I'm a fan of Christmas movies and schmaltz doesn't bother me a bit. Spirit of Christmas triumphs over nasty commercialism, fine. Hackneyed predictable story, not a problem.This movie has all that. Unfortunately it also has a cast that mugs it's way through the entire hour and a half. There isn't one believably delivered line through the whole thing, let alone any kind of emotional connection between the characters.Santa was very disappointing. He should have been a key element but just didn't get it done. Good voice and chuckle, but that was about it. His beard changed from one scene to the next,and never looked good, they didn't even bother to groom his mustache. And don't get me started about the cheesy, ill-fitting, off the shelf suit.To top it all off, the gratuitous use of sleazy, shirtless, male models renders the film unsuitable for small children.

I like the movie! It is not drama, you just relax watching Ashley Williams performance as Wendy and young actress playing her daughter Grace. I like the lovely smiles, decorations, and scenes in the movie. Well it's all about Christmas, so it is a bit sugar, but I like this sort of sugar in Christmas. The movie has some weak 2nd characters, but for me this story is about Wendy and her daughter enjoying the Christmas in big City and they know how to have fun with it. I think this movie is close to "A Princess for Christmas" and "Borrowed Hearts" in spirit. Need a drama with a strong scenery? Skip it. Want to relax? Watch it.9/10 for the good Christmas mood.

A typical movie for this time of the year. The glad hearted Christmas lover (Wendy), her cute little skater of a daughter (Grace), the man who will become her love interest (Tom, the store owners nephew), and of course there is the bah humbug of a Scrooge. Ashanti plays the Scrooge and does a great job. I loved to hate her in this role!!! She makes cuts in staffing, gets rid of the old fashion Christmas displays and scenes, and generally plays the Grinch. She has a heavy named Bruno who is her assistant. She treats him like dirt and that comes around to bite her in the butt. He is turned into a good guy by Grace and especially Grace. he abandons Ashanti end the end. She screws up though when she fakes a theft by Wendy so she could fire her. Tom and his uncle come around after that and not only return the store to the good old displays but fire Ashanti. Tom decides to open a home made candy department and he wants Wendy to run it. She agrees of course and it is obvious that they will end up together. A good little movie all in all.

Ashley Williams is adorable, BUT that constant huge smile throughout the entire movie was distracting and it took away from the sincerity of the production. I feel that it really watered down the show. It's wonderful to seem happy in a Christmas movie as long as it doesn't come across as cheesy and I believe that it crossed that line.Unfortunately, this movie had a few cheesy scenes. Also, some of the other main characters (and background actors)were very weak and also unbelievable, especially Ashanti. The little girl who plays the daughter was more convincing than the rest of the cast. Overall, I was disappointed because I had such high hopes after seeing the previews and I feel that everyone could have done a better job telling this story. Sorry.The good news is that I've seen much worse...