For many, the holidays mean baking cookies, decorating the Christmas tree and toasting marshmallows by a campfire — but for television lovers like myself, the holiday season also means sitting on the couch watching a Hallmark Christmas movie. 

The Hallmark Channel is an American cable television network known for its feel-good entertainment. While the channel airs all year long, it is famous for its holiday specials, such as the Countdown to Christmas or 7 Night Thanksgiving Event. 

Most of these movies follow a similar storyline. For many of them, the female protagonist is a workaholic who usually hates Christmastime, goes to a small town for the holidays, meets a guy and falls in love. Some also feature princes, time travel, blind dates, lumberjacks and more. 

These movies are often criticized for being overly “cringey” or “boring” because of their simple plots and minimal character development. While they might not be cinematic masterpieces, there is something to be said about Hallmark Christmas movies’ positivity and simplicity. For example, one of my absolute favorite Hallmark movies, “Picture a Perfect Christmas,” has a straightforward yet entertaining plot that embodies the spirit of not just Hallmark, but the Christmas season in general. The movie follows Sophie, a workaholic photographer who begrudgingly spends Christmas at her grandmother’s and accidentally becomes a nanny to the nephew of her next-door neighbor David, whom she slowly falls in love with. While this story may be basic, it is lighthearted, short and cheerful, which is a big reason why people choose to watch Hallmark movies in the first place. They’re not too heavy, sad or emotional — and in the holiday season, which can sometimes be a stressful time emotionally and financially, that’s exactly what people need to keep them going. By being able to sit down and enjoy a pleasant film without it creating additional stress or sorrow, people can get that emotional reset and attitude adjustment that comes with watching a cheesy movie. 

That being said, not all Hallmark movies have such an elementary plot. One of the more intricately written movies from the channel is the 2023 film “A Biltmore Christmas.” It tells the story of Lucy Hardgrove, a screenplay writer who is hired to write the remake of the holiday classic “His Merry Wife!” and goes to the set — which happens to be the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, N.C. — where she accidentally tips an hourglass over and travels back in time to 1946. As she fluctuates between the past and the present, she falls in love with the leading man, Jack Huston. At the end of the movie, she is back at work, discussing changes to make her film a modern hit. This movie proved that Hallmark movies don’t have to be cheesy and that there is something for everyone when it comes to finding festive Hallmark movies to lighten the mood during the holiday season. 

As the years go by, Hallmark holiday movies will likely leave a lasting impression and continue to provide that jovial entertainment the world needs during a somewhat taxing time. Just this year, Hallmark launched their very own streaming service, Hallmark+, which is just one of the ways these cheesy movies will continue to live on.