Here's Where the Magical 'Swept Up by Christmas' Was Filmed

'Tis the damn season, as Taylor Swift once said. Which means watching all the Christmas movies this weekend (we've been doing this anyway — what else is the month of December for, anyway?). Tonight, Swept Up by Christmas premieres on Hallmark starring Lindy Booth and Justin Bruening, who play an antique dealer named Gwen and cleaner named Reed who are tasked with helping an elderly vet with his famous estate and end up inspiring him to reconnect with his loved ones.

Like almost all Christmas movies, the setting of Swept Up By Christmas is idyllic, set in a snowy place and a mansion so gorgeous it could very well be a portrait. So, where was the movie filmed?

Swept Up by Christmas was filmed in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and finished filming in the beginning of November 2020. This isn't super shocking, as most holiday films are shot and produced in Canada. The climate makes it ideal for holiday movies, since it gets really, really cold (and earlier in the year, too, giving the cast time to film before December — although many will shoot the movie a year prior if it's more involved, like Happiest Season, which was filmed in 2019).

If you can't get enough of the charm of Swept Up by Christmas's surroundings, you can actually visit Hallmark's site, where they invite viewers behind the scenes of the movie. Joshua Cassidy (who plays Mike) also posted some snippets to his Facebook page, where he wrote, "Wrapped filming a Hallmark Christmas movie in Montreal. Huge thanks to all the wonderful cast and crew, grateful for the opportunity and experience. A lot was in place to keep everyone safe during these times. Swept Up By Christmas is set to air on the Hallmark Channel Dec.19"

This isn't to say holiday movies are only filmed for Canada's weather (some are even filmed in the summer). A lot of films are shot in Canada because it's, well, cheaper. According to Slate, it's not super cost-effective to produce movies, especially with exterior settings, in Southern California: "the studios [in California] have highly efficient soundstages and an abundance of skilled technicians, but the unions’ work rules make it extremely expensive to shoot exteriors."

Other financial draws make Canada a more attractive place to shoot movies, including the Film Production Services Tax Credit (16 percent of Canadian labor costs), an 18 percent rebate from British Columbia, and a 20 percent break on digital effects if they're completed in Canada. Considering Hallmark's hefty holiday lineup this year (40!!!), it makes even more sense why they shot most of their movies in Canada. 

Examples of other Christmas movies filmed in Canada include: The Holiday Calendar (Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario), Christmas Inheritance (North Bay, Ontario), Hitched for the Holiday (Fort Langley, British Columbia), Merry Liddle Christmas (Victoria, British Columbia), and more. While it's unclear where the real Hawthorne House is, there are other sets you can visit IRL (perhaps maybe not now, though). For instance, Merry Liddle Christmas is filmed at the The Westin Bear Mountain Golf Resort & Spa, which you can totally book.

Watch Swept Up by Christmas on Hallmark tonight at 10 p.m. EST.