Overview: The holiday spirit returns with Lifetime®’s A Very Merry Movie Collection: Volume 5 and Volume 6 arriving on DVD exclusively to Walmart on November 7th, 2023 from Lionsgate.

Memorable moments from Lifetime® full of love, laughs, and cheer abound in these 12 Volume 5 films for the whole family to enjoy — including Sweet Navidad (starring Camila Banus), Merry Swissmas (starring Jodie Sweetin), The Holiday Dating Guide (starring Maria Menounos), A Country Christmas Harmony (starring Brooke Elliott), and A New Orleans Noel (executive produced by Academy Award® winner Whoopi Goldberg (1990, Best Supporting Actress, Ghost) and starring GRAMMY Award® winner Patti LaBelle and Keshia Knight Pulliam).

DVD Verdict: Taking a look at some of my own personal favorites from Volume 5, we begin with Cloudy with a Chance of Christmas (2022). When a weather forecaster is asked to host her network’s annual snow-cast in the wintry town of Leavenworth live with the network’s morning show host and a longtime rival of hers, tension brews and romantic sparks fly between them on air.

I love the idea of this movie. It’s the perfect Christmas town, a good idea for a storyline to bring them to town, the hometown connection with out of towner’s which gives a reason to showcase the town. The story wasn’t exactly a surprise, but had a slightly different feel from the same old stuff.

Then I liked A New Orleans Noel (2022). Follows Grace and Anthony, who despite having gone to college to study architecture together, are too different, but things between them change after both are hired to work on the same place and end up celebrating Christmas together.

The chemistry on screen cannot be denied. The cast works well and forms a true little family. Is there some overacting? Absolutely? Does it bother me? Absolutely not. Within minutes you’re transported to New Orleans at Christmas time. I’m here for it. Well worth a watch.

Next up is A Country Christmas Harmony (2022). Follows Luke and Chrissy, a former country music duo and ex-sweethearts who run into each other years later after Chrissy disappeared on Luke, but now they realize they can only survive the holidays with the other one’s help.

What I really was impressed by was the fact that the songs were performed by people that could actually sing for a change. I don’t know if it was the actors themselves or somebody else, but I didn’t care, because so many of these films have failed to deliver with decent voices before.

However, I did think that Sweet 16 Christmas seemed like it would be a better choice for a younger singer. Swift or Bieber back in the day, that sort of thing.

The last one I’ll highlight from this set is Merry Liddle Christmas (2019). A woman trying to get her dysfunctional family to look picture-perfect for the holidays falls in love with her neighbor amid the chaos.

I loved the set, her house was believably gorgeous and it made sense that she would not want to have it messed up by kid and animal hijinks. I also liked the love interest. He was handsome, respectful, and had a personality. I also like that they didn’t immediately fall in love. They simply embarked on a new relationship together.

- Cloudy with a Chance of Christmas - A Show-Stopping Christmas - Sweet Navidad - Merry Textmas - Serving Up the Holidays - A New Orleans Noel - Merry Swissmas - Scentsational Christmas - Well Suited for Christmas - A Country Christmas Harmony - The Holiday Dating Guide - Merry Liddle Christmas

And they continue onward with 12 more on Volume 6 - including Steppin’ into the Holiday (starring Mario Lopez and Jana Kramer), Kirk Franklin’s The Night Before Christmas (starring Kirk Franklin and Naturi Naughton), Baking All the Way (starring Yannick Bisson and Cory Lee), and Lifetime®’s first holiday movie sequel, Merry Liddle Christmas Wedding (starring Kelly Rowland).

Again, choosing just a handful from the 12 for an overview, my favorites here include Six Degrees of Santa (2022). Christmas enthusiast Harper has created a program, Six Degrees of Santa. When Harper’s own gift lands in the hands of a leading internet entrepreneur, Jason, he’s convinced that the original Santa might be his soul mate.

I liked the concept of the movie and our heroine Steph’s personal Christmas project, Six Degrees of Santa. Its kind of a Christmas gift chain letter. Santa#1 buys a gift that is meaningful to them and gives it anonymously to a stranger or a friend who in turn does the same. The sixth recipient gets to keep it.

Then comes The Dog Days of Christmas (2021). After finishing a mission, aid worker Annie Blake is going home to Vermont to spend the holidays with her family. When the local animal shelter closes, Annie steps in to save it with the help of the local vet and old school nemesis, Dylan.

I’m a fan of dogs and cats, but not turtles! I kept watching even though there was a turtle. I found it interesting that it was set in a climate where snow sticks to the bottom of trees, but not the top. Since this movie is Australian-heavy, I’m guessing it was filmed there, and everything there is upside down.

I thought adding a reindeer would be a good touch, but Dylan, the veterinarian, said he had never treated a flamingo, so a reindeer was probably out of the question!

Another good one is A Christmas to Treasure (2022). The passing of a beloved old neighbor reunites six friends for a hometown holiday treasure hunt, where sparks fly once again between brand strategist Austin and his former best friend Everett.

The movie is very cute, the set is great too, and all the main male characters are handsome to look at (well, at least four of them). The story (some sort of scavenger hunt) is good on paper, and I can see why they went for that, and as much as it holds up, there are moments that you have to stretch your imagination.

There are some quite few solid characters, those being Everett, Ricky, Tipper (all main characters, to be frank) and Rochelle (the real-estate seller) for they were all either well-written or just plain funny.

The last one I’ll showcase is Record Breaking Christmas (2022). Leah is forced to travel to a small town to investigate its plans to break multiple holiday world records. Later, she discovers that she may be the person who can help them reach their true Christmas goal.

The reason I chose this one is that the premise is fresh and on point. Sure, it is mostly similar to any Christmas movie where two strangers are thrown together for a big Christmas event but in this one there are several events where attempts are made throughout to break some world record.

- Six Degrees of Santa - Single and Ready to Jingle - Baking All the Way - Steppin’ into the Holiday - The Dog Days of Christmas - A Recipe for Joy - Kirk Franklin’s The Night Before Christmas - Christmas on Mistletoe Lake - A Christmas to Treasure - Wrapped Up in Love - Record Breaking Christmas - Merry Liddle Christmas Wedding

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