The most contagious condition of 2020 is a dark, quasi depressive state of mind. Between social distancing, a roller-coaster election season, and a heartbreaking list of heroes passing on when we need them most (we won’t even mention all the canceled brunches), anyone surviving 2020 could use a pick-me-up.

Enter Hallmark. The brand known for masterfully harvesting your feels in greeting cards has purified their product and translated it into a timeless film format. Call it a smile in a story. A Hollywood hug. A cinema snuggle. One more Pulitzer-worthy use of alliteration: a narrative nuzzle. It’s here, bud. And it’s for you. Because we understand. Grab a blanket and set a date with your softer side, because Hallmark was Made. For. This.

When you get lonely  

Being alone by choice can be freeing. But being alone by force is debilitating. All around the world wall-staring, timeline scrolling, and Celine Dion streams (the song you’ve been hearing your neighbor sob sing through the walls all month is, “All By Myself” – it’s different from her early stuff but still good) are at an all-time high. Next time the loneliness threatens to take over, check out one of these Hallmark titles.

2018 American Dog Rescue Show

There’s a reason dogs have earned the famous title of “Man’s Best Friend:” Who better to fetch your blues and bury them outside? “2018 American Dog Rescue Show” gives you the competition of “The Bachelorette” with the Awww Factor of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.” Stream immediately. 

A Father’s Choice

Here’s a film about being caught in the middle. A recently widowed cowboy gains custody of his estranged daughters and learns what it truly means to start over. Family is always complicated, and no one knows the lonely life like a cowboy. This movie won’t just pull on your heartstrings – it’ll even whistle you some Waylon Jennings till you doze off. Worth the watch.

When you need to socialize 

There will likely come a day when you need a reminder on how to converse with more fluidity than the Tom Hanks “Cast Away” re-entry model. Here are some movies that might help with forgotten skills like asking engaging questions, subject-verb agreement, and taming your caveperson stare.

A Christmas Memory

Relationships are like ecosystems: Diversity is a sign of health. When relationships thrive between dissimilar characters, the likelihood of good vibes increases exponentially (it’s Science). Therefore – and follow us here – a young, exuberant boy plus an unexpectedly close relationship with a simple, elderly woman equals a story formula with exceedingly high odds of the good vibes, right? Right. Go watch.

A Christmas Wish

When times get tough, you find out what real love looks like. “A Christmas Wish” stars Kristy Swanson as a down-on-her-luck single mother of three who earns a waitress position at a diner thanks to some old fashioned compassion. Watch only if you’re ready for a masterclass on kindness.

When you catch a travel bug

It’s not just us having a tough year – our poor passports haven’t logged a stamp since March, and even longer than that for some. Traveling is our way of sampling the ways of the world, and being cut off from traveling while stuck at home is enough to put the Monday in mundane. For your inner wanderlust, here are some Hallmark films full of foreign lands and travel plans.

A Christmas Cruise

Whether you’re a first-time fan or you patiently waited to exhale with Vivica A. Fox in the 90s, “A Christmas Cruise” will scratch your tropical-travel-romance-itch in a way that has become the trademark for the Foxy Starlet. Tune in to watch our Aunt Vivica as an aspiring author who joins her friend on a holiday cruise and finds the love of her life in the process. In a limited holiday travel season, it’s another breath of fresh air from Vivica A. Fox (pun absolutely intended).

4 Wedding Planners 

Movies set in Hawaii are almost cheating in their ability to instantly put us in the Aloha spirit, and “4 Wedding Planners” is no different. Save this tropical tale for the dreary night where it’s wet enough to rain but not cold enough to snow – and thank us when you do.

2020 is tough, but not impossible. The best thing you can do is to remember you’re not going through it alone, and a great story can bind 1 billion hearts. What was that? A Hallmark movie digital film festival with your best friend over Zoom? Great idea! Pics, or it didn’t happen.

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