Adopting St. Nick, the new Hallmark Channel Christmas movie starring Amy Groening, Michael Rady, Taylor Blake and Randy Apostle, premieres tonight, Saturday, October 31, at 8 p.m. ET during week three of Countdown to Christmas 2026, and it streams tomorrow on Hallmark+. It is a sweet story about a little girl with no grandparents who gets the most magical adopted grandpa.
Hallmark is skipping the trick-or-treating and premiering a Santa movie on Halloween night. Adopting St. Nick is the middle movie of week three, after Who’s Coming for Christmas? on Friday and before A Danish Christmas on Sunday.
What Happens in Adopting St. Nick?
Groening plays Maren, a busy single mom to her adopted daughter, Leah, played by Blake. Maren runs her late father’s hardware store and spends her days fixing just about anything for the people in town, which leaves her very little time for herself.
When Jolly Acres, a new retirement community in town, starts a Christmas Companions program, Leah jumps at the chance because she misses having a grandfather. She gets paired with Kris, played by Apostle, a jolly resident who looks an awful lot like Santa Claus. At Jolly Acres, Maren meets Reid, played by Rady, who travels from place to place opening new branches for the company. When the contractor for the center’s community room pulls out and the program is in trouble, Maren offers to help finish the job. The more time she spends with Reid, the more she learns it is okay to let people in and accept help. Reid starts to wonder whether he wants his next assignment, since it would take him far from the people and the place that have started to feel like home.
We all know the story between Maren and Reid is the love story, and that is the focus. The real magic in this movie is between Leah and Kris. Leah believes with her whole heart that she can find out whether Kris is really Santa.
Michael Rady is always great in scenes with kids, and this is no exception. His scenes with Taylor Blake are fantastic, but she really shines with Randy Apostle’s Kris and Amy Groening’s Maren. Blake is one to watch. Hallmark fans may know Groening from The Santa Summit and February’s Because of Cupid, and Rady from Cloudy with a Chance of Love and Catch of the Day, which paired him with Emilie Ullerup, the star of Sunday’s A Danish Christmas.
Susan Brightbill wrote Adopting St. Nick, and she makes you believe in magic and in grandparents. I had wonderful grandparents growing up, but I have watched my own kids struggle with not having grandparents in their lives. If a program like Christmas Companions had been around when my kids were little, I would have signed them up in a heartbeat. Jolly Acres is the retirement community of dreams. It is beautifully decorated and full of caring people, even Stanley, and you will see what I mean.
The adoption theme goes beyond Leah and Kris, too. Leah is Maren’s adopted daughter, and by the end, everyone in this movie finds where they belong.
Jeff Beesley directed Adopting St. Nick. He also directed ‘Tis the Season for Setups, which opened Countdown to Christmas this year, and he is behind the upcoming Noel Nomads and Save the Date for Christmas.
How to Watch Adopting St. Nick
Adopting St. Nick premieres Saturday, October 31, at 8 p.m. ET and 7 p.m. CT on Hallmark Channel, and it streams Sunday, November 1, on Hallmark+.
