Hallmark might have outdone themselves with A Heidelberg Holiday. A movie that takes place in Germany featuring actual German actors and mostly filmed in Germany? It may be too much.

Heidi (Ginna Claire Mason) handmakes glass ornaments. Her dream is to sell them at the Christmas market in Heidelberg, Germany, where her family is from. She manages to get a spot at the last minute thanks to her grandmother, Oma (Nela Bartsch), who also arranges her to stay with some friends. In Heidelberg, Heidi meets Lukas (Frédéric Brossier), a local artisan who happens to be the son of Oma’s friends. Lukas helps Heidi navigate the town as well as selling at the market.

This was actually a really cute movie. Instead of focusing on the romance, it spent more time showing the sights of Heidelberg, various Christmas traditions, and highlighting Heidi’s family. The romance builds slowly, giving us a nice pay-off in the end. I think that this should be the template for Christmas romance movies. A little bit of Christmas, a lot of character development, and a slow burning romance that builds throughout the movie. Writers should take notes.

Rating: How do you say ‘watch this’ in German?