Two days after returning from the 2025 kickoff of the Hallmark Christmas Experience — four festive and star-studded weekends held near Hallmark’s Kansas City headquarters throughout the holidays — I walked into a meeting with a little extra pep in my step and the word “MERRY” boldly embroidered across a bright red sweater.
I (weirdly) thought nothing of this until walking into that room, where it was immediately obvious to others — wide-eyed and thoroughly amused by my wardrobe choice — that whatever I’d been exposed to the weekend before was contagious. I’d definitely been “Hallmarked,” they laughed, and I literally gasped at the accuracy of their diagnosis.
During several days of wearing all-black, fade-into-the-background garb while navigating my way through 20,000 fans living out their Hallmark Christmas dreams, I’d undoubtedly been bitten by the bug. Journalistic integrity out the window, I was now literally wearing my newfound affliction for all to see and totally uninterested in finding a cure.
When I told longtime Hallmark star Rhiannon Fish this via Zoom days later, she laughed heartily and pointed to the sweatshirt she was wearing — featuring kittens wearing Santa hats. Despite appearing in nearly 20 Hallmark movies and series, that weekend also marked her first Hallmark fan event, and she empathized, “I totally know what you mean! Like, I’m just wearing Christmas cats now and I never want to take this off!”
How I Wound Up in a Storage Room With Hallmark Channel’s Tyler Hynes
EntertainmentNowIt’s impossible to know precisely when the Hallmark holiday spirit fully infiltrated my bloodstream, but my best guess is that it started approximately three minutes after I arrived at the Westin Hotel, where the second annual Hallmark Christmas Experience is being held (there are two weekends left, with tickets available here).
I was already lost, texting the Hallmark public relations rep I was supposed to receive my media badge from, when King of the Hallmark hunks Tyler Hynes appeared before me with a giant bodyguard behind him. Cue the “Hallelujah” chorus! I squeaked out his name and he enveloped me in a hug, grinning as he celebrated the serendipity of getting to be my “welcoming committee.”
For a split second, I wondered if I’d been transported into a Hallmark movie. I’m no expert, having only been reporting on Hallmark Channel for the last three years, but I do know that the hallmarks of a Hallmark hit include everything happening with perfect timing, characters being lost and then suddenly feeling found, and hugs that feel like Christmas morning. Check, check, and check.
EntertainmentNowWhat happened next, though, really threw me for a loop. Knowing the weekend was about to get “crazy,” Hynes said he wanted to quickly find a spot where we could do a quick interview in case we didn’t get a chance to chat later. He then opened the doors behind us, revealing every Hallmark star attending the event, including Benjamin Ayres, Kimberley Sustad, Andrew Walker, Paul Campbell, Robert Buckley, and B.J. Britt.
Though I’d talked many times before with most of the stars in that small room, it had always been virtually, and my brain came to a screeching halt seeing them all at once — sitting in small groups, eating lunch, acting like regular people while looking like rom-com royalty. Most were too involved in their discussions to notice us, but Sustad and Fish got up from their seats for hugs and all I could think was how wildly unfair it was that they both looked like goddesses even without movie set lighting.
I should probably point out here that this tidal wave of star-struckness was a clear sign that I’d already been infected, a victim of the highly contagious swooning that touched every corner of the Hallmark Christmas Experience. I have interviewed or worked behind the scenes with so many celebrities over the last three decades that my friends make fun of me for being so unimpressed by fame. So, feeling faint and tongue-tied in a room of actors was evidence I’d already caught Hallmark Fever. What was happening to me?!
I suspect, standing there in that room, I looked and acted much like Jonathan Bennett did during an improv skit the stars performed as part of the weekend’s many onstage events, as seen above. Despite my deer-in-the-headlights impression, Hynes did not back out of finding a spot for us to chat.
Presenting the Worst (But Also the Best) Interview With Tyler Hynes
With thousands of fans just around the corner, lunch still waiting for Hynes, and little time to spare before the stars were due at their next appearance, The “Christmas Above the Clouds” star went straight to the top, asking Hallmark Media EVP and Chief Communications Officer Annie Howell to find us a relatively quiet spot. Our best option was steps away in a storage room where several staffers had set up a make-shift office, with their laptops out and big grins as Hynes waltzed into the room.
He was his usual gracious self, making sure everyone was okay with us adding to their chaos, and then pulled up a chair for me and proceeded to help set up my camera. This was a first; it is totally not normal for talent to help a reporter set up their equipment, but nothing is ever normal when you’re interviewing Tyler Hynes.
He was going on three hours of sleep, I was still in brain freeze mode from the star-studded room across the hall, and the interview showed it. Looking back on our interview, I got a little bit of info on his newfound love of football and the Chiefs, but other than that, we basically acted like 12 year olds for the next 20 minutes. It gives me a good laugh every time I watch it, and I’m hoping our behind the scenes nonsense does the same for you.
Hallmark Channel Stars Had a Blast Onstage & Off
Giggling with Hynes in a storage room filled with boxes of Christmas ornaments was a surefire way to return home with a bad case of Hallmark Fever, but there were plenty of other moments that were like shots in the arm of holiday joy. Like the multiple times I struggled to steady my camera as I laughed over the hilarity unfolding onstage during multiple celebrity improv skits and festive games.
Throughout that first weekend of the Hallmark Christmas Experience, Hynes’ “Three Wisest Men” co-star Andrew Walker was hilariously risque (by Hallmark standards, mind you), including a moment during the Hallmark Hunks panel (above) when a joke was made about their best angles. He hopped from his seat, turned around and showed off his assets, so to speak — much to the crowd’s delight.
In between Walker’s two consecutive weekends at the Hallmark Christmas Experience, we talked about how fortunate he feels to be able to spend these events having fun with the fans who make it possible for him to keep doing what he loves. He heads back home in between each event to soak up time with his wife and two boys, and then hits the road again. Next up, from December 12 to 14, he’s in New Jersey for Christmas Con.
When not on stage, Walker also loves catching up his colleagues, and said that at the end of the first weekend in Kansas City, many of the stars went out to a barbecue joint, noting, “Robert Buckley is a big foodie, so we were talking a lot about which places to go.” When the stars were in Nashville to kick off Countdown to Christmas in October, they found a burger joint across from their hotel and shuffled in, all dressed up, hungry and happy just to be together.
Witnessing Hallmark Channel Fans Love for the Stars & Each Other Was the Icing on the Christmas Cake
That infectious Hallmark holiday spirit also showed up each time I witnessed a heartfelt connection, from two men in patterned Christmas suits gleefully snapping photos with their favorite stars to countless interactions between attendees, thrilled to meet fellow Hallmarkies and compare notes on their favorite movies, moments, and talent.
As fun as it was to capture the joy onstage among the stars, it was even more heartwarming to watch ballrooms full of people delighting in every story they shared and joke they told. I did not hear a single complaint — only excitement and gratitude from each fan I met as they attended celebrity panels, made Hallmark holiday crafts, shopped the outdoor Christmas market, and watched a massive tree-lighting several times each evening.
On December 6, when Hallmark Channel premiered its holiday special filmed during the first weekend of the Hallmark Christmas Experience with Benjamin Ayres hosting, the sense of wonder, magic and connection conveyed was so representative of what I witnessed there. So when I came home and was told I’d clearly been “Hallmarked,” nothing could have made me happier.
EntertainmentNowAfter some years away from the media, I decided in early 2022 to start writing again after a long cancer battle, during which I promised myself that if I made it through, I would dedicate myself to finding ways to tell more stories that spread a little light in the world.
I never imagined that decision would bring so much light to my own world, leading me to frequently reporting on a network that cares so much about its fans, a fandom that cares so much about their favorite stars, and stars who care so much about everything they do and everyone they touch. Their kindness, joy, and compassion is, indeed, contagious and telling their stories — from the sweet stuff to the hard stuff — is always privilege.
But reporting from the Hallmark Christmas Experience took that admiration for what they do to a new level. That is how I got Hallmarked, and I couldn’t be more grateful.
Love, love this article. I’m glad you had a great time. I too am a Hallmarkie.
Have a Merry Christmas!!
Oops! I too have been Hallmarked. Sorry about the typo