Maybe you’ve heard that the Hallmark Channel has diversified this season, adding a Hanukkah-themed movie to its lineup of 40 original holiday movies in 2020. “Love, Lights, Hanukkah!” about a restauranteur named Christina (Mia Kirshner) who finds out through a DNA test that she is half-Jewish and goes looking for her biological family, premieres at 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12. 

And when Christina finds her Jewish mother — heck, it’s a Hallmark movie, there are no spoiler alerts — she’ll also find that mom (played by Marilu Henner) has a special collection of dreidels. 

What she won’t find out is that all those dreidels actually belong to Leslie Raynsford, 65, a member of Central Reform Congregation who lives in Ladue.

She also won’t discover that the movie’s producer contacted Raynsford after he Googled “dreidel collection” and a Jewish Light article from 2019 popped up. 

That story, written by Light Associate Editor Eric Berger, details Raynsford’s vast collection of roughly 200 of the four-sided spinning tops that she has accrued over the years.

“Through a very ancient LinkedIn account, he found our land line number that we rarely use and rarely listen to the voice mail,” Raynsford explained. “When I listened to his voice mail a week later, I thought, this is too strange to be a scam. So I called back and talked to the producer, who is Jewish — his production company is called Shalom Amigo — and he told me what he was trying to do. He wanted an authentic dreidel collection rather than one they would put together for the (Hallmark) show.”

After learning more details, Raynsford said she was excited to help. She carefully bubble wrapped and packed up her entire collection and sent it off to Canada, where “Love, Lights, Hanukkah!” was shot during October. The collection was returned to her in early November. Not a single dreidel was damaged.

Raynsford said she and the production company signed a rental agreement and that she was compensated for the use of her collection. 

“(Production companies) often rent certain things,” she explained. “Special guitars were one example they gave me and specific antiques, from merchants or individuals who happen to have what they are looking for. There is a desire to be somewhat authentic.”

Raynsford, who has a master’s degree in fine arts and has created origami dreidels, couldn’t be more pleased that her collection was featured in the film.

“I love my dreidel collection and I love for people to see it. It’s something to be enjoyed,” she said, explaining that she brings it out during the holiday season much like others do Christmas ornaments. “It’s not high-end antiques. It’s the  average man kind of collection without being like a Hummel or a Precious Moments or that kind of collection. It’s a moderate one that everyone can enjoy. It’s very eclectic. I’m just thrilled that people will get to see it.”