Hallmark Christmas Movie Star Jen Lilley Opens Up About Returning To Filming Months After Giving Birth

Gettyimages | Paul Archuleta

Actress Jen Lilley has made a living recently by starring in Hallmark movies, which have developed a large cult following. This year, there was concern she wouldn't appear in any of the network's new Christmas films because she gave birth to a daughter, Julie Evangeline, in July. But Hallmark was happy to have her back, for which Lilley is grateful.

"I was so grateful that they let me do a Christmas movie this year," Lilley told PopCulture.com in a recent interview. "They knew I had a baby and they said, 'Do you want six weeks off or do you want eight weeks off before you return to camera?'"

"I don't know any network that is so female friendly. They're incredible," she added. "I was really, really delighted that I got to still get a Christmas movie under my belt this year, having had a baby at the end of July."

Filming for this year's Lilley film, Angel Falls: A Novel Holiday, started in October. It's set to debut on the Hallmark Channel on December 15.

She called the movies "synonymous with Christmas," and is amazing by the quality Hallmark maintains considering "that they pump out in such mass quantity. They don't miss a beat."

"I'm just completely in awe of this network and so happy I get to be on it," she said.

Lilley and her husband Jason Wayne were already parents before the birth of the baby girl -- the couple adopted a three-year-old boy.

"[My son] gave me permission to explore pregnancy and have that chapter of my life. Because otherwise I don't think I would've ever gotten pregnant either. I would've just been foster parent, that's it."

Gettyimages | Paul Archuleta

She went on to saw how excited she is for this holiday season.

"I'm really looking forward to this Christmas more than any Christmas prior, because Kayden's 3, and so he really starts to understand all of the concepts. He understands that Santa Claus is a thing, and he understands that he has a sleigh. He understands the naughty and nice list. There's so many things that I'm really looking forward to," she said.

"I've fostered other children, but they've been older where they don't really believe in the magic of Christmas, so it's our first experience having our own child who is in our house, who really understands the magic of Christmas and just getting to see it through his eyes, which is really refreshing. It does bring you back to your childhood."