An Oxford native songwriter is going national, courtesy of the Hallmark Channel.

Kerri Smith, a 1995 Oxford High graduate, co-wrote “Happy Holiday,” an upbeat song which was featured in the film “Finding Santa,” and premiered on the Hallmark Channel on November 24.

The film stars Jodie Sweetin, best known for her role as Stephanie Tanner in the 1987-95 ABC sitcom Full House, along with Eric Winter, and is scheduled to re-run on the channel several times until Dec. 30.

Smith worked with two friends, Sid and Tracy Sosa, who reside in Los Angeles, to write and produce the song.

“Sid produced it and the three of us wrote it together. Tracy and I did the vocals,” Smith recalled. “We talk online and on the phone all the time and through Skype calls. We’ve been friends for about a year now and writing songs together. This is our first license that any of us have ever had. We just really connected as friends and it turned out we write well together, so we’ve kind of formed a team.”

While Smith has pursued several business ventures in the past, she had always been drawn to playing and writing music with the intention of someday hearing those songs played on-screen in television, films and commercials.

“Ever since I was little, I’ve always loved jingles and how a brand can take a song and associate it with their entire image,” Smith said. “I didn’t think of it that way when I was four and tinkering on my toy piano the Folgers theme but there’s always been something which has driven me to imaging with music.”

While Smith has dabbled in playing a host of different instruments such as piano and percussion, it is the acoustic guitar that she said she has always been the most drawn to.

“I’ve been writing music since my freshman year of college. I’ve always been a music fan pretty much… I picked up the guitar my freshman year of college and never looked back,” Smith said.

After the hours of work that went into the song “Happy Holiday,” Smith said the part which required the most patience was pitching the song to potential movies and commercials.

“I thought that the song would fit into a Hallmark movie because it’s upbeat and fun and a little cheesy. I did a whole bunch of research and found out (who to send our song to) back in mid-October and started sending polite, persistent emails (with) the song,” Smith said.

After over a month of waiting, Smith got the call from a supervisor for “Finding Santa,” announcing that the song was fit to be licensed to the movie.

“I was screaming like a little kid, I was so excited,” Smith recalled with a smile. “I called my co-writers and we were happy and jumping around. This is what we’ve been working at for a year solid. To have a real legit moment feels really, really good.”

When the movie aired, Smith said she was able to enjoy it among the company of friends and family, all the while feeling a sense of overwhelming pride.

In the movie “Finding Santa,” Smith’s song plays near the beginning of the movie in a montage when the main character, Grace (Sweetin), drives to Boston to retrieve Ben (Winter), hoping he will replace his father as Santa in the town’s Christmas parade.

“It was so, so exciting and perfect and absolutely worth all of the work to get a song to that point. It fit the scene perfectly, too. It’s been very rewarding to see a year of really solid focus on this pay off. This is just a stepping stone to other things,” Smith said.

To watch the music video for “Happy Holiday,” which features Smith and her children, Kelsie, 7, and Gideon, 3, visit https://youtu.be/UlzMDMOwfqw.

The song may also be purchased on iTunes and Amazon.

For more of Smith’s music, visit www.sonictreemusic.com.