Ben Napier’s Store Turns Into Santa’s Workshop for Discovery+ Christmas Movie

HGTV is sharing a new look behind-the-scenes of the new discovery+ movie, “A Christmas Open House”, which stars Ben and Erin Napier.

“Erin & Ben have been such busy elves that even Ben’s workshop became Santa Central for the filming of #AChristmasOpenHouse!” HGTV captioned the post, which shows the Napiers walking through Ben’s workshop, which has been completely taken over by the film crew, while people continue to shop in the Scotsman General Store and peer in at them through a big glass wall. Ben calls this glass wall Laurel, Mississippi’s version of the “Today Show” window, where fans would congregate to watch celebrities on the early morning talk show.

“So I’m guessing that they think all of this is for ‘Home Town’,” Erin said of the fans seeing the film crew through the window, “but this is what we’ve got today to film a Christmas movie.”

Laurel, Mississippi Locals Worked on the Movie

In HGTV’s Instagram post, Ben and Erin Napier take viewers on a tour of Ben’s Workshop, which is fully converted into a film set, showing viewers some movie magic and meeting members of the crew.

At one point, Erin points out her favorite part of the entire set, the big box lights in the corner.

“I want to show you some special lights, over here, that do magic things,” Erin said to the camera, “Lights that look like that, make parents who haven’t slept much look youthful and well-rested.”

Ben and Erin also introduce George, a Laurel, Mississippi local who is working behind the camera on “A Christmas Open House”. George is one of only a few locals on the project, according to Erin, but Ben still takes a moment to celebrate George’s “making it in the movie biz, y’all! Right here in Laurel, Mississippi!”

Erin & Ben Napier Had to Film Their Christmas Movie in the Summer Heat

Ben and Erin Napier did get out of the workshop for some of their scenes in the movie (including an “Open Mic” scene where the two sing a Christmas classic), but they stepped right out of Santa’s Workshop and into the summer heat, as HGTV shared in another Instagram post, captioned “A sizzlin’ Seasons Greetings from the set of #AChristmasOpenHouse!⁠”

This post sees Ben and Erin standing outside in Laurel in the middle of the summer, wearing full Christmas sweaters as part of their costumes for the movie. Erin sympathizes with Victoria’s Secret models who have the opposite problem on photoshoots, having to wear bikinis in the winter. Ben responds that he would love to trade with them and wear a bikini in the winter over a sweater in the summer.

“Not sweating will be the biggest challenge of the day,” Ben says of filming in 95-degree heat. Despite only filming part of the movie in Laurel, the rest of the cast wasn’t much luckier than the Napiers, as “A Christmas Open House” was predominantly filmed a few states away in Atlanta, Georgia.

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