Hallmark’s ‘Entertaining Christmas’: Cast, Where Filmed, Time & Photos

In this Instagram photo from Jane Moffat, you can see Jane and Elva Mai Hoover. Moffat played Liz Livingstone, the famous mom, in the movie and Hoover played Martha. We talked about Hoover in the previous page. When Moffat shared this photo on Instagram she wrote, "Loved working with @elvamaihoover on #entertainingchristmas! Known each other for 30 years and first time acting together! #actorslife #hallmarkchristmasmovies."

Moffat has a long and successful history as an actress and a writer. Her many credits include Fahrenheit 451 (the HBO movie where she played Sam Shepard), Ghost BFF (Mrs. Emerson for five episodes), Backstage (Helsweel for 60 episodes), The Sound, Mary Kills People, Cradle to Grave, Incorporated, Agatha, The Expanse (Brothel Madam for three episodes), Christmas Incorporated, Alphas (Sandra Bell for eight episodes), Saving Hope, The Firm, The Kennedys (Letitia Baldridge), Skins, Warehouse 13, Everything She Ever Wanted, Flashpoint, This is Wonderland, ReGenesis, Queer as Folk (Nancy Henderson), Doc, Our Hero, Patti, Haven, Cheaters, Superstar, Little Men, La Femme Nikita, Foolish Heart, The Newsroom, Two If By Sea, TekWar, Side Effects, and much more.

The complete cast for Entertaining Christmas, as provided by Hallmark, includes Jodie Sweetin and Brendan Fehr, and Jane Moffat (Liz), Ana Araujo (Harper), Tamara Almeida (Anna), Marcia Bennett (Mrs. Deevers), Howard Hoover (James), Elizabeth Whitmere (Jane), Elva Mai Hoover (Martha), Nneka Elliott (Dana), Tova Epp (Brenda), Michael Hanrahan (Ben). Lindsay Leese (Mayor Walsh), Diana Coatsworth (Mary), Drew Nelson (Steve), Alison Palmer (Karen/Woman), Eileen Sword (Little Old Lady), Emily Stranges (Livingstone Fan), Alex Jyn-Li Cairns (Assistant), and Myles Dobson (Clerk).

Recap & Looking Ahead: The synopsis from Hallmark for Entertaining Christmas reads: "Claire is a cookbook author, crafting expert, and television personality whose name is synonymous with perfection. As she contemplates retirement, her daughter Kara (Sweetin) is poised to become the new face of the Livingston brand. The only trouble is, Kara can’t cook. Or sew. Or do any of the signature things her mother is known for. When a young girl posts a video online requesting Claire help welcome her deployed father home for Christmas, Kara is sent in her place in an effort to prove herself a worthy successor to the board of directors and win the job. As Kara does her best to make a good impression, she gets more than she bargained for when the young girl’s uncle Joe turns out to be a reporter for the local paper, looking for his next story."

Another synopsis from Hallmark has different name for the main characters. It's not clear which version is correct, since the different versions are both listed on Hallmark's website: "Candace, daughter of lifestyle mogul Liz Livingstone, has never lived up to her mother’s standards. When a young girl posts a video begging Liz to help arrange a special Christmas party, Candace is sent in her place. As she struggles to prove herself worthy of running the company, Candace meets — and begins falling for — the girl’s uncle, a reporter writing an expose on her."

And here's what's coming up on Hallmark's original Christmas movies: For December we have a lot more original, new movies. On Dec. 16 is A Gingerbread Romance, Dec. 22 is Jingle Around the Clock, Dec. 23 is Christmas Made to Order, Dec. 25 is When Calls the Heart Christmas, and Dec. 29 is A Midnight Kiss. Then in January, we'll have new Winterfest movies on Hallmark every Saturday night.