Back in 2021, I watched my first Mrs. Miracle Christmas movie. That was the third movie in the series, which didn’t matter much because it was a new actress (Caroline Rhea) playing the Mrs. Miracle character. This year’s Joyful Mrs. Miracle has Rachel Boston in the role. I love that this is a character that can easily switch actresses with no real consequence to her.

After the passing of their grandmother, siblings Charlotte (Pascal Lamothe-Kipnes), Benedict (Matthew James Dowden), and Henry (Max Lloyd-Jones) reunite to decide who will take over as CEO of the family company. Annie Merkle (Boston), an estate planner, arrives to help the family realize what is really important to them and to help Charlotte reconnect with her first love, Austin (Tanner Novlan).

I loved this version of Mrs. Miracle. To me, Caroline Rhea made the character a bit more goofy. The Rachel Boston version is still a little silly but in a that-person-is-too-happy kind of way. There is a scene where a couple gets engaged and Annie tries her best to contain her excitement before she yells “Oh! I’m a hugger!” and hugs the newly engaged woman so tightly. I honestly hope that Hallmark keeps Boston as Mrs. Miracle for any future movies. She really was the brightest spot of the movie for me.

Don’t get me wrong…the rest of the actors are great in their roles. Even Charlotte’s son, Cody (Logan Carriere), was decent. As a matter of fact, there is a possibility that Joyful Mrs. Miracle will be my favorite movie of the year. Other movies will have to work very hard to beat it.

Rating: I would like Mrs. Miracle to come hang out with me

Never Been Chris’d is a different sort of Christmas romance movie. Let’s jump right into it…

Naomi (Janel Parrish) and Liz (Pascal Lamothe-Kipnes) have been best friends forever. When they come home for the holidays, they bump into their high school crush, Chris Silver (Tyler Hynes). Will reconnecting with him change their lives forever?

So, yes, this is a Christmas romance movie. However, Christmas (and Hanukkah!) play a very minor part. As a matter of fact, the romance itself plays a minor part as well. Instead, Never Been Chris’d is more about the friendship between Naomi and Liz and how they can grow as people without growing apart. Chris is more like a catalyst for them to speak up for themselves instead of being the end all life goal.

To be honest, the fact that female friendship takes precedence over romantic love makes me enjoy this movie a lot more than I normally would. I mean, both Naomi and Liz are kinda terrible characters. Somehow they are both extremely selfish yet not willing to stand up for themselves at the same time. But I am a big sucker for a movie where the women don’t really need the man to progress their lives. We could easily take Chris entirely out of the movie and very little would change. It is quite refreshing. Especially for Hallmark.

Rating: Best Friends Forever, no man needed