It all started about 15 years ago. It was December, and my great uncle had just passed away. My family decided to hold his memorial just before Christmas. There were about 12 of us total that year; My parents, my mom’s sister and her family, my elderly great aunt and my grandma. Fortunately, my great aunt already lived there. We camped out in a hotel in Minot, ND that was still very much under construction. I don’t think the pool was finished and I’m certain the slow cookers used during breakfast were borrowed from the hotel employees. But we were there and they were happy to have paying guests. We watched a lot of TV. We watched ALOT of Christmas movies. By the end of our trip, I think we’d seen everything every channel offered.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day meals that year were completely unconventional. Our family of 12 was split between two standard hotel rooms and we had limited options. So the meals were made with a few slow cookers and the microwave. As a parent myself, I wonder now if those adults feared that they were “ruining Christmas” by doing things so unconventionally that year. But the whole experience was hilarious to all of us. And we loved it so much we went on to spend Christmas that way for the next decade, my siblings and cousins and I adding our spouses along the way.

We truly loved those years. The add ons-our spouses- I don’t think ever understood. But, Christmas in that hotel with Hallmark movies, slow cookers and microwave Christmas dinners was our tradition. And those memories hold a very special place in my heart-including that special year we were all snowed in for THREE days. But that’s a story for a different blog.

I don’t remember exactly when or how the obsession began. Maybe it was because the other channels were playing the same movies over and over again. Maybe it was because we knew we would find something “in season” on Hallmark or Lifetime. Whatever the reason, we soon began to watch ALL of them, every year.

And, while we don’t all meet up at that same hotel anymore with slow cookers and microwaveable mashed potatoes and turkey, the tradition of watching Hallmark Christmas movies lives on. Except it’s only gotten harder. This year, Hallmark is churning out 40 NEW movies. So, buckle up and grab on for dear life because we’re going to watch ALL OF THEM.