Anyone who knows me knows that I am a “No Christmas before Thanksgiving” kind of girl. So, when I got invited to cover a Christmas movie before Halloween, I was a little out of my comfort zone. Except it was a Karen Kingsbury movie, The Christmas Ring. I will never say “no” to promoting her work, because everything she writes and produces is done with utmost skill, compassion, and love.

Kingsbury, who now resides in Franklin, Tennessee, incorporates bits and pieces of her hometown, as well as using local actors when possible. 

In Karen Kingsbury’s The Christmas Ring, a military widow (Jana Kramer) falls in love with a poetic antiques dealer (Ben Hollingsworth) while searching for her lost family Christmas Ring, an heirloom that has been in the family since D-Day. Meanwhile, the antique dealer’s loveable father (Kelsey Grammer) has made a discovery that could change his life … and ruin everything.

Directed by Kingsbury son, Tyler Russell, The Christmas Ring is a movie that celebrates the true meaning of Christmas while also honoring military families and paying tribute to those who have lost loved ones in service to their country. In addition to telling a heartfelt Christmas love story, the book and movie were created to unite communities at a time when people’s beliefs often divide them.

Starring in the movie are Jana Kramer (One Tree Hill, Friday Night Lights) as Vanessa Mayfield, Canadian actor Ben Hollingsworth (Virgin River, Code Black) as Ben Miller, and Kelsey Grammer (Cheers, Frasier) as Howard Miller.

Although I knew Kramer as a country singer, her first love has always been and will always be acting. “I’ve been acting since I was 19,” she reported, and has been in multiple movies and television shows. One of her real best friends, Jessie James Decker, whom I also know from the country music scene, plays Vanessa’s best friend, Leigh, and her energetic presence provides comedic relief during a few tense moments. Debbie Winans also made her acting debut as another friend and military widow.

A fun fact is that when Kramer first met her current husband, Scottish footballer Allan Russell, in person after weeks of FaceTime, it was like she was living her own Christmas movie. “I have done so many of them that it was like I was stepping in as an actual character. It was November (In Nashville), and all the Christmas lights were up. I walk into the hotel, and the trees are lit, and there is this handsome man in a peacoat, and he turns around in slow motion, and I was like, ‘Well, I’m screwed.'”

Hollingworth is from Ontario, Canada, and loved the people of Middle Tennessee. But the movie was filmed over three weeks in July, and he remarked how unbelievably hot it was.  As a classically trained actor, what he liked about the movie was that it was about finding love again. ‘Whether you’ve been a widow or you’re getting over a breakup, or if you’re in a tough spot in your current relationship, that’s the magic of Christmas, sometimes it opens up the opportunity to find love again,” he shared.

Kelsey Grammer, who was not present at the premiere, plays the father of Ben Miller. His character is a lovable and curmudgeonly old antique dealer who also needs to be reminded of the true meaning of Christmas. His acting was superb, as expected.

Megan Ashley Brown plays Vanessa Mayfield’s adult daughter, Sadie, who must come to terms with her mother dating again. Seeing Kramer playing Vanessa Mayfield, it does appear that it would be impossible for one so young-looking to have a daughter in college, but their chemistry is good, and their scenes were believable.  Brown stated, “Jana is just the absolute best. She has become a favorite human of mine. We had an instant bond in our mother-daughter relationship.”