Family for Christmas is a 2015 American-Canadian holiday romantic comedy directed by Amanda Tapping and starring Lacey Chabert and Tyron Leitso. Written by Bryar Freed, the film is about a successful single career woman who, after meeting a man playing Santa Claus during her office Christmas party, wakes up the following morning to find herself married to her college sweetheart and the mother of two daughters. The television film first aired on July 11, 2015 on the Hallmark Channel.
Plot
After exposing a corrupt charity organization, successful investigative journalist Hannah Dunbar is made special correspondent for her network's New York bureau. At the network's Christmas party, her promotion is announced and her careerist boyfriend congratulates her on her advancement. The following day, a man dressed as Santa Claus comes to her office and talks to her about the things that she secretly wants in life. That night in her empty high-rise penthouse, Hannah looks through her old keepsakes and remembers her old boyfriend from high school, whom she loved. The next morning, Hannah wakes up married to her college boyfriend, Ben Matthews, in their home in the suburbs with their two children and dog. Confused, she drives into the city and discovers that no one at work knows who she is, and that her assistant is the star reporter for the network. After meeting up with Santa Claus, who reminds her about her wish and tells her she'll need to just "figure it out", she returns to her "home" to her husband and children, who do not understand why she is acting so strange. As Hannah struggles to fit into her new-found family life, she gradually discovers how special her children are, and remembers the spark of love she once felt for her husband. She has lunch with Ben and tries to encourage him to finish the novel he started in college—but he has no regrets having chosen a career in advertising in order to support their family. That night the family helps out at the school preparing for the Christmas pageant. The following evening at the pageant, her children meet the same Santa Claus who assured Hannah about her Christmas wish. By chance, the Channel 8 news team cover the pageant, and when the lead reporter is injured in a minor accident, Hannah picks up the microphone and delivers an impressive report. The next day, Hannah is contacted by Channel 8 and is offered a job in the city as a reporter. When she tells Ben about the exciting prospect, he is troubled by the news and reminds her that if she takes a full-time job, she will not have any time for her children. After Hannah spends quiet time with her children, Ben assures her that if the job is really important to her, they will find a way. That night, Hannah gets a phone call from Channel 8 about her breathtaking job that she has the chance to receive. They invite her to a dinner to discuss and ensure that she will accept the job, then they remind her during the phone call that "the only thing you can love is your career". Hannah notices that her new family that she began to love more and more, is simply more important than the job that she is being offered. Hannah ended up choosing to attend her children's Christmas pageant with her husband instead of meeting with Channel 8 executives to accept a position as a reporter. The following morning, Hannah wakes up in her high-rise penthouse and realizes that her loving family life was just a dream. She tries to recover her family life, but no one recognizes her, and a stranger lives in her family's home. Despairing of her lost life, she runs into Santa Claus again and pleads with him to get back her family life. Santa Claus, however, tells her that this was not about changing her past, but about choosing her future. That night at the ice rink, she meets up with her old boyfriend Ben, and they reunite for the first time in ten years. He invites her for coffee, and the two walk away arm in arm toward their future together.
