Christmassy Review :: I’ll Be Home for Christmas Movies

Hosts and best friends Brandon Gray, Daniel “Panda” Pandolph, and Dan Thompson share reviews that make you feel like you’re watching these holiday favorites with your best buds, discussing warm Christmas feelings and absolutely bonkers plot twists with equal enthusiasm. And thanks to original interviews with the movies’ stars and creators, fans will find out insider information on the making of the movies and learn answers to pressing questions: Why do the lead characters keep coming down with amnesia? Why do so many female stock brokers and lawyers find themselves forced to plan parties? And do all of the stories take place within something called the “Kennyverse”?

To complete the perfect Christmas package, the book is also chock-full of ideas for hosting your own holiday movie-watching party, complete with delicious recipes. Featuring dozens of full-color photos throughout, I’ll Be Home for Christmas Movies is as cozy and sparkly as the movies themselves.

Ok, if you’re ever popped by my Instagram page in November or December you might have noticed I have kind of a thing for Hallmark movies – especially the Christmas ones (did you know they make like 40 a year?!). I discovered the Deck the Hallmark podcast a few years ago, and I absolutely love it – the guys have the perfect mix of poking a bit of fun at the movies while still being respectful of the people who make them. They regularly have Hallmark actors guest on their show, and it is just always so much fun.

I was super excited when the guys announced that they were teaming up with Alonso Duralde (a fantastic movie critic and regular guest on the show) to release a book of highlights from the show – I’ll be Home for Christmas Movies. I was even more excited when it turned out I could get a copy in time for this year’s Christmas movie season – as far as I can tell I think the official Australian release date might be next year, but I managed to buy one online that arrived quite quickly so there must be copies in the country somewhere!

The book is a guide to some of Hallmark movies they’ve reviewed so far – the movies are arranged alphabetically, and each entry includes some snippets from one or more of the podcast episode segments (Hot Takes, All the Feels, What, What? or What the Hallmark), and sometimes extra little bits from the episodes. The book also includes some background on the podcast, and a sweet foreword by actor Kristoffer Polaha.

This one will be close by my side through all my Hallmark viewing this year. It’s an absolute joy to dip in and out of as we choose and watch movies, and I absolutely recommend it to any fellow Hallmark fans out there!

xo Bron
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I’ll be Home for Christmas Movies by Brandon Gray, Daniel Pandolph, & Daniel Thompson with Alonso Duralde
Out now from Running Press (coming in Feb 2022 from Hachette Australia)
Source: I bought my copy of this one from Booktopia, after shopping around a bit to get a copy this year
Format: Paperback, 261 pages

Find the Deck the Hallmark guys – and their other podcasts – at Bramble Jam Podcasts here.