Raindrops and Roses: Some of My Favorite Things

One of the secrets of a happy life is continuous small treats. Iris Murdoch

                
I love romantic comedies, Christmas movies, Hallmark movies. Sometimes we need to take a break from reality. Escapism. Some of my favorite feel-good movies follow. 
(Particular favorites are indicated by asterisks.) (I will be adding to this list as time and energy allow and as I discover new favorites.)


*Bottled with Love*  After Abby is dumped, she writes a letter to her true love, puts the letter in a bottle, and throws the bottle into Boston Harbor. Months later, Nick finds the bottle and contacts her.

*Love in Paradise*  Luke (Luke Perry), who is famous for playing a cowboy in Westerns but is actually a city slicker who lives in New York City, visits a dude ranch in Montana.

*Surprised by Love*  Josie's plan to get her strait-laced parents to approve of her boyfriend backfires. (Tim Conway plays Josie's grandfather.)

*Love by Chance* Helen, who fancies herself a matchmaker, goes to extreme lengths to help her daughter, Claire, find love.

*Harvest Moon*  Jennifer learns that she has spent her trust fund and owns a struggling pumpkin farm after her rich father goes bankrupt.

*October Kiss*  Poppy is hired as a temporary nanny to care for Ryan's two children.

*You Cast a Spell on Me*  Matt meets Sara at a Halloween party.

*A Family Thanksgiving*  Claudia, a workaholic lawyer, meets a mysterious woman (Faye Dunaway) who gives her a glimpse of the road not taken. Suddenly, she is married with kids.

*The Sweeter Side of Life*  Desiree's life as a Manhattan doctor's wife is upended when her husband wants a divorce. She moves back to her childhood home in New Jersey and helps her father run their bakery.

*The Birthday Wish*  Gwen, who likes to plan out her life, makes a birthday wish and sees a glimpse into her future.

*A Country Wedding*  Bradford, a country singer, returns to his hometown to sell his childhood home and reconnects with two childhood friends.

*Anything for Love*  Jack, a male nurse, and Katherine, a female executive, meet via an online dating site and enjoy each other's company. The problem is that  their dating profiles are not entirely truthful.

*Love on the Sidelines*  Laurel, an unemployed designer, finds a job as a personal assistant to Danny, a injured football player.

*Love to the Rescue* Two single parents, Kate and Eric, and their children end up cofostering a dog they are hoping to adopt.

*How to Fall in Love*  Annie becomes Harold's dating coach.

*Roadhouse Romance*  Callie returns home to Tucker's Roadhouse after her tour of duty and finds changes.

*Midnight Masquerade*  Rob, an overworked junior lawyer, and Elyse, a CEO, meet at a masquerade ball. A modern twist on Cinderella.

*Undercover Bridesmaid*  Tanya, a bodyguard at a security firm who hates weddings, must pretend to be a bridesmaid to protect the daughter of a Texas tycoon.

Love, of Course  Amy brings her daughter to college and to her surprise also finds a new life.

Destination Wedding  Ellie's sister Mandy is getting married in Acapulco. Ellie and her ex end up holding down the fort in Acapulco when Mandy and Jason don't show up.

Autumn Dreams  Fifteen years after their short marriage, Ben and Annie discover that their marriage was never annulled.

The Convenient Groom  Kate, a relationship expert, and Lucas, a high school class mate of Kate, wind up pretending to be engaged.

An Hour Behind  Trish meets Parker because of a snafu on a blind date and Daylight Savings Time.

Winter Love Story  Cassie, a new author, is paired with an established author, Elliot, on a book tour.

CHRISTMAS MOVIES
*Comfort and Joy* (2003) Jane Berry, a successful single woman, has a car accident, and after the accident, finds herself in an entirely different life—married, with kids.

*Christmas on the Bayou* Katherine, a single mother, returns to her Southern hometown to spend Christmas with her son and mother.

*The Most Wonderful Time of the Year* Jennifer’s uncle (Henry Winkler) brings a stranger he met in the airport home for Christmas.

*The Angel Tree* Rebecca returns to Pine River to uncover the identity of the mysterious benefactor who grants wishes placed on the Angel Tree.

*A Veteran’s Christmas* Grace, a veteran, returns to the United States and finds herself in the friendliest small town.

*A Christmas To Remember* Jennifer, a Martha Stewart wannabee, is in a car accident, loses her memory, and is taken in by John, a kindly veterinarian, and his children.

*Christmas with Holly* Mark and his 5-year-old niece Holly move to Friday Harbor and meet Maggie, who has just opened a toy store.

*Love Always, Santa* Lily writes a letter to Santa with a wish not for herself but for her mother—and Santa writes back.

*The Nine Lives of Christmas* A stray cat adopts Zachary, a fireman, and changes his life.

*One Christmas Eve* Nell (Anne Heche) tries to make their first Christmas since her divorce special for her two children. The family has a truly memorable Christmas Eve.

*The Christmas Contract* Jolie, who is dreading returning home for Christmas because her ex is bringing home his new girlfriend, makes an agreement with a friend’s brother to pretend to be a couple for Christmas.

*A Very Merry Mixup* Alice ends up at the wrong family’s house for Christmas.

*Once Upon a Holiday* Katie, a princess, runs away from her official duties to see a photography exhibit. A Christmas Roman Holiday.

*Five Star Christmas* Lucy and her family return home for Christmas to find that her father has turned the family home into an inn.

*Debbie Macomber’s Trading Christmas* Charles (Tom Cavanagh) and Emily (Faith Ford) swap homes for Christmas and find more than a change of scenery.

*The Santa Suit* Santa puts a spell on the cynical greedy CEO of a toy company.

*A Kindhearted Christmas* A resident of Cooperville decides to spread some holiday cheer around the town by making anonymous donations. The Secret Santa’s life becomes complicated when a TV news host learns of the mysterious donations and tries to discover the identity of the benefactor.

*Noel Next Door* Noelle, a single mom, and Jeremy fall for each other—not realizing that they are next door neighbors. Noelle is also unaware that Jeremy is the neighborhood curmudgeon feuding with her son.

The Christmas Club Olivia and Edward, two strangers, help Gertrude, an elderly woman who loses the money she saved for her grandchildrens’ gifts.

Small Town Christmas Nell and Emmett, who worked together in New York City, meet again in his hometown. His stories about his hometown inspired her book.

On the 12th Date of Christmas Jennifer and Aidan, two game designers with very different personalities and working styles, work together to create an online Christmas scavenger hunt.

A Joyous Christmas Rachel, a motivational speaker, returns to her hometown and meets two people who change her life.

A Perfect Christmas List A grandmother (Marion Ross) works to repair the relationship between her daughter and granddaughter.

On Strike for Christmas Mothers go on strike when their families take them from granted during the busy holiday season.

A Bride for Christmas Aiden makes a bet with his buddies that he can get a woman to accept a wedding proposal by Christmas, which is 4 weeks away.

A New Lease on Christmas As Becky says, it’s a tale of “real estate and romance, family and friendships, big deals and little white lies. There’s heartache and heartbreak and the threat of eviction on Christmas Eve, not to mention cops, coffee, and Kris Kringle. Crazy.”

Five More Minutes Clara wishes for five more minutes with her beloved grandfather who died recently. The journal he kept as a young man turns up.

Snow Bride Greta, a writer for a tabloid looking for gossip on a prominent political family, ends up staying at the family’s house.

Snowmance With a little Christmas magic, a snowman comes to life.

Christmas on Chestnut Street A greedy store owner starts a holiday lighting contest and forces his daughter and a department manager to work together.

The Mistletoe Promise Elise and Nick meet, bond over their shared dislike for Christmas, and agree to pretend to be a couple for their Christmas work festivities.

Holiday in Handcuffs A waitress impulsively kidnaps a customer after her boyfriend breaks up with her and forces him to pretend to be her boyfriend at Christmas to fool her parents.

Every Other Holiday Instead of alternating holidays as usual, Tracy and Rick, a divorced couple, spend Christmas together at the grandparents’ farm at their daughters’ request.

The Spirit of Christmas A spirit takes on human form and becomes a man for 12 days a year at Christmas.

No Sleep ‘Til Christmas Lizzie and Billy, two strangers (both insomniacs), find they can fall asleep only when next to each other. (Despite the title, G rated)

A Very Nutty Christmas A bakery owner meets a man who may be a nutcracker come to life.

Eight Gifts of Hanukkah Sarah receives anonymous gifts for Hanukkah (one gift each day) and tries to figure out who is responsible for them.