Confession. I am a proud Hallmarkie. A Hallmarkie is someone who faithfully watches the Hallmark channel. I love all things, Hallmark. Around October, Hallmark displays the Countdown to Christmas. It is the most wonderful time for me because there are back-to-back Christmas movies on all Hallmark channels. I know what you are thinking. What about Thanksgiving? Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, and I still love to celebrate Thanksgiving. Typically the movies are highly fluffy with a bit of a cheezy title and a bit of conflict in the middle that always resolves smoothly. Tonight I watched a movie that was quite the exception. Based on the book by Debbie Macomber, A Mrs. Miracle Christmas was a movie with a beautiful story of loss and adoption. It had a cheezy ending, but it quickly explained that time and therapy happened to move the family forward. Clearly, they spoke to foster parents and other adoptive families about the realities of loss in foster care.
Background of the Mrs. Miracle Series
The Mrs. Miracle stories are a series of books written by author Debbie Macomber. Mrs. Miracle is a character who is an angel. She comes in and she helps out a family that is emotionally in need. She arrives during Christmas time and, during their struggles, they often become reconnected with the joy of Christmas. This series of books were turned into Hallmark movies during the Christmas season. There are differences between the book and the movie. The main difference is that the books carry a more Christian theme in the story and the movie has more of an inspirational feel created for all faiths. In the past, the character Mrs. Miracle was Doris Roberts. She sadly passed away in 2016. Today, Mrs. Miracle is played by actress and comedian Caroline Rhea.
Synopsis of Hallmark’s A Mrs. Miracle Christmas
As the holiday season begins, Laurel McCullough could use some good news. She and her husband, Will, wanted a baby. It began to seem more and more like an impossible dream, and they’ve had to move in with her beloved grandmother, Helen, who’s having trouble taking care of herself. But, when Laurel contacts a local home-care organization for help, there are no caregivers available.
Then, Gloria or Mrs. Miracle appear at the door. No stranger to lending a helping hand to a family in need, Gloria reveals herself to be nothing short of a godsend. Helen’s even convinced she’s an angel! Laurel can’t help but notice that with Gloria’s companionship, Helen is noticeably happier and more engaged, decorating the family Christmas tree, and setting up the nativity. Also, Helen reunites with her friends at the senior center and slowly becomes more active again.
The other story in the movie was the story of Laurel and Will. The movie shares Laurel and Will going into a room that was previously for another child. You see pictures of the child around the room. As the movie watcher, you question what happened to the child. One day Will gets stopped on the street by the social worker from his adoption agency. There is a new foster child available if Will and Laurel are interested—he quickly agrees. As the movie goes on, we discover that Laurel and Will were foster parents and the child in the photos was reunited with his biological mother.
As Christmas approaches, there appears to be even more to Gloria than meets the eye. Helen realizes that something is different about Gloria that is not normal. Helen begins to open up and tells Gloria about Johnathan and the heartbreak the couple has suffered. They decide to work together to help Laurel move forward. We also found out that Laurel’s mother died when she was six and her father abandoned her shortly after her mother died.
Will sees the signs and calls the foster agency to place their name back on the list to become foster parents. Laurel finds out and she becomes distraught. Laurel decides that she and Will must split up. Through a conversation with Helen and Mrs. Miracle, Laurel searches her heart and decides to accept help to heal her heart from her first foster experience and try again.
In the end, Laurel and Will foster a 6-year-old child. Then, the movie fast-forwards to the end where Laurel, Will, and Helen are seen with a baby and the 6-year-old child at Christmas time. It is assumed from the ending that they’ve adopted both children.
My Personal Connection
I recommend this movie to people interested in seeing the outcome of many types of losses. There is the loss of a mother, husband, and loss of a child. These losses put people at a crossroads. They had to work with support and the community to pick up the pieces. While the movie ends on a brighter note, Laurel’s loss of her mother and then the loss of the foster child was shared in such honest and authentic emotion. When Laurel was sharing about the feelings behind Johnathan returning to his biological mother, I could relate to getting a referral. I remember those days of getting a referral only to find it not working out. When Gloria told Laurel to love Johnathan and then let him go to make room for a new child in her heart, I reflected on the period that I had to love a child and then let them go. Gloria shares that even though she only had her daughter for 19 years, she would do it again in a heartbeat. I feel the same for the children who lived with me.
I recommend this movie not just for the holidays, but all year round.
