‘Operation Nutcracker’ premieres on Hallmark Channel

Category: Television and Streaming

Ashley Newbrough and Christopher Russell star in this touching holiday movie on Hallmark Channel. It’s filled with some sentimentality, drama, and some humor, so it’s a trifecta this year for a new Christmas movie.

Lottie (Newbrough) is a Chicago event planner sent to her hometown of Boston to procure a prestigious contract: to plan the event for the Warby Foundation’s Christmas charity that will benefit the children’s hospital. What a coup if she can get the assignment. 

Lottie meets Tristan (Russell) at the airport. They’re both on their way to Boston. She doesn’t know that he is the heir to the Warby dynasty. They get along all right but then when they collect their luggage in Boston, they both get the wrong suitcase. Remember the day when everyone had black suitcases? Well, these two have green suitcases so it’s easy to mistake them. There aren’t many of them around. But wait, there happens to have been one more exactly like theirs on the same flight. What a coincidence.

When they each get to their homes, Tristan realizes that the very expensive antique nutcracker, that is the highlight of the event, is missing. He discovers he has a doll inside his case, which isn’t his case after all. Lottie opens her case which happens to be the correct suitcase. But the third person, Dave (Darryl Hinds), discovers the doll he was bringing home to his daughter is missing. In its place is a nutcracker. Unbeknownst to Dave, this is not an ordinary nutcracker, so he ends up giving it to his daughter who adores it.

Okay, so the stage is set. Tristan tells Lottie about the mixup and they devise a plan to locate the other passenger and retrieve the nutcracker. She dubs it “Operation Nutcracker.”

How can they keep this secret from Tristan’s mother? And how will they be able to track down the missing suitcase?

Little by little they track down clues to the third passenger. And one clue leads to another and so on. As they get close to the charity event, the nutcracker still has not been found.

The clues they discover are interesting, but putting them together with the passenger (Dave) turns out to be more difficult than they expected.

This is a delightful holiday movie and as they say, “All’s well that end’s well.” And indeed it does. After all, what would you expect from an enjoyable holiday film from Hallmark?

Operation Nutcracker premieres October 25, 2024 as part of Hallmark Channel’s “Countdown to Christmas.”

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 30 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, is the entertainment correspondent for Good Day Orange County, and has her own TV show, Beyond the Red Carpet, on Village Television in Orange County. She is a longstanding member of the Television Critics Association and is accredited by the MPAA.

Photo credit: ©2024 Hallmark Media/Photographer: Courtesy Vortex Media