Discovery+’s New Holiday Film Designing Christmas Is A Fun, Lighthearted Romcom That Embraces All The Possum-bilities Of The Season

L-R Jessica Szohr as Stella, Marco Grazzini as Pablo, and Hilary Farr as Freddy in Discovery+ Original Film Designing Christmas

I’m not precisely a Rom-Com fan but I got off my cross long enough to watch Designing Christmas and I have to admit I really enjoyed it (if the four horsemen of the apocalypse show up tomorrow because of it, sorry about that.)

The film revolves around a home remodeling show called House Sweet Home with cute and as opposite as can be co-hosts, Stella and Pablo, at the helm. When the ratings begin to slip and the show’s upcoming Christmas special is canceled, the production team, scrambling for a way to fix both issues, badger Stella into letting them remodel her grandparent’s historic house that Stella just bought. The nostalgia and attachment to Stella will both boost the ratings and make for the perfect holiday special. While everyone but Stella thinks this is a good idea, Jack, Stella’s fiance, decides to really up the pressure by suggesting they get married on Christmas Eve, at the house, on the show. But no pressure.

Between the problems of remodeling a hundred-year-old home (even when you have the help of a legend like Hilary Farr), and the stress of trying to plan a wedding with a fiance who seems pretty disinterested in everything important to you, cracks that were already in the relationship foundation begin to widen, leaving Stella uncertain about what to do regarding anything in her life. Then, of course, there’s the attraction to Pablo she’s been repressing but before anything goes any further she gets her life back on course and moves forward with the wedding and the race to finish the remodeling before Christmas Eve. It should be noted that Stella is a former structural architecture student who never finished her degree but when a major structural flaw is found during the remod, it’s Stella that gets to take on the big-name architects who were brought in to solve the structural problem, not become one. It’s a genuinely fun but smart and succinct stand-out moment in the movie.

While all of thee above is going on, Pablo is also a massive piece of this festive puzzle. He’s been offered to host a new show, one where he will get to build it from the ground up, and with the renewal living in uncertainty and Stella very much pushing forward with everything but them, he still doesn’t know what he wants to do but never fear, a Mom with great advice is just around the corner to help redirect an over-stressed daughter. As they say, the show must go on and boy did it ever, just without the happily-ever-after. At least one of them.

The show is well written, not too sweet but not too edgy, the storyline is smooth, the characters are engaging and the show doesn’t take itself too seriously and is perfect for holiday family entertainment.

Designing Christmas can be streamed right here on Discovery+.