1. Hallmark Channel Christmas Movie Contest
2. Hallmark Channel Christmas Bingo
3. Hallmark Christmas Movies Bingo
4. Hallmark Christmas Movie Bingo Printable
5. Hallmark Channel Christmas Giveaway
6. Hallmark Channel Christmas Movies

Psst! Want to hear my secret to getting my husband, kids, and other friends and family members to happily binge-watch Hallmark Christmas movies with me each year? We make it a game! Now they beg to watch “just one more” as soon as the final credits roll.

Last year they were mocking me for watching them, so I made up some basic, handmade Bingo boards and told them to fill the squares with all the things you might see in a Christmas movie. They had a blast making fun of the movies while watching for things on their boards that might win them Bingo.

This year I refined it a bit and figured out some new ways to play, so I thought I’d share them with you. Take a look!

BINGO CHRISTMAS MOVIE Watch your favorite Hallmark Christmas movies with your family. Keep an eye out for these special moments, when you have 5 in a row, yell 'BINGO!' A girl runs away. A party planner character. Someone hates Christmas. Someone wraps a gift. There's a Mix Up! 'Spirit of Christmas. Hallmark Channel TV Show Ratings (updated 3/2/21) 62 Ending or Cancelled TV Shows for the 2020-21 Season 161 Ending or Cancelled TV Shows for the 2019-20 Season.

Note: You can play this with any of the Christmas TV movies playing this time of year, whether they’re on Hallmark, Lifetime, Netflix, or wherever. Also, there are Amazon affiliate links in this post that may earn me commission.

Countdown to Christmas 2020. This holiday season, enjoy Hallmark Channel's 2019 Countdown to Christmas, with festive movies all day and all night! Enter sweepstakes, get the schedule, explore. Christmas Movie Bingo This game is perfect for your next holiday movie night. Hallmark Channel Monopoly Yes this is real, and yes you need it.

How to Play Hallmark Christmas Movie Bingo

I especially love the holiday movies that feature fabulous houses like the one in Christmas on Honeysuckle Lane, which I featured last year.

I’m using “Hallmark” as a shorthand to describe the types of movies I’m talking about. They can be on any of the stations that roll out these kinds of flicks, really, like Lifetime, Netflix, or UPtv.

Even though the plots may be as thin as a Gingerbread cookie, they’re usually mindless fun.

And I found that they’re even more addictive when you watch with friends or family members with a Bingo card in hand.

Here’s the first Bingo card I made last year when I was trying to convince everyone to play:

I cut up yellow Post-It notes to use as “markers” to cover the squares, as you can see below.

A Bingo App for Your Phone

That was pretty basic, and the sheets didn’t hold up well with repeated use.

So this year we decided to experiment with Bingo apps on our phones.

There are several out there to choose from, but we settled on the app called “Bingo Editions.”

It’s free, easy to use, and makes it possible to change up and scramble the options on the board for each round, which keeps things interesting.

With the Bingo app, you can create different game boards with however many entries you’d like.

Hit the “Refresh” button whenever you’re ready to start a new game and it’ll scramble them for you.

(Note: There’s not a lot of room to write the words in the squares, so you sometimes have to abbreviate them or use code words that the group agrees on.)

Here’s what a typical Bingo board will look like on your phone:

Some of the Hallmark Christmas Movie categories we all agreed on were:

• The main character wears a red coat
• An ex boyfriend or girlfriend comes on the scene
• Story involves a Christmas-themed business like a candy cane factory
• A kiss gets interrupted
• There’s a Christmas miracle
• Someone bakes a family recipe
• Main character lost a mother or father and talks about them
• Character travels from a big city to a small town
• The snow is obviously fake
• The green screen in a scene is so bad it’s laughable
• Main character lives in a charming house they probably couldn’t afford in real life
• Someone drives a classic red pickup truck

See the house from Holly & Ivy (it’s for sale!)

Hallmark Channel Christmas Movie Contest

You can use whatever you want on your boards, just as long as you all agree on them to make it fair.

You can make it harder to get Bingo depending on how specific you are with the categories. Last year we learned that certain things were hard to get and made the games drag on longer.

This year we opted for easier things like gingerbread houses and Santa sightings to keep things moving.

Our cat Cress has a habit of jumping up on the console in front of the TV and blocking the screen while we’re watching, so we even added a square for that! 🙂

Whenever you see something onscreen that you have on your board, point it out to the other players and make sure everyone agrees that it fits the category.

You’ll simply tap the squares with your finger to mark them and the square will turn green.

Here’s what the screen looks like when you get Bingo:

When you get 5 in a row in any direction, the app calls out “BINGO!”

We keep a running tally on a small white board throughout the holiday season.

We even bought a trophy to give whoever has the most points by New Year’s:

Hallmark.com has Bingo boards you can download, print out and use.

If you prefer a pre-made paper version, you can buy a game pad in Hallmark stores:

Visit my Movie Houses page to see all the holiday movies I’ve featured,

including Holly & Ivy and Christmas on Honeysuckle Lane.

Fun Gifts for Hallmark Christmas Movie Fans

(Amazon affiliate links below)

A Mug for Your Hot Chocolate While Watching Hallmark Christmas Movies

Do Not Disturb: I’m Watching Hallmark Christmas Movies Socks

Hallmark Shirt

A Hallmark Christmas-Movie Pillow

USS Christmas

“USS Christmas” aired on November 28, 2020 on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel. Steven R. Monroe directed with the script by Andrea Canning. Canning’s next movie coming up is “Christmas She Wrote” on December 6. Set in Norfolk it was actually filmed in Wilmington, NC. It starred Hallmark regulars Jen Lilley and Trevor Donovan as well as Barbara Niven playing Lilley’s mother.

Hallmark Channel Christmas Bingo

In a nutshell

I wanted to like this. It had a lot of things going for it: Jen Lilley, filming in Wilmington, being set in a US Navy environment. I should have loved it! Unfortunately, it was lackluster and barely held my interest.

Plot of “USS Christmas”

Maddie, a reporter for a Norfolk newspaper, embarks on a Tiger Cruise during Christmastime where she meets a handsome naval officer, Billy, and stumbles upon a mystery in the ship’s archive room.

Actors

Hallmark Christmas Movies Bingo

I am a fan of Jen Lilley, both her acting and her podcast, Fostering Hope. I always enjoy her acting and this movie was no different. Trevor Donovan is always solid, although his projects are definitely hit or miss for me. I don’t blame him for that, just the material. I was sad that Barbara Niven had next to nothing to do in this movie and only had a few token scenes.

Chemistry

I felt almost chemistry between Jen Lilley and Trevor Donovan. She is better suited with almost every other Hallmark actor she has been paired with, and Trevor Donovan’s best pairing by a mile was Erin Cahill in Love, Fall and Order. I thought Lilley and Niven were great as daughter and mom, and I also thought Donovan was paired well with Brett Rice, who played his father.

Tropes

This movie was a bit different since most of the movie took place on an aircraft carrier. But it did start right out the gate with empty coffee cups. *sigh* Then the movie went straight to a fancy party complete with evening gowns and wine spills on white dresses. And look out – someone doesn’t like Christmas. Maddie and her sister’s dad passed away.

Her adorable house had a front porch. We had some CGI snow. And since Jen Lilley is so tiny, every scarf looked long on her. Maddie and her co-worker had some hot cocoa.

Bingo Card Score for “USS Christmas”

Hallmark Christmas Movie Bingo Printable

Only five spots covered on this movie’s card. Nowhere close to a bingo. Feel free to download my free bingo cardsand play along!

Did I Hear/See That Right?

Dude, she said it wasn’t going to work after you kissed her. Then the next morning as she was deboarding the aircraft carrier, she gave you a friendzone hug goodbye. So you decide to show up at her office a few days later to declare you were falling for her after TWO rebuffs from her? Get. A. Hint. You are coming off as a stalker, not a suitor.

Feelgoods

Well obviously since I grew up in a military family – Navy, specifically – I have a great fondness for anything related to that branch of the military. My father served on an aircraft carrier throughout the 1970s was a bombardier/navigator flying A6s.

Re-watchability

Sadly, I won’t be watching this one again.

The Ranking

“USS Christmas” is just short of being my least favorite holiday movie this far, and that makes me really sad, given how much I love Jen Lilley. It pains me to admit I didn’t like this movie.

Hallmark Channel Christmas Giveaway

1. One Royal Holiday (air date: Oct 31) – 722 pts – weighted score: 121.8 (85.5%)
2. On the 12th Date of Christmas (air date: Nov 1) – 707 pts – weighted score: 119.2 (83.6%)
3. The Christmas House (air date: Nov 22) – 710 pts – weighted score: 118.6 (83.2%)
4. Sweet Autumn (air date: Oct 17) – 693 pts – weighted score: 118.5 (83.1%)
5. Good Morning, Christmas! (air date: Nov 25) – 698 pts – weighted score: 118.2 (82.9%)
6. A Timeless Christmas (air date: Nov 14) – 700 pts – weighted score: 117.7 (82.6%)
7. Deliver by Christmas (air date: Oct 25) – 697 pts – weighted score: 117.4 (82.4%)
8. Christmas With the Darlings (air date: Nov 8) – 691 pts – weighted score: 117.2 (82.2%)
9. Christmas Waltz (air date: Nov 29) – 694 pts – weighted score: 116.1 (81.5%)
10. Never Kiss a Man in a Christmas Sweater (air date: Nov 7) – 681 pts – weighted score: 115.8 (81.2%)
11. The Christmas Bow (air date: Nov 8) – 676 pts – weighted score: 113.2 (79.4%)
12. Cranberry Christmas (air date: Oct 31) – 650 pts – weighted score: 112.1 (78.6%)
13. The Angel Tree (air date: Nov 21) – 670 pts – weighted score: 110.9 (77.8%)
14. Matching Hearts (air date: Feb 8) – 640 pts – weighted score: 109.0 (76.5%)
15. Winter in Vail (air date: Jan 4) – 623 pts – weighted score: 108.8 (76.4%)
16. Wedding Every Weekend (air date: Aug 15) – 639 pts – weighted score: 108.3 (76.0%)
17. Love in Store (air date: Feb 22) – 637 pts – weighted score: 108.2 (75.9%)
18. Christmas in Vienna (air date: Nov 14) – 636 pts – weighted score: 107.0 (75.1%)
19. A Nashville Christmas Carol (air date: Nov 21) – 634 pts – weighted score: 107.0 (75.1%)
20. Love on Harbor Island (air date: Aug 8) – 634 pts – weighted score: 106.9 (75.0%)
21. Holly & Ivy (air date: Oct 31) – 615 pts – weighted score: 106.8 (74.9%)
22. The Secret Ingredient (air date: Feb 15) – 617 pts – weighted score: 105.2 (73.8%)
23. The Christmas Doctor (air date: Nov 15) – 605 pts (weighted score: 104.8 (73.5%)
24. Country at Heart (air date: Oct 3) – 611 pts – weighted score: 104.1 (73.1%)
25. You’re Bacon Me Crazy (air date: Apr 4) – 591 pts – weighted score: 104.0 (72.9%)
26. My Best Friend’s Bouquet (air date: Oct 10) – 599 pts – weighted score: 103.4 (72.5%)
27. The Christmas Ring (air date: Nov 7) – 609 pts – weighted score: 103.3 (72.5%)
28. Fashionably Yours (air date: Apr 11) – 594 pts – weighted score: 102.6 (72.0%)
29. Follow Your Heart (air date: Oct 4) – 585 pts – weighted score: 101.6 (71.3%)
30. A Godwink Christmas: Second Chance, First Love (air date: Nov 22) – 587 pts – weighted score: 100.9 (70.8%)
31. Christmas Tree Lane (air date: Oct 24) – 574 pts – weighted score: 100.3 (70.4%)
32. A Valentine’s Match (air date: Feb 1) – 562 pts – weighted score: 99.8 (70.0%)
33. Love On Iceland (air date: Jan 18) – 563 pts – weighted score: 99.4 (69.7%)
34. Hearts of Winter (air date: Jan 25) – 561 pts – weighted score: 98.2 (68.9%)
35. Heart of the Holidays (air date: Nov 23) – 570 pts – weighted score: 97.9 (68.7%)
36. Jingle Bell Bride (air date: Oct 24) – 558 pts – weighted score: 97.9 (68.7%)
37. Just My Type (air date: Mar 28) – 565 pts – weighted score: 95.4 (66.9%)
38. Meet Me At Christmas (air date: Nov 15) 532 pts – weighted score: 91.1 (63.9%)
39. Bad Date Chronicles (air date: Feb 28) – 520 pts – weighted score: 91.0 (63.9%)
40. Love in Winterland (air date: Jan 11) – 508 pts – weighted score: 90.7 (63.6%)
41. Nature of Love (air date: Apr 18) – 520 pts – weighted score: 90.3 (63.3%)
42. If I Only Had Christmas (air date: Nov 29) – 535 pts – weighted score: 90.0 (63.2%)
43. USS Christmas (air date: Nov 28) – 521 pts – weighted score: 87.5 (61.4%)
44. Chateau Christmas (air date: Oct 25) – 502 pts – weighted score: 87.3 (61.3%)
45. Amazing Winter Romance (air date: Jan 20) – 487 pts – weighted score: 85.6 (60.1%)
46. Love Under the Olive Tree (air date: June 20) – 473 pts – weighted score: 85.0 (59.6%)
47. In the Key of Love (air date: Mar 14) – 470 pts – weighted score: 82.5 (57.9%)
48. Love in the Forecast (air date: Jun 13) – 440 pts – weighted score: 72.5 (50.8%)
49. Midway to Love (air date: June 26) – 410 pts – weighted score: 69.0 (48.4%)
50. Falling at Look Lodge (air date: Sept 26) – 350 pts – weighted score: 64.0 (44.9%)
51. Romance in the Air (air date: Aug 1) – 367 pts – weighted score: 63.2 (44.3%)
52. Follow Me to Daisy Hills (air date: Sept 19) – 337 pts – weighted score: 62.8 (44.1%)
53. How to Train Your Husband (air date: May 16) – 350 pts – weighted score: 62.5 (43.9%)

To see where this movie lands in my overall rankings of Hallmark movies, visit my Hallmark Movie Rankings page!

Hallmark Channel Christmas Movies

In any event, what did you think of “USS Christmas”? Comment below and let me know!