Find Your Hallmark Movie Moment in Saugatuck/Douglas
If Hallmark movies are your guilty pleasure (and let’s be real, you know they are), Saugatuck/Douglas is the place to experience your own holiday magic this season. With quaint, snow-covered streets, smiling locals, and enough twinkling lights to make your heart skip a beat, you’ll find an abundance of small-town charm here to live your very own made-for-TV rom-com.
Here in the Art Coast®, you won’t need a dramatic, last-minute career change to reconnect with the holiday spirit or embrace the appeal of life away from the big city. Just stroll down our charming streets lined with quaint boutiques and art galleries, take in the twinkling lights reflecting off the storefront windows, and feel embraced by the friendliness of the locals. Before you know it, you’ll be enjoying the warm, inviting aroma of fresh-baked goods from Malu. or sipping hot cocoa at Uncommon Coffee Roasters while exchanging life stories with strangers-turned-friends.
What makes a Hallmark movie so appealing? According to a New York Times article, Hallmark movie formulas tap into our deep need for predictability and joy. It’s the cozy, tight-knit community where everyone knows your name, the local café where strangers become friends, and the sense of belonging that permeates every corner. Well, Saugatuck/Douglas has this kind of charm on tap. Whether you’re wandering through the Outdoor Holiday Market at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts, exploring the inspiring artwork at the Button Gallery or Water Street Gallery, or savoring a glass of wine at Modales, you’ll feel embraced by the warmth and friendliness of the locals.
The Perfect Setting for Romance (or Just Really Good Pie)
What’s a Hallmark movie without a little romance? Luckily, Saugatuck/Douglas is brimming with opportunities for swoon-worthy moments. Horse-drawn carriage rides? Check. Beautiful sunsets along a frozen lakeshore? Oh yes. Share a candlelit dinner at one of our many romantic restaurants (we’ve got you covered with this list here) or snuggle up in front of a fireplace in a cozy inn after a day of snowshoeing the trails of Saugatuck Dunes State Park. (Here’s our list of lodging where you can toast your toes by the fire.)
Not looking for love? No worries—you can have just as heartwarming an experience with a really good slice of homemade pie from Crane’s Pie Pantry and Restaurant. After all, sometimes the best love story is the one between you and dessert.
Holiday Magic That’s Totally Instagrammable
For those visiting during the holiday season, our towns’ annual events only add to the magic. The streets come alive with holiday parades (don’t miss Saugatuck’s Annual Christmas Parade on December 7), Christmas markets, and tree-lighting ceremonies that bring everyone together. We even have our own Ugly Christmas Sweater Pub Crawl on December 7 where you might have your own “meet cute” moment as you go from bar to bar. (Check out all our holiday events here.) It’s impossible not to feel the holiday spirit when you’re surrounded by this much warmth and cheer. And, while we won’t have the overdone orchestral music in the background, there will be plenty of caroling.
Hallmark-Style Plot Twists, Minus the Drama
You know how every Hallmark movie has that one “will they or won’t they” moment? Don’t worry—there’s no dramatic city-versus-country life decision here, just the laid-back charm of small, coastal towns that will make you want to stay forever. Instead of juggling career dilemmas, you’ll be figuring out if you should stay an extra day to enjoy that wine-tasting tour or catch an ice volcano erupting along the shoreline (Yes, that’s actually a thing here.)
