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Hallmark+ wraps up its ‘Cherry Lane’ stories — at least for this year — with Deck the Halls on Cherry Lane. Each of the three films has revisited one of the couples from the original 2023 film, and this one is no exception, bringing back John Brotherton and Erin Cahill as John and Lizzie, whose story began in 1973 in Christmas on Cherry Lane and are now in 1981. It’s been noted that Number 7 Cherry Lane seems to have quite a history of turnover in residency, and this portion of the story at least gives us some explanation as to why John, Lizzie and daughter Ivy moved out of the house.
John and Lizzie are preparing to have some friends over for Christmas Eve dinner, with John also preparing to celebrate the anniversary of the birth of a beautiful friendship with Greg, who helped deliver Lizzie’s baby on their sofa in 1973 (it’s not only Christmas Eve, it’s also Ivy’s birthday). What Lizzie doesn’t know is that their guests are there for another purpose — John was made a job offer that would move the family to Michigan and he needs to give an answer now or the offer is gone. What John doesn’t know is that Lizzie has just learned she’s pregnant, which she reveals to Piper (who has almost accidentally revealed John’s job offer to Lizzie). The couple spend the rest of the day dancing around their secrets, but it all comes to a head when John tries to come clean to Lizzie and she misinterprets his words as being ready to add to their family and she blurts out she’s pregnant. Thrilled with the news he decides not to tell her about the job and rejects the offer, but Ivy overheard the guests talking about the job, Michigan and moving into the house on Cherry Lane which puts John in the doghouse with Lizzie. Will they resolve the issue and make the best decision for the family?
The second story takes place in 1966 where we find young David and his co-worker trying to crack a project they are working on that will help plane navigation systems, but David just can’t figure out what it is they need and he will work through the holiday to get it done before their deadline. But neighbor Stephanie has entered a contest to have TV star Tommy Saunders do his live Christmas show from her house. Her house is too small and she never thought she’d win so she used 7 Cherry Lane as her address, which at the time was occupied by Eli and Penny (from Happy Holidays from Cherry Lane), so when she wins the contest after the first winner withdrew, she finds herself in a pickle as David wants nothing to do with a TV show or Christmas. But his friend reminds him that their boss is a big Tommy Saunders fan and having him at the house so she can meet him may put them in her good graces. David agrees to let Stephanie deck out his sparsely decorated house and the show goes on, but Stephanie also reveals that she had to say she was married and Tommy pushes the newlywed to kiss on live TV … David’s world is rocked to its core. He wanted his first kiss to be special and now it isn’t. Stephanie feels terrible for lying but the show must go on. Can she and David repair their new friendship, or will they actually find that there was more to that kiss than they thought?
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The third story is set in 2000 and features best friend Rebecca and Matt. Rebecca has just moved into the house but is entirely focused on her work with a department store chain. Matt is trying to get her to stop working and enjoy the holiday, and maybe get out to know her neighbors as well. She’s already been introduced to Daisy (missing from the last film and only appearing in this segment in this one) and has learned that there is a mysterious resident going around the neighborhood performing acts of kindness, and no one knows who it is. This gives Matt the idea that Rebecca should do the same as it seems like everyone on Cherry Lane looks out for everyone else and they get to work. But their own relationship becomes strained when Rebecca admits that she can’t find a relationship that she can be stable in because Matt gets in the way. Not that he’s a problem but they have been best friends since childhood and while he’s always there for her and supportive, she sees him as a hinderance to her love life. Matt then admits that he can’t find the right woman because Rebecca never likes any of them … but the truth is it’s because no one can live up to Rebecca. Can these two friends finally see that they were meant for each other or will the strain tear them apart? And how are they connected to 7 Cherry Lane?
Deck the Halls on Cherry Lane is a fitting conclusion to this trilogy of films. It recaptures the spirit that Happy Holidays on Cherry Lane lost a bit, and really weaves together the connections on par with the original ‘Cherry Lane’ movie. It’s nice to see Brotherton and Cahill back as John and Lizzie, showing off their wonderful chemistry and bringing some Lucy and Ricky humor to all the verbal acrobatics they have to do to keep their secrets. The second story with Chelsea Hobbs and Benjamin Hollingsworth as Stephanie and David is totally charming, both of them doing a great job with their awkwardness and really tugging your heart after that misguided kiss, bring a lot of emotion to the story. This segment is also a great callback to the story of a power outage in a previous story (Regina and Nelson, I believe) that was caused when someone was trying to determine the secret location of the Tommy Saunders broadcast. The third story with Brooke D’Orsay and Sam Page as Rebecca and Matt is also rewarding as we actually get to see more of the Cherry Lane neighborhood, and root for these two to realize they love each other. All of the performances in the movie are top notch.
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The script is so clever in how it weaves the stories together, much in the way the original movie did. The 1966 story is really ground zero for the movie with Tommy Saunders playing a major role in some way through all of the stories, and how it also connects to some of the stories in the previous films (Ivy is also an important part of the story, as is a broken step in the house). If you haven’t yet watched the movie, we won’t spoil how it all comes together, but as with the first one my mind was a bit blown when I realized who was who and how they connected to the stories. The production design again is lovely, the writing is sharp, the direction is very skilled in keeping all of the story elements aligned, making this a delightful holiday treat. Good work by everyone involved.
These stories set at Number 7 Cherry Lane are resolved, for the time being, but it wouldn’t be a terrible thing if we got to revisit any of these couples next year, and perhaps delve a little more into what makes Cherry Lane so special. For now, Hallmark+ has given us a lovely gift with these three movies (even if the second was just so-so) that can be enjoyed any time of the year.
Deck the Halls on Cherry Lane has a run time of 1 hour 24 minutes, and is rated TV-G. The film is streaming on Hallmark+.
Sneak Peek – Deck the Halls on Cherry Lane
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