Hallmark Is Giving Us 34 New Christmas Movies This Year

If there’s one thing about me, it’s that I am going to watch some Hallmark holiday movies. Every year, like clockwork, I look forward to the release of the Christmas roster… this year probably more than most, because we could all use a little extra cheer at the moment. Happily, Hallmark must have sensed this and is delivering the biggest Countdown to Christmas lineup it’s ever done.

Even better: We have less than a month to go before things kick off on Friday, Oct. 16, the beginning of what will be a season filled with 34 original movie premieres. That’s 10 more than we got last year, and the most in the event’s history. New movies will land every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night for 10 straight weeks. Plus, the channel will run holiday programming 24/7 through the season, and even past Christmas.

“We have our wonderful fans to thank for this longevity,” Michelle Vicary, Hallmark Media’s head of programming, said in a press release, adding that Countdown to Christmas started with just four original movies.

The Big Three

This year’s lineup features three tentpole movies, and Hallmark’s really going all out with them:

Opening weekend starts strong with Holiday Touchdown: A Bears Love Story. It’s a football romance set at Christmas, which is exactly what it sounds like. If you’re counting, it’s the third movie in Hallmark’s partnership with the NFL and Skydance Sports, following Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story in 2024 and Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story in 2025.

Football fans don’t get to have all the fun, though. Disney adults can rejoice, too, because the next big tentpole is the House of the Mouse. Holiday Ever After: A Disney World Wish Come True was actually filmed on location at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. Fun fact: Back in 1931, Hallmark became one of the first companies licensed to use Mickey Mouse.

Then, A Grand Biltmore Christmas takes us back to Asheville’s Biltmore Estate after 2023’s time-travel hit A Biltmore Christmas. Like the first movie, it’s set partly in the Gilded Age. And if you want to do a bit of festive shopping, there’s a matching product collection at the Biltmore Estate Shops and Biltmoreshop.com

Mistletoe Murders Is Back for Season 3

In news I am personally very invested in, Mistletoe Murders returns for a third season, running on Thursdays starting Nov. 5. Here, Sarah Drew (aka April from Grey’s Anatomy) plays Emily Lane, a woman with a mysterious past who opens a year-round Christmas shop in a small town… but can’t seem to stop solving crimes in her spare time. It’s so cozy and good!

The Full 2026 Countdown to Christmas Schedule

• ‘Tis the Season for Setups (Friday, Oct. 16)
• Holiday Touchdown: A Bears Love Story (Saturday, Oct. 17)
• Mr. & Mrs. Christmas (Sunday, Oct. 18)
• Winter Wonderlanes (Friday, Oct. 23)
• Forgotten Holiday (Saturday, Oct. 24)
• What If Christmas (Sunday, Oct. 25)
• Who’s Coming for Christmas? (Friday, Oct. 30)
• Adopting St. Nick (Saturday, Oct. 31)
• A Danish Christmas (Sunday, Nov. 1)
• Mistletoe Murders S3 premiere (Thursday, Nov. 5)
• Merry Memories (Friday, Nov. 6)
• Holiday Unplugged (Saturday, Nov. 7)
• A Season of Promises (Sunday, Nov. 8)
• Mistletoe Murders new episode (Thursday, Nov. 12)
• My Christmas Cowboy (Friday, Nov. 13)
• The Nights Before Christmas (Saturday, Nov. 14)
• Mistletoe and Mimosas (Sunday, Nov. 15)
• Mistletoe Murders new episode (Thursday, Nov. 19)
• Our Holiday Playbook (Friday, Nov. 20)
• Christmas in Blue Dog Valley (Saturday, Nov. 21)
• Double Booked for the Holidays (Sunday, Nov. 22)
• Christmas Delivered (Thursday, Nov. 26)
• Mistletoe Murders new episode (Thursday, Nov. 26)
• The Christmas Eve Feast (Friday, Nov. 27)
• Return to Santa (Friday, Nov. 27)
• The Most Wonderful Secret (Saturday, Nov. 28)
• Holiday Ever After: A Disney World Wish Come True (Saturday, Nov. 28)
• Eight Nights for Love (Sunday, Nov. 29)
• Miles to Christmas (Sunday, Nov. 29)
• Mistletoe Murders new episode (Thursday, Dec. 3)
• The Snowflake Effect (Friday, Dec. 4)
• A Grand Biltmore Christmas (Saturday, Dec. 5)
• The Hallmark Christmas Experience: A Hometown Holiday (Saturday, Dec. 5)
• An Angel in My Stocking (Sunday, Dec. 6)
• Mistletoe Murders season finale (Thursday, Dec. 10)
• Christmas in Canterbury (Friday, Dec. 11)
• Snow Globe Town (Saturday, Dec. 12)
• Noelle Nomads (Sunday, Dec. 13)
• Hearts All Aglow (Friday, Dec. 18)
• Barking All the Way (Saturday, Dec. 19)
• Save the Date for Christmas (Sunday, Dec. 20)

How to Stream Hallmark Christmas Movies

You can watch every new Countdown to Christmas movie and every new Mistletoe Murders episode on Hallmark, or stream them the next day on Hallmark+. And if you literally cannot wait one more minute to start feeling merrier, the streamer already has a catalog of more than 450 original holiday movies you can watch to your festive little heart’s content.

Either way, I’ll see ya on the couch Oct. 16. I’ll be the one in flannel, holding a mug of hot cocoa.