• This made for TV movie is a sequel to the 2002 film, "The Christmas Shoes." Both are based on novels by Donna Van Liere. Some of the characters and cast are the same in the two films. But "The Christmas Blessing," has new characters and several more families and people whose paths cross in interesting ways.

    So, this film has love and romance, healing from earlier losses and overcoming long-held periods of grieving. And, it offers some new tragedy with love, sacrifice and redemption. The plot in this film is very good, but considerably more complex than in the first film. It has many sub-plots, and for that reason, the script and direction have difficulty in places keeping the parts tightly together.

    As in the first film, the cast are all very good. Again, the scenery, settings and camera work are all excellent as well. This is another very good film for the whole family, including younger children. It's a nice movie for the holidays, with Christmas again forming the main setting for the film.