Again, this movie, like all movies presented by Hallmark was an excellent movie. Lots of sentimentality and family values. The writers needed an excuse to bring a dog from the fathers past into the movie, so they put the dog into Viet Nam, where supposedly, the father served. If a movie is going to drag Viet Nam in, the writers need to hire a veteran to proofread the script. To start with, this man is too young to have served in the principal part of the war. Bruce Greenwood was born in 1956. No one born in 1956 served in the Vietnam War. The war ended in 1973 when he was, at the most, 17. He is shown walking patrol and finding the dog. Walking patrol in Viet Nam was over when Bruce Greenwood was 16. Then he is shown reading a letter he had sent his wife from Viet Nam. The envelope has postage on it. All Viet Nam veterans know that letters from Viet Nam were free, just like the letters from Iraq today. Once again, let me reiterate, there were no stamps on letters sent from Viet Nam to the States. To mail a letter, all a soldier had to do was write the word "FREE" in the upper right hand corner. Got that kjirstin-1? Once again, letters from Viet Nam did not, and I repeat DID NOT, have stamps in the right hand corner. The movie was good, let's just leave Viet Nam to the Viet Nam vets shall we.

Noel Fisher puts in a very distinguished performance as a 20 year old man named Todd with obvious learning difficulties. The storyline which brings together a wandering dog (Christmas) together with Todd is also quite heartwarming however for me that's as good as it gets. The whole film set has a slightly 'budget' look about it so the small cast were always going to have to put in strong performances, however apart from Noel Fisher, I thought the two other lead roles, Linda Emond and Bruce Greenwood (Todd's parents) were very poor. Bruce Greenwood was particularly monotone and wooden throughout with Linda Emond only marginally better. What was worse was the complete lack of on screen Chemistry between the two, I don't know if it was poor directing or whether they just plain didn't like each other!! So when I noticed the set wobbling (stairs banister), I totally disengaged from the movie, which was a shame as Noel Fisher and indeed Christmas the dog rallied to give it at least some feeling of warmth. Had it not been for those two I would have scored zero!! One to avoid.

The movie begins with a voice I believe to be George McCray narrating, following the adventures of a dog who won't stay in one place, but has to keep going until he finds the perfect home he was meant to have.In the community of Crossing Trails, Kansas, George's farm has been in the family for many generations. His wife Mary Ann teaches at a local school. They have four children; all except 20-year-old Todd have grown up and moved out. Todd is disabled but seems very capable and responsible.The local animal shelter wants people to adopt dogs just for the Christmas season, to give the shelter employees a break. Todd, who raised sheep for 4H, is very excited about the idea, but George doesn't want him to have a dog. He believes Todd will want to keep the dog after Christmas, which of course the shelter employees hope some people will do. George has had dogs, as we see in flashbacks, but for some reason he is very opposed to the idea of having another one. Perhaps it has something to do with what happened to Charlie, who was his canine companion for a time as he served in Vietnam.George finally gives in and lets Todd have a dog, but he makes it clear the dog will be Todd's responsibility. Todd goes to the shelter and looks at many dogs before he finally finds THE ONE. Someone has trained this dog well; he responds to the usual commands. He has no name yet, so Todd names him Christmas and takes him home.Todd's two brothers are married and celebrate Christmas with their wives' families, so the big family Christmas, which includes some friends who are not relatives, takes place several days early. Todd, his parents and his sister Hannah will have a smaller celebration on the big day. For the early event, the various families show up and have a good time before finally sitting down at the table in a real Norman Rockwell scene.And what happens next is pretty amazing.We all know how this movie will probably end, but it will be a lot of fun getting there, with all the twists and turns and doubts about whether it really will end the way we think.Noel Fisher does a wonderful job. Todd has been taught to be responsible, and unlike most TV children, he really is. He's easy to like and everyone in the movie likes him. No one treats him as if he is disabled, and sometimes it seems as if he is not.Bruce Greenwood is very good as a loving but stern father who wants his son to succeed and won't coddle him. George knows the value of hard work and what it takes to run a farm, and even though we see his injury in Vietnam still bothers him, it doesn't stop him from doing anything.Many of the leading actors also do a very good job. That includes the dog, of course.This is a movie the whole family can watch, as are most Hallmark Hall of Fame presentations. There are a couple of scenes that might bother younger children, one in Vietnam and one in the present day, but neither scene is that bad.It's a wonderful holiday film.

I agree completely with Kjirstin-1. I'm glad she pointed out the "errors" (for want of a better word) in sdquinn2-1's post about Bruce Greenwood's age and the Viet Nam postage issue. I thought bringing that into the film was perfect; it was a great way to explain why George didn't want to bond with another dog.And for those of us who are around the same age as Bruce Greenwood, it was even more powerful to see how his character looked during the war and how he looks now. Something we can 'relate' to, which made the movie that much more powerful and moving. On another note, I adore Bruce Greenwood, and again, in agreement with Kjirstin-1, he could play pretty much any character. He is an incredible actor, and he was perfect for that role. Noah Fisher was also incredible. I've seen him in a few TV shows (Law & Order SVU) where he was good; but he was so believable as the 'challenged' Todd. Not just any actor could perform that well in such a role.To say that the actor dog who played Christmas was phenomenal is an understatement. This was another aspect of the film which made it so great.So to sum up, this was just a wonderful film in every sense of the word. And last but not least, the gentleman who wrote the book upon which the movie was based expressing the need for people to adopt homeless dogs for Christmas not only added to the poignancy of the movie, but hopefully, planted a seed in the viewers' minds about adopting a pet.