Hallmark "Letters to Santa"
The Hallmark Channel’s newest Countdown to Christmas movie, “Letters to Santa,” premieres on Friday, November 24, at 6 p.m. Eastern/5 p.m. Central. The movie stars Katie Leclerc and Rafael de la Fuente. Read on to learn all about where the movie was filmed and the cast involved.
‘Letters to Santa’ Was Filmed in Massachusetts in the Spring
Hallmark“Letters to Santa”
According to IMDb, “Letters to Santa” was filmed in Massachusetts locations included Worcester, Princeton, and Auburn. While most Hallmark movies are filmed in Canada, this one departs from that trend. Based on social media posts from the cast, this movie was filmed in April.
One of the filming locations was Luks Tree Farm. They shared on Facebook in October: “Letters to Santa, the movie they filmed at the farm back in the spring, has been picked up by Hallmark and will be airing on November 24 at 6pm! Luks Farm should be in the opening scene, so we hope you’ll tune in to check out this sweet movie!”
Director John Stimpson shared a little preview of a song used in the movie on his Instagram account, writing: “Great time at Three Second Chances CD release party last night! ‘When the Tree Goes Up’ is featured in our new movie Letters to Santa that premieres Nov. 24th on Hallmark!”
In April, Spectrum News reported on the movie being filmed in Worcester, noting this was Stimpson’s fourth movie to film in the city. At the time, Hallmark hadn’t picked up the movie yet. Stimpson said they chose to film some scenes at Bedlam Book Cafe because he had used the bookstore for another movie project and was familiar with it.
“I came back and Nicole, the owner, was so welcoming and let us use this space so we’re taking full advantage of it,” Stimpson told Spectrum News. “I love to bring productions here and I love bringing our crews, the local crews and people who come from the surrounding area, here to Worcester and show off the city.”
Katie Leclerc wrote about the movie: “I had so much fun with this project and got to work with some of my favorite people!!”
Back in April 2023, she also shared: “Cuteness overload coming this Christmas! Which co-star is cuter?!?” She tagged the photo as being taken in Massachusetts.
Taylor Pezza’s shared her “movie” family on Instagram, writing: “Very excited to present my family! We are all working hard on filming a Christmas movie for you all! This has been an unreal experience! #christmasmovie”
She also shared a post with a few behind-the-scenes pictures and videos.
In another post, Pezza’s account wrote: “Love this pic that was captured on the Hallmark website ❤️🌲 Next week!! Letters to Santa is premiering next Friday on the @hallmarkchannel and I’m so stinkin’ excited to see it! Hope you all tune in to this sweet Christmas movie!”
Meet the Cast
Hallmark“Letters to Santa”
Hallmark’s synopsis reads: “When young siblings receive a magic pen from Santa that appears to be granting wishes, they request a Christmas gift they want more than anything – for their separated parents to reunite.”
Katie Leclerc stars as Rebecca. According to her bio, she grew up in Lakewood, Colorado, and Valley Center, California, starting her acting career at the age of 15. She starred for seven years on the ABC Family series “Switched at Birth,” earning a Peabody Award for her portrayal of Daphne Vasquez. She’s also appeared in popular series like “The Big Bang Theory,” “Veronica Mars,” “Community,” and “NCIS.” In addition, she’s had lead roles in over a dozen feature films, collaborating with companies such as Sony, Hallmark, and AMC+.
Rafael de la Fuente is Enrique. According to his bio, he’s a Venezuelan-born actor and singer who splits his time between Los Angeles, New York, and Miami. He recently starred in The CW’s reboot of “Dynasty,” and is also known for being on FOX’s “Empire” and ABC’s “When We Rise,” along with a role in Nickelodeon Latin America’s hit show, “Grachi.” De la Fuente holds a BFA in music from the University of Tampa. He also studied at The Actor’s Gym in Caracas, Venezuela, under Matilda Corral, as well as a five-week summer performance program at Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Also starring in the movie, according to Hallmark’s press release, are:
- Taylor Pezza (Izzy)
- Kellen Raffaelo (Sam)
- Laura Cerón (Camilla)
- Deanna Tarraza (Maria)
- Mariana Paola Vicente Hernandez (Candy)
- Harry Aspinwall (Liam)
- Mariela Hill (Vanessa)
- Christopher Bates Wilder (Santa)
- Liliane Ivester (Dr. Eaton)
- Lonnie Ray Farmer (Mr. Hines)
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