Directed By: Stacey N Harding

Written By: Joey DePaolo

Falling on Santa’s Naughty or Nice list used to be a call made by Santa and his elves. But with the number of kids worldwide skyrocketing, Santa has outsourced the job to the Naughty or Nice Group, a consulting firm that has cornered the market on determining a child’s niceness thanks to an airtight formula. As a top inspector with the group, it’s Isabel’s (Chabert) job to make the tough calls, by assessing the children on her list and assigning a verdict. When she is tasked with evaluating a mischievous 11-year-old Charlie Duncan, she expects a routine case. But things get complicated when Isabel unexpectedly falls for Charlie’s widowed father, Jason (Walker), and begins to question the rigid rules of her job. As Christmas approaches, Isabel must choose between following the holiday algorithm or following her heart. Starring Lacey Chabert and Andrew Walker.

I picked this movie for a Christmas movie date with my parents and I was so glad I did. It was such a good time! Major 90s Christmas classic vibes – I was instantly reminded of The Santa Clause. I loved being thrown into a world where Santa is real and the outsourcing and AI angle kept it fresh. The star of the movie is Cadence Compton as the “naughty” child Charlie. She gives the best performance by a child this year, and possibly the best performance by a child in a Hallmark movie ever. She is so natural, so funny, and completely owns her scenes. Lacey Chabert is a delight as well. She can always make you believe in her characters, even when on paper they shouldn’t work. At the start of the movie, she’s spying on children wearing silly disguises but is still enchanting. I won’t spoil the ending, but it had just the Christmas magic I was hoping for and a great message as well. A movie I will be rewatching every Christmas now 🎅✨🐇

Favorite Quote: Our mistake was never the formula, our mistake was assuming that any child could be naughty in the first place… Santa, I’m afraid by labeling a lot of kids naughty, we’re not incentivizing them to be nice, instead we’re creating mean adults.

Favorite Kiss: Not a kiss, but the most magical scene is visiting Santa’s office, starting with the candles lighting up as Charlie watches them.