Before we dive into  Guess Who’s Coming To Christmas, I need to give a well deserved shout-out to my friend, a fellow Hallmark movie lover and the newest Hallmark blogger on the block, Lisa from Girl Gone Hallmark!!!   Last Thursday as I was trying to edit photos and publish a post, I discovered that my Pic Monkey editing program had recently been updated with a “new and improved” program, which is really just code for “you’re bound to have trouble”.  There was a glitch and I was unable to do what I needed, which prevented me from getting this post out.  On a whim, I reached out to Lisa because a) she is a young, hipster techie and b) I remember her mentioning she is a graphic artist.  I took that to mean she knows a thing….or ten…about all the tech stuff I do not know and guess what?  I was right! She helped me to find a solution to my editing drama and boom, I was back in the blogging biz.  So today’s post is dedicated to you, Lisa.  THANK YOU for your endless support of this blog and for helping an (older) gal out!  Be sure and check out Lisa’s website.  She reviews Hallmark movies and has created an incredible database of Hallmark movies for you to search, going as far back as 2014!!!  Did you forget the title of a movie?  Don’t worry, she’s got ya covered.  Check out Girl Gone Hallmark and send her some Hallmark love.

Today’s location story began earlier this year.  As I mentioned last week in this story, back in March, I met Ellie Harvie when she was filming Hallmark’s It’s Christmas, Eve.

While chatting with her, I mentioned that I loved UP’s 2013 film, Guess Who’s Coming To Christmas, and told her how much I enjoyed seeing her playing the mom in that one.  The movie is one of my all-time-fave Christmas movies (for sure in my top 15) and is one that I watch over and over…..and over!   What can I say?  I just love it!!!  From UPtv:

“A jaded rock star, in order to repair his tarnished image, publicly agrees to fulfill a kid’s Dear Santa Christmas wish. To his dismay, he ends up agreeing to spend the holidays in small town America and performing in the local holiday Christmas concert.”

I really wanted to locate the house that was used in the movie, so I asked Ellie if she remembered what city it was in.  Personally, I thought it might be in Maple Ridge because other filming took place there (I recognized the church and the town scenes) so it seemed like a great place to start.  Ellie could not recall for sure what city it was in (after all, it was filmed back in 2012) but she did remember that the house was located on a busy road and that it was on a corner.   (great clues, by the way!)  When we were talking, I could tell she was really trying to remember the city but as we know, she does a lot of filming and my guess is that these locations sort of run together at some point.  Anyhow, I was happy for any tidbit of info that would help me to locate the house.

By summertime, I was in full-on, Christmas film location mode.  And I had a growing number of places on my “Still Looking For” list that I was determined to find, including the Mrs. Miracle house and the Guess Who’s Coming To Christmas house.  I reached out to my friend Janelle to see if she knew of the movie, which stars Drew Lachey.    Although Janelle lives in Langley now, she lived in Maple Ridge for 23 years and still works there.  Unlike me, she is VERY familiar with the area.    I sent her a screenshot of the house and just like that, the great search began for what became known as the “Drew Lachey house”.

I spent HOURS on Google Street View, and I do mean HOURS!!!  I looked in Maple Ridge, Langley, Pitt Meadows, and beyond and Janelle actually had eyes on Maple Ridge, since she is there for work.   One day I met up with her in Maple Ridge and we drove all over, checking out my super long list of film locations and hoping we would randomly drive past the “Drew Lachey house”.  (good one, right?)  But, no such luck.  After that, I got even more serious with my efforts and bought a copy of the movie, with the hope that I would discover something I might have overlooked before.  And still, nothing.

I did an interview at a florist in Maple Ridge (which I still need to post) and afterwards, Janelle and I met up again so I could snap some photos of the Guess Who’s Coming To Christmas/Yes, I Do church.   Of course, our eyes were peeled for the “Drew Lachey house” and I wholeheartedly believed we were going to pass by it one day in our travels.  As we left the church, I noticed a filming sign and we decided to check it out.  Then the craziest thing happened.

The street looked familiar to me, like I had been there before.  Well, probably because I had!  (duh!)  The house that was being used for filming was the While You Were Dating/The Art of Us/Christmas in Evergreen house, which I wrote about here.   Coincidentally, I had brought with me a little gift for the homeowner, a Magnolia tea towel that I had purchased for her from The Silo’s in Waco, Texas last December.  (what can I say….we both enjoy Fixer + Upper!)  I was planning to drop it off for her later in the day and now here we were, at her house!  I asked if Noreen was there and was told the family had gone out of town during filming.  And then (of course) I asked what was filming and was told it was Lifetime’s Christmas Toy Swap, which will air as A Twist of Christmas.  I was aware of the movie title and knew that David Winning, who I wrote about meeting here, was directing.  And as if this wasn’t already a little bit crazy, guess who was starring in Christmas Toy Swap????  Anyone????   LACHEY!!!!!  No, not Drew, but hey, close enough…..his sister-in-law, Vanessa!   You know, Nick’s wife!!!  OH, EM, GEE this was all so wonderfully weird!!!  I just wish we could have connected all the dots.  Filming was going on inside, so we never even got to say hi to Vanessa, let alone beg her to call Drew to find out where the heck that house is located.  LOL.  Even now, I still think back to that day and shake my head at the absurdity of it all.  But oh my gosh, it was fun!

I’ll admit it…after that, I became a little obsessed with finding the house.  Ok, ok…. you got me.  I was VERY obsessed with finding it!  It didn’t help that I was hot-on-the-prowl for the Mrs. Miracle house too, as well as another random house I’d scene in two Christmas movies last year……all three of these locations and I wasn’t anywhere close to finding just one of them!  So, I reached out.  I sent out an SOS of sorts, to some folks involved with production.   (insert radio silence)  And when that didn’t work, I threw out one last Hail Mary and BAM (think Emeril Lagasse), I learned the house was in Langley and given an area to search.  And search I did.  Within minutes, I was FINALLY staring at the “Drew Lachey house” (well, via Google Street View) and I finally had a little peace in my life, and one less location on my “Still Looking For” list.

Within a week, I made my way north and crossed the border to take some photographs.  This is always the uber-cool part, especially after a difficult location search.  Just as Ellie had said, the “Drew Lachey house” sits on the corner of a semi-busy street.  And if I’m being honest, it is extremely doubtful that I would have been able to find it on my own.  Although I have been all over Langley, this stretch of town was new to me.  The house is on a piece of property and although you cannot see the whole thing from the road, you can see enough of it to know that it is THE one!   As always, I felt such a sense of excitement when I went to take my photos.  Because of the frustration of this search, it was incredibly tempting to knock on the door and shout, “I found you”!!! But instead, I just took it all in and dealt with my excitement in a much more civilized manner.  The place looks just like it did in the movie, right down to the paint color, and I am over the moon that I finally scratched the “Drew Lachey house” off my list, exclamation point!

Many thanks to Ellie Harvie for the clues you provided.  And to Janelle, thanks for the all the time and effort you put into searching for this location.  We sure know how to have fun, girl!!!

Wanna buy the movie?  Please consider making your purchase through the link below.  You always pay the same price and I earn a few cents commission, which directly helps to offset the cost of this website.  Thank you!

If you havent seen Guess Who’s Coming To Christmas, it will be re-airing in December on UPtv.  The website currently shows December 1st and 7th.

There are a many new movies premiering all week on both the Hallmark Channel and the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel.  Be sure to check your local listings and get your DVR set!!!.

A Word On Sources:

Recently, a major media outlet used details from my blog in one of their stories but did not credit my website as their source.    I’d like to point out that up until I published these details in my blog post, they had not been released anywhere else online.   Nowhere.  I  immediately contacted them and called them on it.  While they did eventually place a link to my site, it was very disheartening to say the least, given their brand, and the fact that I work tirelessly to uncover my own information.  (and remember, I’m just the little guy)  As you know, not only do I find these film locations but I also visit them in person.  From time to time I do use information from sites such as IMDB or my personal fave, my friends over at What’s Filming.   And whenever I do, I ALWAYS state these details in my posts.  Since I’ve become more and more familiar with BC, I like to play a little game with myself when I do my searching these days.  I try to find a location on my own before checking anywhere online, including the two sites mentioned above.  It keeps my skills up and my brain sharpened.  After all, I do have the reputation of #Hallmarkdetective to keep up….LOL! (thank you KathyB)  I would also like to point out that I do receive tips and/or film location information from sources that wish to remain anonymous.  (case and point, today’s post)  I always honor this and never disclose my sources.  Ever.  In light of this recent incident, I would like to publicly thank Stephanie over at Heavy.com, who has consistently linked to my blog as a source in several of her Hallmark film locations posts.   I truly appreciate that Stephanie!  I think you should plan a visit to BC and I will personally escort  you to all your fave locations.  (go on, book it, Dano!)

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