HALLMARK CHANNEL'S "COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS" IS BIGGER THAN EVER

SANTA SEES A MATCH MADE IN HOLIDAY HEAVEN WHEN LACEY CHABERT, FLORENCE HENDERSON AND JOHN RATZENBERGER STAR IN "MATCHMAKER SANTA," A HALLMARK CHANNEL ORIGINAL MOVIE WORLD PREMIERE, HOLIDAY 2012

Romance is in the (holiday) air when Lacey Chabert ("Mean Girls," "Party of Five") stars in the Hallmark Channel Original Movie World Premiere "Matchmaker Santa," premiering Holiday 2012. In the film, also starring Florence Henderson, John Ratzenberger, Adam Mayfield and Donovan Scott, Chabert stars as a bakery owner who hopes to whip up a holiday engagement with her busy boyfriend, but finds an unexpected new love when a mysterious mall Santa doubles as a meddling cupid. Hallmark Channel's "Countdown to Christmas" is the biggest holiday destination on television, premiering more original holiday programs than any other network.

As a little girl, Melanie Hogan (Chabert) wished to find her own prince charming just like her parents found true love. Now an adult, Melanie is running her own bakery and dating a handsome CEO, Justin (Thad Luckinbill). Although things seem perfect when Justin asks Melanie to spend the holidays together at his beautiful lake house upstate - and meet his mother. Melanie finds herself spending more time with Justin's best friend and loyal assistant, Dean (Mayfield), who just might be harboring a secret crush on her. Justin secretly plans to throw a corporate Christmas party at the lake house to impress the team, using Melanie to make him look good. He flies up early to set up and relies on trusty Dean to pick Melanie up from the airport. Soon the magic of a man named Chris (Scott) - a happy guy with a resemblance to Santa determined to fulfill Melanie's childhood Christmas wish - puts the duo under his holiday spell. Melanie and Dean find themselves stranded in beautiful Buford Falls for Christmas with Chris - and without Justin, who has begun to occupy his time at the lake house with an old flame. John Ratzenberger plays George, a mechanic in town, and Florence Henderson is Peggy, the innkeeper who does her best to get Melanie and Dean together.

"Matchmaker Santa" is a Mediapool Production in association with Larry Levinson Productions. Larry Levinson is the executive producer. Lincoln Lageson is the producer. David S. Cass, Sr. directed from a script by Joany Kane.

Hallmark Channel, owned and operated by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., is a 24-hour basic cable network that provides a diverse slate of high-quality entertainment programming available in high definition (HD) and standard definition (SD) to a national audience of over 87 million subscribers. The top-tier program service is distributed through approximately 5,500 cable systems and communities as well as direct-to-home satellite services across the country. Hallmark Channel is the nation's leading destination for quality family programming with an ambitious slate of original TV movies and specials, as well as some of television's most beloved sitcoms and series, including The Golden Girls, Frasier, Little House on the Prairie, and The Waltons. Since 2010, Hallmark Channel has also been home to original daytime lifestyle programming and is debuting two new daily series, Home & Family and Marie, on October 1, 2012. Hallmark Channel's sibling network is Hallmark Movie Channel, also available in HD and SD, which focuses on family-friendly movies with a mix of classic theatrical films, presentations from the acclaimed Hallmark Hall of Fame library, original Hallmark Channel movies and special events.