The 10 Worst Hallmark Christmas Movie Relationships Of The Decade, Ranked

The Hallmark channel has been arguably making Christmas much cornier than it needs to be with a slew of often ridiculous holiday movies since its launch in 2001. That’s a lot of years of Hallmark Christmas movies, and over a decade of Countdown to Christmas (a tradition coined in 2009), in which the channels backload its programming with countless airings of its original movies.

In the decades since it aired its very first holiday movie, Hallmark has been making a name for itself as the “Christmas channel”, and although everyone seems to hate the Christmas flicks, the channel rakes in millions of views in the holiday season.

The Hallmark Channel is notorious for its cringe-worthy, unrealistic portrayal of romance, but sometimes the relationships that these Christmas movies are centered around are just downright bad and toxic. Let’s take a look at some of the very worst of the decade.

10 Lily & Mark – A Nutcracker Christmas (2016)

Hallmark released A Nutcracker Christmas in 2016, and the movie is really exactly how the title makes it sound. Its weak plot follows the life of a ballerina whose one goal is to get the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy in the New York Ballet. For Lily, the protagonist, this dream never came true during her time at the ballet academy because her boyfriend’s ex kept getting the much sought-after role.

After years, Lily is finally cast in the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy, and as fate would have it, her sister is killed in a car accident the night of Lily’s big debut. So Lily never got to dance her dream role and breaks off her rather stale relationship with her boyfriend, Mark. Years later, in typical Hallmark fashion, the two are reunited when Lily’s niece attends the New York Ballet, and in the most predictable twist of fate, Lily and Mark rekindle their problematic relationship.

9 Eric & April – Christmas Next Door (2017)

Christmas Next Door debuted on the Hallmark Channel in 2017 and followed the life of a self-absorbed author named Eric, who has been living the bachelor life and loathing Christmas ever since his fiance dumped on – you guessed it – Christmas day. The sob story continues throughout the whole movie for Eric; he has to babysit his young niece and nephew over Christmas and begrudgingly recruits his Christmas-obsessed neighbor, April, for some help.

The chemistry between Eric and April was lacking from the beginning, and the storyline that brings them together just doesn’t make that much sense, especially since Eric is dating someone on the side for the better part of the movie.

8 Sophie & Evan – Christmas At Holly Lodge (2017)

Christmas At Holly Lodge, starring a generic couple standing in front of a Christmas tree, hit the Hallmark Channel in 2017 and has since been considered one of the most forgettable holiday movies from said channel. Its protagonist is Sophie, a Christmas-loving woman who runs Holly Lodge all the while her depts and mortgage payments pile up.

When an investment company sends dreamboat Evan to secretly study the property, the unbelievable happens, and Evan and Sophie fall for each other before he even decides to tell her what he’s actually doing at Holly Lodge.

7 Rachel & Jack – A Joyous Christmas (2017)

A Joyous Christmas is one of Hallmark’s many stabs at telling a “deep, relatable” story with “realistically flawed” characters, but predictably, this endeavor didn’t go so well. Rachel is a self-help author who returns to her hometown to celebrate Christmas.

Basically, she unsuspectingly falls in love, virtually abandons her career, and stays forever because she meets Jack, who helps her discover the true meaning of Christmas.

6 Sophia & Will – Forever Christmas (aka Mr. 365) (2019)

Mr. 365 was a book written by Ruth Clampett in 2013. It only took a few years for Hallmark to get their hands on it, bringing Mr. 365 – also named Forever Christmas – to life in 2019. The end result was about as typical and cookie-cutter as you can imagine.

Forever Christmas followed the story of Will, a man who celebrates Christmas three hundred and sixty-five days a year, and Sophia, a TV producer who has long since lost her faith in Christmas. What ensues is a lackluster romance that’s as forgettable as the movie itself.

5 Celeste & Taylor – A Storybook Christmas (2019)

Celeste is an event planner who values work above all else – a big no-no in Hallmark movies. She hires a nanny to take care of her niece over Christmas – because she’s just that cold – and is surprised when a man named Taylor shows up for the position.

Just like that, Celeste realizes that Taylor is perfect – after knowing him for less than a week – and decides that Christmas is the most important thing.

4 Maggie & Jaxson – Matchmaker Christmas (2019)

Matchmaker Christmas, one of the Hallmark Channel’s newest additions to their holiday line-ups, is about a woman named Maggie who considers herself to be an all-star matchmaker. Seemingly, Maggie’s only problem is that she can’t quite seem to find the right match for herself.

That all changes when her ex comes to town, they forget why they broke up in the first place, and they ultimately end up back together because Christmas.

3 Nicky & Bill – Christmas At Cartwright’s (2014)

Christmas At Cartwright’s – or Secret Santa – is one of the more realistic, down-to-earth Hallmark Channel Christmas movies there is. It premiered in 2014 and followed the story of a struggling single mother named Nicky, who just wants to provide a nice Christmas for her eight-year-old daughter.

As Hallmark would have it, Nicky meets Bill, a handsome store manager, and sparks fly, because it’s a magical time of year.

2 Holly & Drew – I’m Not Ready For Christmas (2015)

I’m Not Ready For Christmas follows the tumultuous life of driven executive, Holly. She makes a career for herself by being rather dishonest, until one day, to her horror, she discovers that she can no longer lie. This movie was obviously a Christmas twist on the 1997 comedy, Liar Liar, and it’s actually one of the more unique Hallmark Christmas movies to date.

Holly’s story is more about her family and her relationship with her niece, but that makes the fact that she just ends up with Drew, some random guy.

1 Elise & Nick – The Mistletoe Promise (2016)

The holidays are complicated for Christmas-haters, Elise and Nick. In an attempt to make it through December unscathed, the two decide to pretend to be a couple to appease their judgmental families. As time goes on – and thanks to the magic of Christmas – the two predictably fall in love despite having no chemistry.

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