Adam and Alison Watch Christmas Movies: YOUR CHRISTMAS OR MINE

 by Adam Thas & Alison Thas

Wrapping up this year's batch of holiday movies on a positive note.

Alison: The plot summary for Your Christmas or Mine was catchy enough for Adam and I to agree upon this film with little hesitation. A couple, Hayley and James, just a few months into their relationship, part ways for the holidays. As each one is sitting on their respective train, they have a change of heart and decide to surprise one another by arriving at each other’s family home for Christmas. With a lost cellphone and other obstacles preventing them from reuniting, Hayley and James are forced to spend Christmas with their significant other’s family.

The charm in this movie is unparalleled when compared with the other holiday films we watched this year. First of all, the film is British and is set in an English countryside manor and a home in a more urban city. Both homes were so quaint and cozy – just the place in which I’d want to spend a Christmas morning. The families in the movies also add to the charm factor. Each family is quite different from one another. Hayley’s family is full of characters who are lovingly quirky. While definitely not a part of the main story line, Hayley’s grandparents were my favorite characters to watch. James’ family was the more serious bunch but I found they slowly grew on me as the story went on. Finally, the story itself was charming. While the idea of spending Christmas with your significant other’s family isn’t necessarily a new storyline, the writers were able to create a believable story that had a nice flow with its storytelling and enough twists to keep you interested in the movie from start to finish.

Your Christmas or Mine is able to check off so many boxes for the perfect holiday movie: a snowy, cozy setting with beloved characters, and a story line that is both funny and heartwarming.

Adam: For nearly 20 years of my life, I worked in a bar. It was a fun job and, for the most part, I enjoyed doing it, but working so late and so many hours I got in the habit of constantly having a Coke in hand. I would drink it all night, constantly filling it up and having the caffeine pull me through to closing. One of my favorite things about this Coke was that occasionally I would get asked to take a shot with someone. My go-to choice was either tequila or whiskey, not because I particularly liked the taste of the tequila or whiskey, but because I loved chasing it with a Coke. Coke is fantastic, but following the harsh bitterness of tequila it would make the Coke so much sweeter than it normally did. For this same reason I sat on writing a review for Your Christmas or Mine because I couldn’t tell if I liked it, or if I just liked it because we watched it right after the mess that is Three Wise Men and a Baby.

After nearly a week of contemplation, I can confidently say I like Your Christmas or Mine and it is definitely my favorite movie we have watched together this holiday season. Unlike so many of these holiday “movies,” Your Christmas or Mine feels like a movie. On the surface it sounds like another catchy shtick with two fresh lovers who can’t get enough of each other accidentally attending the other’s family Christmas. In a world of cell phones and instant communication, Your Christmas or Mine sets up circumstances that are believable enough that it allows us an easy entrance into the plot. Your Christmas or Mine has things like drama, subtext, and humor that is actually funny. I know that sounds like a pretty low bar, but some of these movies have set that bar pretty low. The performances are sweet and it did reach a “1” on the “Alison Cry-o-Meter”. This was the most pleasant movie experience I have had watching these holiday movies this season and if I had to recommend just one from this year, this would be it.

This being the last review Alison and I are doing this season, we thought we would add an update on a big first that happened this past week. For those of you not as in touch with the genre of made-for-television holiday movies, in 2019 Hallmark rightfully took a lot of heat for banning a Zola commercial that featured a lesbian couple. Since then, Hallmark repealed their “no same-sex kissing” standard they have had since the network was founded. Whether it is a reaction to it or not, this past year Hallmark also saw the exit of Candace Cameron Bure, who had a movie contract with the network since 2008. To fill her place, Hallmark released The Holiday Sitter that is now the first movie on the network to feature a love story between a same-sex couple. While there is definitely reason to bemoan it taking this long for the paradigm shift to occur at a national cable outlet, it is progress and any progress towards inclusion is a positive one.

Adam’s List:
1) Holidate (2020, Netflix)
2) Love Hard (2021, Netflix)
3) Your Christmas or Mine (2022, Amazon)
4) Holiday Calendar (2018, Netflix)
5) Snowed Inn (2017, Hallmark)
6) The Princess Switch (2018, Netflix)
7) Falling for Christmas (2022, Netflix)
8) The Knight Before Christmas (2019, Netflix)
9) Midnight at the Magnolia (2020, Netflix)
10) Christmas Under Wraps (2014, Hallmark)
11) The Princess Switch 2: Switched Again (2020, Netflix)
12) The Noel Diary (2022, Netflix)
13) The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star (2021, Netflix)
14) One Royal Holiday (2020, Hallmark)
15) Christmas on the Farm (2022, Hulu)
16) Holiday in the Wild (2019, Netflix)
17) Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe (2018, Hallmark)
18) Three Wise Men and a Baby (2022, Hallmark)

Alison’s List:
1) The Princess Switch (2018, Netflix)
2) Your Christmas or Mine (2022, Amazon)
3) Love Hard (2021, Netflix)
4) Holiday Calendar (2018, Netflix)
5) Falling for Christmas (2022, Netflix)
6) Holidate (2020, Netflix)
7) The Knight Before Christmas (2019, Netflix)
8) Midnight at the Magnolia (2020, Netflix)
9) Christmas Under Wraps (2014, Hallmark)
10) Pride, Prejudice, and Mistletoe (2018, Hallmark)
11) The Princess Switch 2: Switched Again (2020, Netflix)
12) Snowed Inn (2017, Hallmark)
13) The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star (2021, Netflix)
14) One Royal Holiday (2020, Hallmark)
15) The Noel Diary (2022, Netflix)
16) Three Wise Men and a Baby (2022, Hallmark)
17) Christmas on the Farm (2022, Hulu)
18) Holiday in the Wild (2019, Netflix)