Entertainment

/

ArcaMax

Christmas movies filmed or set in NC: How to watch them all this holiday season

Brooke Cain, Chyna Blackmon, The News & Observer (Raleigh) on

Published in Entertainment News

RALEIGH, N.C. — As you jingle your way through this season’s holiday programming, carve out a little time for a homegrown movie or two.

We’ve added some updates to our annual list of Christmas or holiday movies that were either filmed or set in North Carolina. For each movie listed, we give a brief synopsis, list some of the stars, tell you where in the state it was filmed (or set) and list the streaming services that offer the movie. In the case of the Hallmark movies, you might even spot one of these in the wild, since the Hallmark and Hallmark Mystery channels both show holiday movies 24/7 right now.

[Note that the streaming services listed may require a subscription to watch or charge an online rental fee.]

‘A Biltmore Christmas’ (2023)

This 2023 Hallmark movie follows Lucy as she’s hired to write the script for a remake of a holiday movie originally set at the Biltmore in 1946. When she knocks over an hourglass, she finds herself transported back in time to 1946, where she falls in love with the movie’s handsome leading man.

—Filming location in NC: Asheville

—Starring: Bethany Joy Lenz, Jonathan Frakes, Kristoffer Polaha

—How to watch: Stream on Hallmark+, Peacock, fuboTV, Philo, Netflix, Hoopla, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Fandango at Home

‘The Angel Doll’ (2002)

Based on a book by North Carolina writer Jerry Bledsoe, this 1950s-set movie follows two small-town boys, Whitey and Jerry, trying to find the perfect gift — a doll — for Whitey’s sister, who has polio.

—Filming location in NC: Wilmington

—Starring: Keith Carradine, Betsy Brantley, Beatrice Bush, Pat Hingle

—How to watch: Stream on Netflix (not on ad-supported plans) or Amazon Prime Video.

‘Christmas at the Grey Horse Inn' (2021)

This Hallmark movie is about a writer who flees the pressures of the big city to take over an inn, but she fears she’ll have to sell the inn to pay back taxes. This was filmed in a few different places in North and South Carolina.

—Filming location in NC: Tryon Palace in New Bern

—Starring: Linda Evans, Toni Hudson, Ethan Trace

—How to watch: Even though this is a Hallmark original, we didn’t find it available to stream at Hallmark+.

‘Christmas in Harmony' (2021)

This movie was not only filmed in North Carolina, it’s set there as well. A woman is tricked into auditioning for the holiday chorus, which is directed by her ex-boyfriend. The two work together and by Christmas Eve, they’ve rediscovered their love for each other.

—Filming location in NC: Wilmington

—Starring: Loretta Devine, Ashleigh Murray, Luke James, Basil Wallace

—How to watch: Stream on Hallmark+, Apple TV+, Fubo, Frndly Live TV, Philo, Hoopla and Amazon Prime Video.

‘Christmas in Conway' (2013)

In this Hallmark Hall of Fame movie, which premiered on ABC in 2013, a man tries to create the perfect Christmas for his terminally ill wife by building a Ferris wheel in his backyard. It’s set in Conway, South Carolina.

—Filming location in NC: Wilmington

—Starring: Andy Garcia, Mandy Moore, Cheri Oteri, Mary-Louise Parker

—How to watch: Stream on Hallmark+, Xumo Play, Plex, fuboTV, Roku Channel, Philo, Apple TV

‘Christmas Joy’ (2018)

This Hallmark movie wasn’t filmed in North Carolina, but it’s set there. The plot follows a young market researcher who just received a promotion, but must put everything on hold to fly home and help her aunt recover from surgery. While back home, she reunites with her former crush.

—NC setting: The fictional town of Crystal Falls

—Starring: Danielle Panabaker, Matt Long, Lucia Walters

—How to watch: Stream on Hallmark+ and Amazon Prime Video

‘A Christmas Love Story’ (2019)

A youth choir director needs to write a big song for the Christmas Eve show, but finds herself distracted when a young boy with a golden voice joins her choir. The boy’s widowed father and the choir director end up spending time together.

 

—Filming location in NC: Charlotte

—Starring: Kristin Chenoweth, Scott Wolf, Kevin Quinn

—How to watch: Stream on Hallmark+, Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Philo, Pluto TV, Apple TV

‘An Evergreen Christmas’ (2014)

A singer named Evergreen Lee is torn between pursing her career and saving her family’s Christmas tree farm after her father’s untimely death. This is set in a small town in Tennessee.

—Filming location in NC: Charlotte

—Starring: Naomi Judd, Charleene Closshey, Robert Loggia, Tyler Ritter, Booboo Stewart

—How to watch: Stream on Tubi, Fandango at Home, fubuTV, Roku Channel, YouTube TV, Amazon Prime Video

‘Finding Christmas’ (2013)

A successful New York City advertising agent trades his apartment for a friend’s North Carolina cottage, where he meets a single mother. (Meanwhile, in NYC, the Southern man falls for the ad agent’s “sassy assistant.” This movie was filmed in Ohio, but there’s a 2019 movie with the same title that filmed in Gastonia, King’s Mountain and Bessemer City, North Carolina. We were unable to find much info about how to watch that movie now.) A third “Finding Christmas” movie (2024) filmed in Philadelphia.

—NC setting: According to IMDb, a street scene shows the movie to be set in a town called Butters

—Starring: Tricia Helfer, J.T. Hodges, Mark Lutz

—How to watch: Stream on Hallmark+, Amazon Prime Video, Philo, Tubi TV, Xumo Play, Fandango at Home

‘Inheritance Up Christmas’ (aka ‘A Different Kind of Christmas’) (1996)

This movie was originally released as “A Different Kind of Christmas” and underwent a name change. It follows an attorney dealing with her father’s Santa Claus obsession after her mother’s death. He transforms his home into a Santa castle and invites “children of all ages” there and makes sure they leave with gifts.

—Filming location in NC: Wilmington

—Starring: Shelley Long, Barry Bostwick, Nathan Lawrence

—How to watch: Stream on Hallmark+

‘A Nashville Christmas Carol’ (2020)

In this Hallmark movie, a workaholic TV producer must work on a country music Christmas special with the man who broke her heart. Along the way, she’s visited by Christmas spirits who make her reflect on her past. Some scenes were shot in Nashville.

—Filming location in NC: Charlotte

—Starring: Wes Brown, Jessy Schram, Kix Brooks, Wynonna Judd, Sara Evans, RaeLynn

—How to watch: Stream on Hallmark+, fuboTV, Roku Channel, Fandango at Home, Philo, YouTube TV, Apple TV

‘One Christmas’ (1994)

A young man living with his aunt in Alabama is sent to visit his estranged father for Christmas in New Orleans in 1930. His father, a con artist, is trying to romance the niece of a wealthy woman. It’s based on an autobiographical short story by Truman Capote.

—Filming location in NC: Wilmington

—Starring: Katharine Hepburn, Henry Winkler, Swoosie Kurtz, T.J. Lowther

—How to watch: Stream on Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, Google Play

‘USS Christmas’ (2020)

This movie premiered on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries in 2020. It’s about a reporter who goes on a Christmas Tiger Cruise aboard a naval aircraft carrier, where she meets a handsome naval officer. The two solve a mystery related to her grandfather’s military service.

—Filming location in NC: Wilmington

—Starring: Jen Lilley, Trevor Donovan, Barbara Niven

—How to watch: Stream on Hallmark+, Amazon Prime Video, Xumo Play, fuboTV, Roku Channel, YouTube TV, PLEX, Philo


©2025 Raleigh News & Observer. Visit newsobserver.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

Comments

blog comments powered by Disqus