The holiday season is approaching, so of course, I have started crafting my Christmas movie bucket list. So far, I have only watched 37 of the movies on the list, which is about 10 movies behind where I was this time last year, so I have some MAJOR catching up to do.

Culturally, it is widely accepted that ABC Family movies are generally, how do I say this… trash. BUT I have noticed an exception to that rule! The ABC Family Christmas movies are actually, do I dare say, pretty entertaining. Yes, they may be considered trash under normal movie standards (bad special effects, bad actors, predictable plot), but for some reason, and maybe it's the Christmas spirit of optimism, they are held to different standards. Here are three ABC Family Christmas movies that will exceed your expectations:

1. 12 Dates of Christmas

The movie is a Christmas-play-on Groundhogs Day. But instead of going to bed and waking up the next morning, our main character, Kate, wakes up in the middle of a mall (which, may I say is where I would want to wake up) on Christmas Eve. But before we get into that, we’ll go back to the first Christmas Eve (in the movie, not pre-Jesus), where she is set up on a blind date by her father’s wife. She is dreading this date, as she is recently broken up with a gorgeous hunk of man named Jack. But when she shows up, she is met with ANOTHER gorgeous hunk of man, Miles.

In the end, she blows the date as she talks about her ex too much. But the very next morning, her day starts again, and she is seriously #shook. Her process through the 12 dates is entertaining and is not as repetitive as you may predict. The movie is a feel good must-watch for the holiday season.

2. The Mistle-Tones

If you love Christmas music (which should be everyone) and musicals in general, this is the movie for you. It stars Tia Mowry and Tori Spelling, old high school rivals who battle for the right to sing at a mall— a little less exciting than you may think, but competition gets fierce. This movie contains office romance, family drama, and of course, acapella!

3. Christmas Cupid

I’m going to be honest, the only reason I watched this movie in the first place was because it showed up on my Netflix Browse page and featured a picture of Chad Michael Murray, so of course, I was hooked.

This movie is a modern day version of a Christmas classic, with a publicity representative named Sloane as our contemporary Scrooge, visited by one of her recently-deceased clients, Caitlin, played by Ashley Benson. Caitlin takes Sloane through her boyfriend's past, present and future, pushing her to make a decision between her career and true love. Huh, I wonder which one she picks...