Ellie is an amateur crafter and locally famous for her stunning Christmas wreaths. She works in the town’s bakery, known for its delicious Christmas Kringles pastries, where she mostly does her dad’s dirty work. When the company’s new, young CEO (also known as “Nick from corporate”) comes into town to inspect the bakery and learn its ins and outs, it of course falls to Ellie to train him. Of course, they’ve met previously, when he slipped on the ice and she put the bruise on top of his goose egg by knocking him in the head with her car door. Meet cute!

One thing Hallmark has taught me is that a surprising amount of CEOs are willing to get their hands dirty, taking extensive trips right before the holidays to see one small spoke in the business wheel. Layoffs are almost always threatened, but the spirit of the season usually (always) persuades them otherwise. Greedy CEOs have to learn to care. And think charitably. And embrace the season, of course.

Brooke D’Orsay and Daniel Lissing have mastered the trademark Hallmark fake laugh, slow walk, and sustained smile as the the scene dissolves to commercial. Ellie gets in Nick’s face about the importance of family at Christmas, not knowing that it’s his dad keeping him away, trying to train his son up to take over the reigns. Meanwhile, Nick has something he feels he can teach Ellie about business – namely, pursuing her crafts online to follow her passion. What will become of them?

Truthfully, I think workplaces are getting shittier and shittier about the holidays. I work as a suicide counselor, which means we work round the clock, every single day, on an emergency basis. We don’t get holidays off. We don’t get a party. We don’t get a bonus. My father used to bring home an actual turkey from his employer every year. Does anyone still do that? It feels that, Hallmark aside, most companies are moving away from holiday celebrations. Or has your CEO shown up lately to brush an egg wash on some pastry and throw $50 in a hat? In fact, I’m beginning to think that Hallmark movies, in addition to being not very subtle plugs for their products, are also backed by unions. Or has Christmas always been about bolstering the economy with a robust work force and hiring sprees?