The Bear float they are building throughout the movie, was based on a real float that appeared in the real rose parade the year before production. The actual float appears in the footage of the parade at the end of the movie.
Aired as the last of nineteen original films in The Hallmark Channel's 2016 "Countdown to Christmas" lineup, although actually premiering on January 1st, 2017, in line with the film's original working title, "Rose Parade New Year".