You won't be disappointed!

The first must-see film of the year.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Blistering performances.

Every holiday season brings a new wave of specials for you to to curl up under a warm blanket to watch. Some of these movies and specials are real duds, while some others however, are hidden gems."A Gift Wrapped Christmas" is one of those hidden gems. I came upon this movie on the wee hours of Christmas morning of 2016 and I really felt it was worth staying up to. While the story isn't completetly original, the cast has great chemistry together and a wicked villainess to watch out for, with warm fuzzies abound and some tasty looking cookies! Only thing I wished was for was for us to see that toboggan ride!

Writing skill, casting and chemistry between the main characters (with efforts from the supporting cast) make or break these generally formulaic Lifetime/Hallmark holiday films.It is very interesting to me that many of these efforts, with similar small budgets, vary so widely in quality.This recent made for TV production clearly didn't have the budget of the long ago big studio holiday films. Once upon a time, these had "A" list stars and the very best supporting actors in Hollywood. But, after all this is a made for TV production. So, direct comparisons are unfair.My opinion is that the writers are not so much mediocre as...restrained.However, mix some charisma and a little chemistry and reasonably witty writing together and you get a watchable story.This one does better than average. It shows off Meredith Hagner at her best (perhaps by pushing other characters into a vanilla background).This seems to be a "hallmark" of the Hallmark films. The female protagonist gets the lion's share of the story and the rest of the cast (with a few exceptions) fades into the scenery very quickly.That would be the big diff between the holiday films of the past and those of the Hallmark channel. These current supporting actors are short-changed both in screen time and vibrancy of characterization.Having said that, this is one of the better attempts.

Personal shopper Gwen's new client Charlie is a workaholic, single father. Charlie likes things very simple, black suits, basic ties and thinks a mug is a perfect Christmas gift. The assistant however is almost like a hippie. Because "A Gift Wrapped Christmas" managed to focus in on one of the most frequently frustrating aspects of celebrating the holiday: shopping for Christmas gifts. Gwen (Meredith Hagner) is the perfect personal shopper, and she manages to always find exactly what her clients need.RELATED: 'SNOW-M-G': 'Northpole: Open for Christmas' is a 'dazzy' of a Christmas movieOf course over the course of "A Gift Wrapped Christmas," Gwen learns how to not just buy the perfect thing, but look for love. But when the

If you are a sucker for sappy movies as many romantics are then this film is right up your alley. The story is based upon a widower dad and business man named Charlie who is played by Travis Milne. Milne previously starred in the TV police drama series Rookie Blue. Charlie is attempting to balance his work and personal life as he runs a busy company and also raise his 7 year old son named Owen. Owen is played by Anthony Bolognese who is starring in his first film but based on his strong and adorable performance in A Gift Wrapped Christmas he will be kept busy for at least the next few years as he grows into a young man.Now Charlie has a girlfriend named Victoria played by Anna Van Hooft who will infuriate the audience with her focus on business and lack of any empathy for the relationship between widower Charlie and his son Owen. All Owen wants for Christmas is to go tobogganing with his dad but Victoria wants to push her own agenda of lying on a sun filled beach with Charlie and just let little Owen go play in the sand to leave the adults alone to discuss her self centered business agenda and her strategy to rule the business world. As for little Owen's dream for a white Christmas and tobogganing on a snow filled hill, Victoria is playing Scrooge and buys airline tickets to the sunny south, so she really comes across as Mrs. Scrooge.The main focus of the film is a professional personal shopper named Gwen played by Meredith Hagner, who has a special knack of picking out just the right gifts for all of her clients. What is missing from Gwen's life though is as she continues to make everyone happy around her she is not focusing on herself and as a result she is planning to be lonely this Christmas holiday.As events would happen the stars align and Gwen sets out on a course to not only make Charlie and his cute little son Owen happy this Christmas but she also intends to try and make her own Christmas special this year. The film is very light viewing and romance abounds as Charlie and his personal shopper get to know each other better as Christmas draws near. It is a sappy film but will help put the viewer in a Christmas and romantic mood.I give the film a 7 out of 10 rating.