Every time this comes on, and once I catch a glimpse, I have to keep watching. The acting of the two leads, Van der Beek and Karpluk is top notch, and that indefinable certain something between them, Chemistry, is there in spades. You genuinely become invested in them. They play two good people with shadows in their past that is preventing them from being happy and living their best lives. In his case, his grief over the death of his wife is keeping him closed off from his sons and moving on. He has cut music and playing the piano out of his life. In her case, her anger and bitterness with her sister for stealing her fiancé in the worst possible way has kept her from reconciling with her and negatively impacting her whole family. With the help of Doris Roberts and a few strategically placed "miracles", she helps them see their way clear to dealing with their pasts and finding happiness and fulfillment with each other and their families. It never fails to bring tears of happiness.

It is near Christmastime, and a young widower has six-year-old rambunctious twin boys who drive all the other nannies away with their antics-but Mrs. Merkle appears suddenly and is able to make them behave better. Not by waving a magic wand, but by simple psychology. But she does not deal only with the children.The widower himself is still grieving for his wife, and as a result won't tell his twins about her, nor will he play his piano any more. Mrs. Merkle subtly arranges to get a woman owning a travel agency to meet him, help with a local school pageant and meet her estranged sister.The story works because Mrs. Merkle, as mentioned before, does not use magic, but is able to subtly push people to do things using suggestion and psychology-though she somehow knows information that nobody evidently tells her. Perhaps she uses magic after all? It doesn't really matter. The movie may be routine, clichéd, and predictable, but it succeeds thanks to good performances by the actors and a storyline that is just long and simple enough. Not deeply meaningful, but good family entertainment.

This movie opens on a familiar scene of children driving away a string of housekeepers, but that's only one of the plot threads in this heart-warming seasonal movie. There's a lot to like despite the frequently-visited trope of the super-nanny straightening out the chaotic household.What makes it an outstanding example of the concept is not only the highly relatable problems faced by the family - no over-the-top issues here - but the realistic way those problems are brought out and resolved over the course of the film.The young boys are cute and lively but troubled. The way their inner trouble is portrayed is subtle - comments by their teachers and a brief, odd reaction from their father (the handsome and vulnerable James Van der Beek). Nanny predictably fills a void in their lives.She also, predictably, nudges their dad gradually into delivering what his sons need from him, and what he needs from himself. Nanny's mechanism for coaxing Dad out of his funk is the delightful Reba (played by the equally delightfully Erin Karpluk with deftly handled emotional fragility), a local businesswoman with her own problems.The romance felt a bit rushed, especially between the first meeting and the first date, and the nanny's departure was also rapid. Another reviewer complained about the speed of reconciliation in Reba's family but I found it very realistic.In fact, one thing I particularly like was that, instead of the plot benefiting from one of those last-minute miraculous interventions so common in Christmas movies, the 'Christmas Spirit' only nudged, and the humans had plenty of chances to turn away from the inner changes needed to bring the plot to a satisfactory resolution. It felt real and probable, especially as played by Van Der Beek and Karpluk.I'm pretty sure I'll be watching this movie again in future years.

Doris Roberts shows up to save the day when a widower whose rambunctious twins terrorize a parade of baby sitters. OK, we've seen a lot of this before. The bratty kids motif is a little old now, but other things going on in this Hallmark offering make for a pleasant diversion.What Christmas movie would be complete without a romance? Erin Karpluk and James Van der Beek have some great chemistry, and each has a past hurt, setting up a mutual healing process that is the primary theme of the movie. Mrs. Merkle (Roberts), when she's not a super nanny, is a match maker, and it soon becomes obvious she has some miracle talents up her sleeve to help everybody out to a happy ending. Think a matronly version of Peter Falk's Angel Max character.While the plot is familiar, the acting is impressive, given this was a made-for-TV movie. The cast make a fine ensemble; scenes such as the first accidental confrontation between the two estranged sisters is handled very well. Issues such as forgiveness and letting go of hurts are dealt with sincerely.A feel-good story; entertaining enough for a stay-in evening.