Christmas decorating is taken to the next level in _Haul Out the Holly: Lit Up_. When a family of reality TV show stars moves to Evergreen Lane and tries to make changes the HOA’s Christmas festivities, a battle of wills ensues. Most of the original cast returns and give more or less the same performances. And the writing is still rather weak; with a formulaic plot and the usual tropes. Still, there are some fun moments and the production crews do an impressive job with the holiday decorations and costumes. _Haul Out the Holly: Lit Up_ is a typical and rather lazy sequel that’s mildly entertaining and not as good as the first film.

Honestly, I thought that this was slightly better than the first one, which I was not expecting. By having a little bit of antagonism from the new neighbors, it felt a little more focused. My main issue with it is the fact that the batshit insane HOA became the _good guys._ Granted, the neighbor "villains" were equally batshit insane, but still. [spoiler]I actually thought the Johnsons were going to end up getting ousted somehow, due to the fact that they're not in the third film. But, nope. They just randomly vanish between the two, I guess.[/spoiler] I find it hilarious that all three of these films make sure to include people of color in the group scenes, but only ever as background extras. Not a single one of them is an actual character with lines. It truly is nothing but performative and empty "inclusion." Why even bother at that point? As with the first film, this is good for a quick dose of holiday spirit. As long as you can handle the copious amounts of cheese.