You can’t fight the heat, because no matter where you are in the United States during the summer it’s hot. While that isn’t really a problem, it is a challenge when you work on Hallmark’s upcoming Christmas movies and you have to pretend it's cold during a heat wave. So, as the network begins its annual holiday movie marathon on the 2024 TV schedule, I spoke to Alison Sweeney about what it's like filming these projects when it's hot out, and she told me why it’s “never [her] favorite.”
Over on Hallmark Mystery, Alison Sweeney’s holiday movie This Time Each Year is scheduled to premiere on October 24…which is notably two months before Christmas. So, naturally, they had to shoot the project very early. The film follows a broken-up couple as they find themselves forced back together for the holidays, and as you can assume, romance ensues. Winter festivities ensue too. However, filming those in the middle of July comes with its challenges, and it’s not particularly enjoyable as Sweeney told me during an interview for CinemaBlend:
This movie [has] been several years in the making. I have to admit, we really wanted this movie, and I had aimed for this movie to be made in the winter for like three years. And then with all the stuff that went on the last year, it just wasn't going to happen. And so, of course, it ended up inevitably being a July Christmas filming, Christmas in July type situation, which was never my favorite. But, I think we made it work.
Well, they did make it work. This Time Each Year might have a more somber tone than your typical Hallmark movie, but don’t let that fool you. The holiday Hallmark cheer is very present too.
While they pulled winter in the summer off, it was a challenge, especially when it came to the wardrobe they had to wear. After explaining that I’d find it hard to sport a sweater in 90-degree weather, Sweeney confirmed that it indeed is, which can make filming challenging. She said:
I love Christmas. So I could be in the Christmas spirit all year round. The hardest part is pretending to be cold. You're in these jackets and, you know, a scarf and a hat, and you could feel the sweat dripping down your the back of your neck…that's the hardest part. But, like I said, I mean, that's where the movie magic comes in. And hopefully, we've managed to help people forget that.
Wearing even a light sweatshirt in the summer heat can be grueling. So, putting on a sweater during a heat wave like Candace Cameron Bure did a few years ago and Sweeney did this summer isn’t ideal. However, they do it anyway to ensure Hallmark can deliver its epic slate of Christmas movies, and they’ve become pros at it.
There are tons of secrets when it comes to filming a Christmas movie in the summer that help subdue the challenges of making it look like winter. For example, Paul Greene explained that while it was “sweltering” when they filmed their project, “the illusion of a snowy Christmas was beautifully maintained,” making it easier to pretend that it was winter while they were sweating in their sweaters.
Meanwhile, the upcoming Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story was filmed during a heat wave. So, kept 1,000 Chiefs fans cool during production by making sure ice packs, umbrellas, air conditioners and fans were on hand.
So, between the actors being pros at pretending it's winter and resources that help offset the heat, it sounds like Hallmark has filming Christmas in the summer figured out. However, no matter how you twist it, shooting scenes in a sweater and pretending to be cold when it's actually 90 degrees outside is never ideal and it's quite sweaty, as Sweeney told me. That doesn't stop them though, and despite the challenges, they still capture the holiday cheer that we always look forward to when the Countdown to Christmas begins.
To watch the Hallmark holiday movie This Time Each Year and see Alison Sweeney in her winter gear, you just need to have the Hallmark channel turned on at 8 p.m. ET today, October 24.
