"Christmas is about family."
Hello everyone!
Usually, the way things go is, I find the perfect movie to start off with, but then they slowly peter out the longer I watch them through the duration of December. It's as if I start at the top and then gradually slide downwards!
But not this time.
No, this time, I got two winners in a row, which DOES make me slightly nervous for the remainder LOL but, we shall persevere!
First, we have a minor mystery to solve.
And we need to find some reindeer while we're at it.
Mystery on Mistletoe Lane, from Hallmark Movies and Mysteries Miracles of Christmas, is up for tonight.
The movie starts with a woman named Heidi getting sassed by the house she's just moved into (yes, I really mean it when I say sassed, because first, the door won't open, then it closes on her AND won't open, and then it dumps snow on her head just because it can; we stan houses with spirit!). She's recently divorced and moved to a new town where she's slated as new historical society director, awaiting the arrival of her two kids, Annie and Garrett.
As she does so, she has some blunders along the way, but does meet David, who held the position before she was hired to take over, and surprisingly has little to no hard feelings about it since he's doing his own thing now.
Heidi's idea right off the bat is to try and get more people to visit their work location, by hosting a little Christmas get-together with a Tribute Tree, on which people can hang pictures of their loved ones on Christmas.
Equally, she and David discover that he seems to recognize the painting of mistletoe in her house because HE used to have the same one in HIS, but they also find a tiny carved reindeer alongside it as well.
This is all fine and dandy until the kids get there, and Garrett discovers the beginning of a treasure hunt which starts in his room, that apparently belonged to another boy at some point.
Also, they jointly figure out whoever owned the house previously (they never found the deed so it transferred to the city and then turned over into the potential home for the directors) was MAD about Christmas; Annie and Garrett discover a full room of decorations, a workshop with a bona fide Santa sleigh, the works.
They also initially go at it alone, while their mom and David are busy trying to make things work for the society, not that her first event is a success, because it isn't. She's even slated to appear before the city council to discuss her role!
Listen, I know things happen fast in America but, seriously, she's only been in town for three days, tops. That's fast EVEN for the States!
Anyway, the meeting actually turns out in her favour, because while the deputy mayor is on a little power trip, the ACTUAL mayor pops up and speaks out, and it turns out she's married to the very first man Heidi met when she moved into town, her next-door neighbour, and who's always been kind to her.
Now, in the interim before this, Heidi discovered that the house she now lives in with the kids used to be called Mistletoe Manor, the back used to be the front before they switched roads around, and that it also used to be the main Christmas attraction for miles around while the previous owners had it - until the passing of their daughter, at which point everything stopped.
Determined to bring the manor back to how it used to be - and with the backing of the community behind her - Heidi can puzzle over other things, with David. See, he's been sleuthing on his own, too, because his dad's been curiously averse to talking about his past or anything of the sort, until he pops up in town for the holidays, unexpectedly.
And then finally, the whole story spills out (even as they all help Annie and Garrett through the treasure hunt).
Mistletoe Manor used to belong to David's family on his father's side - his grandfather was the one mad on Christmas and all that, but then the unfortunate daughter passed away, and the man became a shell of his former self, to the point where he told his wife to take David's dad and leave, for her own betterment. She eventually remarried, and the boy took the new surname, burying the past deep inside him and hoping it would never come to light.
Now here though, he's the one who figures out the last clue - as the treasure hunt, of course, was meant for him all along, as a final show of love from his now-gone father. They open a secret compartment in Santa's sleigh where the final, glass reindeer awaits, along with a letter written to David's dad, and the book 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.
With the mystery solved, our gang launches the Christmas Eve party at Mistletoe Manor, where even the deputy mayor arrives to hang a tribute on the tribute tree (which had, in-between, become a big, big thing). David's dad dons Santa's costume to read to the children, the way his father used to do, and finds the deed to the house that EVERYONE had been looking for, hidden among the pages.
And as for David and Heidi?
Well, he hangs up the sign for Mistletoe Manor up for her, along with some conveniently placed mistletoe, and the gentle chemistry and attraction they've been feeling all movie (but the movie doesn't really focus on, keeping it nice and cozy in the background) culminates in a kiss.
FIN
Wildly different from all the other movies that usually always focus on the romance first, everything else second, Mystery on Mistletoe Lane works precisely because it doesn't, and instead brings to the forefront everything else: the pain of moving to a new place, the excitement of a treasure hunt one has no idea where it'll lead them, and the discovery that ties everything neatly together.
The cast and characters are great in this, and I additionally enjoyed the tiny romance blossoming between David's father and Heidi's assistant, which I thought was lovely.
Plus, there's something about anyone reading 'Twas the Night before Christmas that just always gets me in the best way. 10/10 recommend if you want to discover the magic, solve some puzzles along the way, and just enjoy a nice, cozy movie by the fire.
xx
*images and video not mine
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