Some things in life just beg to be drinking games. Hallmark Christmas movies are definitely among them. I don't want to encourage irresponsible behavior, so I'll be pouring sparkling cider or root beer as I watch the countless romantic comedies with completely predictable characters and plotlines parade by. Ice skating? Take a sip. Hot cocoa? Raise a glass. Interrupted kiss attempt? Bottoms up. A tree lighting ceremony, business deal, small-town festival, red pickup truck, and plenty of pure white, non-melting snow? You'll never be thirsty again!

Then, of course, there is the smart and beautiful leading lady, who has everything anyone could want, except for the fact that it seems an inexplicable something is missing from her life. Could it be love? Never fear, though, because the handsome and rich royal widower and his charming small child are just around the next corner. He's bound to bump into her (literally) and spend the rest of the scene apologizing for ruining the homemade gingerbread house she made for the benefit ball. By the end of the film, she's decided not to return to New York City after all, the duke has realized just how lonely he's been, and his charming daughter has saved the town fundraiser by donating an entire evening of "dances with the duchess" to the cause.

The formula is simple and consistent. This is how Hallmark managed to produce 22 new films for 2018. And trust me: a whole lot of women will be watching them all. The truth is that a larger-than-anyone-would-expect number of men will watch them too. That's what happened in our house at Thanksgiving, and all of us were laughing -- and drinking -- until we cried.

Hallmark Christmas movies aren't award-winning dramas filled with philosophical depth. But there are plenty of reasons to like them, and that's why so many people do. I think what attracts Hallmark's enthusiastic audience is the no-apologies presentation of what we could call Gospel values. I'll concede that real poverty is underrepresented. Still, in Hallmark's world, people experience grief and loss. They are lonely and unfulfilled by material wealth and professional success.

I know that most of us watch the Hallmark Countdown to Christmas to escape the daily grind for a couple of hours. But I also think that reality could be a lot more like what we watch if we lived the way people do in Evergreen, San Senova and Garland. I'll be blunt. There are no one-night stands in Hallmark romances. That's why the kiss we don't see until the third quarter actually means something. Even more, townspeople share their lives with one another. Their talents contribute to everyone's good, and their burdens are simply opportunities for kindness. The Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule are an undisputed given. What do you think our world would be like if something more than tolerance was our moral consensus? Isn't that the kind of world that we, as people of faith and disciples of Christ, are called to build?

Hallmark characters aren't all that different from the rest of us. They are searching for something more without really knowing what it is or where they will find it. They sense that there is someone watching over them, someone who is guiding them toward the deepest desires of their hearts. Along the way, they grow stronger, overcome obstacles, and discover that real communities can and do exist where people bother to build them. (Of course, most of them happen to be in small, mountainous towns that always seem to have a country store and a coffee "shoppe," where lifelong friendships are forged.) Not even Hallmark heroines and heartthrobs are immune to life's challenges: they struggle with broken dreams, family conflict, and financial stress, like we do. In the process, they learn that the only thing that really makes a difference in life is love. With love, holidays shine with joy. With love, all things are possible.



- Jaymie Stuart Wolfe is a Catholic convert, wife, and mother of eight. Inspired by the spirituality of St. Francis de Sales, she is an author, speaker, and musician, and serves as a senior editor at Ave Maria Press. Find Jaymie on Facebook or follow her on Twitter @YouFeedThem.