''Trading Christmas'' is a 2011

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

film directed by Michael Scott and starring

Faith Ford Faith Alexis Ford (born September 14, 1964) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Corky Sherwood on the CBS sitcom '' Murphy Brown'', for which she received five Primetime Emmy Award nominations, and as Hope Shanowski on the A ...

Tom Cavanagh Thomas Cavanagh (born October 26, 1963) is a Canadian actor. He is known for a variety of roles on American television, including starring roles in '' Ed'' (2000–2004), ''Love Monkey'' (2006) and '' Trust Me'' (2009), and recurring roles on ...

Gil Bellows Gil Bellows (born June 28, 1967) is a Canadians, Canadian actor, screenwriter, and director. He is best known for the roles of Tommy Williams in the 1994 movie ''The Shawshank Redemption'', Billy Thomas in the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox televi ...

Gabrielle Miller Gabrielle Sunshine Miller (born November 9, 1973) is a Canadian actress who, since the start of her career in 1993, has appeared in many television films and series episodes, including leading roles in two of Canada's most popular concurrently-r ...

Emma Lahana Emma Kate Lahana (born ) is a New Zealand actress. She is known for her roles as Kira Ford, the Yellow Dino Ranger, in ''Power Rangers Dino Thunder'', Jennifer Mason on '' Haven'', and Brigid O'Reilly in '' Cloak & Dagger''. Career Lahana play ...

, and

Andrew Francis Andrew Michael Scott Francis is a Canadian actor. He has appeared in many television shows and films including '' My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic'' as Shining Armor, '' MegaMan NT Warrior'' as MegaMan.EXE, ''Hero 108'' as Lin Chung, ''Lam ...

. The film is based on the novel of the same name by author

Debbie Macomber Debbie Macomber (born October 22, 1948) is an American author of romance novels and contemporary women's fiction. Six of her novels have become made-for-TV movies and her ''Cedar Cove'' series of novels was adapted into a television series of the ...

, who also serves as a producer. The film premiered on the

Hallmark Channel The Hallmark Channel is an American television channel owned by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., which in turn is owned by Hallmark Cards, Inc. The channel's programming is primarily targeted at families, and features a mix of television movies and ...

on November 26, 2011.

Plot

Three years after her husband died Emily Spengler, a 2nd grade teacher in the small Washington town of South Woodbourne, is preparing for the arrival of her daughter, Heather, who is a Boston College student. When Emily finds out that Heather wishes to do other things for Christmas, she calls her friend Faith Kerrigan, for advice. Faith is a divorced event planner based in San Francisco. Meanwhile in Boston Charles Johnson, an English professor and writer, is working on the finishing draft for his latest novel. Struggling to finish his book after missing several deadlines, his brother Ray, the owner of a software security company, suggests he go someplace to concentrate on his writing. Meanwhile in Washington, Emily decides to surprise her daughter in Boston. Unfortunately, she is unaware that her daughter has already made plans to go with her boyfriend Jason, to Phoenix, Arizona, and stay at his grandparents' home. Emily and Charles find each other on a house swapping website and trade houses for the week. He arrives in Washington to discover her home full of Christmas decor, despite his bad memories of Christmas. Emily arrives at Charles' in Boston only to discover her daughter had gone to Phoenix. Meanwhile, Emily's friend Faith takes a plane and bus to surprise her in Washington, only to discover that Charles is there. As the next bus back to Seattle does not leave until Christmas, she stays at Emily's to Charles' dismay. Meanwhile in Boston, when Emily triggers the apartment alarm, Ray arrives with a police officer as Charles hadn't told him he had taken his advice. He offers to show Emily around and take her to dinner. Over the course of the week Emily and Ray spend a lot of time together, revealing their past Christmas memories. In Washington, Charles struggles to finish his book, until Faith reads the draft, and makes suggestions. He is at first reluctant to take her advice, but eventually does, overcoming his writer's block to finish his novel. Meanwhile in Arizona, Jason notices how homesick Heather is, so he buys plane tickets to Boston so she can spend Christmas with her mother. After Heather arrives in Boston, Ray gives Emily a pair of earrings as a Christmas present, and since Emily is leaving in a couple of days, decides it would be best to not make things more difficult. On Christmas Day, Charles drives Faith to the bus station, only to stop the bus because he doesn't want her to spend Christmas on the bus. She is delighted and they kiss as the bus leaves without her. In Boston, Emily, Heather, and Jason arrive at Ray's apartment with a Christmas tree, and the four of them spend Christmas together. Emily learns that Ray finally sold his company, as he awaits the next chapter in his life. One year passes, and it is revealed that Ray and Emily are married, living in Washington. They are visited for Christmas by Faith and Charles, who are also married and expecting a child. The film ends with eveyone celebrating Christmas together.

Cast

- Emily Spengler, a widow of 3 years and a 2nd grade teacher from South Woodbourne, Washington. *

- Charles Johnson, a Boston College English professor and writer. *

- Ray Johnson, Charles' brother, the owner of a software security company from Boston. *

- Faith Kerrigan, a divorced event planner and Emily's best friend from San Francisco. *

- Heather Spengler, Emily's daughter who attends Boston College. *

- Jason, Heather's boyfriend who also attends Boston College.

Reception

The New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...

'' said, "Measured against what Hallmark sets out to do, and against the heartwarming oasis Hallmark viewers expect, "Debbie Macomber's Trading Christmas" is just what the channel wants to place under our tree." ''

The Dove Foundation The Dove Foundation is an American non-profit organization based in Portland, Oregon, that issues film reviews, ratings and endorsements of movies that it considers suitable for family audiences, and that bases said reviews on Christian values. D ...

'' gave the "Dove Family Approved Seal to this film for ages 12 and up."

References

External links

* * {{rotten-tomatoes, id=trading_christmas, title=Trading Christmas 2011 television films 2011 films American Christmas films Canadian television films Canadian Christmas films Christmas television films English-language Canadian films Films set in Washington (state) Films shot in British Columbia Hallmark Channel original films 2010s Christmas films 2010s Canadian films 2010s English-language films

Plot

Cast

Reception

See also

References

External links