WORCESTER—A new Hallmark Christmas movie “Letters to Santa” debuted on Black Friday and Worcester residents will recognize several familiar places in the movie. The Hallmark Channel movie was filmed in various locations around the city, including numerous businesses in Worcester’s Canal District.
Nicole DiCello, the owner of the popular whimsical bookstore Bedlam Book Café, was ecstatic to welcome the film crew and cast into her store last April, and watched the highly anticipated movie when it debuted. “I’m just in awe of how my store looked,” DiCello said. “Both the book manager Patrick Warner and I kept saying, “Oh, my god. It looks like the kind of place you see in the movies. And it’s in the movies!” she raved.
This is not the first movie that director John Stimpson filmed in the local community. Back in 2020, he also filmed “Christmas on Ice,” which featured the Worcester Common Oval skating rink as well as DiCello’s shop and other Worcester businesses.
The option to feature DiCello’s quaint book café in another film was an easy one for Stimpson.
“Nicole is great,” he said. “And she was just more than happy to let us come back. Bedlam Book Café just has a great feel to it. It feels cozy. It’s got books everywhere and you know what’s cool? The bookracks are on caster wheels so you can move them around and that made our lives so much easier. It’s a beautiful space.”
The film puts the spotlight on two Boston-area actors who, after receiving a magic pen from Santa Claus, request their most highly desired Christmas gift: for their separated parents to reconcile.
“It’s really cute,” Stimpson said. “We had two kids and a dog in this movie—a puppy. And people always say, don’t work with kids or animals. And let me tell you, it worked out so well. And the kids were terrific. The movie is really charming and I’m really proud of it.”
Stimpson, a long-time resident of Central Massachusetts, was thrilled to showcase the beauty of his city in the movie. “The beauty of Worcester is it can be almost anywhere,” he said. “It can feel like a big city downtown, but you go five minutes, 10 minutes out of town, and it feels like the country. I’ve lived here in Central Mass. for 35 years. This is home to me. It’s my backyard, and I love showing it off.”
As for other Worcester locations that pop up in the movie, restaurant Lock 50 was filmed as the “Mexican bistro” that the family owns in the flick. Another scene was filmed in Bay State Brewery and Tap Room at the Worcester Ice Center. But as mentioned earlier, nothing is more prominent than DiCello’s Bedlam Book Café, 138 Green St., which served as the backdrop for the family’s visit to Santa.
Stimpson was thrilled to be able to highlight the city of Worcester and bring the businesses and the people to life—especially after COVID when businesses struggled, and people had limited social interaction. The film was a nice way to bring people and the community of Worcester together, he explained.
In addition, numerous businesses in the area experienced sharp decreases in sales more recently last month, so DiCello appreciated the opportunity to showcase her business.
“Things have been rather slow this holiday season,” DiCello said, “So, I hope it does help… Word is out, and I think it’s great.”
“The city (of Worcester) has been terrific for us and to us,” Stimpson added. “And people are so friendly and welcoming when we look for locations and ask people to participate. They just love it. So, we don’t have any plans to go anywhere else.”
Stimpson said he loves making holiday movies because they’re happy, wholesome, heartwarming films that are always a family favorite. “You can’t beat going to a location and saying, ‘Hey, we’re making a movie. We sold some to Hallmark and Lifetime. It’s a Christmas movie.’ And, people immediately go, ‘Ahhh, I’d love to help.’”
Viewers can continue to watch “Letters to Santa” on the Hallmark Channel through mid-December.
Matt Olszewski is a freelance content and news writer based in Boston, MA. In his free time, Matt enjoys running, hiking or skiing. Matt is currently finishing up MPH degree program at Tufts University. He can be reached at mattoskier@gmail.com
