Excellent pacing, international location, no boring snowball fights, and actual good acting. This is a more realistic drama than Hallmark's usual formulaic fare that is becoming sickenly trite. I'm not impressed that everyone always falls madly in love within a few days of meeting each other, but the fact that Angela is able to turn Oliver's head, teach him Italian, and introduce him to the secrets of Rome was quite remarkable. This movie showed all the actors' skills in the best light. Different aspects of the film made everyone in our family happy--tradition, magic, Christmas, romance, and travel. Nicely done. Bravo, Hallmark!.