Project Christmas Wish

Lucy Keller runs 'Project Christmas Wish' out of a local design shop, granting the town's holiday desires. The season kicks off when Max, the daughter of a newcomer and widower named Lucas, goes on the radio to wish for a 'Christmas like we used to have' to help her sad father. Lucas, a logic-based software engineer nicknamed 'Christmas Dad' by the town, is initially resistant to the public attention and the holiday spirit, as it reminds him of his late wife, Stephanie. Lucy creates 'Operation Christ-Max Wish,' a series of activities including tree decorating, baking (resulting in 'cardboard-tasting' health cookies), and building a cardboard gingerbread house to help Max and Lucas heal. Along the way, Lucy and Lucas grow closer, sharing personal stories about loss—Lucy lost her father young, and Lucas is still reeling from the 'lightning strike' love he had with his wife. A subplot involves Lucy's friend Joan and her boyfriend Cullen; Cullen wants to propose, and Lucy tries to orchestrate an over-the-top romantic gesture involving snow machines and violinists, which Cullen finds overwhelming. As the Christmas Carnival approaches, Max changes her wish to her father finding love again. This leads to a singles mixer where Lucy and Lucas share a romantic dance, but Lucas pulls away, feeling that his attraction to Lucy is a betrayal of Stephanie's memory. Lucy, having been hurt by a previous partner who loved someone else, tells Lucas she cannot wait for him to be ready. At the final carnival, Max gives a moving speech about how sadness is a necessary part of joy. Realizing he can love again without forgetting the past, Lucas organizes the community to surprise Lucy. They grant her secret wish: turning Project Christmas Wish into a year-round non-profit. Lucas presents Lucy with the town's 'Christmas Horse' mascot as a romantic gesture, and they share their first kiss under a snow machine.