Last Saturday we went as a three-generation family to see the above movie. Grandpa, Grandma, my husband, three of my children, a son-in-law, a daughter-in-law and two grandchildren. Everyone loved it! It was the perfect way to spend the Saturday afternoon of Thanksgiving weekend. I left feeling soo cozy, uplifted, and full of gratitude for my family and especially for Jesus Christ. Just full of the true Christmas spirit! I just wish the rest of my family could have been there.

Here’s why I love it:

-it is based on a wonderful book, by the same name, by Barbara Robinson. I remember reading this when I was in junior high. This book is famous among homeschoolers, especially Christian homeschoolers. I remember Andrew Pudewa of IEW talking about it in a webinar. I’ve read it aloud to my children at least twice, to the “Olders” and the “Youngers.” (Not sure about the “Middle One.” Sadly, he sometimes got lost in the shuffle, but it all evened out I hope!) Then the youngest and I listened to the audiobook last year, around Christmas time. It took us about a month to get through it by listening to it every time I chauffeured him for his three times weekly commitments, back and forth. It made us laugh together. I have fond memories of those drives.

-it is about family, neighbors, and everyday life, which I tend to gravitate towards. (I have a hard time getting into fantasy.)

-it has beautiful “period” costumes. I absolutely loved the late 70ish, early 80s vibe of the green, orange, brown and blue sweaters and plaid pants, robe, and skirts. And the harvest gold sweater and living room curtains. The lead girl, Beth, wears barrettes (remember the Goody brand butterflies and ribbon shapes? I sure do) and those ponytail holders (what Gen Y and Gen Z call “hair ties”) with beads that I remember using when I was a child. (Fellow GenXer Pioneer Woman agrees with me that they are not to be called hair ties here.) I have heard the producer, Dallas Jenkins, say that they don’t want the movie to be tied to any decade, but I totally felt it was late 70s, early 80s. I guess Dallas is too young to have observed the fashion of the 70s and 80s.

-Judy Greer who plays the narrator’s mom is perfect as Grace, the mom who volunteers as the substitute director of the local church’s nativity pageant when the regular director breaks both her legs. She has this balance of fragility (maybe because of her shaky voice?), everyday beauty, and pluckiness that I enjoyed.

-the rest of the casting is perfect as well: Beth and her brother Charlie, Grace’s children; Grace’s husband, played by Pete Holmes; the snooty church ladies, the prissy and glossy Alice Wendelken who is usually the Perfect Mary, and her mom, Mrs. Wendelken. I always pictured Gladys as being red haired, and she is in this movie!

-it shows a depth of emotion and motivation in the lead characters that aren’t seen in the book

-it focuses on Christ as the center of Christmas instead of Santa. With that theme, it shows the power of Christ’s love on everybody who chooses to let Christ change them, including all the Herdmans

-it shows a girl feeling empowered by her own confidence to change her story and help her mom. In the process it shows her standing up for mom and herself to one of the town bullies, Imogene Herdman

-it shows the power of one woman choosing to be Christlike to some feral, rambunctious, naughty children, despite the pressure of the catty neighbor/church ladies

-it shows the power of community and kindness

-the snow is real! The producers filmed it in Canada so they could have real snow!

-it promotes belief in and reading of the Bible, and asking questions about the Bible stories

-it is wholesome, fit for the whole family, and anyone, to watch

-you don’t have to be a Christian to enjoy it

-it entertains, as it strikes the right balance between funny and sweet, with no cheesy-ness whatsoever

-it shows the power of letting go and not micromanaging when things aren’t going as expected

-it shows that people can change

-it gives us all a new, fresh wonder for the Nativity Story

I also love that it is even better than the book. This is one rare exception where the movie is better. It’s also so much better than the made-for-TV special that came out in the early 80s with Loretta Swit, aka Hot Lips Houlihan from the MASH TV show. That version is OK and cute (see it down below), but it just doesn’t have the layers that this movie has, which I already mentioned. This movie also shows more of the dad’s role in the story. It answers questions that one might be left with after reading the book.

-“Why does Imogene keep staring at the painting of Mary and Jesus?”

-“How does Imogene keep her siblings coming back to the church after they all find out that they don’t get dessert every time they go to church?”

-“Why does Grace want to keep the Herdman kids in the play?”

-“How does Grace intervene to make the pageant the best one ever?” (It’s no accident that her name is Grace.)

I give it 4.75 out of 5 stars. I took off .25 star just because of the “half frame” story. From the beginning of the movie, you hear a female narrator’s voice telling the story, but at the beginning you don’t see the narrator’s face. You finally see her face at the end, as the grown-up Grace (Lauren Graham of Gilmore Girls), sitting in front of a group of children. That’s when you realize she’s been telling the history of the church’s Nativity pageant to these children for the whole movie. It’s just an abrupt change that is slightly disorienting. I wish the producers had started the movie showing Beth as an adult, telling the story to make it be a full frame story. It’s such a minor thing though. In spite of that, everything I wrote above means that this movie is the Best Family Christmas Movie ever! It is an instant classic, one that I will be sure to watch every year with my children and grandchildren. It even held the attention of the almost four-year-old (although I think the popcorn helped too!)

BONUS Materials:

Here’s a wonderful article about the author of the book, Barbara Robinson. She’s pictured below. Doesn’t she just look like such a fun grandma full of the best stories ever? Sadly, she passed away in 2013.

Watch the fun video showing some of the cast and crew.

Here are some delightful videos showing behind-the-scenes footage.

Below, we have opening night of the movie with some of the cast. Who would have thought that “Imogene” and “Gladys” could clean up so nicely?

An interesting article is here on the mom and daughter in real life who play one of the mom and daughter pairs in the movie: Mrs. Wendelken and Alice Wendelken.

Here is the obituary of the author, Barbara Robinson, with a bit of a backstory of the book, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. I hope her two daughters and grandchildren are thrilled with the movie’s depiction of their mother and grandmother’s story. I’d love to be able to ask them questions about her. I didn’t know that the book has two sequels! I look forward to reading those.

Here’s a short interview with Judy Greer and Pete Holmes talking briefly about the show:

Dallas Jenkins, the producer (who does The Chosen too), speaks about the movie in the video below. Dallas recently spoke at BYU, you can watch that here.

Glenn Beck interviews Dallas Jenkins below about the movie.

Finally, here’s the 1983 version with Hot Lips. Like I said, it’s cute, just not as good.

Want more Christmas books and/or movies?

Go here for some Christmas movies and videos. Some picture books are here. You can get a free PDF of books here, and a huge list of both books and movies over here, under “December.” The movies are listed under the “family activities” section. Merry Christmas!