It’s December, which means it’s time to get cheery and deck the halls. What better way to do that than with a hot chocolate to curl up to a movie. This month, Nerds and Beyond will be sharing our favorite movies for the holiday season.
One movie that I cannot get enough and truly enjoy is The Nine Lives of Christmas (2014). Like pretty much all of Hallmark’s Christmas movies, it is about the magic of the holiday season and falling in love. But this love story has a purrrfect twist added.
Firefighter and long-established bachelor Zachary (Brandon Routh) saved a stray cat named Ambrose from a dog. From that moment on, the cat doesn’t leave his side – which is quite adorable. While he is out shopping for the cat he now finds living with him, he meets Marilee (Kimberley Sustad), who helps him pick out the right food for Ambrose. Marilee is currently studying to become a veterinarian and works at a family-owned pet store. Neither of them is looking for love. They have other ideas and plans for how they want their lives to go. Fate and cats have other ideas for them. Both of them cannot stop thinking of the other, and they keep running into each other. Even their cats Ambrose and Queenie share a connection. Are Zach and Marilee going to be like the mountain lions and be together forever?
This has become one of my go-to holiday movies to watch. It is a cute romantic story with humor and, of course, a few cheesy but enjoyable moments. The two main characters also have chemistry with each other and their feline castmates that make it that much easier to get pulled in. Their journey takes place during the Christmas holidays and provides the perfect romantic background, along with the traditions that come with the holiday decorations, carolers, mistletoe, putting up lights, and dressing up as Santa Claus. One of my favorite parts in the movie is when they are out choosing a Christmas tree and talking about Christmas spirit and how to pick out the one perfect tree, then about their traditions and plans for this year. It reminds me to take a pause and enjoy being with my family and friends. It makes me nostalgic about the traditions from when I was growing up and the magic of the season.
If you love cats, romance, and the holidays, this is the movie for you.
You can watch the trailer for The Nine Lives of Christmas below, and stay tuned for more of our favorite holiday movies all month long!