Hallmark Stars Who Are Actually Christmas-Obsessed In Real Life

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While we all know that actors are often nothing like the characters they portray, Christmas lovers and Hallmark superfans may be glad to know that that isn't always the case. In fact, a number of Hallmark actors have actually made a point of sharing that Christmas truly is their favorite time of the year (and not just because of the paychecks the season brings them). 

We'll start with the undisputed queen of Christmas movies, Lacey Chabert. Over the years, Chabert has given countless interviews about her love for the season and how glad she is to be part of people's Christmas memories. However, her 2022 interview on "The Rachael Ray Show" probably sums it up best: "Growing up, my family had these traditions where we'd watch those same movies that time of year, and it just reminds you of your childhood." As such, she continued, "Now, when someone stops and says, 'Oh my goodness, one of your Hallmark movies has become part of our family tradition,' it means the world to me." We're not surprised, then, that in a 2021 appearance on "Good Morning America," she shared that being in the Hallmark holiday lineup is just as exciting to her as Christmastime itself.

Speaking of Chabert's own Christmas celebrations, the longtime Hallmark star told "Good Morning America" that she doesn't waste any time getting her decor up. In fact, she laughed that the tree and baubles went up the very same day her Halloween props came down — and all of the above took place with Christmas music in the background. As for the day itself, she told Better Homes & Gardens that she and her husband, David Nehdar, loved staying in Christmas PJs (matching, duh, with a mini version for their daughter) and had all-day Christmas movie marathons.

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While much newer to Hallmark than Lacey Chabert, since winning "American Idol," Jordin Sparks has starred in one of the channel's Christmas movies, too — and let's just say, the fact that she started later than the "Mean Girls" alum doesn't mean she wasn't a Christmas girly for years leading up to her debut. 

Speaking to TV Insider in 2021 about her Hallmark Christmas movie debut, Sparks pointed out that her birthday is just days before Christmas. As such, she beamed, "It basically runs through my veins, and I just love that season. Everybody is a little bit kinder." Sparks also revealed that she loved the sense of wonder the holiday season brings. 

In light of all that, it's no surprise that since starring in "A Christmas Treasure," Sparks has continued to use her love of the holiday in her work. In 2023, she released a seasonal album titled "The Gift of Christmas." Speaking to Epidemic Sound of the project, she reiterated that Christmas had always formed a major part of her life ... and Christmas music, in particular, was something she took very seriously. "I start listening to Christmas music in the 'Ber months. September, October, November," she revealed, a playful no-nonsense expression on her face. Said no-nonsense expression quickly changed into one of awkwardness when she laughed that it was during those same months that she got to work on her lights display. Martha May Whovier who? Music and lights aside, Sparks shared that one of her traditions was to make her grandmother's almond roca toffee recipe. 

Another Hallmark star who loves Christmas IRL just as much as her IMDb profile might suggest is Danica McKellar. 

In addition to loving being in the holiday movies herself, she's actually shared that she enjoys watching them (whether or not she's part of the cast list) in the build-up to Christmas. Taking to Instagram back in December 2018, she shared a sweet snap of herself in front of her Christmas tree. Of course, her 'fit for the post was seasonally appropriate, and in addition to a red sweater, she showed off her festive socks, which read on the bottoms of the feet, "If you can read this, I'm watching Hallmark Christmas movies." If the OOTD alone didn't sum up her thoughts on the season, she also revealed in the caption that putting the movies on was an important part of her routine ahead of the big day. "Ahh, this is the time of year when I binge Hallmark Christmas movies from my DVR while baking and wrapping Christmas presents. Love! It!" she wrote. 

Of course, Hallmark fans will know that McKellar is one of the many stars who left the channel for Great American Family. However, over at Hallmark's controversial competitor, her penchant for Christmas films has continued, and she's held starring roles in the network's "A Royal Date for Christmas," "Christmas at the Drive-In" and "A Cinderella Christmas Ball."

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Speaking of Hallmark stars who have moved from Hallmark to Great American Family, Paul Greene is also a major Christmas fan IRL. In fact, prior to his leaving the channel, he opened up about why he felt so warm and fuzzy around the holidays. As it turns out, his childhood memories in Alberta, Canada, were the stuff of Hallmark movies. 

Speaking to Hallmark Channel, Greene reminisced on his family's tradition of snowmobiling during the holidays. Post-ride, things got even cozier. "We'd somehow make our way home like frozen popsicles, and mom would always have hot chocolate and these square pizzas that she made from scratch," he recounted. While waiting for the pizzas to bake to completion, he'd sit alongside the fireplace to thaw — and unsurprisingly, it was a core memory for him. "I really, really had an amazing childhood around Christmastime," he gushed.

Evidently, even though he's since made the move to Hallmark's competitor, being part of the Hallmark Channel gave Greene even more great Christmas memories. Case in point: in December 2023, he started a "12 Days of Paul Greene Movies: The Christmas Edition" series on Instagram. As part of the countdown, Greene shared some behind-the-scenes trivia with fans, including details about his projects with both Hallmark and Great American Family. Christmas may stir up drama for some, but it's clear Greene doesn't fall into that category! 

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From one Hallmark star who had great Christmas memories as a kid, to one who didn't, Jonathan Bennett has told Us Weekly about using the channel's seasonal offerings to escape from sad details about his life. "The traditions in my family were a little too crazy because my family was a little too crazy — and that's why I love being in Hallmark movies," he shared. "It gives you this fantasy of what a perfect family is."

Amid Hallmark's commitment to greater diversity, Bennett has shared that the programming has played a major role in how he relates to his family over the holidays. "Me and my parents have kind of a rough time with them accepting who I am, and when we watch these movies on a network that they know and they trust and they respect, and they see a love that looks like me and my husband's reflected, and we're sitting there at Christmas watching it together, it starts to kind of soften the environment," he told USA Today Entertainment. It was a major perk for him to see other members of the LGBTQ+ community share that they'd had similar experiences, or that they'd loved seeing themselves represented in a Christmas movie for the first time. 

In addition to his Christmas movie lineup, Bennett is also the host and producer of Hallmark's "Finding Mr. Christmas," a reality competition show aimed at pinpointing the channel's next holiday movie star. As with the films he's been in, the star is hopeful that the project could make a positive difference. Speaking to Forbes, he shared that his goal was to get families to have real conversations. "If that happened, I think it would feel like we've helped facilitate a holiday miracle," he said. 

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Since we started this list with Hallmark's reigning Christmas queen, it feels fitting to end it with the network's former queen bee. That is, Candace Cameron Bure. 

In addition to her long resume of Christmas movies on both Hallmark and Great American Family, Cameron Bure has spoken pretty exhaustively about her love for the season. However, one especially sentimental interview came when her brother Kirk Cameron chatted with her for his eponymous YouTube channel. In the sit-down, the siblings recounted some of their favorite memories, misadventures included. One of said misadventures included the time their family had a real tree from a forest, only to find out after they'd decorated it that it was bug-infected. Another memory they mused about was the year they waited too late to get a Christmas tree and ended up having to make do with the branches left over at the lot. 

Though Cameron Bure is in charge of her own Christmas trees today (and hasn't had a Charlie Brown Christmas tree since), she did share with her brother that it was a highlight for her to be able to be on the parents' side of the celebration. "It's so different to see it through the eyes of a parent," she smiled, before revealing that she has strict rules about each gift being opened separately to avoid things devolving into a gift grab. We're not surprised by that — after all, it seems as though some of her favorite memories revolve around being together and making do with mishaps. Again, it sounds like the stuff of a Hallmark holiday movie ... or in Cameron Bure's case, a Great American Family one.