Review: "A Dash of Christmas" from Great American Family Bakes Great Values into the Story

 To apply for her dream job at a foodie startup, an executive must learn to bake.  When she recruits a handsome baker to help her, she inadvertently ends up entered in a Christmas Bakeoff.

Starring:  Laura Osnes and Christopher Russell

Image:  Great American Media

My Movie Grade:  A

What Is A Dash of Christmas About?

Megan Blake is an ad executive who finds herself unemployed at Christmas.  Though she is asked to stay on after her company changes hands, it has become too big and filled with redundancies, so she accepts a severance pay and heads to her sister's home to figure out what she wants to do next.

Megan soon finds herself at the top of the list for a new position as head of marketing for a food-based social media company.  There's a catch though--she has to produce a video of herself cooking something impressive in order to prove her knowledge and expertise in the food industry.  This is a problem because she doesn't know much about cooking.

Aaron McBay is a food vlogger and the handsome owner of Hometown Bakery.  Megan signs up for his baking class to learn some tips, and when she explains her career predicament, he quickly agrees to help. 

As Aaron and Megan spend time together, they find there is much more between them than just gingerbread.  Helping Megan land her dream job, however, means she'll leave town.  How can the two of them pursue a relationship yet stay true to their callings?

A Dash of Christmas Aligns with Viewer Values

Great American Family knows their audience.  The network continues to create movies that accomplish their main objective:  fill the void in the industry for family-friendly entertainment with movies that undergird core values of faith, family, and country.  A Dash of Christmas meets all three.

FAITH:  During their Christmas meal together, Megan's sister, Sarah, invites everyone to share their "gratitudes."  It's a way of counting one's blessings.  Sarah says that she is grateful for the true "meaning of Christmas."  People of faith knows what this means--the birth of Jesus--but Great American Family manages to include faith in a way that isn't heavy-handed or in a manner that clobbers people over the head with the bible.  Yet, the message isn't compromised.  It's packaged attractively and used like salt and light.

An extension of faith is one's charity, and the movie isn't short on that either.  Megan and Aaron find themselves competing in a bakeoff, but it's for charity.  Interestingly, because their hearts tackle the competition for the right reasons, they reap personal rewards for their efforts as well.

FAMILY:  Megan feels a little lost in the beginning of the movie, uncertain of which direction to go next.  Her sister opens up her home and welcomes Megan to stay for as long as she likes, and Sarah supports her in any way she can throughout the movie.  Family is always the best safety net in times of trouble.

COUNTRY:  Sarah's husband, Bob, is deployed and won't be able to make it home to spend Christmas with his wife and daughter.  Aaron asks that Sarah thank Bob for his service.  Once again, Great American Family honors our military families for all the sacrifices they make so that we can enjoy our freedoms.

A Dash of Christmas also highlights chivalry--something our culture despises today--and it's one of my favorite parts of the movie.  

When Megan causes Aaron to drop and ruin several boxes of his pastries at the beginning of the movie, he doesn't respond angrily.  Just the opposite.  He extends extreme grace.  When her ride arrives, he helps her with her luggage and opens her car door.  At dinner, he pulls out her chair.

This type of gentlemanly behavior used to be the norm.  It no longer is. Thanks to the ramifications of militant feminism, many women today want to be independent to an extreme.  They show disdain for men who want to demonstrate courteousness from a good upbringing.  Somehow, in the views of these demented and rabid women, it is an admission of weakness to allow a man to do anything for them.  They don't want to "need" a man for anything, and it is very emasculating.  Watching Aaron treat Megan like a lady while she responds with an appreciation for his good manners is a breath of fresh air.

A Dash of Christmas Cast

Laura Osnes has starred on Broadway and in several Hallmark movies.  A Dash of Christmas marks her first appearance in a Great American Family movie--let's hope we'll see her again.  Osnes has a beautiful voice, which is why it's funny when Aaron invites her to go caroling and she says she can't sing.

Christopher Russell, another familiar Hallmark face, debuted on Great American Family in 2021 in A Lot Like Christmas.  In addition to A Dash of Christmas, you can catch him in the December 10 premiere of Peppermint and Postcards (previously titled It's a Christmas Thing) on GAF.  

Amy Groening, who plays Sarah Blake, may also look familiar because she has co-starred in scores of Hallmark movies--always in a supporting role though and never as the lead.  She often plays a fun or quirky character who is quite entertaining, but her role in A Dash of Christmas is a bit more demure than usual.

Paul Essiembre, the judge of the charity bakeoff, has appeared on multiple networks in supporting roles too, as many actors do.  When GAF fans see a familiar face, they often assume another actor has jumped the Hallmark ship, but that's often not the case.  Actors go wherever they find an opportunity.  Only a small handful sign exclusive contracts.

A Dash of Christmas Has All the Right Ingredients

Aaron performs a party trick at Sarah's house when he blindfolds himself and identifies every single ingredient in her Christmas Stew.  

Similarly, after watching a Dash of Christmas, you can catalog all the ingredients that make it the perfect holiday romance!  

If you haven't watched the movie yet, check out the trailer below: