‘Cranberry Christmas’: A Very Different Hallmark Christmas Story

According to the Hallmark preview press release, Cranberry Lane founders, Dawn (DeLoach) and Gabe Hughes (Ayres), are at a crossroads. The husband and wife team have achieved their dream of creating a lifestyle brand. They are synonymous with the brand.

From the surface, they look like the perfect couple. But in reality, “Mr. and Mrs. Cranberry Lane” are secretly separated and ready to end their marriage. But, they have one last hurrah, as the two need to keep up appearances for a very popular television show. As always, the business is first and they are willing to put up a charade for a few more days.

As the husband and wife continue to play the loving couple on-screen, they begin to remember why they first fell in love. They are starting to reconnect.

But, will their opposing career dreams tear them further apart, or will they find a way to make it work together?

Cranberry Christmas premieres on Halloween night! So, why not grab some of your favorite Halloween treats, make up some eggnog and enjoy your own version of a Hallmark Halloween night!

Cranberry Christmas Director

Cranberry Christmas is the first Hallmark movie for director Linda-Lisa Hayter. According to her interview on the Hallmarkies podcast, Hayter is the daughter of a director and she was a script supervisor for a quarter of a century. Hayter explained that the script supervisor sits next to the director.

That position is “the liaison between the editor and director.” In addition, they need to work with the actors to make sure their lines are “right,” and that they do everything the same way with each take. So,  it is no surprise that she transitioned into directing, with her first experience in iZombie.

She loves working for Hallmark because she doesn’t want to do “projects that have violence in them, or have bad messages.” Linda-Lisa believes we need to “tread gently on this earth.” She believes with Hallmark, you can exhale, which is “relaxing.” She points out that other movies that make you inhale, and are not so comforting, “tense.”

The first-time Hallmark director feels that the storyline around Cranberry Christmas is “relatable.” People in a relationship stop communicating. Couples may find it “easier to bail.” She hopes that this Christmas movie will “inspire,” and calls it a “good message.”

Actress Nikki DeLoach has been raving about the Linda-Lisa Haytor. It is great to see more women behind the lens, making these Christmas movies we all love.

When Can You Watch Hallmark’s Cranberry Christmas?

Hallmark’s Cranberry Christmas premieres on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel on Halloween, Saturday, October 31, at 10 p.m., Eastern. Encores air on Tuesday, November 3 at 12 p.m., Friday, November 6, at 12 a.m., Sunday, November 8, at 4 p.m., Friday, November 13, at 10 p.m., Wednesday, November 25, at 8 p.m., and Saturday, November 28, at 10 a.m., all times Eastern.

Hallmark has just made a time change for the Miracles of Christmas movies. These are the movies shown on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. They have moved the time from 9 p.m., to 10 p.m. Eastern. The movies on this channel often are more emotional.

This hour-long change allows Christmas movie fans to watch the 8 p.m. Christmas movie premiere over on the Hallmark Channel, and still catch the premiere at the sister station. It also allows Hallmark Christmas movie fans to live tweet with their favorite stars.