The Christmas Note

Gretchen Daniels and her son Ethan move to Wilsonville to be near Gretchen's mother, Vivian, while Gretchen's husband Kyle is hospitalized in Germany following a landmine explosion. Gretchen meets her neighbor Melissa, a guarded workaholic who learns that her estranged mother, Ramona, has passed away. While cleaning out Ramona's apartment, Melissa finds a note from her mother confessing that she gave a child up for adoption before Melissa was born. Despite Melissa's initial hesitation to dig into the past, Gretchen encourages her to find the sibling, and the two begin a search that serves as the film's central mystery. They follow a trail of clues including a blurry photo of a boy, a 'Wilson's Warriors' sports pennant, and a signature silver ribbon from Fern's Flowers. They interview Ramona's old roommate, Lori, and an elderly neighbor, Essie Schwagger, who provides a lead on the boy in the photo. Meanwhile, a subplot involves Gretchen's divorced parents, Vivian and Phil, navigating a tense but softening relationship as Phil tries to win Vivian back with his newfound cooking skills. The search for the sibling leads them to Bruce Adler, who they initially suspect is the brother, but he reveals Ramona was simply a kind stranger who helped him after a bike accident. The investigation culminates when Robert Layton at the Wish Bank accesses adoption records. In a major twist, the records reveal that Ramona McCreary was Gretchen's birth mother, meaning Gretchen and Melissa are the sisters they were looking for. The film ends at the Wilsonville Wonderland Celebration on Christmas Eve, where Gretchen's husband Kyle makes a surprise return from Germany, and the newly discovered sisters celebrate their first Christmas as a family.