Christine Taylor as Anna Wahl, a cynical journalist on assignment in Mistletoe, a Christmas-themed town complete with resident Kris Kringle, whose demeanor begins to melt as she becomes enchanted with the local residents. Photo: Copyright 2010 Crown Media Holdings, Inc./Photographer Alexx Henry

Holiday movies seem to take on a life all its own. Once these movies have aired they become an annual tradition – especially if they have the name Hallmark attached to it.

Most viewers are well aware of this fact, but not Christine Taylor, who had no real idea of the impact until she signed onto Farewell Mr. Kringle (Saturday, 8:00 p.m. ET/PT, Hallmark Channel). Then all of her family and friends began weighing in on her choice.

“I wasn’t completely tuned into the world of Hallmark, honestly,” Taylor acknowledges. “there have been a few over the years that I remember seeing, but when this came along and I got on the set and the amount of people that said, ‘Do you have any idea…?’ and one of my co-stars said, ‘My aunt collects these movies,’ I really didn’t know that I was getting into such a niche.”

That leap of faith paid off and came at a time when Taylor wasn’t actively looking for a new gig.

“It got me in a great way,” she admits. “I am a holiday person and I love watching certain movies. The kid’s things, the grown-up things…I really love it all. I just felt that this touched my heart…that the message was great. The holidays can become very stressful and emotional, the antithesis of what they should be and I think that this brought it back to what it should be, told in a kind of real and sweet way, but really grounded.”

Taylor is playing Annabelle, a jaded journalist who is sent to a small Christmas-themed town called Mistletoe to cover the seasonal festivities. Naturally, she’s not much interested in the Christmas spirit until she meets the local Santa who helps her recapture her personal joy in life.

“It’s sweet,” she begins adding, “As a mom with two little ones, to be able to work on something that they could watch if they wanted to is great. They’re aware of it all now and it’s nice to sort of include them in on it and let them be a part of it all. My daughter reads and she could read some scenes and it was just a great experience for the family.”

And it will probably be the gift that keeps giving for many years to come.