Sixteenth birthdays are always special, but junior Nate Malock got to celebrate his early, and in a big way: on a cruise where he was one of the featured passengers in a Hallmark Channel TV docu-series.
Malock and his two grandmas had been chosen, along with four other sets of families or friends, to be featured in the four-part, unscripted Christmas at Sea docu-series during a cruise last November, in advance of his December birthday. Stars from some Hallmark Channel movies were also on the ship and participated in many cruise events.
“I felt like I was living in one of their movies,” Malock said.
One morning, Malock woke up to a Facebook video posted by Hallmark movie actress Erin Cahill in which she said, “Nate, you are such a good grandson. We all love you, and we are all inspired by you.”
Cahill met with Malock, sent videos out to Malock’s family, and went on a FaceTime call with his mother.
“I’ve seen her on screen, and then I could see her there in person,” Malock said. “It was awesome.”
Then others on the cruise heard about Malock’s upcoming birthday.
“The [Christmas] stocking on my door kept getting filled with gifts, and even the ferry captain wished me a happy birthday,” he said.
The idea for the Christmas at Sea TV series was to give Hallmark Channel fans everywhere a chance to experience the cruise, Executive Producer and Showrunner Trish Gold said. Hallmark also wanted to give a few cruise passengers a chance to have their own stories and cruise adventures featured in the docu-series.
Malock and his grandmas, Cathy Zora and Carol Malock, were going on the cruise to celebrate his birthday early. Malock’s grandmothers have been Hallmark Channel movie fans for years. Carol Malock said she has been watching them for about 20 years, and Zora said she has been a fan for about 30.
Out of all applicants, Malock and his grandmas were chosen to be among the five featured groups in the series, Gold said.
“Nate went through the casting process, along with hundreds of others,” Gold said. “After some interviews and phone calls, I scheduled a video call with Nate and his grandmas to let him know we wanted to cast him. They were thrilled and had such a genuine reaction of surprise and delight.”
The trio stood out to Hallmark because of their close connection, she said.
“Their story is really sweet and unique. I had never met a 16-year-old who was as close and hung out with his grandmas – who are also best friends with each other – as often as Nate,” Gold said. “You could see their genuine bond and the joy they had when they were together making memories and indulging in traditions.”
Carol Malock said the family was surprised and excited when they made it through the interview process.
“We were so shocked that we were cracking up,” she said. “When we were picked, they said they could see how much love we have for each other.”
Zora said she was surprised when they first arrived at the dock because other passengers recognized them from Malock’s Facebook posts on a page dedicated to the cruise. Some of those passengers came up to say hello.
“What he wrote was very lovely. Everywhere we went, they knew ‘Nate,’ ‘Grammy,’ and ‘Nunny’ because he had put it on Facebook,” Zora said.
Gold said Malock was popular on and off the ship.
“Nate had quite the fan club/following even before getting onto the ship. But news traveled fast, and many people, including Hallmark Channel stars, wanted to meet him,” she said.
Paige Vermeer of New York City was another passenger who was featured in the cruise series, along with her mother and sister-in-law. Vermeer said Malock’s Facebook presence stood out.
“Everyone knew who Nate was before we got on because he was the celebrity of the Facebook page. When we saw him on the ship, I immediately thought ‘OMG, that’s Nate from Facebook,’ ” Vermeer said. “If anyone beyond the Hallmark stars were celebrities, it was Nate. We still follow his life, and we all love him.”
There were various events onboard the cruise, including workshops, a movie premiere, theme days featuring ugly sweaters and PJs, gift wrapping, parties on the top deck, and a ball.
“I liked the ugly sweater contest the most because my grandmas had fun making them and they loved to match,” Malock said. “Even though we didn’t win the contest, we still easily had one of the top ones because everyone said, ‘Wow those are so ugly.’ ”
Malock and the other passengers got to see the premiere of the Hallmark Channel movie Three Wiser Men and a Boy.
“The writer, Kimberly Sustad, and three of the actors in the movie were on the ship with us,” Malock said. “That was awesome because we sat in the first row and were able to see it before everyone else.”
Both of Malock’s grandmothers said they especially enjoyed the Christmas Ball and getting to see all the actors and actresses dressed up. Overall, though, their favorite part was being together
“Mostly my favorite part was being with Nate and Carol,” Zora said.
Carol agreed.
“It was really an honor that Nate wanted us to be with him for his 16th birthday,” she said. “It was just wonderful. It was the best experience ever.”
The docu-series initially aired in July and can now be streamed on Hallmark+.
