Let’s find out!
As always, SPOILERS!
Darcy Archer (Ali Liebert) is a quirky woman living in Philadelphia. She rides a bike rather than drives a car and she loves books. So much so that she works in a little bookstore that’s practically a Philadelphia institution. They are gearing up for their annual Christmas Eve party when the owner, Terrence (Ken Camroux-Taylor), reveals that he is looking at a semi-retirement to travel with his wife. He’ll still be the owner and operator of the store but wants to hire a general manager to oversee the day-to-day operations. Darcy’s coworkers, Katherine (Kristin York) and Josh (Rickey He), convince her to apply for the job but she doesn’t think she’s the right fit. She’s happy to keep working there and to plan the Christmas Eve party.
Because if there is one thing Darcy loves more than books, it’s Christmas. Of course, no one can top her landlady, Mrs. Henley (Tina Lifford). She takes on a motherly role to Darcy, who lost her parents a couple years earlier in a car accident, and is her partner-in-crime for a lot of the movie. Darcy heads up to her apartment, decorates for Christmas and settles in to read the newest book from her favorite author.
Josh calls her the next morning and reveals that she’s late. Panicked, she hurries out of her house and isn’t really cautious as she bikes to work. So much so, she collides with an innocent bystander (Peter Porte) and his dog (Bailey the Dog). He is knocked unconscious and his ID is washed down a drain with some melting snow. Darcy ends up with his dog, who she discovers is Bailey and goes to see him at the hospital.
Darcy leaves the dog she learned is called Bailey with a regular customer who is sitting outside the hospital while she goes to inquire about Bailey’s owner. The nurse, Nancy (Brandi Alexander), can’t give her much information since she’s not family. She does take Darcy’s name and information, promising to get back to her. Once Darcy leaves, Nancy heads down the hall and reveals that no one knows who the comatose man is and that he is listed as “John Doe.”
Darcy sneaks Bailey into her apartment because Mrs. Henley doesn’t allow dogs. She catches them though and makes an exception, saying she loves dogs. She just had to implement a no pet policy after someone made a mess raising ferrets. Katherine comes over with some supplies and they try to make Bailey comfortable until he can be returned to his owner.
The next day, Darcy returns to the hospital and Nurse Nancy lets her bring Bailey to see “John Doe.” She explains to Darcy that the patient does have amnesia so he doesn’t know who he is. Nurse Nancy explains that it could be temporary and that the hospital gave special permission for Bailey to enter in hopes he could jog his owner’s memory.
John Doe does remember his dog but not much after that. He asks if Darcy is a friend or relative and she has to awkwardly explain that she’s the one who knocked him over. She says she’s been taking care of his dog. He asks her to keep doing so since they won’t release him from the hospital and she is given some of his personal belongings as he asks her to help him find out who he is. She agrees.
Meanwhile, Darcy and her coworkers learn that a rival bookstore is also having a Christmas party. They then start planning ways to make theirs more appealing.
At home, Darcy and Mrs. Henley go through John Doe’s things and Darcy realizes that he was going to mail some Christmas cards. They use the return address to go see if it’s his house. When Bailey runs inside, they figure it’s the right place.
Inside isn’t very Christmas-y and doesn’t give them any clues as to who John Doe might be. Darcy goes to search for Bailey, finding him in a doggie bed in the bedroom. She notices a bag and guesses that he didn’t decorate for Christmas because he wasn’t going to be there. They continue to look around and find a picture of a beautiful woman, who they figure is his girlfriend—though the house shows no sign of a woman living there. And they dig up a business card—William A. Anderson. Darcy realizes he works in public relations and has a lot of authors on his client list—including her favorite.
Darcy and Bailey return to the hospital and she reports on what she discovered. She brings some things from his house to help jog his memory but nothing works. His name doesn’t sound right to him and he feels like his name is Aiden. So Darcy and Nurse Nancy decide to call him that since it feels right to him.
There are still some medical concerns when it comes to Aiden, so he has to stay in the hospital. Darcy, meanwhile, continues to try to learn more about him so they can find either his loved ones or a way to help him remember. Along the way, they really bond—especially over books.
Aiden starts to remember things in drips and drabs—he recalls that he used to be an art teacher and he does appear to be an artist. He especially enjoys helping Darcy brighten things up for the children who are in the hospital as the holiday approaches. He also believes he used to live in Ohio at some point and he’s not sure how he ended up in Philadelphia. And despite the lack of Christmas decorations in his house, he’s certain he loves the holiday.
At work, Katherine and Josh continue their quest to get Darcy to apply for the General Manager position. She continues to decline but does help plan the Christmas Eve party, saying that they should advertise food and a guest. She figures she can get food from Luigi (Aurelio DiNunzio), a local restauranteur who treats her like a daughter, but she’s not entire sure who the guest will be. She’ll find someone, though, she vows.
Before that, though, she is still trying to find someone who knows Aiden. She decides to track down the woman in the picture from his house. Mrs. Henley recognizes a pin she’s wearing as belonging to a certain ballet company in New York so Darcy takes the train from Philly into Manhattan, which surprises her coworkers. Apparently, she has a thing about going into Manhattan. I’m not sure why either. Anyway, she convinces the woman at the company to give her the dancer’s phone number and she calls her. Darcy only gets her voicemail so she leaves a message, hoping the woman will call her back.
While she’s gone, Nurse Nancy takes Aiden for a walk to see how he does. They wander past Darcy’s store and stop inside. Katherine realizes that she saw him a few days before the accident, saying he passed by the window. He wonders where he was going around there and so Nurse Nancy takes him exploring. They discover a jewelry store that seems familiar to him.
Aiden has to return to the hospital so Darcy does some investigating for him. She discovers that he had bought a certain ring and he remembers that it was his mother’s. His mother had lost the ring when he was younger and had died some years prior. Aiden believes he was on a quest to find it and Darcy says it seems strange that it was at the jeweler around the corner from his house.
Aiden’s doctor agrees to release him as long as he promises to keep up his appointments and Darcy takes Aiden home. She and Mrs. Henley help him decorate and as he and Darcy share a dance, someone enters the house. It’s Will (Vincent Dangerfield)—the real William Anderson. Aiden’s name is Aiden Harris and he’s really a schoolteacher from Ohio who was visiting his college buddy after tracking down his mother’s ring to Philadelphia. Will gets Aiden’s father’s number so they can talk and Darcy says her goodbyes, realizing he has a life to get back to.
Will drives Aiden back to Ohio but before they go, Aiden asks his friend for a favor.
Darcy starts to take more control in her life, bolstered by the adventure she’s been on. She shows up to work in a suit and marches into Terrence’s office to ask be the General Manager. She goes into a spiel but he stops her, saying the position was always hers—he was just waiting for her to ask. Katherine comes in to say Darcy’s favorite author is on the phone about the Christmas Eve party and Darcy takes the call, ready to dive in as General Manager.
Aiden returns home to Ohio. There is no dialogue as he gets out of the car and approaches a house. A young girl runs out and hugs him before he hugs a woman. We’re supposed to think he has a wife and daughter but I’ve seen enough Hallmark Channel movies to know it was really his sister and niece.
Christmas Eve arrives and Darcy’s party is a big success. She greets her favorite author and thanks him for coming. Will assures her that Aiden is safe and doing well back home with his family. They then start the special reading and the author takes some questions, including why he set his novel at Christmas.
Aiden then surprises her and introduces her to his father, his sister and his niece. (Called it) His sister explains that he went looking for their mother’s ring for her sake. She thanks Darcy for taking care of Aiden. Darcy then heads outside and talks with Aiden. They confess their feelings for each other and Aiden suggests that he might move to Philadelphia before they share a kiss to end the movie.
I am glad I watched this at least once and I feel that this will be one I will watch at least once in future Christmas seasons now that it’s joined Hallmark’s rotation. The characters were likable and the movie didn’t drag. It also had a cute romance and you wanted them to get together.
Conclusion: A cute movie to watch while wrapping gifts
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