Hallmark Channel to Feature Same-Sex Couples in Christmas Lineup for 6th Straight Year
For the sixth straight year, Hallmark’s various platforms will include Christmas movies featuring same-sex couples.
This year’s lineup of holiday films with LGBT characters includes The Christmas Baby, which airs on the Hallmark Channel Sunday, Dec. 21, and follows the story of a lesbian couple who must navigate “their new relationship and career dynamics” after they discover a baby boy on their doorstep, according to a Hallmark plot summary.
“As the couple spends more time with the baby as a temporary solution until he can be placed permanently or they can find his mother, they begin to realize that they want to adopt him themselves and go about navigating the complicated world of fostering to adopt all while their business is booming at the busiest time of the year, Christmas,” the summary continues.
A second movie, A Keller Christmas Vacation, debuted Nov. 9 and told the story of two parents who take their three adult children on a European river cruise. One of those adult children is a gay man who had proposed to his boyfriend just before the cruise but was told, “not yet.” Later in the film, the boyfriend joins the family on their trip.
The vacation turned out to be a “glorious once-in-a-lifetime experience full of missed connections, new friendships, stunning vistas, relationship upheaval, budding romances, shipboard games, family bonding, and a secret that brings them all together in time for Christmas,” according to a Hallmark plot summary.
Hallmark first introduced same-sex couples to its Christmas movies in 2020 with The Christmas House, which told the story of two brothers returning home for the holidays, one of whom is gay and married to a man.
The inclusion of same-sex couples in plots has led some Hallmark fans to switch to its competitor, Great American Family, which has leaned into its family-friendly brand and advertises itself as celebrating “faith, family, and country.”
Asked by The Wall Street Journal in 2022 if Great American Family would include LGBT couples in its stories, executive and actress Candace Cameron Bure said it would not.
“I think that Great American Family will keep traditional marriage at the core,” Bure said.
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Photo Credit: ©Hallmark Channel
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
Listen to Michael's Podcast! He is the host of Crosswalk Talk, a podcast where he talks with Christian movie stars, musicians, directors, and more. Hear how famous Christian figures keep their faith a priority in Hollywood and discover the best Christian movies, books, television, and other entertainment. You can find Crosswalk Talk on LifeAudio.com, or subscribe on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an interview that will be sure to encourage your faith.
Originally published November 19, 2025.
