The 5-Year Christmas Party

The film opens at Burton College during the cast party for Alice Mitchell’s 'deeply weird' production of A Christmas Carol, which famously features a lobster as the Ghost of Christmas Past. Alice meets Max, the school's star actor, and though they share an immediate connection and a 'reenacted' kiss, they decide to prioritize their careers. When Alice's mother loses her bookstore business, Alice joins Max's sister Pam at Fable and Feast catering to make ends meet. In the second year, Alice and Max cater a high-end party in Dickensian costumes. They accidentally charm the Devines, a wealthy couple, into becoming donors for Alice's struggling theater, further cementing their bond while they maintain their 'just friends' pact. By the third year, Max begins booking commercials and is up for a major role in a film called 'Christmas in Space,' while Alice balances catering with a part-time role at the theater. In the fourth year, Max has become a famous actor starring alongside Daphne Day. He asks Alice to move to Los Angeles with him, but Alice is simultaneously offered the position of Artistic Director at her theater. Realizing their dreams are taking them to different coasts, they decide to 'call it' and stop waiting for each other. In the fifth and final year, Alice is a success, but she feels hollow. On her big opening night, Max returns to town and works the catering line at her party. After a heart-to-heart with her mother about the emptiness of success without love, Alice finds Max in an alleyway. They finally confess their love and commit to being together, regardless of the career challenges ahead, ending their five-year cycle of hesitation.