Our First Christmas

The film opens with Cindy Baer-Neil writing a Christmas newsletter explaining her recent marriage to Tom Neil and their move from Boulder to Southern California. Cindy, a PE teacher, and Tom, a school guidance counselor, are both widowed and struggling to blend their families. The central conflict emerges when they realize their holiday traditions are incompatible: Cindy and her daughter Tory always spend Christmas at a snowy cabin in Boulder, while Tom and his children, Lilly and Jacob, are deeply involved in their local church's Christmas pageant. The children, feeling that changing their traditions is a betrayal of their deceased parents, form a secret alliance. They agree to act miserable and uncooperative, culminating in a 'family meeting' where they chant 'Split up for Christmas!' to pressure their parents into maintaining separate holidays. Meanwhile, Cindy's former mother-in-law, Evie, arrives from Colorado. She feels like a 'ghost of Christmas past,' struggling to see Cindy move on from her late son, Dave. Despite the kids' initial hostility, Tory begins to bond with Lilly, helping her with math and sharing the pain of losing a parent. Cindy also tries to connect with Lilly, though she feels rejected when Lilly pretends to be asleep to avoid a bedtime tuck-in. Eventually, the parents cave to the pressure and decide to spend Christmas apart: Cindy and Tory will go to the cabin, while Tom and his kids stay for the pageant. However, the children's growing bond makes them regret the plan. Tory decides she wants to stay for the pageant, while Lilly and Jacob decide they want to go to the cabin to be with Tory. Feeling that her presence is the anchor to the old traditions and is causing the family's tension, Evie secretly flees back to Boulder. Her departure leaves the family devastated and guilty. Grandpa Joe, Tom's father and a retired minister, follows Evie to Colorado and convinces her that she is a necessary part of this new family. On Christmas Day, the family reunites in California. They blend their traditions by decorating a tree with ornaments from both families and honoring their lost loved ones while celebrating their new life together. The film concludes with a festive dinner where they acknowledge that while new families don't have instruction manuals, they have found their own way.