How a Historic House in Connecticut Gave “Christmas on Honeysuckle Lane” the Perfect Location
Christmas may be over, but Christmas movies are a delight anytime. There are plenty of classic Christmas movies for pretty much every taste. The sentimental (or viewers of a certain age) might tell you that there’s no improvement upon Frank Capra’s 1946 classic It’s a Wonderful Life or, just a year later, George Seaton’s seminal 1947 film Miracle on 34th Street. Bob Clark’s 1983 film A Christmas Story immortalized Ralphie Parker (Peter Billingsley)’s quest to secure a Red Ryder Range 200 Shoot BB Gun into a domestic epic, giving proper weight and gravitas to the desire of a child to get the perfect Christmas gift. For those who prefer their eggnog with a bit more kick, a three-year stretch in the late 80s saw back-to-back-to-back classics: Planes, Trains, & Automobiles (1987), Scrooged (1988) and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989). The list is long and getting longer all the time—Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers came out just last year and is already credibly considered a Christmas movie for the ages.
Hallmark Christmas movies deserve special mention. With over 300 films and 30 new ones added yearly, they’ve significantly impacted the communities where they’re filmed. Take Connecticut, for example. The state recently unveiled the Connecticut Christmas Movie Trail, showcasing its popularity as a filming location for holiday movies. Connecticut’s natural beauty and charming towns might surprise those who’ve never visited—neighboring New York gets a lot of attention, understandably, but Connecticut is a filmmaker’s paradise, too. Picture-perfect squares, historic inns adorned with twinkling lights, and quaint shops lining the streets create a scene straight out of a movie set. No wonder so many holiday movies are filmed here.
The Connecticut Christmas Movie Trail features 22 filming locations across the state, from Mystic to New London and Waterford to Bridgeport. One such location is the Silas W. Robbins House in Wethersfield, a picturesque town on the Connecticut River, where the film Christmas on Honeysuckle Lane was shot.
Directed by Maggie Greenwald and adapted by Caitlin D. Fryers from Mary Beth McDonough’s novel “The House on Honeysuckle Lane,” Christmas on Honeysuckle Lane stars Alicia Witt as Emma Reynolds, a driven New York City lawyer who returns home for Christmas after her parents pass away. She plans to sell the family home on Honeysuckle Lane and sell off her parents’ belongings, but fate has other plans. Colin Ferguson plays Morgan Shelby, an appraiser hired to value the antiques. When Emma discovers mysterious letters hidden in her mother’s desk, she and Morgan team up to unravel the mystery, and the Christmas magic begins.
The Silas W. Robbins Bed and Breakfast was the perfect setting for the Honeysuckle Lane home. Built in 1873 by Silas Robbins, owner of the seed business Johnson, Robbins, and Co., the house is a stunning example of Second Empire Style. This architectural style originated in France during Napoleon III’s reign and became popular in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The Silas W. Robbins House exemplifies the style with its mansard roof, wood and brick construction, slate shingles, cast iron cresting, and a grand double-door entryway. Restoration of the historic property began in 2001 and was completed in 2007.
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The Silas W. Robbins house’s rich history and detail made it an ideal location for director Greenwald and her team to portray the house on Honeysuckle Lane. Olga Cherkasova and her husband Dimitry fell in love with the property and bought it, even though they weren’t familiar with B&Bs. “The property was that incredible,” Cherkasova says.
Cherkasova describes the filming process as demanding but richly rewarding. She cherishes the experience of being part of the creative process and witnessing a creative vision come to life, and was impressed by the cast and crew’s dedication and hard work.
“To be a part of the creative team and be involved in the creative process, just being in the group with such wonderful creative people,” she says. “I really want to emphasize how great that experience was to see people that create something selflessly, at four o’clock in the morning, high on coffee (laughs), creating something magical.”
Christmas on Honeysuckle Lane wasn’t just a boon for the Silas but for the entire Wethersfield community. Cherkasova says the filming brought people together, so much so they were willing pitch in and become a part of the film.
“It brought our community together,” Cherkasova says. “Neighbors, local businesses, and organizations—there was so much excitement in town. I was personally so humbled to see my neighbors in this old historical town, with a lot of older people, so excited. It’s a really quiet town, and we’re known as a quiet getaway. The support and patience of everyone was amazing, and it showed how strong our community spirit is. Everyone volunteered to be extras! These were long, sometimes 16-hour days, and people wanted to be a part of it. Everyone came together, and we were happy to create something bigger than ourselves. Again, magic.”
The benefits extended beyond the town itself. The production crew boosted the local economy in ways big and small.
“During Christmas on Honeysuckle Lane, there were almost 100 people on site every day,” Cherkasova says. “Those people needed to eat and to stay somewhere, so the local catering company, the hotels, the shops all benefited. And when the movie came out and highlighted the properties in the movie, all of them but one kept their actual names in the film.”
One of Cherkasova’s biggest takeaways was the work ethic and dedication of everyone involved in filmmaking, from the actors to the tireless crew members behind the scenes.
“We all see the glamorous part of movie making, but I got to see the hard work of the actual crew, the people who are responsible for food or costumes or makeup or equipment or the lighting,” Cherkasova says. “Many people don’t know how hard those people work, how dedicated they are, and how they drop everything to create something magical. It’s just amazing.”
As for what the Silas W. Robbins and the town of Wethersfield offered, Cherkasova feels understandable pride in how camera-ready they all were.
“The only thing they had to bring was fake snow and extra Christmas decorations; the town had everything else the production needed.”
