Lacey Chabert Celebrates Hitting Her 40th Hallmark Movie with The Christmas Quest: ‘It’s Really Surreal’ (Exclusive)

Lacey Chabert is facing a major milestone as her latest Hallmark Christmas movie, A Christmas Quest, nears its debut: her 40th Hallmark movie.

The Mean Girls actress, 42, first appeared on the network in 2010’s Elevator Girl, a modern retelling of Cinderella which also starred Ryan Merriman. 

“It’s crazy, right?! I’m so, so proud of it,” she tells PEOPLE of the milestone. “It’s really surreal.”

She continues: “I never would’ve known when I did the first one that it would turn into what it has, and I’m just so proud of it and the journey and the excitement of all that filming 40 movies has brought to my life. It’s just been a beautiful experience.”

A Christmas Quest follows Chabert as an archeologist who teams up with her Norse-language-expert ex-husband (played by Kristoffer Polaha) to find a legendary treasure in Iceland. She and Polaha filmed the Indiana Jones-esque adventure film on location in Iceland.

“She’s amazing. She’s everything,” Polaha told PEOPLE of Chabert during the Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story premiere in Kansas City on Nov. 30. “I get why she’s the GOAT of holiday films. … And she’s just so kind and so professional and smart.”

“Our movie is huge and it’s beautiful and I can’t wait for people to see it,” he adds.

“That was a blast,” Chabert says of filming the movie with Polaha on a glacier and in ice caves throughout Iceland.

On Instagram, Polaha called the experience “one of the highlights of 2024. … So many moments and memories. So grateful for it all.”

But The Christmas Quest isn’t Chabert’s only Christmas movie this year: She also stars in Netflix’s hit rom-com Hot Frosty, which premiered earlier this year.

“Everyone knows I love Christmas and I love, love, love making these Christmas movies,” she says. “So to have the opportunity to expand and do that twice this year was just such an exciting experience.”

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The Christmas Quest premieres Sunday, Dec. 1, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel. Hot Frosty is currently streaming on Netflix.