Cheryl Jenkins (Mowry-Housley) is an astrophysicist who works for the National Science Foundation reviewing grant applications for projects, although she’d prefer to be working on a project of her own. Cheryl heads home to spend the holidays with her family and first on the agenda is a visit to the annual Christmas carnival with her sister Trish (Zarrin Darnell-Martin, “Burden of Truth”). While there, Cheryl sees a carousel in the distance and ventures over to take a ride. But when the revolutions wind down and she returns to the carnival to find her sister, Cheryl discovers that — somehow — it’s five years earlier. Dissatisfied with where she is in life, Cheryl sees this as a chance to change her path by making different choices. As Cheryl navigates her way through her visit back in time, she’s able to connect with her beloved science teacher Ms. Nelson (Ralph), who was an inspiration to her both in and out of the classroom and had passed away several years previously. The time Cheryl spends with Ms. Nelson as well as with her “frenemy” George (Xavier) helps her find a new appreciation for what she’s doing in life and starts to see George in a new light. But when the carousel returns Cheryl to present-day Christmas with lessons learned, will the love she found be waiting for her? Stars Tamera Mowry-Housley, Michael Xavier and Sheryl Lee Ralph.
Lydia, a successful professional organizer, is constantly trying to grow her business, but even her ambition takes a back seat to love when she meets Robert, a frazzled widower with two young children. A toy inventor, Robert is asked to present his new Christmas toy line to a superstore. His challenge is he only has 12 days to get his life and his business in order. Talk about a Christmas rush! Lydia shows Robert that this task goes way deeper than messy junk drawers and encompasses every aspect of his life. While she’s intent on helping him straighten out details he had long ignored, Robert teaches the buttoned-up Lydia that messiness can be a delightful part of life. Starring Catherine Bell and Eric Close.
Joy Holbrook is an intuitive market researcher in DC who has captured the attention of the account’s CEO and is about to get a sweet promotion, just in time for the holidays. She receives an urgent phone call from home and she rushes back to Crystal Falls, NC to help her Aunt recover from surgery and is reunited with her former crush, Ben. To keep her Aunt focused on healing, Joy volunteers to take Ruby’s place with the town’s legendary baking competition, the “Cookie Crawl,” much to the amusement of Ben who knows Joy has absolutely no idea of the Herculean task before her. Though Joy initially refuses Ben’s attempts to “co-captain,” she begins to soften and let him in, all the while remembering that there truly is no place like home. Starring Danielle Panabaker and Matt Long.
