In the meantime, Nathan and Melinda are starting to hit it off and he even forces a kiss on her. Go get her Sorbo. Nathan lets her know that he has a family member having serious health issues and was dumped by his wife because he was shooting blanks. He is looking for a family and Melinda needs a man. She realizes is when she tries to open a jar of jelly. I’m sure that wasn’t the first time she realized it or the most impactful but a man in the house would have been great to open the jar of jelly. If not a man, she could have run out to the store and got one of those squeeze bottle jelly things and she would have been in business. She does not know what to do and she meets a older female neighbor who she befriends. The neighbor Elsie Waybright is played by Della Reese. Elsie has a basket to put in written requesting asking for God's help for these request. They are prayer request and Olivia puts her request in Elsie's basket. They talk about God and his love. Soon, Olivia sees blue light shining through a window of the old house at night. She is curious and goes snooping. An old lady lives there - Elsie Waybright, a one-time famous singer, Olivia discovers, who chooses to live in seclusion. Olivia also bumps into Dr. Nathan Davis leaving the house one day. She and her mom learn that he owns the house and had lived there at one time. As they all gradually get to know one another over time, and Olivia and Elsie hatch a sort of Christmas angel plan to answer wishes that people drop by in a box they put at the front gate, the mystery of who this woman is, who Dr. Nathan is, who Olivia's teacher is, and the unusual relationship of all of those people, unravels. And that is the key to this film keeping one's interest up. The romance between Melinda and Nathan is a foregone conclusion and is a small part of the story.

But of course "Christmas Angel" features something else, in fact a few things else but what I am on about is the God side as Elsie shows Olivia that some things only God can do no matter how much you want things to work out the way you think are best. And whilst "Christmas Angel" does have a religious side it isn't preachy but instead has a more of a wholesome nature as through Olivia's friendship with Elsie she learns how to be smart but also thoughtful when it comes to others. The latter are so formulaic that one after another of such films seems a repeat or copy with just slight changes from the previous one. Many of these can seem like daytime soap operas, and after a while the films of this type become mundane and hardly interesting. The challenge for these films, to hold interest of viewers is to provide something new and different enough - still keeping their romance theme. As does little Izabela, who, at only eleven years old, has a tremendous presence. I hope the charming, adorable child enjoys an upward surge to her career; she's someone to keep your eye on as the years roll by. She has a great and natural chemistry with all her adult costars, but I don't know if credit is due to her or to the director, Brian Herzingler. Usually, when everyone in the cast gives good performances, I tend to credit the director, who must have helped foster their talent and chemistry. Everyone in Christmas Angel plays very well off each other, from Teri and Kevin's awkwardness to Izabela and Tyler's camaraderie. In the story, a little girl and her friend, Izabela Vidovic and Tyler Humphrey, believe an old, abandoned house in their neighborhood has the power to grant wishes. Before long, everyone in school is shouting their wishes outside the house, hoping they'll be granted by the Christmas Angel. In the meantime, Izabela's mom, Teri Polo, meets the owner of the house, Kevin Sorbo, and sparks fly. Christmas movies, while not strictly a genre of their own, have certainly become a distinct subset of films. Since the late 20th century, Hallmark and more than one other television channel have run movies set around Christmas for the holidays. And, Hollywood produces an occasional Christmas time film. They can cover the full range of genres - comedy, drama, musical, mystery, tragedy, war and Western. The most prolific are the romantic dramas that often include some light comedy.For a while it appears this young girl, played fantastically by an 11 year old Izabela Vidovic, has all the maturity and gumption of someone much older, but Olivia soon overstretches badly. This film is full of good cheer and believable performances. The late Della Reese gives a stan out performance.

Christmas Angel (working title: The Angel Next Door , and titled as Angel at Christmas in the UK) is a GMC original movie that premiered on November 24, 2012. Christmas Angel is one of my favorite modern Christmas movies, one I look forward to watching with my family every year. It's charming, heartwarming, and uses one of the main characteristics of Christmas as the plot: giving. This film does take place at Christmas but its one of those films that is perfect to watch any time of the year. It is very enjoyable and one of those films that makes you feel good about life. I watched this on UP Channel last nice. The story is about a little girl named Olivia played by Izabela Vidovic who wants to help people that need help. She was raised by a single parent. This is not a story about an angel from heaven, or an actual Santa who makes wishes come true through miracles. It is more of a secret Santa trope. But even that doesn't cover it all. There is also a very precocious yet extremely lovable elementary school girl who refuses to stand by and let others suffer if there is anything she can do about it.I almost hate to bring this up because of the antagonism it may generate, but this is a movie that talks about God, with characters, especially Elsie, who know that some of life's problems must ultimately be dealt with by God, whether we like the answers or not. Still, I would not consider the movie to be heavy on the preaching.