Hallmark’s A Danish Christmas: Emilie Ullerup Brings Copenhagen, Hygge and Her Own Family to Hallmark

What A Danish Christmas Is About

Ullerup plays Marie, a hotel tech executive in Chicago who heads home to Copenhagen for the holidays and puts herself to work at her family’s Andersen Inn. When a guest named Ryan Miller, played by Sevier, checks in, a case of mistaken identity convinces Marie he is a travel writer. Ryan is expecting the inn’s Christmas tour, but the Andersen Inn has not offered it since Marie’s father passed, so she scrambles to put together an itinerary that will impress him.

The stakes go up when Marie’s mom says she plans to sell the inn after the New Year. A glowing story could boost business and change her mind, so Marie takes Ryan on a carefully planned tour of Copenhagen and goes all out to create hygge at the inn. Both efforts lead to a few festive fiascos, but the two grow closer along the way. Then the real Ryan Miller, the journalist, arrives. That sends Marie into overdrive to give him the perfect Danish Christmas, and along the way she learns that warmth, connection and maybe romance happen on their own. You cannot force them.

How Emilie Ullerup Brought a Real Danish Christmas to Hallmark

This is Ullerup’s first time producing for Hallmark. In a Q&A shared by Hallmark, she said producer Linda Corolei, who she had worked with before, called with a dream of making a movie about Denmark and hygge. Hallmark loved the idea, and within three weeks they had a script and were on their way to Denmark.

“From the start, I knew we had to film in Denmark in December. You simply can’t recreate the magic of Christmas in Copenhagen especially when the lights, decorations, and atmosphere are so special. As a first-time Hallmark producer telling a story about my home country, I wanted to make sure we captured it authentically. After all, how often do you get the chance to make a Danish Christmas movie?”

She worked with writer Juliana Wimbles to tell the story through the eyes of a newcomer, so viewers discover Danish traditions alongside Ryan. Ullerup wanted customs Danes would recognize, like dancing around the Christmas tree and leaving porridge for the little Christmas elf who lives in the attic. To capture hygge, the team leaned on warm lighting, candlelight and natural decorations. Food plays a big part too, from traditional pastries to the Christmas lunches Danes share all through December and Danish mulled wine.

That mulled wine won over her costar. “He was nervous about trying the mulled wine, and then he took a sip and was completely sold,” Ullerup said of Sevier, who was seeing much of Denmark for the first time just like his character.

The cast and crew spent the first couple of weeks at an old manor house that stood in for the family inn before moving into Copenhagen. Filming on the streets where she grew up hit her hard. “There were moments when I was overwhelmed with emotion. I grew up on these streets,” she said. One of the last filming days took the crew up a narrow church tower staircase for a view over the city, and Ullerup admitted, “despite growing up there, I’d never been to the top!”

Keep an eye out for her family, too. Ullerup’s mom, sister, nephew, cousin and her cousin’s son all appear in the movie, along with her husband, who Hallmark viewers may recognize from Chesapeake Shores.

“It really was a family affair! My mom, sister, nephew, cousin, and her son all appear in the film, along with my husband, whom Hallmark viewers may recognize from Chesapeake Shores. My cousin even plays my boss in the opening scene! My dad politely declined. Since I rarely get to film near my family, I thought, why not bring them along for the fun?”