Yes, this movie is absurdly similar to another Hallmark film, Miss Christmas. I do have to condemn the Hallmark staff who thought it would be a good idea to plagiarize themselves so blatantly. Christmastime is a PLAYGROUND of romance and movie ideas; there is absolutely no reason to start recycling ideas, especially not with actors who are genuinely talented and deserve their own storyline.
All that being said, I really enjoyed this movie. The actors had wonderful chemistry and were believable in their roles. I also cannot stress enough how much I enjoyed the mid-fight kiss -- this is a trope that Hallmark almost never employs and really amps up the romantic tension between the couple.
I also want to give props where props are due: I'm impressed and very happy that Hallmark has started taking representation so seriously. All of the main characters in this film are POC. Some of the side characters are LGBTQ. And as a cherry on top, I really love that this movie has branched out from the usual cookie cutter family dynamic and shines a light on adoption. All of the above are refreshing, progressive, and just downright nice to see on TV, and those elements actually made this film better than Miss Christmas for me.
My two beefs with the film are: 1) as others have pointed out, the ridiculousness of this town having trouble finding a suitable Christmas tree in Colorado, and 2) that using a particular tree on a particular residential lot is somehow a turning point that could flip the entire mayor's career upside down. These conflicts were a bit thin, but I was willing to overlook them for the sake of the movie, as one sometimes has to do for Hallmark.
