Janel Parrish and Parker Young on Hallmark’s Christmas on Duty (Exclusive)

It’s Nov. 1, which means Halloween is over and it’s officially Christmas. And there’s no better way to celebrate than with a new Hallmark Christmas movie that honors the United States military.

In Christmas on Duty, Pretty Little Liars alum Janel Parrish and Enlisted star Parker Young play feuding members of the military who have been rivals since their days in Quantico. After an argument creates a scene at a holiday party, they’re thrown together to work on Christmas — just as a snowstorm is about to hit their base and keep Santa’s gifts from arriving on time.

For both actors, honoring military families was a gift in and of itself.

“My sister’s in the military, so this was very, very near and dear to my heart,” Parrish, 37, tells PEOPLE. “She just loved that we were honoring the military families, and she loved seeing me represent. … It was a really fun bonding moment for us.”

For Young, who has played several military characters throughout his career, donning a uniform was old hat — but no less rewarding.

“I can’t say enough about what the military and the service members mean to me personally,” the actor, 37, tells PEOPLE. “Members of my family are in the military, my brother-in-law, and most of my best friends are in the SEAL teams. I just have so much respect for these guys, and every single time I get an opportunity to play a service member, I take it to heart. I just feel so grateful for that opportunity, and I don’t want to let them down. Yeah, it’s an added pressure, but also such an incredible privilege.”

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Below, Parrish and Young share how they found their rhythm for Christmas on Duty and the one hilarious lesson Young learned.

PEOPLE: Filming on these movies happens quickly, and I know sometimes the stars haven’t even met before they show up to set on day 1. What did you do to build chemistry for this?

PARKER YOUNG: We met in the hotel the first time, and we were like, “Let’s have dinner.” I thought it was going to be a very short dinner, but it just turned into a nice, long, lovely evening of just getting to know each other. I think, immediately, we felt like we lucked out and we had enough chemistry to make this beautiful little rom-com Christmas movie.

JANEL PARRISH: I second that. I feel like when you realize that you have this natural connection and chemistry with your costar, you’re like, “Thank you,” because it really does make your job so easy and doesn’t feel like work. From the get-go with Parker, being able to connect and have such easy chemistry just made our job so easy. We had so much fun. We laughed every single day.

There’s a considerable height difference between you. Was that an added challenge?

PARRISH: Apple boxes. I stood on an apple box a few times.

YOUNG: I don’t remember it being too much of a problem. I think she made me bend the knee and kiss the proverbial Princess of Hallmark ring a little bit. I’m the jester of Hallmark. This is my first one.

PARRISH: Jester, indeed. Yeah. I had a whole apple box runway a couple times. You just have to walk and make sure not to fall off the side.

YOUNG: She’s a pro. Somehow, this tiny human beats me at the obstacle course every single time in the movie.

PARRISH: You’re going to have to get over that, Parker.

YOUNG: Let’s not get into it, it’s a sore subject.

Let’s talk about the obstacle course. How much of it did you actually do?

PARRISH: Parker did all of it. They did have stunt doubles for both of us, but he was actually to the point where they were like, “Parker, you can’t … Slow down. The camera can’t catch you. You’re going too fast.” He is so competitive in real life. He was like, “Got to do this obstacle course and go fast.” I was like, “My character has to win, so you have to not go that fast.” He was just too naturally good at it. I did have a stunt double. I did most of it, but there was one [obstacle] that I was scared to do, which was climbing to the top and then over the side. I got up there, and I was like, “No, no, too scared.” But I did do most of it — with the help of some wires — but I did it.

These characters obviously are very competitive, but would you describe yourselves as competitive? What does game night look like in your house?

YOUNG: I am too competitive, just generally speaking, I’m trying to work on it because I think it is good to be competitive and want to do your best. Competition can bring out the best in a person, but there’s a fine line between getting too competitive, and now that I’ve got little girls, I’m trying to teach them a healthy amount of competition while still being happy for the other person. To answer your question, yeah, I’m too competitive and I’m obviously going to win every Christmas game that we play. … I just want to make sure that I’m answering better than Janel right now. 

PARRISH: This is what I had to deal with. [Laughs.] I would say that I am competitive with myself, so if I set a standard for myself and if I don’t feel like I hit that or overcame that, then I get really competitive, But again, with myself. But with a game night, yeah, I’m real competitive.

YOUNG: That was the problem with the obstacle course scene: I had to lose. No matter how hard I tried, I had to lose. So it was really a growing experience for me to lose.

PARRISH: You learned so much.

YOUNG: Yeah, I learned a lot. Thank you for that lesson, Janel.

PARRISH: No problem.

There are a lot of funny action sequences, not just the obstacle course, especially in the back room of the store. How did all of that work? Were there any funny blooper moments?

PARRISH: There really should be a blooper reel, and I remember saying that on set multiple times because we would just break laughing and just have the absolute best time.

YOUNG: Yeah. It was so much fun. I don’t know if I’ve ever had more fun on any project before.

PARRISH: Yeah, same.

YOUNG: Our director, Jake Van Wagoner, is just such a stud. He’s so funny inherently, and he wants to create a fun environment. And also, kudos to Hallmark. I felt like everybody wanted us to have a good time while we were there, knowing that that’s what’s going to help create a fun movie.

Janel, is that part of the magic of making Hallmark movies and what keeps you coming back?

PARRISH: Absolutely. I’m about to go do my 10th one, I just realized, so I have done nine of these, and every time I have gone to work for Hallmark, I have the best time. I meet the best people. I have the most joyful experience, and you’re right, it’s because they care. They care about their team, their family, all of us, cast, crew, everyone. Their fans! And they want us to have a beautiful time making something beautiful. I think that’s part of the magic of watching these films. It translates.

YOUNG: But can I ask you, which one was your favorite?

PARRISH: Oh, he’s going to say something competitive right now. I already told you. It was this one. I told Parker he’s in my top list of costars ever. We had the absolute best time.

Christmas on Duty premieres Saturday, Nov. 1 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel and streams the next day on Hallmark+.