Where Was Netflix’s ‘A California Christmas’ Filmed?
It's the time of year where holiday movies top the charts, and if the love story doesn't catch you, 'A California Christmas's filming location will.
Dec. 15 2020, Published 10:06 p.m. ET
When the holiday season rolls around, people start feeling festive and fall into their yearly traditions that fill them up with joy. For many people, this means cuddling up on the couch and putting on romantic holiday movies.
If you've already watched A California Christmas, beyond the adorable story, the filming location is a question that's being asked a lot. Here's what we know.
What are the details on 'A California Christmas' filming locations?
Chances are the answer to this question can be found from the title of the movie, but there have been times that has led us astray before. Thankfully, it does mirror the tile of the film and it was shot in California. More specifically, though, the movie's shooting took place in a small scenic town just a bit north from San Francisco called Petaluma.
According to Decider, the majority of the film was shot in Sonoma County, in a home which also happens to be the movie's executive producer and star of the film, Ali Afshar's childhood home. According to IMDb, there have been several movies and shows that have been shot in Petaluma, Calif., including 13 Reasons Why, Basic Instinct, Pleasantville, and American Graffiti, just to name a few.
In addition to filming at the family ranch, the movie also shot several scenes in different places throughout the area. This includes the Hotel Petaluma, a historical building dating back to 1923.
Throughout Petaluma, there are farms, very modern buildings, and Victorian-era architecture, allowing for the film to have eclectic backdrops for different scenes.
The holiday movie, which airs on Netflix, had to do most of the filming under strict guidelines.
According to The Cinemaholic, A California Christmas was one of the first live-action movies that began filming in the United States after the shutdown hit the whole industry due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It started filming in July 2020, and filming took only three-and-a-half weeks to complete.
While it didn't take long to get the film completed through the filming stage, there was a lot of extra preparation work that had to be done in order to follow the strict guidelines enacted to keep everyone safe.
It wasn't easy to get the clearance from the state, the city, or the county officials who needed to sign-off on the filming adhering to the pandemic-placed rules. This was one of the big reasons why it ended up being shot on location of the star of the film, Ali's home, since it was simpler to get clearance for the personal home.
On top of this, the leads in the film — Lauren and Josh Swickard — were able to get so close even with the physical distancing rules in place because they are married in real life.
They were already quarantining together which took out that issue of how to shoot a romance film while keeping distance.
A California Christmas is available to watch now on Netflix.
