Sun Valley, Idaho, has been named America’s Best Christmas Town

Whether it’s Hallmark, GAC, or even Lifetime, we’re dying to know why more Christmas movies aren’t set in Idaho’s quaint and cozy small towns.

So many of them are full of quaint shops, breathtaking mountain views, and delightful holiday celebrations that we couldn’t think of a better place for a big-city heroine to find love with a kind-hearted, small-town Idaho hunk.

READ MORE: The pretty town of Idaho has been named one of the best cities for Main Street Shopping in the US

To the best of our knowledge, only one of these Christmas films was actually filmed in Idaho. GAC, Hallmark’s Christmas rival, aired a film titled A match like it was made for Christmas a few years ago. IMDB explains a strangely familiar storyline:

“Romantic small-town girl Holly and realistic, career-driven Chris aren’t a suitable match, but when Holly’s all-knowing great-aunt brings them together, they don’t have much of a choice.”

Portions of the film were filmed at the Collective Kitchen, the Blackwell Hotel, the Castaway Fly Fishing Shop and the Fort Sherman Chapel in Coeur d’Alene.

Hallmark’s 2023 film I checked it twice It’s about Ashley, a commercial real estate agent in the Big Apple, and Scott, the son of a legendary NHL star who was signed to a minor league team in…Idaho Falls. Although this film is set in Idaho, it was actually filmed in British Columbia.

A town in Idaho that should be in a Christmas movie

Reader’s Digest recently published a summary of the BEST Christmas Towns in America And while the makers of these Christmas movies seem to ignore Idaho, the magazine didn’t! If you scroll down far enough, you’ll see that Sun Valley made the list.

They absolutely loved all the sweet, Christmas-themed events taking place in the Wood River Valley. We talk about everything from wreath-making events and Christmas cookie decorating parties to Christmas pub crawls, tree lightings and pub crawls. But Christmas in Sun Valley wouldn’t be Christmas in Sun Valley without the incredible ice show on Christmas Eve.

It’s just one part of a full evening of fun that also includes a torchlight parade where skiers race down Dollar Mountain with torches in hand, fireworks and free cookies and cocoa.