Connecticut’s cities and towns are beautiful any time of year, but there is something about our small state that exudes the charm that you see in Christmas movies.
Maybe it’s the tree-lined streets, gazebos in town centers, quaint shops, historic buildings or stately houses that create the perfect backdrop to lure film companies here to shoot holiday films.
Here is a look at films have been shot here or are set here and where to go to feel like you are in a Hallmark movie.
“Christmas at Pemberly Mansion”
Jessica Lowndes and Michael Rady star in the Hallmark film, which was filmed in Essex and Old Lyme.
It starts with Lowndes playing a New York event planner who is sent at Christmas time “to a quaint, small town to organize their holiday festival.” Rady plays a billionaire “in the process of selling the charming estate she hoped to use as a venue.”
It airs at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 26.
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“Christmas on Honeysuckle Lane”
The movie was filmed in Wethersfield. Alicia Will and Colin Ferguson star in the Hallmark movie, which will air at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
“Holiday for Heroes”
It airs next at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 24.
“My Adventures With Santa”
“Rediscovering Christmas”
The description is, “When Mia, a talented Boston department store window designer, travels to her family's Connecticut town to help her sister design the decor for its annual Snowflake Festival Christmas Eve dance, she finds herself at odds with--and later attracted to--the stubborn but kindly Adam, whose grandparents founded the beloved festival 60 years ago.”
The movie premieres on Lifetime on Dec. 15.
“Romance at Reindeer Lodge”
“Romance at Reindeer Lodge” was filmed in North Haven and Branford.
The premise? “A group of adults from different parts of the country have sworn off partaking in holiday events. Two of those people are Molly and Jared. Upon arriving at their destination, they discover it’s a Christmas themed ranch. With no flight out until after Christmas, the group ends up staying,” according to the Hallmark Channel description.
It airs Monday, Nov. 25 at 5 p.m.
“A Very Merry Toy Store”
The film was shot in part at Amato’s toy store in New Britain as well as Bristol in 2017.
It airs at 4 p.m. on Lifetime and at 4 p.m. on Dec. 4.
“A Very Nutty Christmas”
“A Very Nutty Christmas” >was filmed in Mystic and Centerbrook.
Melissa Joan Hart stars in the Lifetime film. The network description of the movie is, “Hard-working bakery owner Kate Holiday (Melissa Joan Hart), has more cookie orders than she has time to fill this holiday season, and when her boyfriend suddenly breaks up with her, any shred of Christmas joy she was hanging onto, immediately disappears.”
Then comes the magic with a “handsome soldier who may or may not be the Nutcracker Prince from Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker” showing up.
It airs on Lifetime at noon on Nov. 25.
“Christmas in Connecticut”
“Christmas in Connecticut” is a classic about a “food writer who has lied about being the perfect housewife must try to cover her deception when her boss and a returning war hero invite themselves to her home for a traditional family Christmas.”
The 1945 film was shot in California but it’s supposed to take place on a farm in Connecticut.
What's your favorite Christmas movie? Comment below.
