Recipe for any Lifetime Christmas movie

To make a Christmas movie suitable for the Lifetime channel, start with one of the following combinations of characters:

Snooty/high class/over-worked/spoiled/jaded business woman and sensitive/emotionally needy/do-gooder man.

-or-

Sensitive/down-on-her-luck/romantically scorned woman and high-powered/heartless/scroogy businessman.

Supporting cast may include: meddling, but well-meaning, mother; children who are wise beyond their years (often see the "true meaning" of Christmas before their adult counterparts); town kook who mysteriously helps everyone come together in times of duress (usually played by Peter Falk).

Bonus points for addition of soldiers. They add a sense of good old American pride tinged with melancholy nostaglia, as it forces us to remember our troops who won't be home for Christmas.

(Note: When in doubt, cast Kellie Martin or Jane Seymour as female lead.)

Once the characters have been chosen, there must be some sort of conflict or trauma preventing said characters from having a happy holiday. Acceptable scenarios include, but are not limited to: recent divorce, life-threatening illness, large new corporation about to put small town general store out of business, death of family member.

A good setting is one in which our lead characters are forced to spend time together, thus enabling them to work out their problems. Popular settings include: stranded at the airport, snowed in at the family cabin, lost in the forest, working together to write an article for the newspaper/magazine/news program.

Dialogue is key. Use phrases such as, "It just won't be Christmas without _____ (dad playing Santa Claus/a big family dinner/Grandma's apple dumplings)." Or, "Where's your Christmas spirit?" Or, "C'mon, everyone! Let's gather 'round the piano and sing carols!" Or, "Will Santa still be able to find us in this cabin in the woods?"

Basic plot is as follows: male and female are thrown together in some improbable situation. There is some sort of deadline that must be met by Christmas Eve. Failure to meet said deadline could result in a disastrous holiday. The characters' inability to see eye-to-eye causes many heated discussions. The scroogy character finally has emotional breakdown, recalling traumatic childhood memories, allowing the senstive character to see the "true" person inside. Much bonding follows. Scroogy character caves and helps the sensitive character save Christmas. Much merriment ensues as the whole town celebrates the holidays. Small town Christmas pageant, nativity, or Christmas parade often brings the movie to an close.

And there you have it.