This is Easily one of my Top Favorite Christmas Movies! Gwen (Meredith Hagner) is a personal shopper, who has that special gift for knowing exactly what makes a gift special to others, and her love interest, Charlie, is no exception. Charlie, is a single widower dad, who is all work no play, until his regular personal shopper is unavailable to help him through Christmas. Gwen is assigned to him, and and the first thing she notices at Charlie's work place, is the mug collection his secretary has accrued. Gwen, being very chatty strikes up conversation with his secretary, and finds out that's what Charlie gets her for every present.Gwen slowly starts helping Charlie appreciate the real meaning of Christmas, and helps to reignite a new chapter of life into Charlie. (It's so inspiring, and sweet, without the saccharine sweet of some other dumbed-down Christmas movies.)It's SO INCREDIBLY AWESOME. While it is predictable, it is Most Enjoyable to go on the "Gwen and Charlie roller-coaster!!" - So beautifully written, casted, and filmed.

At a time of the year when we are inundated with made for TV movies, this one stands out superbly. The characters are real,approachable and the chemistry between them is terrific. Meredith Hagler as Gwen and Anthony Bolgnese as Owen are outstanding. The supporting cast is great and the movie is excellently paced. The music score is understated and as such is very effective in reflecting the emotional intent of the film. The cinematography is transparent and easy on the eyes. There are no holes in the plot,and the dialogue never becomes pandering or overly sentimental. On the contrary, there are enough witty and clever lines to warm even the most jaded and cynical among us. Even though the the movie proceeds to a predictable conclusion, it's one you find yourself hoping for ! A joy to behold, A Gift Wrapped Christmas is now a permanent addition to my Holiday viewing schedule.

I gave this one a "10" on my special scale for Hallmark movies. This one is set apart by the writing, the enjoyable characters, and most especially, the casting. There are probably 5 or 6 basic plots for these things. This one is the closed down/sad widower with a child who needs our heroine (Gwen) to reawaken him and save his relationship with his kid. No the plot is not original, but I judge the good writing in the little details. The relationship between our heroine's sister (the wonderful Beverley Mitchell-so glad to see her again!) and her husband was fleshed out and added to the enjoyment. The appearance of the Mom at the end was a nice touch and added to the depth (don't laugh) of the story. Gwen was cute, funny, charming, quirky, and so very likable. The actress was another Meg Ryan at the height of her romantic comedy powers. She was an absolute delight. Don't ever change. The Dad was handsome and appealing, making his journey from cold and hostile to warm and open fun to watch. The villainess was very scary. What more could one ask for? Great Chemistry between the two leads, that's what. And yes, it delivers there as well.

If you are a sucker for sappy movies as many romantics are then this film is right up your alley. The story is based upon a widower dad and business man named Charlie who is played by Travis Milne. Milne previously starred in the TV police drama series Rookie Blue. Charlie is attempting to balance his work and personal life as he runs a busy company and also raise his 7 year old son named Owen. Owen is played by Anthony Bolognese who is starring in his first film but based on his strong and adorable performance in A Gift Wrapped Christmas he will be kept busy for at least the next few years as he grows into a young man.Now Charlie has a girlfriend named Victoria played by Anna Van Hooft who will infuriate the audience with her focus on business and lack of any empathy for the relationship between widower Charlie and his son Owen. All Owen wants for Christmas is to go tobogganing with his dad but Victoria wants to push her own agenda of lying on a sun filled beach with Charlie and just let little Owen go play in the sand to leave the adults alone to discuss her self centered business agenda and her strategy to rule the business world. As for little Owen's dream for a white Christmas and tobogganing on a snow filled hill, Victoria is playing Scrooge and buys airline tickets to the sunny south, so she really comes across as Mrs. Scrooge.The main focus of the film is a professional personal shopper named Gwen played by Meredith Hagner, who has a special knack of picking out just the right gifts for all of her clients. What is missing from Gwen's life though is as she continues to make everyone happy around her she is not focusing on herself and as a result she is planning to be lonely this Christmas holiday.As events would happen the stars align and Gwen sets out on a course to not only make Charlie and his cute little son Owen happy this Christmas but she also intends to try and make her own Christmas special this year. The film is very light viewing and romance abounds as Charlie and his personal shopper get to know each other better as Christmas draws near. It is a sappy film but will help put the viewer in a Christmas and romantic mood.I give the film a 7 out of 10 rating.