Rhiannon Fish, Jake Foy and Mila Morgan bring warmth and sincerity to a Christmas story about preparing for the life you hope will find you.
Courtesy of Hallmark Media
Written by Christopher L. Antie
Premiering October 30 on Hallmark Channel, the film stars Rhiannon Fish as Julie, Jake Foy as Mark, and Mila Morgan as Vanessa. Julie has recently relocated and is creating a new home using belongings inherited from her late grandmother, including the dining table she hopes to fill for her first Christmas Eve dinner. The only problem is that she does not yet know exactly who will be sitting around it.
Rhiannon Fish gives Julie the kind of warmth that could easily have felt overly idealistic in another performance. Instead, her optimism feels natural. Julie is not simply wishing for the Christmas she wants. She is actively preparing for it. The dining table inherited from her grandmother becomes more than furniture. It carries memories of the people and traditions that shaped Julie while also giving her an opportunity to create new ones.
For us, the table represented belief, strength, and confidence: the decision to make room for something before knowing exactly how it will arrive. That is where one line from the film captured the entire experience: “Prepare for what you want and have faith that it will find you.”
It is a simple thought, but the film gives it weight. For us, that message became personal. Will and I have planned gatherings where people cancelled, arrived late, or never came at all. There have been moments when it would have been easy to question why we put so much effort into creating something. Yet we continued. Because the experience we create still matters. As we have learned, a Chris and Will experience is like no other; you may arrive as an invited guest, but hopefully you leave with a memory.
The movie’s message would not work without actors capable of making its relationships feel believable. Fish is excellent as Julie, bringing sincerity to both her optimism and her connection to the grandmother whose traditions she is trying to carry forward.
Jake Foy’s Mark also becomes much more than the expected romantic lead. His performance is warm and grounded, and the connection between Mark and Julie develops naturally instead of feeling rushed simply because the genre requires romance.
Then there is Mila Morgan as Vanessa. Morgan adds another emotional layer to the film. Vanessa has her own moments of uncertainty and demonstrates something important about confidence: sometimes overcoming fear begins by listening to yourself and choosing not to remain on the sidelines.
Together, Fish, Foy and Morgan feel less like three characters a screenplay is pushing together and more like a family gradually forming without realizing it. That chemistry gives the film much of its emotional credibility.
The small-town setting also plays an important role. The production design is simple but beautiful, creating the feeling of a community where people know one another and where Christmas can still feel communal rather than commercial.
The town, homes, holiday décor, and overall visual presentation add warmth without overwhelming the story. Instead of simply providing pretty Christmas scenery, the setting reinforces Julie’s transition from someone new to the community into someone beginning to belong there. The supporting characters help that process feel authentic, although this is one area where we would have welcomed a little more emotional depth.
Julie seems to form relationships relatively easily. The film could have spent slightly more time acknowledging how difficult it can be to enter a new town, build friendships and create a new sense of home from nothing. Still, the overall pacing is exactly where it needs to be.
The movie gives the dinner, relationships, and Julie’s hopes enough time to matter before the weather threatens the plans she has worked so hard to create. The story becomes predictable in places—as Christmas movies often do—but the emotional moments and holiday magic ultimately rise above those familiar turns.
Christmas is essential to this story. This is a season when tables become gathering places, memories return through objects and traditions, and people make room for family, friends, and sometimes people they have only just met. The costumes, decorations, and production design make the holiday environment believable, but the film does not rely on Christmas scenery alone.
Its real Christmas spirit is found in the idea of making room for someone else. The film balances romance, family, grief, community, and holiday wonder without allowing one element to overwhelm the others. And when the emotional payoff finally arrives, it feels earned.
When Who’s Coming for Christmas? ended, Will and I did not simply feel entertained. We were reminded that sometimes the outcome is not the most important part of creating something. You prepare. You keep going. You appreciate what you have already built. And you remember that you are enough even before anyone else arrives to validate what you have created.
Chris & Will give Who’s Coming for Christmas? 10 out of 10 smiles for its exceptional casting, beautiful production, well-paced story, and, most importantly, its ability to make its message feel as though it is being delivered directly to the viewer. Sometimes faith begins long before the miracle. Sometimes it begins by setting the table.
Who’s Coming for Christmas? premieres tonight (10/30/206) on Hallmark Channel and next day on Hallmark+
Source: ChrisWill Media
About the Authors: Christopher L. Antie and William Antie are podcast journalists and media personalities covering entertainment, travel, culture, events, and stories from across a wide range of industries. Together, they bring a conversational and experience-driven approach to the stories they share. Follow more from Chris & Will through their podcast, What About Our Life?, on iHeartRadio and at chrisandwill.com.