Local business became more than just part of the backdrop for Christmas movie

Photos courtesy of Christmas Tyme

When the film crew for a Christmas movie comes to town, using a Christmas store for some of the scenes seems like a no-brainer. And so Christmas Tyme, the everything-Christmas store on Main Street, found itself jammed full of cast and crew members for one scene in the upcoming Hallmark movie, A Veteran’s Christmas, that then led to two.

Several weeks before filming began, the store was approached about having a scene shot inside. “We got really excited and thought it would be fun so we said sure!” says owner, Anne MacDonald.

Staff spent some extra time decorating the already beautifully decorated store, and dressed the windows for both Christmas Tyme and the adjacent Two Horse Gallery. “They said that they would do it, but that if we wanted to do it ourselves we could because obviously we knew what we were doing,” says MacDonald.

On Wednesday, September 26, about 50 people plus filming equipment were brought into the store. They set up monitors at the back, which is where the director sat, while all of the filming action took place up front. Staff had been warned that filming could run until two o’clock in the morning, but they were pleasantly surprised when it wrapped up before 8:30 p.m.

They crew was “very polite, very professional, and they cleaned up after themselves,” says MacDonald. “We knew it was going to be disruptive to a degree but we just thought we would go with it and enjoy the experience.”

And that would have been it, if not for the store’s warm wooden floors. “When they were here they really liked our floor because they had missed a shot that was done in a barn earlier, so they asked if they could come back the next night and just do one take on that shot.” MacDonald agreed, and was subsequently surprised by the effort even that shot took. “Again, a whole whack of people came. It wasn’t just a simple shot. Nothing is simple in that business apparently. But they came after hours so it wasn’t a problem for the store.”

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Two of the store’s employees—Sarah MacPhee and Dana Baker—also had the opportunity to be extras in the movie, a first for both of them.

“It was thanks to Michelle, our manager,” says MacPhee. “She knew that they were coming to do some filming in the store and she thought how neat would it be to get us girls in there. She knew we would love that. So she talked to the people who were coming in to check out the store and word got back to the casting director.”

The pair were background shoppers for the day. “We learned a lot from some of the other extras who had done this before and they gave us some pointers. It was fun to be a part of it,” she adds. “Everyone was really friendly and sweet and down to earth. It was a really good experience. I would do it again for sure.”

And would MacDonald? She says yes, if the opportunity came up, and adds that it was great exposure for Christmas Tyme. “I think there was quite a bit on social media about the store so people were coming in to see what it was all about. I think it has actually introduced us to some new customers, so that’s good.”

And she thinks it was good for the town, too. “It brought a lot of people downtown that don’t normally venture here for whatever reason, and I think that’s good. It gets all the shops seen and people realize what is down here because there’s a lot of good stuff downtown.”

The movie, A Veteran’s Christmas, will air November 11 on the Hallmark channel.

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