Countdown to Christmas is on, which means Hallmark Christmas movies are playing around the clock. Though many of the stories in these films are original, some are adapted from bestsellers by authors such as Debbie Macomber, Nancy Thayer, David Baldacci, and Nancy Naigle.
Since we love reading almost as much as we love watching cheesy TV, here is a list of movies based on books and links to where you can find them.
1.Let it Snow (Nantucket Noel)
Sarah Power and Trevor Donovan starred in the film adaption of this charming book, which Hallmark titled Nantucket Noel.
Power plays Christina, a third-generation resident of Nantucket who runs a toy store on one of the town’s wharves. Struggling with the recent death of her mother, Christina finds out that a developer is planning on tearing down her wharf and she begins a campaign to save it from demolition.
Right before Christmas, a handsome businessman named Andy (played by Donovan) visits the island with his daughter. He and Christina connect but she becomes upset when she finds out Andy’s father is the developer trying to destroy the wharf.
Author Nancy Thayer said she believed Hallmark chose her book to adapt into a Christmas movie because it has a message of hope.
“This is a deeply positive book,” she said in an interview with the Nantucket Inquirer and Mirror. “My concept of the world is yin/yang. It is half good and half bad, and I think we all have to do what we can to make it 48 percent bad and 52 percent good.”
Nancy has written more than 30 novels and has a great website, which can be found here.
2. The Nine Lives of Christmas
Based on a novel by the same name, The Nine Lives of Christmas tells the story of a stray cat who wanders into a fire station and ends up bringing together a handsome firefighter and a veterinary student.
Sheila Roberts published the book in 2014 and Hallmark adapted it into a movie later that year.
The film version of The Nine Lives of Christmas was so successful, Hallmark released a sequel, The Nine Kittens of Christmas, in 2021.
3. A Mrs. Miracle Christmas
Every single title in Debbie Macomber’s Mrs. Miracle series has been turned into a movie by Hallmark. Earlier this year, “Debbie Macomber’s A Mrs. Miracle Christmas” debuted on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries, with Caroline Rhea starring as the magical woman who swoops in and helps people restore their faith and Christmas Spirit.
4. Dashing Through the Snow
Also by Debbie Macomber, this story follows two strangers who agree to share a rental car when their flight home for Christmas is canceled. The movie version stars Meghan Ory and Andrew Walker.
The book gets high marks on Amazon and Goodreads from people who claim they usually don’t read romance novels.
5. Christmas Joy: A Novel
Christmas Joy is by bestselling author Nancy Naigle, who has had several of her titles adapted into Hallmark movies. Christmas Joy tells the story of a career-focused woman who takes a leave of absence to run her family’s farm at Christmas time. The movie version stars Danielle Panabaker and Matt Long.
Naigle is a prolific writer (check out her website here). Her novels Sand Dollar Cove, Hope at Christmas, and The Secret Ingredient have also been adapted into Hallmark movies. She also wrote the book versions of the Christmas in Evergreen Hallmark movie series.
6. The Christmas Train
The Christmas Train was written by David Baldacci, another Hallmark favorite. The book chronicles the journey of a disillusioned journalist who is forced to travel from Washington to Los Angeles by train in time for Christmas.
The film version starred Dermot Mulroney, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, and Danny Glover. One of his other novels, One Summer, was adapted for the screen by Hallmark Movies and Mysteries in 2021.
7. Silver Bells
Bestselling author Luanne Rice published Silver Bells in 2004 and Hallmark adapted it into a movie starring Anne Heche and Tate Donovan a year later. The story follows widower Christy Byrne, who travels from Novia Scotia to New York City every year to sell his homegrown Christmas trees. He makes a special connection with a woman who hasn’t celebrated Christmas since the year her husband died.
8. A December Bride
A novella in the Year of Weddings series by Denise Hunter, A December Bride follows Layla, who was jilted by her fiancé for her cousin. When she finds out her ex and her cousin are planning their own wedding, she enlists the help of a friend to pose as her new boyfriend. But things become complicated when the pair develop feelings for each other.
Jessica Lowndes and Daniel Lissing starred in the 2016 film version of the book.
9. The Christmas Cottage
Based on the novel by Samantha Chase, the Christmas Cottage follows Lacey Quinn, who must decorate her best friend’s family’s cottage for her upcoming wedding. She doesn’t believe the legend that any couple who spends the night in the cottage together will end up together forever. Still, she does get a little nervous when the bride’s brother arrives and they become snowed in.
Merritt Patterson and Steve Lund starred in the 2017 film.
10. Finding Father Christmas
The first in a series of three novellas by Robin Jones Gunn featuring the character Miranda Carson, Finding Father Christmas chronicles Carson’s search for her father, which takes her all the way to London.
Erin Krakow played Carson in all three of the Hallmark movies in the series, Finding Father Christmas, Engaging Father Christmas, and Marrying Father Christmas.
