Mystery on Mistletoe Lane

Mystery on Mistletoe Lane is an enjoyable, 100% family-friendly movie.

It stars a newcomer to Hallmark Christmas movies Erica Cerra, and familiar face Victor Webster. Cerra is perhaps a bit older than the standard Hallmark lead, but she's the right age for this role: an attractive single mother of preteens who has uprooted her family from Carolina and shipped up to Boston (sorry).

Her new job is manager of a house with historical significance, and she is determined to dust things off and bring some attention to the forgotten old house. In the process, she meets Victor Webster who assists in fixing up the place, but it's what they find in the process that sparks the mystery. Even her snotty daughter wants to join in the sleuthing.

Old familiar face Fred Henderson shows up as Webster's dad, and he has some secrets of his own.

All in all a fun watch, and a good one to watch with family.

I love Victor Webster and I have yet to see him put a foot wrong. Mystery on Mistletoe Lane is no exception as he plays David, the former historical society director and restoration specialist. He meets the newly hired director, Heidi Wicks (Erica Cerra) and her two children Annie and Garrett. New to town Heidi moved her kids into a historic property provided by her new job and it is of course a historic building. Doing some research she discovers it used to be known as the Mistletoe Inn. Her kids do a bit of looking around and discover a hidden Christmas scavenger hunt that was left by a previous owner, with rhyming clues and small handmade reindeer at each location.

There were a few plot holes...like how Wallace didn't come to inherit from his father and why his son didn't know the story of his biological father, but I am not going to nitpick. I enjoyed the story overall and I was thrilled with the scavenger hunt, the puns, and the interactions between Christmas crazy Heidi and the self proclaimed minamilist-no Christmas tree David.

This was wonderful and family friendly. I highly recommend for some holiday magic. Special note about Heidi's coworker Linda, played by Mary-Beth Manning, she was lovely and a great addition to the film. This is a delightful recommendation from me.

Bring your friends. Watch your family. Get the kids in the room with you. Put the gadgets aside and make sure everyone has a cup of cocoa. Can you solve the mystery of mistletoe Lane?

This was a very enjoyable, fun, and cute movie. Get into the holiday spirit. Or, get back--or discover for the first time--what the holiday spirit is as you try to figure out the clues.

As I watched the movie, with two of the "main characters" being a historical society and an old house, it made me think of the many historic churches that are open on Christmas Eve, though many have never visited them or experienced a Christmas communion or candlelight service.

This movie celebrates Christmas memories and customs in today's households. It might suggest some customs for your own annual observance.

Watch it. Solve it. Try it.

Best mystery movie of the year. Great cast leads are excellent and terrific chemistry. The story is unique and something never covered by traditions of past movies. The movie flowed so effortlessly and very believable The clues were so good and the two kids were very good and really played excellent detectives. The secretary of the organization gave a nice warm touch. She did more with her expressions than most actors do with words. The leads Father did an ok job but probably did not have much dialogue. All in all if they continue with these mystery movies and keep the quality I think we are in store for enjoyable movies.

7.2 stars.

This is a fun little adventure for families as they solve a puzzle. This is an "x" marks the spot, discover the next clue sort of family mystery. There are no scary parts, and the trailer is a bit misleading, because it's not really a "mystery" per se. All that aside, it's still a wonderful story of people who suffered loss and found each other with a little help from a man who once occupied a mistletoe mansion.

This is sure to entertain a younger audience, especially children who love solving riddles, doing puzzles, and absolutely enjoy the holidays. So if you are in the mood for a little reindeer riddle during this holiday season, listen carefully to each clue (8 clues for 8 reindeer) and maybe you can solve the mystery before they do. And in the meantime, this mother of two young children may find her secret santa this Christmas.