Get To Know The Programming Team Behind Great American Christmas! We Want To Get To Know You Too!

By Sabrina Novacov

Great American Christmas is almost here, and we couldn’t be more excited to share 18 brand-new Christmas movie premieres with you! As we get ready to celebrate another unforgettable season, we wanted to take a moment to introduce you to some of the amazing people behind the movies you love. From the stories we bring to life to the people who work behind the scenes, so much heart, creativity and passion goes into every Great American Christmas movie. Most of all, we’re incredibly grateful for you—our amazing viewers—whose support, enthusiasm and love for these stories make this season so special. So, grab a cup of hot cocoa and get to know the people behind the movies as we celebrate Great American Christmas together!

President & CEO of Great American Media, Bill Abbott

1. What’s your favorite Christmas tradition?    
   Hanging all of my outdoor lights!
2. What is your all time favorite Great American Christmas movie?
   The Christmas….Present, or Hot Cocoa Christmas
3. What is your favorite Christmas song?       
   I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
4. What is the best gift you have ever received from someone for Christmas?   
   A hug
5. What’s your favorite Christmas recipe that you look forward to making this year?
   Pizza

Chief Revenue Officer & EVP of Programming, Kristen Roberts

1. What’s your favorite Christmas tradition?

Making pancakes (in Christmas shapes) after opening presents. We've been doing it every year since our kids were born.

2. What is your all time favorite Great American Christmas movie?

A Christmas Miracle for Daisy

3. What is your favorite Christmas song?

Jingle Bell Rock

4. What is the best gift you have ever received from someone for Christmas?

Any of the gifts my kids made me when they were little, I still have them all!

5. What’s your favorite Christmas recipe that you look forward to making this year?

The one I'll look forward to the most is making Christmas cookies!

Chief Brand Officer & Chief of Staff, Kaitlyn Haubrich

1. What’s your favorite Christmas tradition?

Quiet Christmas Morning with my family between the bigger festivities of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!

2. What is your all time favorite Great American Christmas movie? 

Christmas Time is Here!

3. What is your favorite Christmas song? 

The Christmas Song

4. What is the best gift you have ever received from someone for Christmas?

My favorite Christmas gift was seeing my one-year-old son’s pure excitement when he opened his first Christmas gift last year - a banana and an avocado!

5. What’s your favorite Christmas recipe that you look forward to making this year?

VP of Programming & Development, Allison Kendrick

1. What’s your favorite Christmas tradition?

Going to candlelight Christmas Eve service with family.

2. What is your all time favorite Great American Christmas movie?

I have to pick just one?! I think I have to go with A Christmas Prayer.

3. What is your favorite Christmas song?

Anything sung by Frank Sinatra

4. What is the best gift you have ever received from someone for Christmas?

My husband gave me a full New Testament commentary set. It was our first Christmas as a married couple, which made it even more special.

5. What’s your favorite Christmas recipe that you look forward to making this year?

Every year we make butterball cookies - an old family recipe!

Programming & Development Manager, Sabrina Novacov

1. What’s your favorite Christmas tradition?
Our annual gingerbread house competition in our pajamas on Christmas morning! There’s something about staying cozy in pajamas, turning on Christmas music, and getting everyone together around the table to decorate gingerbread houses that makes the morning feel extra special. They’re never perfect, but that’s part of the fun, and it’s a tradition I always look forward to.

2. What is your all-time favorite Great American Christmas movie?
A Very Arctic Christmas, which is premiering in Great American Christmas 2026! I loved the winter setting, and the polar bear storyline was such a fun addition. It was one of those movies where I was completely invested from beginning to end. It had everything I love about a Great American Christmas movie—the romance, the beautiful setting, the heart, and plenty of Christmas fun.

3. What is your favorite Christmas song?
“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” I love how calming and nostalgic it feels. There’s something about hearing it during the Christmas season, especially on a snowy day, that makes me want to slow down and really take in the moment. 

4. What is the best gift you have ever received for Christmas?
The gift of family and amazing friends. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that the best part of Christmas isn’t necessarily what’s underneath the tree, but who you get to spend the holiday with. Being surrounded by the people I love, making memories together, laughing, and celebrating the season is something I’m incredibly grateful for every year.

5. What’s your favorite Christmas recipe that you look forward to making this year?
Cranberry apple pie! I love the combination of the sweet apples with the tart cranberries, and there’s nothing better than the smell of a healthy pie baking during Christmas.

Programming & Development Manager, Natalie Zadrima

1. What’s your favorite Christmas tradition?    

Exchanging gifts with my cousins and going to Midnight Mass!

2. What is your all-time favorite Great American Christmas movie?    

Home Sweet Christmas

3. What is your favorite Christmas song?    

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

4. What is the best gift you have ever received from someone for Christmas?    

My very first MacBook – which got me interested in all things filmmaking!

5. What’s your favorite Christmas recipe that you look forward to making this year?    

I make a Christmas cheesecake topped with candied cranberries that everyone begs me for all year long!

Programming & Development Content Coordinator, McKenzie Burke

1. What’s your favorite Christmas tradition?

My favorite Christmas tradition is my family’s annual Christmas cookie day! My mom, sisters, cousins, grandma, and aunts all gather to spend the day listening to Christmas music, baking cookies, and ending the day by exchanging all the cookies we’ve made. We have our signature cookies that we make every year, but we always like to add a few new recipes to the mix and try out some new cookies!

2. What is your favorite Great American Christmas movie?

This is truly a very hard question because there are so many that I love to watch! Right now, I would have to say Timeless Tidings of Joy. I think this movie is so much fun and has so much heart. The cast is great, and I love that we get to go back in time to 1945. It has so much of that Christmas warmth that I love and think is so important in a Christmas movie. I would absolutely recommend it to anyone who hasn’t watched it yet!

3. What is your favorite Christmas song?

My favorite Christmas song would have to be Bing Crosby’s I’ll Be Home for Christmas. What makes it my favorite is that no matter where everyone in my family is throughout the year, there’s always that guarantee that we’ll all be home for Christmas. I love that feeling of knowing that Christmas brings everyone back together.

4. What is the best gift you have ever received from someone for Christmas?

When I was growing up, my parents would gift my siblings and I something we could all enjoy together. One year, they gave us a trampoline. I was about 7 years old, and I think it was the most excited I had ever been about a gift! I have so many wonderful memories with my siblings of being outside in the freezing cold winter, jumping on that trampoline. We shared so many laughs and some of my favorite memories together on that trampoline!

5. What’s your favorite Christmas recipe that you look forward to making this year?

My family and I love to bake, as you can probably tell from question 1! Another thing we make every Christmas is homemade apple pies. We like to have them ready for Christmas dessert and serve them warm with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. I always look forward to making them, and especially eating them, on Christmas night!

We want to get to know you, too! Share your favorite Christmas traditions, movies, songs, gifts, and recipes in the comments below. Let’s celebrate what makes Christmas so special to each of us, together!

Make Great American Christmas part of your Christmas tradition! Sign up for Great American Pure Flix and enjoy new Christmas movie premieres every week, filled with faith, family, romance, and plenty of Christmas cheer. Gather the family for a movie night and celebrate Christmas as it’s meant to be with us!