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TL;DR: 

  • Kayla Wallace and Kevin McGarry star in the upcoming Hallmark movie My Grown-Up Christmas List. 
  • The real-life couple revealed that, unlike many Hallmark Christmas movies, this one was actually shot around the holidays. 
  • McGarry also shared what he loves about doing Hallmark movies.
Kayla Wallace wearing a red coat and standing in front of a Christmas tree in the Hallmark Channel movie 'My Grown-Up Christmas List'
Kayla Wallace in ‘My Grown-Up Christmas List’ | ©2022 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Albert Camicioli

Kayla Wallace and Kevin McGarry are spilling the beans about their new Hallmark Channel movie. My Grown-Up Christmas List premieres July 9 as part of the network’s Christmas in July event. And unlike many Hallmark holiday movies, this one was actually filmed during the Christmas season. 

‘My Grown-Up Christmas List’ stars real-life couple Kayla Wallace and Kevin McGarry 

In My Grown-Up Christmas List, McGarry and Wallace play Luke and Taylor. He’s a member of the military and she’s a journalist. The two meet when they’re both in town visiting family for the holiday. Their chemistry is undeniable, and the movie follows them over several years as their warm friendship turns into a budding romance. Together, Luke and Taylor work to overcome challenges and achieve their biggest holiday wish of all: spending every Christmas together for the rest of their lives. 

“The different thing about this movie is it’s kind of vignettes,” McGarry said in a Facebook Live on July 7. “It’s a long journey of how they kind of got together and what happens in the end.” 

“I think anybody who’s had to deal with [a] long-distance [relationship] will connect with this storyline,” Wallace said. 

The Hallmark movie was shot during the Christmas season

Most Hallmark Christmas movies air during the holiday season, which means that production often happens during the summer months. But that wasn’t the case for My Grown-Up Christmas List, which was actually shot during the holiday season. 

“Some of the shots are so beautiful,” Wallace said while praising the movie’s director Andrew Cymek. “And it really helped that we filmed this at Christmastime when set [decoration] kind of continued on into the real world … it was Christmas everywhere.”

Filming took place in Ottawa, Canada, which “was already decorated for Christmas,” McGarry added. “What’s also nice is the real snow that happens in this,” he added. Though it was bitterly cold during filming, the actor said that he “would rather shoot a Christmas movie with the natural weather elements.”

McGarry reveals what he loves about doing Hallmark movies   

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McGarry and Wallace are familiar faces on Hallmark Channel. They both appear in When Calls the Heart, which was recently renewed for a 10th season. Earlier this year, they starred together in the movie Feeling Butterflies. McGarry has also appeared in Hallmark movies such as The Wedding Veil, Winter Love Story, and Winter Castle. He weighed in on why he enjoys working for the network.

“I would always say the reason I do these movies … a big part of why I do them, is the people are always great,” he said. “The crew is always fantastic. Everyone’s there to just kind of make the best feel-good movie that they can.” 

“I totally agree that everybody who does all the behind-the-scenes work that viewers don’t get to see, they’re such a huge part of it,” Wallace said. 

“Going to set every day on a Hallmark thing, it’s just so much fun,” McGarry added. 

My Grown-Up Christmas List airs Saturday, July 9 at 8 p.m. ET on Hallmark Channel. 

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