The Christmas Ornament

This is a very sweet film. Better than the average Hallmark film. What this is about is 2 adults who are single for different reasons. One lost her husband the other was dumped. Both are afraid of getting hurt. What is nice about this film is that both characters are nice decent people that enjoy the holidays but both find themselves alone. If your an adult you know its hard to be alone at Christmas.

In this film Kathy owns "Dream Cycle". It was her husbands business and she is trying to keep it open during a downturn in the economy. He has just passed away but she fears if she loses the store it would be like losing her husband all over again

On the same block is Tim. A great guy who own a Christmas tree lot. He is a level headed man who loves Christmas and family. He was dumped by his girlfriend some time ago and is very afraid of being hurt again.

When Kathy & Tom meet they like each other but each is afraid of making a move. They don't want to be hurt and both are afraid of being rejected. Each one likes the other but both are making excuses for not moving forward.

If you are a shy adult you will "Understand" both of these people. For shy people it is a major fear of being rejected. Man or Woman, nobody wants to be hurt.

The film is not ground breaking. However it is well made. Look for it on the Hallmark Channel. It is one of the best. You will love it!

Good story and likable characters. Tim was good for Kathy and they had definite chemistry which helps in any Hallmark movie. This is one of my go to movies of the season. I pretty much like Kelli Martin in anything I've seen her in. Cameron Mathison was to new to me but I'd watch him again. I hope to see them again together in another movie.

So many things to like about this understated holiday movie:

1. It's sweet without being sappy, a real relief to see a Hallmark holiday romance where the story is not over the top mushy and crowded with cliché.

2. the actors look and dress like real people, and their houses are closer to normal family homes than Hollywood-scale sets. A little crowded, a little dusty, with short sight-lines.

3. Kellie Martin (who plays Kathy, the widow running her late husband's dream shop) has a face that's lived a life and felt sorrow. She's not touched up to look like a typical young TV widow who has never actually wept or frowned (except beautifully). She moves flawlessly between strong and vulnerable, sadness and humour, tidy and a bit of a mess. She looks and sounds REAL.

4. Cameron Mathison as Tim is cute, in a harmlessly rugged kind of way. A former soap opera actor, he is muted and believable in his character and, unlike so many romantic-movie leads, marked but not terribly traumatized by his past life experiences. He doesn't need to be redeemed through the love of a good woman. There's a bit of believable tension and confusion, both internal and (as expected) external, about an old love affair. He behaves like a nice man, someone you would want to meet or have as a neighbour.

5. The secondary characters seem like real people with their own lives, not the story kind who live their whole lives in service of their cooler or more troubled friend. They never distract from the simple, touching story at the heart of the movie. Jewel Staite is great as Kathy's best friend Jenna, warm and cute and concerned, but clearly has her own life. There's good, credible friend-chemistry between the two, a level of comfort and non-competition that many women wish for and never find.

6. It made me want to go skating again (and eat Christmas cookies, but that I do anyway).

Anyway, without being a great classic in the making, this is a very nice way to spend an evening in the holiday TV season, with ordinary people working through ordinary situations. I know that sounds dull, but if you're tired of the kitcsch and hype of the usual TV fare, this is a nice change of pace that maintains the seasonal glow.

Christmas time is a special time of the year. For many of us it is the best time of the year. In this film that is true for Kathie the young widow who owns "Dream Cycle". The store she just opened with her husband less than a year ago. He died and the business is now struggling.

In the same town is Tim. He is a single guy who gave up on 401k and office work to live his dream. He runs/owns a Christmas tree lot with hopes of something bigger. His dream is to own a place where "Christmas can be celebrated all year long". Tim however is just getting over a break up. He meets Kathy one day on his lot. They click but both are afraid to admit it.

By chances they run into one another ice skating. They become friends but both are like teenagers. Afraid of being hurt and slightly haunted by a past relationship.

The ending is what you expect (AND LET'S FACE YOU WANT THIS TYPE OF ENDING) but everything that happens in this is how most people would react in real life. I love the fact everyone here makes mistakes and learns from them. I also love it that nobody is called "Stupid" for acting (or reacting) a certain way".

IF they ever did a follow up film I would have Tim and Kathie trying to bring more "Christmas Joy" to the town they live in. And along the way they there dreams come 100% true.

Hallmark up its game with this film. The story is believable. The people come across as real. The situation plausible. The chemistry between the leads "GREAT".

In this film Kathy lost her husband about a month after she and him opened up a bicycle shop. After less than a year the business is struggling. At the same time she meets a handsome Christmas lot owner. Her friend is trying to get her to go out with the guy (Cameron Mathison). So what her friends does is she buys a Christmas Tree from and has him deliver it to her home.

Of course the guy has some baggage but he is someone most people would love to land. His dream is to open up a place where Christmas is celebrated all year long. He also wants Kathy to be there with him. Kathy gets cold feet real fast.

To give anything else away would be a crime. If you love Christmas movies and films about adults you will enjoy this.