Holiday films have been built into our society as annual traditions, bringing families closer together as they watch and enjoy. Our personal favorites are the infamous Hallmark Christmas movies.

In all of the best Christmas movies, you have the same Hallmark tropes. You have the city girl who works really hard for her job and just wants to get away from the hustle and bustle of everything. She either recently broke up with her boyfriend or is searching for the perfect guy– and she is clearly a catch for anyone who has the patience to see her for who she truly is.

The woman is usually the protagonist, with her love interest being the second lead– usually, a guy from a small town who values family, has a heart of gold, and leading-man good looks. Throughout the movie, one of these people has some sort of family whose deepest desire is for them to find someone and settle down.

The characters, plot, and overall quality of the films are usually bad. And by “bad,” we mean awesome. Most of the movies are filmed in the summertime where there is obviously fake snow in the background and sometimes the deciduous trees still have green leaves on them.  In the movie “Christmas Inheritance,” directed by Ernie Barbarash, the main character in a scene stood indoors by a fire but the snow on her hat and coat never melted.

The best movies to watch during this time of festivities aren’t the classics; they are on the Christmas Hallmark channel. We have heard some say that they are garbage and they always recycle the same plot, but that is precisely why they are the best films to watch during the holidays.

They are easy on the eyes and the brain and have enough plot to draw you into the characters lives. But even though you know the quality isn’t good, for some reason, you can’t stop watching.