Free-spirited Poppy (Ashley Williams) never sticks at a job for long but when she is hired as a temporary nanny by workaholic Ryan (Sam Jaeger) to look after his young children Zoe (Hannah Cheramy) and Zach (Kiefer O’Reilly) she finds something she’s good at and maybe even loves.

October Kiss is a Hallmark original movie and it’s a very cheesy seasonal movie but I couldn’t help but find it somewhat endearing. October Kiss is Halloween overload. There’s so many decorations, pumpkin carving and costumes (some of which look really rather good) that it’s sometimes a little overwhelming for a Brit who’s never had a “proper” Halloween.

The cast is good and I was pleasantly surprised by the child actors – they never really feel like they’re over-acting. The chemistry between Williams and Jaeger isn’t always there but when they are with the kids it does feel like a real family as everyone slots into place.

There’s a lot of the usual tropes here but it somehow doesn’t manage to be grating. There’s the absent father, the miscommunication and the perceived threat of a new girlfriend/mother for the children in the form of Ryan’s work colleague Abigail (Miranda Frigon). It’s all rather predictable but it’s still a pleasant watch.

That just about sums October Kiss up. Nothing ground-breaking, an easy-watch and one of the better seasonal films I’ve seen. 3/5.