The Cute Story Behind the Hallmark Christmas Movie Inspired by Blake Shelton

Meghan Overdeep
Updated

Just in case you needed another reason to love Blake Shelton and Hallmark Christmas movies, you’ll be delighted to learn that the network’s latest holiday flick was inspired by the country crooner’s extraordinary life.

Time for Me to Come Home for Christmas, which premiered last night on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, is based on the 2012 Christmas song Shelton wrote and recorded with his mother, Dorothy Shackleford, called "Time for Me to Come Home." Shackleford also released a book by the same name in 2013.

And the way the whole mother-son collaboration came about is nothing short of adorable.

"Blake was writing the song for his Christmas album and said he needed help with the second verse," Dorothy recalled to Country Living. "So, I came up with the second verse and that's how the song was born."

Shelton even asked her to sing on the track alongside him.

"That thrilled me but at the same time it made me very nervous because I'm not a great singer," Shackleford continued. "I just about passed out but somehow I got through it."

A year later, the proud mama teamed up with novelist Travis Thrasher to turn the lyrics into a book based on holiday memories of her son. And this year, that book became a TV movie co-produced by Shelton himself.

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In the film, Josh Henderson plays a famous musician (Heath) who is traveling back to Oklahoma for the holidays when he meets a small-town girl (Cara) played by Megan Park. The two hit it off after getting stranded in Chicago together, but fame-related complications nearly ruin everything.

"Heath has some of Blake's personality," Shackleford told Country Living. "He's a little witty, and he's a nice guy. Heath's father has passed, and Blake's father has passed in real life. There are bits and pieces of Blake in it. But mostly all fiction."

For showtimes and more information, visit HallmarkMoviesandMysteries.com.