I was almost 15 minutes into this movie and gave it an 8 before the 15 minute mark because Gwen's character was such a breath of fresh air!! She was funny, happy, stylish, pretty, honest but kind, smart and so very sweet!!! She was one of the BEST Christmas movie main characters I have ever watched!! I highly reccomend!!
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SheHawGol8424 November 2019
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mrmac-4256118 December 2018We have been flooded with tv Christmas movies since the beginning of October. Most I would switch off after 5-10 minutes but this one was different. The storyline was nothing out of the ordinary but Meredith Hagner's sparkling performance as the hired Christmas shopper stood out and lifted the entire movie to a higher level. She has that touch of magic possessed by the likes of Jennifer Lawrence, Emma Stone and Emily Blunt.
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There's nothing new in the storyline, a prissy workaholic young widower and his 8 yr old son get challenged to celebrate Christmas and maybe fall in love again through the work and persistence of his personal shopper. However Meredith Hagner shines in her role as the personal shopper - quirky, funny and incredibly lively performance steals the show. Travis Milne ably supports her as the widower. It's a good watch on a cold night
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Ed-Shullivan11 December 2015If 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. -
krysamor3 December 2019I didn't expect to like this movie just based off the summary but I am glad I was wrong. This movie was EVERYTHING!! The cast was perfect, the chemistry was perfect, and there were no dull moments. I thoroughly enjoyed watching. A lover of all things love, you will not be disappointed.
On the flip side, I do wish she would have had the opportunity to tell Charlie that Victoria told her about an engagement and to shop for the ring. Just to throw it in her face. But I guess I'll get over it. -
LuLuBelleJ2 December 2017This is Easily one of my Top Favorite Christmas Movies!
Gwen (Meredith Hagner) is a personal shopper, who has that special gift for knowing exactly what makes a gift special to others, and her love interest, Charlie, is no exception. Charlie, is a single widower dad, who is all work no play, until his regular personal shopper is unavailable to help him through Christmas.
Gwen is assigned to him, and and the first thing she notices at Charlie's work place, is the mug collection his secretary has accrued. Gwen, being very chatty strikes up conversation with his secretary, and finds out that's what Charlie gets her for every present.
Gwen slowly starts helping Charlie appreciate the real meaning of Christmas, and helps to reignite a new chapter of life into Charlie. (It's so inspiring, and sweet, without the saccharine sweet of some other dumbed-down Christmas movies.)
It's SO INCREDIBLY AWESOME. While it is predictable, it is Most Enjoyable to go on the "Gwen and Charlie roller-coaster!!" - So beautifully written, casted, and filmed. -
Christmas-Reviewer21 September 2016Personal 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 movie
Of 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 -
I'm a fool for these Lifetime schmaltzy sentimental Christmas movies, and this brand new one is one of the best of the genre. If you're into highbrow TV fare like Downtown Abbey,"A Gift Wrapped Christmas " is not for you. These heartwarming little tales are meant for you to feel good, and believe you me, this one will do that.These Christmas films are built on predictable formulas. There's usually a one-parent lonely child (adorable Owen, played by Anthony Bolognese).There's the single parent (sad, rich and handsome executive & widower Charlie, played by Travis Milne) who is usually involved with the wrong partner (cold, insufferable business-obsessed, social climber Victoria, played by gorgeous Anna Van Hooft). And of course there's the inspiring heroine, Gwen, a professional shopper,(superbly played by sprightly Meredith Hagner) who "changes everything", by the brightness of her personality. Gwen wins Charlie's son Owen first, and eventually wins the dad too! If If after watching Gwen and Charlie's first few scenes you think it's a spoiler that they end up together, I know you still believe in Santa. Kudos!
Meredith Hagner is simply delightful playing Gwen. Her special charisma as an actress, sassy and bright, may be the reason Woody Allen chose her to play in one of his films. She owns the film from the first scene, playing a lovable and slightly goofy (but very smart) ingenue, like Audrey Hepburn's character in "Breakfast At Tiffany's." The idea of making Gwen a pro-shopper is a brilliant action mover for a Christmas film since Christmas is so tied in with gift giving. It also gives Gwen a professional excuse to access Charles persona. Although at first Charlie is reluctant to open up to her, eventually, Charlie gives in. Gwen is an absolute marvel as a shopper! She does expert client research and buys exactly what everyone wants on Charlie's long list of business gift recipients. She impresses Charlie by gaining the good will (and business) of his business associates and friends. Gwen's very personal caring and attention to both Charlie and Owen, as she goes about buying for them, also wins Charlie's affection. Charlie realizes what a contrast Gwen's optimistic, generous and loving personality is to cold and ambitious girlfriend Victoria. By the time Gwen gets enough courage to tell Charlie "Victoria's not for you",he has already broken up with Victoria because his heart belongs to Gwen. At the end, Charlie tells Gwen poignantly, in Milne's best delivered line: "You've changed everything". Aww!
Travis Milne seems perfectly cast as the reticent and shy Charlie, whom Gwen helps to come out of his shell, partly the result of grief for his deceased wife. Travis/Charlie is the perfect passive medium for the expressive, soulful Gwen/Meredith, good ground to work her magic. Much of the film's success depends between the chemistry between the two main actors, Hagner & Milne, who together make sparks fly. Sweet is also the bond between Charlie and his son. (Milne plays an awesome quiet and caring dad.)Then there's that easy, warm bond between Gwen and Owen. We gobble it all up, hook.line and sinker! We end up caring for all three, and rooting for their eventual union. The whole tale of love romantic and paternal is skillfully told, directed and acted. The supporting roles,like Gwen's affectionate sister and husband;or Charlie's thoughtful secretary; or on the villain side, the cold and calculating Victoria, are all well done. The script is full of details that make the story credible, modern and sweet (but not overly so). The Christmas shopping-related scenery and cinematography is festive and colorful. This is perfect Christmas indulgence film fare, very watchable and enjoyable. "A Gift-Wrapped Christmas" is all you want for Christmas in a Lifetime feel-good movie. Watch it over and over again. I have! -
tomgoblin-4462024 December 2016Writing 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. -
rebekahrox12 December 2015I gave this one a "10" on my special scale for Hallmark movies. This one is set apart by the writing, the enjoyable characters, and most especially, the casting. There are probably 5 or 6 basic plots for these things. This one is the closed down/sad widower with a child who needs our heroine (Gwen) to reawaken him and save his relationship with his kid. No the plot is not original, but I judge the good writing in the little details. The relationship between our heroine's sister (the wonderful Beverley Mitchell-so glad to see her again!) and her husband was fleshed out and added to the enjoyment. The appearance of the Mom at the end was a nice touch and added to the depth (don't laugh) of the story. Gwen was cute, funny, charming, quirky, and so very likable. The actress was another Meg Ryan at the height of her romantic comedy powers. She was an absolute delight. Don't ever change. The Dad was handsome and appealing, making his journey from cold and hostile to warm and open fun to watch. The villainess was very scary. What more could one ask for? Great Chemistry between the two leads, that's what. And yes, it delivers there as well.
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I'll start by saying that I didn't hate this movie, although it was filled with clichés and unlikely events, and followed the plot of any other Hallmark movie (it's almost the same story as in October Kiss, except that this time it's Christmas, not Halloween). After all, it was so glittery, colorful and filled with Christmas cheer, that many things didn't matter so much. So I pretended that it was normal for a personal shopper to go over her client's indications and buy on his behalf the gifts she thought were appropriate (who cares what the client wants), regardless of how much they cost (after all, the client seemed to afford it). But what I had a problem with was the whole widower background of the male character. Supposedly, his wife died recently enough for him to still be upset about it, but she's been dead long enough for him to have a serious girlfriend / potential fiancé - so I would say, 2-3 years ago. His child, who is supposed to be 8 years old (although he seems younger), has memories of many Christmases spent with his mom and dad at a little cottage, but he says that for the past few years (after the mother died), they don't go there for Christmas anymore. It would be highly unlikely that a kid that young would remember not one, but many Christmases with his family, that happened at least 2-3 years before the present day (so when he was 5-6 years old and younger). I would buy it if it was one Christmas, but not "we used to do this every year, and then...". Other than that, it was just another Hallmark holiday movie, with all the usual items (nobody worries about the money when it comes to expensive gifts and holiday decorations, quirky girl changes the grumpy guy in just a few days, both lead actors have great voices and do a perfect duet singing a carol, snow starts to fall just at the right moment, etc., etc.).
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youngandrestless123453 December 2019This one came on as a repeat and it's 1 of my favorites from the last 4 years!! As the new movies come each year on Hallmark and Lifetime this movie is one of the better ones!! It's a great one to watch over and over again each year.
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Hallmark/Lifetime Christmas movies get their own rating scale because it's a very specific genre serving a very specific demographic/need - if you are looking for a guaranteed happy ending in a world where everything is too good to be true to the point that it's extremely cheesy, you go to Hallmark/Lifetime. There's nowhere else to get it. And if you watch one of these and are annoyed by all the unrealistically pleasant people, places and things, then you probably had no business in this particular genre. (Which is totally fine.)
This movie had the typical plot line and cheesiness and Christmas everywhere but it was very well done. Meredith Hagner did a flawless job with her character and the writing was also very well done, so much that these two points alone do a great job in selling the cheesiness. The lead, Gwen, is bubbly and Christmas-y - just like other movies in these genre except not because she somehow does it in a way that's very relatable. And that is achieved through the writing as well.
Much more could be said but other reviews have covered it and the bottom line is: if you are a fan of Hallmark/Lifetime Christmas movies, it is impossible for this one to disappoint you. If you're not a fan of Hallmark/Lifetime Christmas movies, this could be the first one you genuinely like. -
t-mccheyne24 November 2019Seen this a couple of times and still love it. The chemistry is so natural. Gives you a very warm feeling.
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mclellandjohn20 December 2015At a time of the year when we are inundated with made for TV movies, this one stands out superbly. The characters are real,approachable and the chemistry between them is terrific. Meredith Hagler as Gwen and Anthony Bolgnese as Owen are outstanding. The supporting cast is great and the movie is excellently paced. The music score is understated and as such is very effective in reflecting the emotional intent of the film. The cinematography is transparent and easy on the eyes. There are no holes in the plot,and the dialogue never becomes pandering or overly sentimental. On the contrary, there are enough witty and clever lines to warm even the most jaded and cynical among us. Even though the the movie proceeds to a predictable conclusion, it's one you find yourself hoping for ! A joy to behold, A Gift Wrapped Christmas is now a permanent addition to my Holiday viewing schedule.
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mack-3636330 November 2018My new favorite holiday movie. Just happened to catch it on TV, and glad I did. Both leads have great chemistry, and would love to see them again together. It's just a sweet story. It's touching, funny, and romantic. The little boy is adorable, and quite a natural. Will watch this one again.
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TheLittleSongbird29 June 2021Throughout my whole Christmas film completest quest undertaken since late 2019, an interesting quest but very mixed one, there was never the mentality of expecting a classic or the film in question to be flawless. Something that was never managed with Hallmark's and Lifetime's output in particular. There was however always the expectation of seeing a film where one can see at least some effort rather than merely cash-in level.
A distinction that does not belong to 'A Gift Wrapped Christmas' in any way. It is not quite a Christmas classic, but out of the films seen between then and now (which have been very hit and miss) 'A Gift Wrapped Christmas' is easily among the best faring and quite a pleasant surprise for a premise that could have gone either way. With almost everything done remarkably well and only a couple of things done imperfectly which was not unexpected in a way.
Other than the expected predictability, 'A Gift Wrapped Christmas' weak link is the ending. Rather abrupt and hasty, and yet another ending to feel too neat.
However, the film looks great. It's not too drab or garish in photography, the editing didn't seem rushed or disorganised and the scenery has a real charm to it. Most of the soundtrack is nostalgic and appealing to listen to, capturing the festive spirit well. Have seen a lot of over-scored Christmas films, but that's not as much the case here.
Script just about avoids being corny and saccharine, with it never coming over as awkward, and the story is mostly very engaging, easy to be uplifted by and heart-warming. Not to mention quite poignant. Did like the characters too and they came over as more real than characters for most recently seen Christmas films (for instance Hallmark has an annoying tendency to exaggerate character flaws).
Gwen in fact was quite refreshing, easy to root for from the start and that and her positive role model-like quality stayed. It helps too that she is played perfectly by Meredith Hagner, who has a lot of positive energy and also nuance when needed while not making Gwen too perfect. All the acting is very good and so is the chemistry. Relationships develop at a realistic rate and not given short shrift.
In conclusion, very well done. 8/10. -
ricoroark15 November 2017Loved the movie. Story was terrific. Actors were very good. Gwen, the personal shopper was beyond great. I got totally got lost in the story and fell in love with Gwen, too. I feel like she changed me just by my watching the movie. She cares so much for everyone else and tries to please them. Makes me want to do that, too.
This is one of those very rare special movies that changes you. I've seen it four times now, and I'll watch it again and again. It's the epitome of why I love Hallmark movies. Just pure clean fun. -
RoamingTigress25 December 2016Every 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! -
sprince0829 November 2018I feel like most Christmas movies are so cheesy and the acting is mediocre. This movie was so different..... the acting is amazing! It almost seems like they weren't going off a script and seemed more real!
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28 December 2016. It's not often that one really experiences the truly appealing, captivating, and probably too perfect to be true Christmas character, but A Gift Wrapped Christmas offers up one adorable gift in the form of Meredith Hagner as Gwen, a Meg Ryan-like super personality that shines. In the true entertaining tradition of holiday movies, this one is all about the happy female Christmas spirit charming the sad, dour, and back to business male executive with young son who often ignored.
The storyline is simple to the point of mind-less, meaning while the movie has a message, it's a singular sensation. It is a sense of enjoying life without having to overthink it and bask instead in the creative flourish, risk-taking, and colorful and tasty zest for life along with being sensitive and really aware of the human beings around you. The pass it forward philosophy and force is strong in Jedi Gwen.
The humor is light and sprinkled with good cheer but never outrageously so. The conflict, mildly depressing, but not long lasting, leading to the conclusion that facing up to the unknown and possible pain, is certainly worth the risk in the long run. Hoping your wish for the Gwen experience comes true for you too. -
gehewe21 December 2017Loved Meredith Hagner in this movie. She carries the humor, fun and emotion. If the lead was not excellent, this movie would have failed. Her character is full of life, she is highly opinionated and doesn't back down. I have seen her in "My Christmas Love" which was a boring movie. She is the main character in this movie. She is in every scene. The movie is about her character. Well done.
The cast was small and excellent. Travis Milne played the perfect guy. The little boy was absolutely adorable. Loved the role of Victoria (the girl who is not right for Charlie). She googles the song guessing game in order to look good. Enjoyed seeing Beverly Mitchell (Lucy from 7th Heaven) grown, without the blonde hair.
Very enjoyable. Gwen driving the classic car fit in very well. Some scenes lacked transition or this may have been a 10. -
Jackbv1239 December 2017The personal shopper premise isn't unique, but I think it makes a very good vehicle for a Christmas story with a lot of possibilities. As usual with romantic Christmas stories, we have a pretty good idea where we will end up.
I really liked the scene where Victoria gave Gwen a very specific request that she said was from Charlie - very mean girl.
My only complaint, I thought the ending was abrupt and besides that lacked sparkle.
For me, an actress like Meredith Hagner really makes a movie like this for me. It puts me in the Christmas spirit because she is so positive. Yet there was a scene (you'll know it when you get there) where her lips smiled but her face cried. I had to rewind and watch it again. Besides that she had such great chemistry with Travis Milne and Anthony Bolognese. The boy was so cute. As I already suggested, Anna Van Hooft was a great cruel current girlfriend.
Was it sappy? Yes. There was lots of syrup from beginning to end. Just the way I want a Christmas romance. -
aan_ke20 December 2020This is really a very nice Christmas movie as it's supposed to be. Loved it!
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charlesjosie15 July 2021I really love this movie and the plot is amazing. I always watch this movie around November or December and it always makes me feel good to watch it with a cup of hot cocoa.