And, as horrible as this sounds, that is being generous. The 2020 Lifetime Christmas efforts did vary and often veered between mediocre and slightly above average and were indicative at times of rushed productions. But there were enough of them that were still watchable and more (was pleasantly surprised by some) and were not amateur efforts. Actually think on reflection that the standard was of better quality than 2019's batch.

'The Christmas Yule Blog' though is one of the misfires and one of the worst 2020 Lifetime films. There were a few good things, not massive though, that are sadly outweighed by the flaws, with the worst flaws being absolutely terrible. Is it among the worst that they ever did? Not quite, but it is one of the closest the 2020 output got to being on the same level as the worst of Lifetime's 2019 Christmas output, which is really not a good sign.

Shall start with the good. The production values are quite decent, don't look rushed or look like no effort had been put into them. Actually saw some professionalism that was not present elsewhere. The music was also quite pleasant in a nostalgic way.

Did think that Sara Canning gave a committed performance that has some charm, despite not having a particularly pleasant character at first.

However, the rest of the acting ranges between bad and awful. The male lead Zak Santiago is wooden and he and Canning come over as mismatched. The supporting cast are truly awkward, which contributed a lot to why the family scenes were as hard to watch as they were. The chemistry agreed is non-existent, the relationship itself comes out of nowhere and is underwritten and underused and Canning and Santiago do not look at ease together. Didn't care for any of the characters, which had no personality or/and annoyed.

Excepting moments of cuteness in the dialogue, the script a vast majority of the time is truly awkward and very stilted in a verbose way. Almost like a hastily written first draft not checked through and there is a jumping about nature to the script throughout. The story never grabbed me with a very dull first half, which felt slow, over-stretched and uneventful. When it picks up marginally too late, it's very contrived and the whole film has no warmth or charm, no nothing. The direction is routine at best and is often disorganised and hesitant.

Bottom line, not good at all. 3/10.

Just OK. Certainly wasn't filmed New Mexico. Most houses in towns/cities in NM have some type or southwestern feel to them. Adobe mainly ... the house the lead male lived in with his son was unlike any house I've seen. Even in Albuquerque. One would think if they were going to say the story is set in a small NM town, they'd at least make it look believable.

Not a fan of the two leads and the "developing" love story. They have very little chemistry ... AND the kid is just too cute and agreeable for a real twelve year old.

All-i -all - just meh. Not one I'll watch again.

PS - those are unlike ANY tamale I've ever seen or eaten... HMMMM

The premise of a blogger or reporter in a small town filled with Christmas spirit is becoming a more common premise. And there's potential job advancement, which is a trope in almost every Christmas movie. There's a local who resembles Santa with a hint that he is more than a look alike. This movie crams in many of the usual tropes. And I do mean crams. (At least they leave out snow related ones.)

The movies has no great highs or lows, surprises or tension (other than the romantic).

In order to facilitate the obligatory initial animosity between the leads, Caroline is the stereotypical arrogant know-it-all city girl. You would think a travel writer would know better. And like all these movies, she quickly sheds that attitude and becomes friendly. The trouble for me was that I had trouble clearing my mind of her attitude. Sara Canning didn't seem natural in her acting.

There is no chemistry between the leads.