“Christmas with Holly”: A Movie Reminds Us of What Truly Matters

Holly and Maggie with the fairy dollhouse. Image Credit: Hallmark website)

As we wind down the holidays, there is a mix of sadness and hope in the air. We are filled with the sweet memories of the holidays with family and friends. There is also a bit of depression mixed in as we pack up the ornaments and eat the last bit of the leftovers. We ring in 2013 and return to normal life of work and school. As I reflect on this past holiday season, I remember fondly one particular movie that struck a chord in my heart; the Hallmark Hall of Fame’s Christmas with Holly.

This movie tells the tale of a not so perfect Christmas that turned out to be one of the best holidays for everyone involved. Holly is a young six year old girl who goes to live with her uncle upon her mother’s death. Forcing herself into silence upon the tragedy, her uncle is desperate to get her to talk again. He has hope though, in Holly and in his ability to raise her as his own kid. When Holly’s school wants to hold her back because of her lack of communication, he picks up and moves back home to live with his brothers at their childhood home.

Returning home seems like the safest route to go when all seems lost, right? Well it appears to be the best answer for Alex Nagle and his niece. The tiny island off of the coast of Washington is where Alex owns a coffee and the place he has always called home. Along the course of the movie’s plot, he falls in love with a young blonde, Maggie Conway. who also escapes to the island to fulfill her dream: opening a toy shop. Holly and a fairy dollhouse are at the center of Alex and Maggie’s budding romance.

There is also the tale of family at the center of this plot. As Alex has his two brothers help him take care of Holly, you see the past and the present collide. As typical of the holidays we think of the past. As the brothers reminisceof happy times with their sister, they focus on creating the “perfect” holiday for Holly.

Movie Poster (Source: Lisa Kleypas Blog)

As often happens in life things do not go according to the brothers’ plans. The Thanksgiving turkey is burned and the brothers spend most days arguing over the “right way” to prepare for the holidays. It is when the brothers step back from this image of a “perfect” holiday that all the pieces seem to fall together.

 An early Christmas miracle happens when Holly begins to speak again and that seems to cast a light for the brothers on what truly matters in life. Suddenly the brothers focus on Holly and simply spending time together as a family. That is when the not so perfect but perfectly perfect Christmas unfolds.

This is what I loved about this movie. It had a focus on what the holidays are supposed to be about. It isn’t about a picture perfect holiday where all the tinsel is in line and the turkey is just the right temperature. A holiday is special when it is spent with the ones we love.

Sometimes we as a society spend too much time focusing on the material things of the holidays. We take time to buy the “perfect” gift or create the “perfect” dinner. Does that matter though? Material items break or dinners get burned, but the true gifts we leave the holidays with are found in our hearts. It is the joyful memories we gain by laughing or talking with loved ones, and the quality time the holidays allow us to spend with them.

Christmas with Holly was a reminder of refocusing ourselves during the holiday season. When we return to normal life, let us focus on carrying the hope created at the holiday season and bringing it into the New Year.