The Christmas House

With only two weeks to go until Christmas, Phylis and Bill Mitchell, now both retired, this Phylis' first year from teaching following Bill's retirement a few years earlier as a contractor, have just decided to revive the twenty year dormant family Christmas tradition of "The Christmas House", which basically entails gutting their Hudson Valley house in upstate New York to turn it, inside and out, into a Christmas wonderland, a process that usually took more than a month to accomplish even with all hands on deck. As such, their two sons, Hollywood television series star Mike Mitchell and Denver bakery owner Brandon Mitchell, and Brandon's husband Jake, head back to New York earlier than originally planned for Christmas to help. One part of that tradition which will not be revived is "Majestic Mike", Mike's magic act that he did at the first night open house alongside his childhood friend, Andi Cruz - "Awesome Andi"--despite learning that now-divorced Andi, whose mother Elena Cruz still lives next door and broke Mike's heart unintentionally and unknowingly in high school, has recently moved back into town with her adolescent son Noah Cruz, to whom Mike will turn over the reins, as Noah shows interest in performing magic. As this collective goes through the labor-intensive process of transforming the house, Mike, who can admit to himself that those feelings for Andi still exist upon reconnecting with her, can feel that something is not quite right with everyone: there's no real sense of the Christmas spirit despite the outward trappings. Mike, who has not divulged some information about his own life pertaining to his career, learns that both his parents and Brandon and Jake are also keeping secrets that are causing that not-quite-right feeling. The secrets coming to light will definitely make this Christmas House different than all others previous, and potentially bittersweet.