Jodie Sweetin plays Candace Livingston, the daughter of an American cooking/author/crafting legend - Liz Livingston. She is due to take overt he family business and as a little introduction to it, goes to a small town(it is always a small town) to help a young girl prepare to welcome her father home from his tour of duty(there is always a father or mother in the army). The only problem is Candace is pretty rubbish at all the things her mother is brilliant at, she takes after her father and is good with finance and organisation and being a really good person, kind of everything you need to run a business that doesn't involve cookery or crafting!

The little girl's Uncle has escaped from Roswell, sorry is Roswell's Brendan Fehr, and his day job, when he is not being an awesome Uncle is the town's news reporter. A reporter who is suddenly close to an pretending to be someone she is not, I do not know where this could be heading! Oh of course we do, but Hallmark is not there to shock or surprise us, it is there to give us nice Christmas films and this one looks good, Jodie Sweetin is a charismatic heroine, who is extremely likeable, just like her character. Brendan Fehr is still Michael from Roswell, but we all want Michael to have a happy ending don't we!

A cheery and happy Hallmark movie as our star tries to not be found out and our reporter faces a mini crisis when he finds out. But seriously, like he is going to ruin his loves future! That wouldn't be a Hallmark film, it is more Christmas Hammer Horror if he does that!

How refreshing to have a normal looking woman with a normal looking figure be the lead character. Let's be honest here. I can't be the only person that noticed that Jody is not some beauty pageant-ready glamor-puss. And in this story-line of a daughter trying to live up to her mother's impossibly high standards it really works.

Jody is the presumptive heir to a Martha Stewart like empire but let's just say her talents lie in her financial and business skills rather than cooking and crafting. And she has people skills and a generous heart as opposed to the brittle competency of her mother. I won't regurgitate the plot, but it really showcases Jody Sweetin's comedic skills. I have never been a fan, but she really shines in this one. And I liked that her mother was not stereotyped. Her reveal at the end, that she actually felt insecure compared to her daughter's qualities and talents and really admired her, was a very nice development.

I found Brenden Fehr very attractive as a leading man. I wish he hadn't been so bullied by his boss though without him getting some of his own back. And I think it would have suited the storyline better if there had been more of a gradual realization of his feelings for Jody and his appreciation of her value and unconventional beauty. But other than that, I really enjoyed this movie and appreciated the areas that they made some unconventional choices.

6/10 - cute, but not overly memorable Christmas fun with Hallmark