Image via: https://www.hallmarkmoviesandmysteries.com/christmas-bedtime-stories
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Where did the magic come from?! I didn’t know this movie had a bit of Christmas magic! I thought it was just a Mom reading her daughter bedtime stories. I’m so glad it was much more than that! Here’s a quick recap and my two cents 😉
Quick Recap
Danielle’s marine husband, Colby, died while deployed. They never found his body. Danielle and her daughter moved on with their lives. Eventually Danielle’s daughter starts asking questions about her father. Danielle tells her stories about her father at bedtime and the stories start coming true. At the same time, Danielle accepts her boyfriend’s proposal and begins to question if there’s a higher reason for these miracles and if Colby could still be alive.
My Two Cents
Why is it always the movies I’m not looking forward to that keep me captivated from the first moment?! This was a bracket movie that I wouldn’t have watched if it wasn’t in my Hallmark Christmas Movie Bracket, because I usually don’t seek out military movies. They usually make me cry.
This one wasn’t any different. I found myself on the edge of tears every ten minutes. It’s so hard watching a movie where the husband dies and leaves behind a wife and child. Especially when the child is young and doesn’t remember her Dad.
But this movie is magic. I loved how Danielle’s stories kept coming real. Running into old friends, finding missing ornaments, freak snow storms, and more. I LOVE movies with this kind of magic! Somehow, it kept it just light enough that I didn’t cry the entire time.
But I wanted to cry every time I saw Danielle hurt poor Pierce’s feelings. I wondered how long he would last before he ended things with her or she finally figured out what she really wanted and stopped hurting him. I was glad when things worked out the way they did.
**SPOILER ALERT**
I almost died the last 5 minutes of the movie. Have your tissues ready! Colby’s reappearance gives the perfect Hallmark movie ending, but dang did it hit me right in the feels. I really really wanted this ending and I’m so happy Hallmark ended it this way! Is it realistic? Absolutely not, but that’s not why I watch Hallmark. I watch it to see the happily ever after that doesn’t always happen in the real world.
**END OF SPOILERS**
Hallmark Movies and Mysteries movies always hits me right in the feels. I swear I wind up ugly crying on 75% of these movies. I’m super glad I watched this movie tonight. Military movies are always hard for me to watch, but this was definitely worth it! Give it a try!
Did you watch this movie? Let me know what you thought! Leave a comment!
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This movie had lots of potential…but, they really dropped the ball for the ending. So many loopholes….
This exactly! I wanted him to come home but the way it happened is just not realistic… even for a Hallmark movie. There is no way the General wouldn’t have known.
Agree!
Agree! Very unrealistic ending. It was like they just ran out of time and threw in an ending. VERY disappointing. (My response to Perfect Harmony was totally opposite; it is the best HMM I’ve seen perhaps ever!)
I agree. There was not enough background. They should have shown Colby’s trip home, and then the reunion-not just a “Here I am! Surprise!!!” And there was no ending for Pierce. Does his Christmas end happily? Or does he pine for his lost love for the rest of his life? No, Hallmark. You dropped the ball here.
Agree! Not very well informed about military procedures, but this seems highly unlikely. I think the writers bungled the story line with Pierce, too. This character deserved a better resolution to his story.
he doesnt call? the military doesnt know anything? he knows where to go/where his family will be? no one makes a fuss about a “dead” guy returning? his daughter doesnt ask questions?
Terrible ending!!
Only thing was he announced himself as a major in the scene they met at the Christmas tree lighting but when they got married he wore a captain’s uniform. Unless I was paying half attention.
Exactly why I searched this! When he announced “Major” I thought, oh, a little older. Then when they got married I was like, how did they get THAT wrong? Also read the spoiler alert. Not sure I can finish the movie – my husband didn’t come home.
Terrible and unrealistic. Will totally impede healing for families of those MIA.
I could not believe that they would end the movie like that. Very lazy on the part of the writers. Talk about Deus ex Machina.
Exactly- I wanted it to be a sign she should move on. Pierce was lovely and deserved his happy ending. Totally ruined it for me. So unrealistic.
Totally agree with your comment. Writers were sloppy and failed to do much research into military protocols.
I would rather the husband had actually died and was sending her signals that it was ok to move on. And how he got back looking none for the worse, despite being a prisoner? They could have at least had him on crutches, with some scars or something.
Thank you very much. I share your exact same sentiments. I consider the movie a waste of my precious time!
It was the ending I expected, but it all happened so abruptly and so much was missing. Colby just showing up like that was weird and what about poor Pierce? I mean it was a great storyline, until it wasn’t. Maybe if it hadn’t been so abrupt they could have worked in a little reunion with him as well. Could have been a beautiful story, but it just didn’t flow nicely. “Swing and a miss”
Very bad and possibly harmful message for wives of MIAs or soldiers declared dead but no body recovered. An insult to the military and POWs.
So dissapointing and I wonder who at HMM would have approved that concept. It is so disappointing, almost cruel, to military families and especially to children who might find that a plausible happening at Christmas. It was so unrealistic and almost maddening. It actually leaves me less willing to watch other HMM movies.
I just finished watching this movie and towards the end, when Danielle (Cahill) was in the bathroom, I said out loud to myself, if the husband shows up Im done watching Hallmark Movies! Disappointed that I can no longer watch Hallmark Christmas Movies….maybe. Seriously, all those years without a phone call, letter, video conference?!! Unrealistic. What happened to her fiance?! Why were the other people at the dance not more excited or surprised that he showed up, did no one else know he was missing? I kept waiting for her to all of a sudden wake up and realize it was a dream and he came to her to let her know it was ok to move on. That, I think would have been a better ending.
I absolutely hated this movie, I agree that it should have been signs to move on. That is the type of message I want to take out of my Christmas movies not half baked insults like this. I defend myself daily as an unabashed hallmark fan but this one drives me away.
I thought the end was ridiculous. Like others, I was hoping it was signs for her to move on. Him showing up, showered and in uniform, totally unannounced was almost comical. There was so much potential to the first 2/3 of this movie and then it just flopped.
What about Star ? Star was part of the family too. When Danielle took her walk Star should have been with her. Also Star should have been at the end too. Poor writing ….and I agree with the above comments!
This was insults to all the men and women all these yrs serving our country. He loved better even after being a prisoner for 3 yrs. Totally unrealistic. Beside he would be delayed for days with paperwork and being questioned by the brass.