Inside the making of the perfect Hallmark Christmas movie aesthetic
Production designers balance dozens of trees, curated decor and digital snow to craft the franchise’s signature winter wonderland.
The look of Hallmark Christmas movies—snow-dusted town squares, warmly lit interiors and a calendar-ready sense of nostalgia—comes from a meticulous, day-to-day design operation. Production designer Daniel Koenig, who has worked on multiple Hallmark features, told The Post that the process begins with a single, reliable prop: a tree on standby for last-minute holiday cheer. “I always have a tree on standby,” Koenig said, noting there’s no such thing as too many trees.
The aesthetic rests on a core set of elements, with trees and garlands forming the backbone of most scenes. Koenig estimates his department cycles through roughly 24 trees per project, with four or five different trees chosen for a typical home set. “You end up using a whole lot [of trees],” he noted, describing the daily reshuffle. “And then, the next day, we’re prepping those trees that would be used for the next location.” The goal, he said, is to ensure every frame looks postcard-quality. Most trees are fake, though real trees appear when a scene is a period piece and will be seen up close, as in “A Newport Christmas.”
The town’s look is adaptable to the script. While the majority of Hallmark films are set in quaint towns, the precise feel—charming, clean, and picturesque—depends on lighting and decor choices. Koenig said he loves a town square and focuses on making it look as clean and beautiful as possible. Day scenes emphasize garlands and ribbons that pop, while night scenes rely on evenly distributed Christmas lights. Sourcing decor can be challenging because shoots often occur outside the holiday season. Stores don’t always stock what’s needed, so the team may order items or borrow from locals.
Location choices also shape logistics. One film, “Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story,” was described as incredibly easy to shoot because Buffalo, New York, offered ready-made winter scenery and seasonal props. Since many Christmas towns look alike, decor is stored and reused across projects, though furniture may be rented because it’s tied to a specific set or script. “Most of the Christmas stuff we put in the storage, and then try to fit it back for the next movie,” Koenig noted, adding that the team tries to hold on to items that will see use again.
Additionally, the snow question: “As time has gone on, we’ve been using less and less fake snow and more digital snow,” Koenig said. It’s cheaper, easier to clean up and easier to edit, though fake snow is still used for large mounds or long walkways. He also joked that fake snow in summer is a sight to behold and tends to delight onlookers.
Even with the reuse of decor and props, Koenig emphasized that the Hallmark look remains a concerted effort to keep every scene visually pristine. Cameras roll in cities across the country, and while some towns may share a familiar feel, the team treats each project as its own creative brief, threading together traditional holiday touches with new textures and seasonal signals in the service of a consistent, postcard-like aesthetic.