Moonlight and Mistletoe

Plot

Holly Crosby (Candace Cameron Bure) is the daughter of Nick Crosby (Tom Arnold), the owner of Santaville, an amusement park focusing on Christmas, open 365 days a year. Fed up with being the second fiddle of her father, who is devoted to the amusement park with all of his heart and soul, she leaves him in her teenage years. Years later, she is a successful businesswoman in the big city. Also devoted to her work, she does not have a social life. One day, near Christmas, she receives a call from Peter (Christopher Wiehl), her father's employee, informing her he was injured in a sleighing accident. Although she is estranged from her father, she immediately packs her bags and heads back to Santaville.

There, she does not plan on staying a very long time. Her father, on the other hand, is delighted by her arrival and is enthusiastic about spending Christmas with her. This upsets Peter, who notices the coldness of Holly and her lack of interest in Christmas. Holly soon finds out Peter is a guy she met in her teenage years and that she inspired his interest in The Nutcracker. She is shocked to discover that her father is near bankruptcy and that he will lose Santaville. She tries to prevent this, and although she has trouble collecting the finance, she softens up in the process, grows closer to Peter, and remembers the true meaning of Christmas.

One day, she meets Ben Richards (Matt Walton), a seemingly friendly financial adviser who decides to help her save Santaville. This makes Peter jealous, who has secretly fallen in love with Holly. She and Ben help Nick get a silent partner, but Nick is not interested, much to Holly's anger. Upset with him, she decides to confront him with being the second fiddle. He explains that he has trouble dealing with her mother's death and that he has thrown himself on his work so he would not be forced to deal with the grief. They reconcile and he finally allows her to help him.

Holly convinces Nick to sign a partnership with Ben, but she finds out that Ben was only interested in Nick's money and that he tried to set him up. When the Crosbys find out they will have to come up with $50,000 to save Santaville, they start a nationwide promotion for the amusement park. Although a lot of people travel to the amusement park, it proves not to be enough to save Santaville. In the end, Peter saves the day by selling his Nutcracker dolls he has made as a hobby for a large sum. Nick kisses Ginny (Barbara Niven), a devoted employee who always has had a crush on him. In a voice-over, Holly announces that she has married Peter and that she is expecting to have his baby.

Cast

Production

Candace Cameron Bure stated in an interview that she decided to do the film because of the simplicity of its story and that it, according to the actress, grabbed you by the heart. Filming took place in Chester, Vermont, in June 2008. A lot of fake snow had to be brought in to make it seem like it was winter. Bure said that the cast and crew had fun filming a Christmas film in the summer.

According to Bure, the film sparked Tom Arnold's departure from his sarcastic comedy roles. In an interview, she told she enjoyed working with Arnold, calling him a 'comedic genius'.