Well, since I’m on year three of my fast and furious pursuit to watch every new Christmas addition to Netflix, let’s call it a tradition. I know that many of us have a little extra time on our hands this year, so I’m here to point your remote in the right direction. As in, what’s worth the watch and what’s a total waste of your time. These first five deliver in both categories, yikes!
The Best
Holidate – I am who I am, therefore it’s no shock that I really, really loved Holidate. This Netflix original documents a whole trip around the sun for our leading lady Sloane (Emma Roberts). She’s pushing 30, lacking ambition in every avenue of her life (this really speaks to me, lol), and incredibly single, much to the dismay of her family. After receiving a pair of pajamas large enough to host an army of Sloanes for Christmas, she meets equally jaded playboy Jackson in the returns line at the mall. What follows is a year’s worth of holidates and mostly disdainful, however friendly (and often drunk), interaction between them. Will all of the shared sarcasm and real-life-dating-failures add up to romance between them? Idk, carve out two hours of your day to find out.
Bottom line: 5 out of 5 candy canes. Very cute.
The Good
Midnight at the Magnolia – This movie, somehow, didn’t show up on my Netflix suggestions, but instead came recommended by my friend Adrian. Maggie and Jack (Luke from Awkward to save you a google search of his familiar face) have been best friends their entire lives and now host a popular radio show together. Their dad’s co-own a once popular Chicago jazz club, The Magnolia, and Maggie and Jack are saddened to learn at their annual Christmas dinner that the club has seen better days. With their own careers and families’ livelihoods on the line, they tell a little white holiday lie to fix it all, but will it work? If you like cheesy romcoms, this one is for you!
Bottom line: 4.5 out of 5 candy canes
Operation Christmas Drop – Our favorite Vampire Diaries Witch Bonnie is back on the Netflix Christmas scene, and per the usual, she does not disappoint. She plays Erica, a Congressional aide, working her tail off to get a high profile promotion. She’s sent on a last minute trip to a tropical military base to audit their efficiencies and basically shut them down right before Christmas. Upon arriving, she meets Andrew, nicknamed CLAWS (you’ll find out why), and the two butt heads at every turn until Erica begins to truly understand that the holiday mission of this base brings more joy to the people of the surrounding islands than she could possibly imagine. And if this isn’t enough to warm your heart, Operation Christmas Drop is real! You can read more about it here!
Bottom line: 4.5 out of 5 candy canes. Will make your Grinch heart grow!
The Pretty Good
The Princess Switch: Switched Again – If you’ll recall, I did love The Princess Switch OG when it released two years ago, so I was super excited for the sequel to drop. If you thought The Lizzie McGuire Movieness of the first installment was too ridiculous to stand, then you should skip to my last spot. Why? Well, we’ve now got a triplet, lol. Yup, Vanessa Hudgens plays not only now princess Stacy, and almost queen Margaret, she also shows up with a full wig of platinum blonde hair as Fiona, Margaret’s greedy cousin. This movie is 100% nonsensical shenanigans, and so much is going on that there’s basically no character/plot development, but it’s magical nonetheless, and my inner wildcat can’t help but love it. Fan of It Takes Two? If so, give this one a watch!
Bottom line: 4 out of 5 candy canes
The uh, Bad
Hometown Holiday – You know it’s going to be questionable when the movie poster features a character who is tertiary at best. Krista and her sister Ashley are southern belles running a floral shop in the small town where they grew up. Krista wasn’t always a small-town girl though, she briefly pursued stage acting in The Big Apple before ultimately throwing away her fame and passions to come home and live with her sister for literally zero reason (sorry, it’s true). She’s in the habit of dating liars, so while her floral business is thriving, her romantic life certainly is not. Ryan is a big city talent attorney looking to sign online country sensation, Wes, to a high dollar contract. He’s in the habit of dating models and actresses who use him to further their careers. His pursuit of Wes brings him to his sister’s house in the same small town where Krista, Ashley, and Wes live. As luck would have it, Ryan’s sister brings him as a guest to a local wedding where Krista and Ashley are handling the flowers and Wes is in attendance. Over the next three months, relationships ebb and flow in dramatic ways that make no sense and then Ryan proposes to Krista and Wes never signs the contract. The end.
Bottom line: 1 out of 5 candy canes. These actors deserved a better story to tell.
What Christmas movies are you loving so far?
xoxo The Netflix Princess: Netflixed Again
laughingatleighann.com 
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