Kassidy Wilkinson

In a Hallmark reality TV show titled “Finding Mr. Christmas,” 10 contestants were brought in to compete against each other for the role of a leading male actor in a Hallmark Christmas movie. This show is a perfect addition to your Christmas movie and show watch list and I strongly recommend you check it out.

You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, but do you know what it takes to be a Hallmark leading male actor? You’ve got to be strong enough to haul a Christmas tree across a driveway or catch a woman as she falls off a ladder while hanging Christmas lights. You have to look like “Mr. December,” with a smile that lights up the screen and causes viewers to swoon. You have to have a heart of gold while you volunteer at animal shelters and wrap up Christmas presents for the children in your small town. To be a Hallmark leading man, you have to be more than just a gentleman, you have to be the knight in shining armor that sweeps the lady off her feet, sealing their love story with a kiss.

Hallmark movies are definitely an acquired taste. You have to crawl through hours and hours of Christmas tree lightings, small business owners and unrealistic misunderstandings to find a movie good enough to leave you with warm fuzzy feelings as the two leads race to find each other and confess their feelings. This year, Hallmark set out to find the perfect man for the job of creating one of those few good Hallmark movies. 

In a Hallmark reality TV show titled “Finding Mr. Christmas,” 10 contestants were brought in to compete against each other for the honor of being “Mr. Christmas” and getting the role of a leading man in a Hallmark Christmas movie. Consisting of eight, 45-minute episodes, the show is hosted by well-known Hallmark star Johnathan Bennett and Melissa Peterman, who played the role of Barbra Jen in the television series “Reba.” The 10 contestants vying to become the first Mr. Christmas include Blake Kelly, Gage Robinson, Hayden Maher, David Habashy, Daxton Bloomquist, Elijah Malcomb, Ezra Moreland, Issac Ramirez, Jonathan Wells and Parker Gregory. 

Each episode involves a festive face-off where the contestants compete in a fun Christmas-themed event to win an advantage in the “star-quality” competition. A few of these festive face-off challenges include an ugly sweater contest, a race to untangle Christmas lights and a snowman-building competition. The climax of each episode was the star-quality challenge. Each star-quality challenge is a test of the contestants’ acting skills, how well they connect with their co-stars and their overall ability to be in the spotlight. Based on classic Hallmark movie tropes, a few of the challenges included acting on ice skates, improvisation and even a talent show. 

Overall, the show was very entertaining and I highly recommend watching it. In general, the contestants were all very likable and I found myself rooting for them as they competed in the star-quality challenges. Every single one of the men brought something to the show, be it humor, joy or a competitive spirit; they all added to the drama and excitement each episode had. Each of the challenges were difficult and left the competitors (and viewers) on their toes with surprises. 

Right off the bat, I was in love with Blake, Ezra, and Hayden.

Blake is a cowbody through and through. With an endless amount of funny pick-up lines that he would whip out in the middle of every scene he did, he is hilarious. With his southern accent and leather boots, Blake brings lots of joy to the people in the show and the viewers watching. Although his only acting experience was his work in sales, Blake is my favorite contestant because of his cowboy persona and large smile. 

In the first episode I was immediately drawn to Hayden because of his Australian accent and vibrant blue eyes. One of the best actors on the show, Hayden always added his own touch during scenes by improvising with small and large romantic gestures. Whether it’s holding his jacket over the leading lady’s head so her hair doesn’t get wet in the rain or smiling sweetly at her, Hayden was a perfect gentleman on the show and created lots of swoon-worthy moments.

Last, Ezra. At first, I liked Ezra because he is the most attractive man on the show, but as more episodes came out I grew to like him for the sincerity he showed. Unfortunately, the reason you knew his actions were genuine was because the man could not act. Throughout the first couple of episodes, Ezra made me cringe as he awkwardly stumbled through his lines and stiffly moved around the star-quality challenge scenes. Surprisingly, Ezra improved dramatically over the course of the show. Although he started off a terrible actor, his last scene was full of emotions that felt real and authentic.

I have to applaud Hallmark for its choice of challenges. In episode two, the men competed in a festive face-off where they each wrapped two presents. When they announced this challenge I thought to myself “that’s easy, everyone can wrap gifts,” however, this part of the show sent me, my sisters and my mom into fits of laughter because it turns out that most men suck at wrapping gifts. In the seventh episode, the contestants had to learn how to ballroom dance. The men all had to perform hard dance moves they had to learn the day of. This challenge made me uncomfortable with worry as I watched my favorite contestants perform the waltz and a fun upbeat ballroom style dance because I didn’t want them to make any missteps or forget the choreography.

One of the hardest challenges was in the sixth episode, where the four remaining contestants had to act out the classic “break-up” scene in many Hallmark movies. Tasked with creating heartfelt emotions and real tears, this challenge was so suspenseful and tense that my dad had to leave the room because he was too uncomfortable. He couldn’t stand to watch the contestants trying to do their best, but having a few nervous slip ups while trying to do the hardest part of an actor’s job. 

There are two small disclaimers I should warn you about. First, while the main contestants are very likeable, funny guys, the two main hosts, Melissa and Johnathan, were fairly annoying. For some reason, Melissa had a grand entrance twice in every single episode. I don’t understand why they had to give her a big introduction every time she came on screen. And Johnathan overdid it on the puns. There were some scenes where every sentence he said had a pun thrown into it. Second, the show is very cringy. As most of the media that comes from the Hallmark channel, this show was full of unrealistic events that caused many eyerolls from my family and I.

However, while there are these two disclaimers, they’re easy to look past because of the magic the contestants were able to bring to the screen. When I first started watching the show, I thought I would like it but I didn’t expect to fall in love with the contestants and root for every single one of them to become Mr. Christmas. While the judges’ choice of winner surprised me, I was very satisfied with the end of the show and I look forward to Saturday Dec 21. when the crowned Mr. Christmas will debut in his first Hallmark movie titled, “Happy Howlidays.” You can watch the movie, and “Finding Mr. Christmas,” on the streaming channels Hallmark+, Prime Video, and YouTube TV. 

This show is a perfect addition to your Christmas movie and show watch list and I strongly recommend you check it out. I’m positive that you’ll find yourself just as helpless as I was to Blake’s cowboy charms, Hayden’s Australian accent, and Ezra’s smile. This show is a place where you can find warm fuzzy feelings with a hint of suspense in the search for Mr. Christmas. Trust me, this is a show you don’t want to miss.