Isabel needs to determine if a young girl belongs on the Naughty or Nice List; meanwhile, she's falling for the girl's father and learning that the world isn't so black and white. Photo: Andrew Walker, Lacey Chabert Credit: ©2025 Hallmark Media/Photographer: Allister Foster
Hallmark Channel’s Countdown to Christmas 2025 is rolling along and one of the big highlights of the year’s offerings is She’s Making a List featuring Hallmark Channel fan favorites Lacey Chabert (Haul Out the Halloween) and Andrew Walker (Three Wisest Men). I had a chance to screen the movie ahead of its December 6 release and it’s a whimsical, heartwarming and utterly charming addition to the lineup. Read on for my spoiler-free review.
She’s Making a List follows Chabert’s Isabel, a top agent at the Naughty or Nice Group. With so many children to keep track of, even Santa has had to outsource his naughty and nice list to ensure that good children are rewarded on Christmas while the naughty ones receive their coal. Isabel is a hard working inspector who is at the top of her game, but a chance encounter with Jason (Walker) puts her carefully ordered life into freefall – Jason is Charlie Duncan’s (Cadence Compton) widowed father, and Isabel is tasked with deciding whether mischievous Charlie should be on the naughty or nice list.
One of the things I loved about She’s Making a List is that despite its whimsy, there’s an air of familiarity in the way Isabel is stuck trying to determine Charlie’s status in the several-inch-thick rulebook. As anyone who deals with a job that involves stringent rules and regulations knows, trying to navigate a complex system is difficult and it’s even harder when you need to find exceptions to the rules. Charlie, in Isabel’s mind, is an exception. She might be acting out, but it’s not because she’s naughty, it’s because she’s a young girl grieving the loss of her mother and things aren’t what they seem. The red tape, in this case, really doesn’t help. However, it makes for some fun viewing as Isabel tries to pull some strings to tip the scales in Charlie’s favor.
As always, Chabert is delightful as Isabel. She spends a great deal of time directly addressing the camera as she explains her job and how things work at the Naughty and Nice Group, but Chabert is at her best as Isabel tries to stay calm while her carefully ordered life is upended in the most unexpected ways.
Walker is always fun to watch whether he’s starring in a romantic comedy or a drama. She’s Making a List has the right mix of comedy and drama as he plays a doting and loving father who is trying to fix mistakes from his own past while trying to make things nice for his daughter. As Jason, Walker has the perfect amount of endearing Dad Energy and it’s easy to root for him.
She’s Making a List is a heartwarming family movie that will be a special treat for Chabert and Walker’s fans. Seeing them together on screen is enough to leave this Hallmark Christmas movie fan asking Santa for more Chabert-Walker collaborations in the future!
She’s Making a List trailer
Take a look at the preview and sneak peek of She’s Making a List below.
She’s Making a List premieres Saturday, December 6, at 8pm ET/PT on Hallmark Channel. The movie will be available to stream the day after the premiere on Hallmark Plus.
