It's a more restrained, grounded movie than its predecessor - which, ultimately, means it loses some of the candy-coated glee that made A Christmas Prince such a buzzed-about so-bad-it's-good hit.

This movie is like a sugar cookie: you know exactly what you're getting, and it has all the right ingredients (love, magic, presents), but it would've been even better with a little frosting on top, is all.

As a woman of color who never felt included in the Christmas movies I'd seen growing up, The Holiday Calendar clicked for me.

Kat Graham (of The Vampire Diaries) brings almost too many acting chops for a good holiday rom-com, but the film is still cheerily nonsensical.