WHO’S COMING TO CHRISTMAS?
Julie learns the power of faith and community.
Should You Watch It?
Yes! This is a great Christmas movie, full of kindness, community, and holiday cheer. The movie focuses on Julie, a librarian who just moved to town. She dreams of filling her late grandmother’s table for a Christmas Eve dinner. As she connects with her new neighbors, that dream might just come true.
The cast brings the story to life with realistic, relatable performances. While you suspect things will work out for Julie in the end, the movie introduces enough plot roadblocks to create a nice level of suspense. This heartwarming holiday story offers plenty of charm and low-stakes drama.
Throughout the story, Julie recalls her late grandmother’s advice to “have faith” that what you need will show up. She leans on that faith as she prepares for a Christmas Eve dinner without knowing who, if anyone, will join her. Additionally, Julie begins building a community in her new town. As she meets neighbors who admit they have nowhere to go for the holiday, she readily invites them into her home.
Characters show kindness and helpfulness throughout the movie, offering encouragement and support to one another. Families can feel good about gathering around this uplifting Christmas story. It’s a lovely reminder that the spirit of Christmas shines brightest when we make room for others.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESJulie is determined to fill the table for her late grandmother’s Christmas Eve dinner. The only problem? She just moved to a new town and doesn’t know anyone. With help from her new neighbor Mark and his daughter Vanessa, and her grandmother’s reminder to “have faith,” Julie sets out to make new friends before Christmas Eve.
Is It Any Good?
Four stars for a heartwarming Christmas movie with a well-written script, charming performances, and a lovely message about the importance of community.
While there isn’t much action or suspense, the story introduces enough roadblocks to Julie’s Christmas plans to keep viewers wondering how her Christmas Eve dinner will turn out.
Along the way, the story highlights the importance of faith, kindness, and making room for people who might otherwise spend the holidays alone. With its wholesome family appeal and reminder that a little generosity can make a big difference, this is Christmas movie night done right!
The Worldview
This movie presents a strong moral worldview rooted in faith, community, and kindness. Julie holds onto a phrase her late grandmother often repeated: have faith, and you will get what you need. Her plans fall apart one by one, yet she clings to that hope with quiet confidence.
Julie builds a warm little community of friends, neighbors, and strangers. Whenever she meets someone with nowhere to go for the holiday, she invites that person to her home for Christmas Eve. Her kindness reaches everyone she meets. She helps a neighbor hang decorations and nudges a library patron to reach out to an estranged sister so the woman can spend Christmas with her niece and nephew. The movie praises Julie’s open door and her open heart.
From a Christian perspective, the movie stops short of naming the Source of that faith. The Christmas celebrations stay secular, with no mention of the Savior behind the holiday. Julie trusts that things will work out, yet the story never says who makes them work out. That keeps the movie in moral rather than explicitly Christian territory.
Even so, believers recognize real truth here. Jesus tells His followers to open their homes to people who cannot repay them (Luke 14:13, 14), and He reminds us that our Father knows what we need before we ask (Matthew 6:8). Julie lives out both ideas, even if the script never names their Author.
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements
A strong moral worldview, promoting kindness and community, as well as light Christian elements, such as the main chracter's “faith” that she will receive what she needs, when she needs it, as well as the celebrations of Christmas, although these are secular in nature
Foul Language
No foul language
Violence
No violence;
Sex
A couple kiss twice
Nudity
No nudity
Alcohol Use
No alcohol use;
Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse
No smoking or drug abuse; and,
Miscellaneous Immorality
No other objectionable content.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
Julie doesn’t know how she’ll fill her table in time for Christmas Eve, but prepares and has faith things will work out. Throughout scripture, we see figures like Noah and Joseph, who had faith in God’s plan, but still prepared. How do these stories demonstrate that faith and preparation go hand-in-hand? Proverbs 6:6-8
Julie wants to fill her table, and invites friends and neighbors who don’t have anywhere to go for the holiday. How did Jesus use meals and sharing food to connect with people who were considered outsiders? Romans 12:13
Through her kindness and friendships with new neighbors, Julie builds a community in her new town. What is one small step you can take to reach out or deepen a connection with members of your own community? Hebrews 10:24-25
The Final Word
WHO’S COMING FOR CHRISTMAS? serves up a sweet holiday story about faith, community, and kindness as Julie tries to fill her table with friends by Christmas Eve. With zero objectionable content, this one earns a spot on every family’s Christmas watch list. So pull up a chair and save a seat for a neighbor. Afterward, families can talk about who in their lives needs an invitation this Christmas and how they can make room for that person at their own table.
