Holiday Croons & Hallmark Swoons
“Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose…”
If Christmas had a soundtrack, it would be sung in velvet voices: Dean Martin crooning by the fire, Nat King Cole promising a merry little Christmas, Bing Crosby dreaming in white. Our Holiday Crooners date paid homage to that golden age of yuletide ballads, where nostalgia drips as thick as eggnog.
Our Holiday Croons & Hallmark Swoons day was built entirely around that golden-age soundtrack, paired with the cozy predictability of Hallmark holiday movies and the retro elegance of 1950s entertaining. We began at noon by setting the tone with two props that defined the mood: a Hallmark Channel couples ornament and a vinyl record player stacked with classic Christmas albums. As soon as the needle dropped, the house filled with the warm analog crackle of Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, and Michael Bublé—voices that connected mid-century nostalgia with modern holiday crooning.
Festivities began as we played Hallmark Script Roulette, where one person has to get their partner to guess a made-up Hallmark plot by drawing from one of four bowls at a time to determine the main character (ie: small town baker), who they met (ie: big city CEO), where they met (ie: Christmas tree farm), and what classic Christmas activity they experienced (ie: gingerbread house making). Many were absurd but many were absolutely believable.
Feeling confident with our ability to suss out the components of a true Hallmark film, we played “Hallmark-or-Humbug” where we had to guess whether the plot summary as described by ChatGPT referenced a real Hallmark film or was pure fiction. It was tough, but we were remarkably accurate. It was playful and theatrical in a way that perfectly matched the spirit of the day.
By mid-afternoon, the house shifted into dinner mode. The 1950s-inspired hors deourves cocktail hour was deigned the thheme of elegant spoon-sized servings that would have looked at home at any postwar cocktail party: blue cheese mousse, thyme tartlets, ricotta-stuffed prunes, chestnut-topped foie gras, whitefish salad, and rosemary port-glazed lamb morsels. Each bite was tiny, ornate, and deliberately vintage. And all had whimsical Christmascrooner-inspired names. The cocktails followed the same nostalgic arc—an Ella Fizzy Gerald with champagne and elderflower, a sparkling Bubbly Bublé mocktail, a crisp Dean Martin-i accented with cranberry or rosemary, and a dark, classic Bing Cherry Manhattan. They were smooth, festive, and timed perfectly with the crooners playing through the speakers as dinner unfolded.
The tapas tasting stretched into early evening, and as we ate we leaned into the mid-century mood with more vinyl spinning on the record player, from slow romantic classics to swingy, big-band holiday favorites. After dinner came one of our favorite activities of the entire 25 Dates season: a scripted Hallmark-style mini-movie written by ChatGPT. We plugged in twenty or so key elements of our dating life and how we met and ChatGPT turned it into an elegant, romantic, and remarkably spot-on movie script. Reading it aloud felt like performing our own Hallmark special, complete with dramatic pauses, accidental clichés, and a few surprisingly touching lines.
Dessert kept the 1950s cocktail-party energy going: brûléed marshmallow spoons that tasted like miniature s’mores, peppermint ice cream bonbons dipped in chocolate, and a powdered-sugar-dusted chocolate cake with a touch of Sinatra swagger. The night as wsa predictable from the outse.. with a viewing of a Hallmark film. We watched “Ghost of Christmas Always”, which had all the swooner vibes but also fit perfectly with our vintage 1950s style vibe.
By the time the credits rolled, the entire day had blended music, nostalgia, romance, and play in a way that felt seamless. It was a tribute not only to the crooners who defined Christmas for generations, but also to the reliably comforting world of Hallmark storytelling, where love always finds its cue, snow always falls on time, and the final scene ends with a perfect glow. Our own night—filled with music, tiny bites, vintage cocktails, old-fashioned charm, and plenty of laughter—felt like the kind of story even Bing or Ella might have sung about.
Activities
Hallmark Script Charades Roulette
Chatbot Hallmark Script Starring Ben & Bekah
Vinyl Records
“Hallmark Channel” Ornament
“Ghost Of Christmas Always “Screening
Menu
"I'll Have a Blue Cheese Christmas" - Blue cheese mousse on crostinni
“It’s the Most Wonderful Thyme of the Year”– Goat cheese & thyme tartlet bites.
"Croons & Prunes" : Ricotta Sage Honey Stuffed Prunes
“Roasted Chestnuts on an Open-Faced Foie” - Roasted chestnut crumbles onfoie gras
“I’m Dreaming of a Whitefish Christmas w/ Nat King Cole Slaw”
“Have Yourself a (Rose)Merry Little (Christmas) Lamb”
“It's Marshmallow World in the Winter” – Spoon of marshmallow fluff brûléed on top.
“Burl Ives-Cream Bites” – Peppermint ice cream bonbons dipped in chocolate.
“Sin-atra-fully Good Chocolate Cake” Fudge cake with powdered sugar
“Ella Fizzy Gerald” – Champagne + elderflower + citrus sparkle.
“Bubbly Bublé” – Sparkling mocktail version of the Ella Fizzy.
“Dean Martin-i” – Gin martini with a festive cranberry or rosemary twist.
Bing Cherry Manhattan – Rye, sweet vermouth, Bing cherry.
