmas? a Christmas movie?

Yes. Where Are You, Christmas? is a Hallmark Christmas movie, set during the holiday season.

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