When Hallmark decided to turn its “Haul Out the Holly” movies starring Lacey Chabert and Wes Brown into a trilogy with “Haul Out the Halloween” — premiering on October 11, 2025 — actress Eliza Hayes Maher wanted nothing more than to be with the cast and crew again.
Only issue? Filming was scheduled to begin in Salt Lake City just as Hayes Maher was getting her sea legs as a first-time mom, having welcomed her baby boy Sully less than three months prior. Joking that it was an “insane” decision, the actress told EntertainmentNow that no other project could have swayed her to cut her maternity leave short. This cast and crew “has become a small family” since their first movie in 2022, she said.
The three-week shoot went so well, in fact, that Hayes Maher agreed to film her sixth Hallmark movie this fall, with her little guy in tow again, singing Hallmark’s praises for walking its talk as a compassionate, family-friendly network.
‘Haul Out the Halloween’ Cast Stepped In as Honorary Aunties
Hayes Maher has played Chabert’s best friend in all three movies set on the fictional Evergreen Lane, a neighborhood of quirky characters competing over their holiday decor. As a supporting cast member, she suspected she’d have enough downtime and support to make it work with her little guy in tow.
“I am his food source,” she quipped, “so he kind of had to come along.”
“The director Maclain (Nelson) is one of my dearest friends, so I felt extremely supported in that way,” Hayes Maher said. “And then, between Ellen (Travolta), Melissa (Peterman), and Lacey, I felt so supported by other mothers. The whole cast, really.”
On October 8, Peterman posted an adorable social media video of her, Chabert, and Travolta swooning over Sully. The “Finding Mr. Christmas” co-host introduced Chabert to him as an “American sweetheart” and Travolta as an “American treasure,” but hilariously dubbed herself “American trash.”
On the morning of the “Haul Out the Halloween” premiere, Hayes Maher reposted the video and shared multiple photos of Sully with cast and crew members behind the scenes.
Baby On Set: ‘Haul Out the Halloween’ Neighborhood Was ‘So Kind’ to Eliza Hayes Maher & Her Newborn
During the “Haul Out the Halloween” shoot, Hayes Maher said her mom flew in for a week to help with the baby as they filmed at night. But she was able to rely on her extended “Haul Out the Halloween” family the rest of the time, including the wife of a sound technician who jumped at the chance to help out.
“She loves babies, so she loved hanging out with him all day as our ‘set nanny,'” Hayes Maher explained. “It was perfect.”
“And that neighborhood that we shoot in is so kind and welcoming,” she continued. “It’s all these big houses where we now know the owners, so there was always a space for me to nurse him in between takes.”
“It was chaotic, but I was supported,” Hayes Maher noted, “and I was surrounded by my friends. That was a real blessing.”
Eliza Hayes Maher Also Brought Her Baby to Shoot New Christmas Movie
Shooting “Haul Out the Halloween” as a working mom went so well that Hayes Maher agreed to take Sully along with her again in late August and early September to film “Grand Ole Opry Christmas” in Nashville and Kansas City.
“I think it has made him more flexible as a child,” Hayes Mayer said while holding her super smiley infant. “I mean, he’s been on seven planes now at seven months, and he’s constantly seeing new faces, and he’s incredibly comfortable just meeting new people.”
Once again, she had a dear friend at the helm in director Clare Niederpruem, and Hayes Maher had worked on previous movies with leads Nikki DeLoach and Kristoffer Polaha — both understanding parents of boys.
“It was another situation where I just felt really held,” Hayes Maher marveled. “It’s really like an embarrassment of riches, in a way, because this industry can feel really bleak right now for a lot of people. There isn’t a lot of work. We’re still coming off the results of the strikes and a total lack of filming domestically, specifically in Los Angeles.”
“So to be working at all is huge,” she continued. “To be working with your friends is amazing. And to be working as a new mom in your first year of postpartum? I would never have thought that I would get the chance to do all those things at the same time. And it’s just not lost on me how lucky that is.”
Hallmark Channel’s “Haul Out the Halloween” premieres on October 11 at 8 p.m. Eastern time. Meanwhile, “Grand Ole Opry Christmas” debuts on November 29.
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