It may be a dreary September morning – with the kids only returning to school this week – but preparations for Christmas have begun. You might have already seen your local supermarket is selling mince pies, stollen and Christmas puddings – and it’s only going to get worse from here.
This week, we take another towards the big C-word, with the return of a free TV channel that only plays Christmas movies. The currently existing TV channel, GREAT! Romance will transform into GREAT! Christmas for the holiday season – and it’ll be playing them all day, every day up until early January 2025.
So what Christmas classics can we expect? ‘Elf’? ‘Miracle on 31st Street’? ‘Home Alone?’ Hmm, not quite. GREAT! Christmas dabbles pretty exclusively in feel-good low-budget TV movies. What some might call a ‘Hallmark Christmas movie’. They’re cheesy, they’re tropey, and they’re exactly what we want for Christmas.
The first movie is scheduled at 8am on Thursday, September 5 – that’s 110 days before the big day. It’s called ‘Rocky Mountain Christmas’ and is about Sarah who “escapes to her uncle’s ranch for Christmas after a high-profile break-up. Will her love life be complicated further when a movie star arrives at the ranch to prepare for his next film?”
The quality rarely gets much better than that, with classics like ‘A Joyous Christmas’, ‘The Mistletoe Promise’, and ‘The Christmas Cure’ all scheduled. Expect a lot of Christmas cheer, small towns and tough choices between a big-city job and a charming guy our bah-humbug protagonist met three days ago. It’s not exactly ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’, but for a quick boost of festive spirit, it’s magical.
How do I watch GREAT! Christmas channel on TV?
You’ll be able to watch GREAT! Christmas on Sky, Virgin Media and Freeview. It’s launching on Thursday, September 5 – the earliest it’s ever tuned in – and will replace GREAT! Romance. You’ll be able to find it on channels 319 (Sky), 424 (Virgin Media), 53 (Freeview) and 47 (Freely). It will also be available to stream via Samsung TV Plus and LG Channels.