HALLMARK CHANNEL BRINGS BACK THE UNMATCHED SUCCESS OF "COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS," THE #1 MOST TREASURED HOLIDAY DESTINATION BY TELEVISION VIEWERS

Hallmark Channel is claiming its stake once again as the premier destination for holidaythemed programing by returning its hugely popular and highly successful "Countdown to Christmas" this holiday season. Hallmark Channel has taken ownership of holiday television viewing and has once again gifted its loyal viewers and fans with 12 new Christmas themed, Hallmark Channel Original Movies this upcoming Holiday 2013. In celebrating the magic of Christmas and the joyful season, the network will once again present its unique slate of 24- hours of holiday-themed movies filled with fan-favorites and extra special Hallmark Channel Original Movies. As families gather together to celebrate the magic of the holiday season, Hallmark Channel will bring the love, romance, laughter and entertainment into your homes to make this holiday season the most memorable yet. Hallmark Channel will air the following Original World Premieres as part of "Countdown to Christmas:"

· "Window Wonderland"

A festive holiday tale that brings two very different New York City department store employees together vying for the same high-profile window dressing job. Starring: Grammy(R) Award-winner Naomi Judd, Chyler Leigh, Paul Campbell and Cameron Mathison.

· "Let It Snow"

The story of a driven hotel executive intending to transform a family owned lodge into the new winter, premier hot spot. Starring: Candace Cameron Bure, Emmy(R) nominee Alan Thicke and Jesse Hutch.

· "Pete's Christmas"

A story of an overlooked middle child who is given a special gift on Christmas when he strangely begins to live the day over again and over again, getting many chances to give his family's terrible holiday the doover it deserves. "Pete's Christmas" is part of Hallmark Channel's exciting new Friday night appointment viewing franchise, "Walden Family Theater," presented in collaboration with Walmart, Procter & Gamble, award-winning family entertainment producer Walden Media and fastgrowing independent studio ARC Entertainment. "Walden Family Theater" is designed to further fill the void on TV for quality family entertainment. Starring: Oscar(R), Emmy(R) and Golden Globe(R) nominee Bruce Dern, Bailee Madison and Zachary Gordon.

· "Merry Mix-Up"

An antique shop owner's holiday trip to meet her new fiancé's parents results in a "Merry Mix-Up" when she winds up staying with the wrong family. Starring: Alicia Witt, Mark Wiebe, Scott Gibson, Susan Hogan, Richard Fitzpatrick and Lawrence Dane.

· "Snow Bride"

A tabloid reporter, one gossip scoop away from a big promotion, finds that the influential political family she's been pursuing is nothing like what she imagined. Starring: Emmy(R) and Golden Globe(R) nominee Patricia Richardson, Katrina Law and Jordan Belfi.

· "The Santa Switch"

When Santa decides it's time for a vacation, he hands over the reins to his reindeer to an unassuming dad who needs more than a little Christmas magic to give his kids and soon-to-be ex-wife the best holiday yet. Starring: Academy Award(R) nominee Sean Astin, Ethan Erickson, Anne Dudek, Annie Thurman and Griffin Cleveland.

· "The Thanksgiving House"

When a Boston lawyer inherits a house on what may be the site of the first Thanksgiving, she battles with a local historian to keep it from becoming a tourist attraction. Starring: Emmy(R) Award-winner Lindsay Wagner, Emily Rose, Justin Bruening, Adam Kaufman and Bruce Boxleitner.

· "Fir Crazy"

After losing her job before the holidays, a holiday humbug finds herself in the middle of her worst Christmas nightmare: selling trees on her family's Christmas tree lot. Starring: Sarah Lancaster, Eric Johnson and Colin Mochrie.

· "Christmas Share"

Sparks fly for two new couples when an aspiring musician from small town North Carolina and a New York City adman switch homes for the holidays. Starring: Tricia Helfer, JT Hodges, Mark Lutz and Cristina Rosato.

· "Christmas Star"

With the help of his two precocious kids, a widower reconnects with his high school sweetheart, who just happens to be one of the biggest pop stars on the planet. Starring: Shannon Elizabeth, Steve Byers, Julia Lalonde and Kyle Breitkopf.

· "The Christmas Ornament"

When a widow is having a hard time facing her first Christmas without her husband, she meets a Christmas tree lot owner who tries to help her see that there is still hope and love in the world. Starring: Kellie Martin and Cameron Mathison.

· Christmas - TBD

Gather with your family this joyous season and spend it with the nation's leading holiday destination for heartwarming, family-friendly Christmas movies.

Hallmark Channel, owned and operated by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., is a 24-hour basic cable network that provides a diverse slate of high-quality entertainment programming available in high definition (HD) and standard definition (SD) to a national audience of 87 million subscribers. Hallmark Channel is the nation's leading destination for quality family programming with an ambitious slate of original TV movies and specials, as well as some of television's most beloved sitcoms and series, including The Golden Girls, The Waltons, Little House on the Prairie, and Frasier. The channel is also home to a range of lifestyle programming, anchored by Home & Family, a daily two-hour live show shot in a fully functional house located on the Universal Studios lot. Hallmark Channel's sibling network, Hallmark Movie Channel, available in HD and SD, focuses on family-friendly movies with a mix of original films, classic theatrical releases, and presentations from the acclaimed Hallmark Hall of Fame library.

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