Making Spirits Bright (2021) - full transcript

(upbeat Christmas music)

- oh yes. Great.

Those will go in the
dining room. Thank you.

(movers chattering)

hm.

(bells chiming)

- at upstage we need to
accentuate the selling points

of the home to entice the
widest array of buyers.

We're the last stage you'll
have before selling your home.

This is grace Ryan,
my partner in design

and the other half of upstaged.



- Nice to meet you.

I hope you're okay we moved
the Paola buffa side table.

It was hidden in that guest
room and we really thought it

would bring the dining
room that wow-factor.

- The buffa what?

- The walnut side table
handmade by one of the premier

European furniture makers
of the 20th century.

The brown table with
the ridged drawers

and the brass handles.

- Oh that. I mostly keep my
workout clothes on it anyway.

- Oh, you keep your workout
clothes on a Paola buffa.

- Well the treadmills
in there, ha,

never liked the look
of it, to be honest.

- Can you excuse us
for just a moment?



Take a look around and let
me know how you like the rest

of the house.

Putting the buffa on the
dining room was a bold choice.

Now that is see it, it's
a little loud, isn't it?

- I thought it gave the
room a pop of style.

- Perhaps it's more
like an explosion.

- Right.

- We want people
talking about the room,

not the table, right?

- Yes. I will get them
over to switch it out.

- And while they're at it,

let's ask them to switch
the artwork in the den.

- Oh, really?

I was really digging
those old french adverts

that fit in there.

- You don't think it looks
a little too nineties?

I almost forgot, the
producers called.

- Really? What,
what did they say?

- They want to sit with
us after the holidays,

talking through our vision
for a home staging show.

- That's amazing.

- Said we make a dynamic duo.

This could be huge for
us, for our company.

Our own tv show,
grace. Think about it.

Listen, I'll finish up here.

I'm sure your family's
eager to have you at home.

- Are you sure?

- Definitely. Go, I got this.

Actually, before you go,

think we can move that
back to where it was?

- Yes. Of course. I'm on it.

(sighs)

(gentle music)

(engine revving)
(tires spinning)

looks like someone
needs some help.

(engine revving)
(tires spinning)

oh.

Yep, I think you're stuck.

Tony Scotto.

- Grace Ryan.

Wow. It has been-

- it's been a while.
- Yeah.

- Yeah. What happened here?

- Oh, this is deer darted
out and I did what I could

to avoid it, but here we are.

- Well they probably thought
they saw their cousin back here

and got excited.

- (laughs) good one.

Very good.

- Couldn't help myself. (laughs)

actually, do you have
some rubber mats in there?

- Yeah. Why?

- Hand them over?
I'll show you a trick.

Aha. Perfect.

Ready?

Hop in. Get ready
to give it some gas.

- Okay.
- There we go.

That should give you some
traction. Try it now.

(engine revving)

all right.
- Hey.

That's a pretty great trick.

Thanks for coming to my rescue.

- Eh. It's the girl scout in me.

I can't help myself.
Now it's all yours.

You can unstick
yourself anytime.

- Any advice if I get a flat?

- Yeah. Call AAA.

(both laughing)

(phone ringing)

oh.

Um, I'm sorry. I
should take this.

- No, that's okay.

I should get going too,
but thanks for your help.

And it was a nice
to see you again.

- Nice to see you.

- Happy holidays.

- You too.

Oh, don't forget your map.

- Oh, right.

- Hey Sarah. What's up?

Oh, okay.

So you're not feeling the look
of the living room anymore.

Got it. Yeah. Okay. I'll
be there in a minute.

- Pop. Come on. Still
with the icicles?

- Hey, it's a Christmas classic.

They take time.

You got to give the
people what they want.

- You know what the people want?

The people want their Christmas
decorations by Christmas,

not valentine's day.

That's what the people want.

- Your father will be up all
night if it's not perfect.

And if he's up all
night, I'm up all night.

Just let him do what he
needs to do for my sake.

- Where do you want these, dad?

- Oh, well the lights on the
trees are going to pull focus.

So we need to balance out
the lawn, frame the house.

Put them right there.

- Here?
- Yes. Perfect.

Thank you.

- You got it.

- Hey,

whatever happened to that
marketing job you applied for?

- Same thing that
always happens.

It was a pleasure to meet me,

but they decided to
go with somebody else.

- Something will workout.

- Oh. Oh. (groans)

- oh! Are you
okay? Are you okay?

- Ah. Yeah. Yeah.

I'm good. I'm good.
- Okay. Just watch it.

- Slow, slow.

You know,

we should start charging by
the day instead of the job.

How many houses have
we done this year, six?

- Yep. And we did
eight last year.

- We used to do 20
houses a year at least.

His numbers have really
taken a nose-dive ever since

he stopped competing in
the bright nights contest.

- Talk to him. See if he's
ready to compete again.

The deadline to
submit is tonight.

All we have to do is
drop the application off

at the Christmas fest.

- Why do I have to do it?
Couldn't we do it together?

- No. You're the oldest.

I gotta pick Dante up at hockey.

You got this.
- Mm.

- I'm heading out.

- Oh, I want to go with you.

I got a few things to pick up.

All right. Well we're
far enough along.

You two can finish by yourself.

- Sure we can.

- We'll be back in an hour.

- Bye.
- Bye.

- Well, guess we'd
better get a move on

so we can finish before
the family gets back.

(people clapping)

- thank you. Thank you.

Means a lot.

From my family to
yours, merry Christmas.

(people chattering)

- looks amazing, pop.

- I should have brought
two more reindeer.

- Let it go, dad.
Just let it go.

- Okay.

- I sanded the whole thing down,

patched up all the dings and
nicks and stained it back

to its original color.

- My wife used to nurse
her son in this chair.

Now he just had his first and
we wanted to pass it down.

- Well, it should hold up for
a couple more generations.

- It's beautiful, bill.

Was glad to see your
lights still on.

Heard rumor you might be
closing the stores down.

- (laughs) that's a long...

No plans to yet anyway.

- [customer] I see you're still
in the decorating business.

Noticed your yard signs around.

- Yeah, that's right.

Geared up for the bright
nights contest again, too.

You know, going up against all
those professional decorators

in town,

mm, keeps on your toes.

- Good luck.

Well, thank you very much.

Now, Larry upfront will
ring you out and help you

to the car with it, okay?

There you go.

- Hi, dad.

- Hey, kiddo!

- Aww.

- So nice to have
you home this year.

You know, you've
been gone so long

and your nephew Evan's
got his license now.

- (laughs) okay, first of
all, you need to let it go

that I went on holiday vacation
someplace warm for once.

You should try it some time.

And second, I know how to count.

Evan is only nine.

- Ten.

- Oh right. November
9th, of course.

- (laughs) come on.

- Your mom and Evan
are in the back.

- Oh, I saw a paolo
buffa side table today.

It was a thing of beauty.

- Really? Tell me all about it.

- Hey! There's my girl.

- Aunt grace!

- Evan! What's new, kid?
Grandpa says you're driving now.

- No, not yet.
- Not yet.

- With your sister and her
husband working so much overtime

right now,

Evan has offered to help
with bright nights this year.

- Good man. Speaking
of which, here you go.

Yeah.

- What do we got here?

- Photos of the house
we decorated this year.

What do you think?

Just narrowing
down my submission.

- Right.

Some of these sort of
remind me of the designs

from a few years ago,

except you subbed the
snowflakes for the candy canes.

What?

- We're getting stale.
- No.

- Yep, like January gingerbread.

- Now I wouldn't
say that, it just...

It never hurts to push
the creative edges, right?

- Well, what we may
lack in variety,

we make up for in volume.

I mean, how many houses
did we do this season, 30?

30, right?

- Something like that.

- Oh.

- Oh, here you go. These
should be your submissions.

- I wanna see.

- Okay.

- Ooh.
- What do you think?

- Yeah?

Okay. Let's get this
application into the committee.

- You know, we really
need your spark, dear.

It's what all of our
designs are missing.

- Oh.

- I mean, you could
be our saving grace.

- Oh. (laughs)

oh, bill.

- What?
- Talk about stale.

(laughing)

come on, kiddo.

- I wanted to talk to
you about good tidings.

- What about it?

- Well, I know how you like
to take a lot of time off

from contracting during the
holidays to focus on decorating,

but with the number of clients
being what they'd been the

last couple of years,

you're losing a lot
more than you're making.

- No, stop. Stop here.
- What?

- What is this?

- Is that the inglid's house?

- It is.

- They've been a
customer of yours for...

- 10 years.

- Guess they decided to go a
different direction this year.

- I guess they did.

What the heck is glowscapes?

- I think we're looking at it.

- Popular, by the looks of it.

- Looks like it's
easy to set up too.

I bet you could do a few of
those in one day, no problem.

- Anybody can string
up a bunch of lights

and enter a computer code.

Where's the soul in that?

The heart?

Do you see the people's faces

when I flip the light switch on,

that spark of joy in their eyes?

All because of
something we've created.

I mean, it's-

- magical.
- It is.

- I know.

And I love how it lights you up.

But without the bump
from bright nights,

good tidings is becoming more
of a hobby than a business.

- It's not always
about the money.

- I know, but why don't
you show the people

of this town what
you're capable of?

There's a reason you won
the first five bright nights

contests.

- I don't think so.

- Dad, come on.

- I haven't competed
in eight years.

And you remember what
happened last time?

- Yeah, sure.

You ran out of time.
You got disqualified.

But so what, that's not
going to happen this time.

I'm going to be there and
mom's going to be there

and maria is going to be there.

- Really?

- Yes. Maria said she'd help
fill out the application.

We can get it to the committee
before registration closes.

You're the best in town, pop.

I mean, it says it right
there on your signs.

- Okay.

- Yeah?

- Let's do it.

- Okay.

- Okay.

(engine starting)

(bells jingling)

(people chattering)

- so we staged the
home of this producer

and they got a kick out of us,

thought that we made a charming
team, their words, not mine.

Anyway, they said that
we'd make a fun host

for a home staging show.

- Oh.
- I know.

Anyway, we're going to talk to
them in the new year about it

and we'll see what happens.

- That is incredible, grace.

- Yeah. Yeah. It is just...

- What?

- Sarah and I have been
on different pages lately,

just completely out of sync.

- Being friends and
business partners

takes a delicate touch.

Ask your father.

He still avoids every
street with a house designed

by the scottos. (laughs)

- yeah, well you'd think 20
years would be enough time

for bygones to be bygones.

- Ha ha. Not a chance.

- Did you ask Santa
for what you wanted?

- A secrets of the great
magicians magic set.

- Oh, so you're into magic
these days. That's pretty cool.

- Lean down, aunt grace.

- Okay.

What've we got here?

Okay. Oh boy. Starting out good.

Whoa! That is
incredible. Nicely done.

Okay, now can you do that
with a chicken sandwich

because I am starving.

- I can't, aunt grace.

- You let me down, kid.

All right.

Well, I'm going to
grab something to eat,

but I'll meet you guys at
the bright nights booth?

- Yep. Okay, come
on you. Good work.

- How did you get dad
to change his mind

about bright nights?

- How do you think? I
appealed to his ego.

He saw a bunch of people lining
up to see a house decorated

by that new company, glowscapes.

I think that really
lit a fire under him.

- Nono can bring it.

- Yes.

- Let's hope that attention
to detail that makes him such

a great contractor doesn't
freeze him up this year.

- If we get into
bright night finals,

I'm telling you we can win it.

- If, ifs and buts
were candy and nuts,

what a merry
Christmas it would be.

- Two pizzelles, please.

- What he said. Thank you.

And a half dozen
assorted, please.

- That's a lot, uncle
tony. Not good for you.

- Well, they're not for me.

Thank you.

Excuse me.

I know it's usually the girl
scouts giving the cookies,

but I wanted to thank
you for the other day.

- It wasn't anything really.

- If you were your
dad and I was my dad,

you would have just kept
driving, so it's not nothing.

- Well, fortunately, we're
not our fathers. (laughs)

and who is this young
man? Is this your son?

- No, no, no, no. This
is my nephew, Dante.

- What are you
talking about, dad?

- Oh.

- Quit playing, Dante.

He's my sister maria's kid.

- Who's maria, dad?

- All right. Cut it out.

He thinks he's funny.

- Well I'm entertained.

- You want these?

- Yes, uncle tony.

- Get.

I think I see maria over there.

Are you here with your parents?

- Yeah. And my nephew.

- So where do you call home?

- Richmond, actually.

- I just came back about
a year ago from Boston.

- Grace will find out about
the stores eventually, dear.

- I just don't want to
worry her unnecessarily.

I got us into this
mess, I can get us out.

- Mm hm.

- Hello.

- Your wade...

Of glowscapes by wade?

- Wade Edwards,
pleased to meet you.

- (laughs) I'm Wendy ryerson
head of the committee.

My husband and I can't
pass by one of your houses

without stopping.

It's like 4th of
July in December.

- I'm so glad it brings you joy.

- We'll be reviewing
the applications and
the committee will

reach out to the four
prelim qualifiers sometime

in a day or so.

Be sure to keep your
ringer on. (laughs)

hi!

- Hey.
- Hi.

- Can't wait to see what
you Ryans have for us

under your Santa caps this year.

It's going to be pretty
stiff competition

with glowscapes in
the mix. (laughs)

- you're going to show
our work as always Wendy.

- I don't know if you've
heard, but this year,

in addition to the municipal
contract to decorate every

public building at Ashland
falls next holiday season,

cardinal group energy is
sponsoring a cash prize.

- How much?

- $50,000!

- Whoa!
- You're kidding me?

- Not a bad stocking
stuffer. Right? (laughs)

well, good luck!

- Well, thank you.

- You're going to need all
the luck you can get, bill,

because those tired
designs you're used to,

aren't going to
cut it this year.

- Well I didn't see many of
your lawn signs out there

this season, frank.

Seems to me that
it's your designs

that people are no longer
interested in these days.

- Okay, bill. That's enough.

- Don't start, frank.

- There's nothing
to worry about.

Probably won't even
finish his design,

if he's chosen to compete.

- Excuse me, I don't
remember you winning anything

these last couple of years.

- Remind me when the
last time you won was.

Can you remember?

- [Wendy] gentlemen, please!

- Well, I don't need an award
to feel good about myself,

like some people I know.

- Oh, oh, you want to settle
this old fashioned way?

- Sure, I would like that.

- Huh, you want that? Come on.

No. You heard what
he said to me.

- Dad?
- Pop?

(frank and bill bickering)

- come on! Cut it out!

What's going on?
What's going on?

- Oh, just your father and
bill Ryan going at it again.

- If you two don't knock it off,

the committee will disqualify
both of you from the contest.

- But this is
Christmas, gentlemen.

This is the season of forgiving.

- Bill, come on, come on.

- What if Dante sees you?

Do you want him to see his
Nono making a fool of himself

in front of everyone
in the town?

- No-no, who was that man
you were arguing with?

- Nobody.

- Mm. They used to be friends.

- Good friends,
once upon a time.

- Started a holiday decorating
company in college together.

- Yeah and kept it going
after they graduated.

They called it making
spirits bright,

was a nice little business
for them during the holidays.

- We even used to spend
Christmases together.

- What happened then?

- Well...

He kept pestering me
to decorate faster

so we could get more clients.

And all I really cared about
was doing the quality of work.

He cared about the money.

So we got into an
argument and he kicked me

out of the company.

- Yes. I broke up the company.

Because frank told
me that I was greedy,

that I put quantity
over quality.

Just because I wanted to
make a few extra dollars

doing something we both loved,

doesn't make my reasons for
doing it any less noble.

- They were a great partnership.

- We brought out the
best of each other...

For a time.

You know, he would
draw up the designs

and I'd put a plan
together and execute them.

But when he insulted
me, that was it.

That was the end of our business

and the end of our friendship.

- And that's when grandpa
opened up the furniture store

and turned making spirits
bright into deck the halls.

- Can't you just
apologize and make up?

You two were so close.

- Apologize to him
after what he said?

He should be apologizing to me.

- It's a shame what
happened between you two

is all I'm saying.

- No, the only shame here is
that frank was never admit

he was wrong.

Now come on.

(grace sighs)

- dad, I am going to
take Dante to school.

- Give him a kiss for me.

- I will.

- Have a good day.
- You too.

- Hey dad.

I'm not going to
be able to help out

with good tidings tonight
'cause I got a shift at the bar.

- Well that's all right.

We don't have any
customers anyway.

Listen, I know it's
not your dream job,

but if you ever want to learn
the contracting business

from your old man, my
door is always open.

- I will think about it.

Thanks pop..

- Remember making this?

- No way.

- You made it at
the Ryan's house.

Such good memories
of those times.

You saw Arlene Ryan's
grandson, right?

- Yeah.

- He's the same age as Dante.

- Really?

- It's a shame they
don't know each other.

Oh, remember who made this one?

- Maria?

- Grace.

That'll be nice to have one
from the others on our trees.

They have an ornament that maria
made, found it in this box.

It's been mislabeled.

I think I will sneak this
around the back of the tree,

so your father
doesn't make a stink.

- Good idea.

- Que Bella, huh?.

- Yes. Nice.

- I meant grace.

- Mom.

- Oh, she's turned
into a beautiful woman.

- Ma.

- Okay.

Okay. Okay. I'll stop.

- All right. I gotta go.

I'll see you later.
I love you, okay?

Ciao, mom.
- Ciao.

- Your father works fast.

- I know. He's a machine.

Okay.

Red or green?

- They're both nice.

- What color will be
good in the windows?

- Either. They're
just wreaths, honey.

There's no wrong choice.

- Been having trouble
parsing good taste from bad

these days.

- [bill] you guys
gabbing or working?

- Remind me how much
you're paying us again.

- You want to be paid? Huh.

The nerve.

My love and affection
should be more than enough.

("deck the halls" instrumental)

- good crowd tonight.

- Yeah, nothing gets
people out to the bar

like extended time
with their families.

Ya know, there might
even be some single women

out here tonight that's
looking to meet a nice guy.

Keep your eyes peeled.

- Sure, sure.

- Hey, what about Lisa?

I heard her say you
weren't unattractive.

- Nothing says interested
like a double negative.

(laughing)

- this seat taken?

- Well, it's not, not taken.

- So someone is sitting here?

- No, it's all yours, grace.

- Oh, you two know each other?

- Yeah, childhood
friends and what now...

Decades old family feud.

- Well, in that case,
drinks on the house.

Keep the peace between you two.

- Manhattan up. Thanks.

- So what brings you in tonight?

- Oh, I had to get
out of the house.

I mean, it's pacing
a hole in the floor

waiting to hear
about bright night.

- Yeah, mine's probably wearing
out the carpet right now

as we speak.

- Thank you.

Oh.

Mm.

Well that's not, not delicious.

- See, that's how you do it.

- Whatever. You take your 10.
I'll let you two catch up.

And you let me
know anything else.

- Been working here long?

- No, he just throws me
shifts every once in a while,

when it's really busy.

Truth be told anything
more than a vodka soda

and I am way out of my depth.

- (laughs) well, I'm glad
he's making my drink then.

- [tony] yeah.

Seems like a good friend.

- Yes. Yeah, he's a good guy.

We played hockey together
at bishop O’Connell.

- And you got a hockey
scholarship to that fancy school

in Arlington, right?

Yeah, probably why we
never ran into each other.

- Are you keeping tabs on me?

- One hears things.

- Okay.

Well you heard right.

After Arlington, I played
hockey at Boston university,

but I blew out my
knee sophomore year

and that was kind of the
end of my hockey career.

- That must've been hard.

- Yeah, it was.

But it was also kind of
a blessing in disguise

because it made me focus on
school, for like the first time.

I got my MBA.

- And what brought
you back home?

- I was working for
this marketing company.

I took a big swing
on this campaign,

missed completely,
landed flat on my face,

got canned and then I
moved back here last year

with my tail between my legs.

- Well, there's something
to be said about going

with your instincts,

you know, just putting
it all out there.

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

- Don't.

(laughing)

so what about you? What
have you been up to?

- My college roommate
and I started

a home staging business.

"at upstaged, we're the
last stage you will need

before selling your
home." (laughs)

- catchy.

- Did you like that?

It was actually Sarah,
my business partner,

who came up with it.

She's the show-woman,
charmed for days.

- And what, what's your role?

Are you the creative
genius behind the curtain?

- Oh, boy.

Truth be told, I'm feeling
about as confident these days

as you making a slow-gin fizz.

- I don't even
know what that is.

- You don't know what that is?

- No. Does it mean you
make it really slowly?

- Hey you two, a table
just opened up in the back.

It's a little quieter.

- Don't you need
me to work though?

- Well, I haven't had to
remake any drinks tonight,

so the two of you chatting
is actually saving me money.

- Wow. (laughing)

- thanks.

- You like that?

That's my mom.

We officially made it
into bright nights.

- Congratulations.

(phone buzzing)

so did we.

- Well, guess this feud isn't
going away anytime soon,

is it?

- I guess not.

- Game on.

- Congratulations to
each of our four teams,

deck the halls, good
tidings, glowscapes,

and our last year's
winner, mistletoe design.

Each of you will be
randomly assigned

one of these lovely
homes around us.

And you'll have three days
to transform your deck house

as thoroughly as your
imagination allows.

And any house that is
not completed by 6:00 pm

on the 21st will be disqualified
from the competition.

Though I've been assured that
won't be an issue this year.

Our three person committee
will judge each deck house

on creativity,
technical achievement,

and most importantly,

the ooh and the ah factor.

Who will then select two
finalists to go head to head

for the grand prize.

A contract from the town of
Ashland falls worth $25,000

to decorate every municipal
building next holiday season.

And this year cardinal
group energy is sponsoring

an additional $50,000
prize to the winner!

(crowd applauding)

- hi, just wanted to
come introduce myself.

Wade Edwards.

- Bill Ryan.
- Hi.

- Nice to meet you.

This is my daughter, grace.

- Oh, hi.
- Hi.

- And my wife, Arlene.

- Oh, hi.

- So I've seen
your work, it's...

Colorful,

different.

- Yeah, I think that's
why people are responding

the way they are.

Hired two new crews to
keep up with demand.

I'm sure you knew what that
was like back when you were

at the top of your game.

- I like to think I'm still
at the top of my game, wade.

- Right, yeah, been five
years since you last one?

- Six, but who's counting?

- Well every year's a chance
turn it all around. Right?

Anyway.

Good luck.

- You too.

- Your deck house will be
that one right over there.

- Oh great.

- We can work with that.

- All right.

- Yeah, good.

- And yours will be next
to deck the halls, okay?

- Okay.

- Right.

So we'll take a
bunch of photographs

and then I'll go
back to the shop

and start plotting the design.

- Right.

- A lot riding on
things this year,

so we can't waste
a single moment.

- Yeah.

- [grace] what was that dad?

- Oh, I was just telling
your mother that second place

won't cut it this year.

- Ah, right, because second
place is just the first loser.

Yeah.
- Exactly right.

Anyway. Come on.

- You always give the
best pep talks, dad.

(laughing)

- come on.
- Yep.

(cheerful music)

- what about this color scheme?

You think that would work again?

Just dad's really
in the zone, huh?

- And he wants to make a
strong showing after being

out of the competition
for so long.

- You want some hot chocolate?

- Yes, sure. Fuel for the fire.

- Yes, please.

- Do you want something?

- Oh yes. I'll take a
hot chocolate please.

It's been an hour
since I had some,

my body's going
through withdrawal.

(laughing)

- thank you.

- And here, let me get
that for you. Thank you.

And two more, please.
Keep the change.

- You don't have-

- after the pizzelles and
the free drinks last night,

it's the least I can do.

- Ah, thank you.
I appreciate that.

I'm glad we ran into each other.

I wanted to tell you what a
nice time I had last night.

- Me too.

I can't remember the last time
I stayed out until last call.

- Well, I definitely prefer
doing it on that side

of the bar, that's for sure.

- Are you sure pat wasn't upset?

- Oh yeah, he's fine.

I think he's just happy to
see me having a good time.

- Is that so rare?

- Not as frequent as
I'd like it to be,

but bumping into you around
town definitely helps.

Are you just out
enjoying the calm

before the bright night's storm.

- Ah, yeah.

My mom and I are taking
out my nephew just before

we start helping dad.

And your dad, is he working on
his sketches for the contest?

- Oh, yeah. He's deep in it.

You know, your father
better watch out,

substituting candy
canes for snowflakes

ain't going to cut it this year.

- Yeah. Well, I think he's
got a few tricks in his bag.

- Sure.

But I mean, you have to admit,

his designs are kind of looking
the same the last couple

of years, so.

- Oh, maybe your dad should
spend less time dreaming

up his designs and more
time executing them.

- Yeah. Maybe.

Well, thank you for
the hot chocolate.

I guess this makes
us square now.

- Yeah, I guess it does.

- I'll see you later.

- Oh, thank you, honey.

- Thank you.

- Don't you think that's
a little ambitious?

Maybe we should save
that for the finals,

go with something a little
simpler for the prelims?

- Well, we have to
make it to the finals.

- [bill] something's
missing, isn't there?

- The only thing
that's not in there

is a complete re-creation
of Santa's workshop.

Keep in mind, we don't want
the deck house to collapse.

- It's got to sing, grace.

I mean the committee has to
have its collective breath

taken away.

- Yes, I know. And
you will get there.

I just think that
you're possibly
overstuffing the designs

in hopes that bigger
equals better.

- Yeah, but you've always
been able to spin my ideas

into gold, so come
on, spin away.

- I think once
you start editing,

you'll find the story
you want to tell.

- Yeah, right,

- bill.
- Hm?

- It's Alonzo, said
it was important.

- (sighs) okay.
I'll be right back.

- Yep.

Is it me or does he seem
more stressed this year?

- Oh.

I think frank Scotto
being in the contest again

is making him anxious.

- Right.

- You did not hear that from me.

(phone ringing)

- oh, it's Sarah.
I should take this.

Sorry.

Hey.

- [Sarah] how goes
it go it, lady?

- Uh, fine.

- Try to contain
your excitement.

- Yeah. I'm helping dad
with the competition again.

- Pulled you in again, huh?

- Neck deep.

- The reason I called was,

the producers invited us to
their annual holiday party

at the whisper in Carytown.

- Uh, sorry.

Sorry, what day?

- 21st.

- Yeah, sure. I'll be there.

Do you think that they'll want
us to talk about our ideas

for the show?

Should we prepare something?

- It's a party.

Can't imagine they'd
want to discuss business.

- Right?

- [Sarah] see you
there. All right?

- See you there.

Everything okay, dad?

- Yeah, it's all good.

Let's just get back to it, okay?

- Yeah.

- Hey, ma. When's that
lasagna going to be ready?

- Don't rush the artista.

(fans cheering on tv)

- how do they get the puck
into the air like that?

- They practice and then
they practice some more,

but there are some
tricks you can learn.

Juggling is a good
place to start.

- Juggling? No way, uncle t.

- It's good for the
hand-eye coordination.

- Your uncle used to
practice every night.

He always pushed himself
to try to be the best.

Even when things
seemed impossible,

he always pushed through.

There was no quit in him.

- I should get going. Pat needs
me down at the bar tonight.

Juggle.

- I think I'm going to
learn how to juggle.

- Me, too.

- [news man] at Ashland
falls as the 15th annual

bright nights competition.

- Hey.
- Hey.

- Where's your mother?

- She took Evan sledding. She'll
meet us at the deck house.

- Oh, okay.

- Glowscapes.

The holiday displays
that have been the talk

of Ashland falls this season
are the work of wade Edwards.

Tell us more wade.

- Families have been
stringing up lights,

putting a snowman on a lawn
and lining their walkways

with candy canes
since, well, forever.

With glowscapes, I wanted to
show there was another way,

a better way to decorate
your home for the holidays.

- An Alexandria native, wade
first saw the led technology

he adopted online and
knew it was the future.

- How does he swing
publicity like this?

- Maybe glowscapes
is just that popular.

I mean, people are lining
up just to catch a glimpse.

- Wade Edwards and
glowscapes aim to do

to the holiday decorating space,

what streaming did
for the video store.

With the crowds flocking to
get a gander at his creations,

the future of glowscapes
looks bright indeed.

- All right, well,
let's get to work.

We got a lot to do.

- I still don't get how he
gets publicity like that.

- And remember you have three
days to complete your deck

house and to give
everyone equal time,

each team begins
work at 9:00 am,

but it's staple guns
down at exactly 6:00 pm.

You may test your design
once it gets dark,

but no work can be
completed after six.

And you may start
your sleighs...

Now!

- Okay.

I think I've come up
with a simpler design,

something a little
bit more practical.

- I need two cross beams,
one light going this way,

one light going this way
and it's doing a dance,

it's doing a dance.

- I've got it right here!

- Get the landscape
out of the way.

This bush has to go.
That bush has to go.

These bushes have to go.

- Don't forget to have fun.

- Yeah. No problem.

- By the way. Who's Alonzo?

- What?

- Whoever dad was talking
to on the call yesterday,

it seemed serious, his
whole demeanor changed.

- He's the manager at
our store in midlothian.

- Is everything, okay?

- Things are a little
slower than usual.

- I overheard a customer
tell dad that he thought

the store was closing.

Mom, if there's something
up I want to try and help.

- The expansion last year
hasn't gone as well as

we would have hoped.

- Ah. Well, how not
well are we talking?

- Your father's sales
projections were a little off.

With the lease on
the new building

and inventory costs doubling,

the stores are operating
at a loss right now.

You know your father,

he's always pushing
for bigger, better.

And this time he may
have gone too big.

- Why didn't you
tell me any of this?

- He thought we
could work it out

and you would have dropped
everything to help.

- Yeah, but that decision should
have been up to me to make.

- Well now you know.

So if he seems more amped about
the competition this year,

it's because that extra
50,000 would go a long way.

- Yeah.

- Maria, why don't you start
with putting the lights

on the Christmas trees?

Anthony and I, we will
start on the roof.

- Okay.
- Okay.

- Tony, stop eyeballing
the competition.

No matter how attractive she is.

- Whatever.
- Come on.

("oh, Christmas
tree" instrumental)

- three, two, one.

Everybody's stop for the day!

Hands up! Up, up!

Okay? Over there?

("silent night" instrumental)

- you okay?

- Yeah.

I'm looking at these box
of ornaments that I found

behind the couch.

- The ones the Ryans made
that mom tried to hide?

- She thinks she's
sly, but I'm onto her.

- You know, it's okay to admit
that you miss those times

with them.

- That well of nostalgia
dried up a long time ago.

Bill Ryan made sure of that.

- Okay.

Have you seen mom?

- She went to meet a
friend for dessert.

- All right. Well, I'm going
to go see pat down at the pub.

I'll see you later?

(indistinct chattering)

hey.

- Hey.

Your deck house is
really coming along.

- Oh, thanks.

Yeah, yours too.

Hey look, about what
I said at the market.

You know, I think a couple of
decades of listening to my dad

complain about your father's
work, it kinda creeped in.

So,

I'm sorry.

I think your dad's really upped
his game lately, actually.

- Thanks.

And I'm sorry too.

Oh!

Oh, no! What's
happening? (laughs)

I guess we're in the
middle of a snowball fight.

(crowd yelling and laughing)

- watch out! Watch out!

Ah!

(laughing)

- oh, goodness. Are you okay?

- I don't think
anything's broken.

- Oh, you've got a little...

- Check it out.

- The grandkids together.

- Oh, yeah.

- It would be so good for them.

- So you two have been
meeting since we were kids?

- Mm.
- Mm hm.

- Just because your fathers
have held this ridiculous grudge

never meant we had to
stop being friends.

- We still take a girls trip
to Virginia beach every summer.

- [Arlene] mm hm.

- And dad and
frank have no idea?

- They're just too
stubborn to acknowledge it.

They're both right about
each other in a lot of ways.

- I think deep down they
know we're still close.

- Yeah, I saw dad looking
at those ornaments

you tried to hide
behind the tree.

He didn't seem to mind.

- Oh, it's just pigheadedness.

- It's like bill and the store.

He put money before good sense.

We never should've opened
the other location.

Carla knows.

- Oh, wow.

I guess everyone's up to speed
on all the family secrets.

- Yeah, with one exception.

What are you two
doing out altogether?

- Aah.

- Are you a date?

- What? No.
- No, no.

We, we just bumped into each
other and then we saw...

Not a date.

- Yeah, no.

But we should get out of here.

- Yes.

Let's leave you to it.

- Let you finish your...

- And don't worry, your
secret's safe with us.

- They came in together and
now they're leaving together.

- Seems like a date to me.

- Oh yes it does.

(Carla and Arlene laughing)

- I can't believe it.

They kept their friendship
a secret for all these years

without anybody knowing it.

- Yeah.

- I didn't think my
mother had it in her.

- Yeah.

- What, you're thinking about
your dad and the stores,

aren't you?

You know, maybe I can help.

Put that MBA to use.

Sometimes it's good to have
an outside pair of eyes

to take a look.

- That is a very,
very nice offer,

but my dad's head would
explode if he knew a Scotto

was looking at
the company books.

- Well...

Maybe we don't tell them.

If our mothers can pull
off a little subterfuge,

why can't you and I?

- Meet me at the
store in the morning?

- It's a da-

an appointment, an appointment.

- An appointment?

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

("deck the halls" instrumental)

- is this all of it?

- What, you want
there to be more?

I'll give it to my father,
he is well organized.

- Well, let's get through
as much of it as we can

before we have to get
back to the contest.

(gentle piano music)

come on, grab the
spreadsheet, dig in.

- Right.

(gentle piano music)

(birds chirping)

- what's wrong?

- I think I figured out how to
make those icicles look like

they're melting.

But...

- But what?

- Means, we're going to
have to take them down

and redo them.

- No. Pop, we don't
have time for that.

- No, we can do it.

It'll only takes
a couple of hours.

This needs to be perfect.
It needs to be my best work.

It's what the people expect.
It's what I expect of myself.

Nothing less.

(curious music)

- don't be too hard
on yourself, dad.

Still got one more
day to make it sing.

Plus we only have to be good
enough to get in the finals,

right?

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

- Well that doesn't
look like much.

- Oh! (laughing)

- well, that's because they
haven't turned it on yet.

- And that's it for
today, everyone!

We'll be picking the two
finalists tomorrow evening.

So make your last day count.

See y'all in the morning!

- Woo!

Haha! Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yes!

(techno music blaring)

ha!

Woo!

- Okay.

- What'd I tell you
about the cross beams?

You didn't want to have
them, but I was right again.

Wade wins again!

- Still think it
doesn't look like much?

(gentle piano music)

- you're up early.

- Yeah.

A friend just asked me to
go through their company's

financials to see if I
could diagnose any problems,

coming up with a few ideas.

It's been kind of fun actually.

You know, I feel like
I can genuinely help.

It feels good.

- Anthony, that's great.

- Yeah.

- Good to see that
glimmer in your eye again.

- Thank you.

- This last year, I've
seen how hard you've been

on yourself.

I was starting to worry
that maybe you were taking

after your old man.

- (laughs) what do
you mean by that?

- Nothing. Nevermind.

- No. Hey pop, come on.

You can't just come...

I mean, take a seat. Talk
to me. What do you mean?

- Those first bright
nights contests,

every time I won, first
thought I had was,

"how am I going to
top myself again?"

I got so in my head about it,

it's why I couldn't
finish that year.

I stopped competing completely
because I was embarrassed.

I thought this year was
going to be different,

but we are one day away and
I can't make heads or tails

of what I want to do or
what I'm trying to do.

I'm worried we're not
going to finish again.

- Pop.

Come on. We're going
to finish, okay?

I promise, whatever it
takes we're going to finish.

Okay?

(bill singing)

- morning, dad.

- Oh, hey kiddo.

Everything all right?

- Yeah.

Sarah and I are supposed
to go to this party.

It's something that
should be good for us,

for our business, but...

- You'd rather not.

- The last few weeks we
haven't felt like partners.

It's been the Sarah show.

I can't tell if it's
because she's right

and my design sense is way off,

or if she just decided
that her opinion matters

more than mine.

- Well, now I understand
why you're so hesitant to

give up your creative input.

- I know how much this
contest means to you.

I didn't want to
lead you astray.

- (laughs) that's the last
thing I'd ever worry about,

grace.

- I guess I'm just
nervous to talk with Sarah

about all of this,

because I know there's a chance
that this could be the end

of everything we built together,
even worse, our friendship.

- All right.

It's your voice, your
creativity. (laughs)

that's what makes
you so special.

You can't let anyone tap
it down or drown it out.

A real partner will value
all of your opinions,

even if sometimes
it may be wrong.

You know?

Speaking of which,

if you have any miracle
fixes for this deck house,

now's the time.

- It looks good, dad.

- Good's not going to cut
it where wade is concerned.

- Don't lose hope.

- I'm not.

I'm just looking at the
reality of the things.

Anyway, I should get ready,
it's going to be a long day.

Chin up.

- Thanks.

(cheerful music)

("deck the halls" tune)

- all right, load it out.

Easy does it.

- Everyone's acting like
we already lost weight.

- Well, yeah, but I mean...

Step into my office.

(grace sighs)

look, based on where both
of our houses are at,

neither one of them is going
to take us into the finals.

- Yeah, but we just need one
of us to get to the finals,

and then we've got a shot.

- True.

- I have an idea of how
we could do this, but...

- What?

Wow, that...

That's beautiful. You drew that?

But that's way more
than a day's work.

- Yeah, for three people it is,

but with seven, we
could pull it off.

- Where you going to get
these extra four people?

(mischievous tones)

no.

My family?

- Well, you just said that
neither one of our houses

are good enough to
make it to the finals.

But if our families
work together,

maybe we could bring out
the best in each other.

- Or if the last 20 years
have been any indication,

maybe we'll bring out the worst.

- Did you bump your head
on the ice or something?

I would rather hang
up the lights for good

than work with bill Ryan again.

- You know what?

If partnering up with him
is a more painful thought

than letting wade and
his carnival light show

walk away with the
title, then fine, don't.

But if decorating means
as much as I know it does

to you, then temporarily
putting aside your pride,

it's a small price to pay.

Look, I said we'd do
whatever it takes to finish,

whatever it takes.

This is what it takes.

- Well, what does bill say?

- Bill?

He's...

- Open to it.

- Really?

- Well he didn't say no.

- Hm.

The kids are right.

There's no way our two
houses are going to make it

to the finals.

- Okay.

So we work together,
temporarily,

just so we have a better chance.

- All right.

But if that happens and we win,

we split the contract and
the money, 50/50, okay?

- [frank] let's go to work.

- [bill] let's.

- You and the scottos want
to partner up. Really?

- Yeah, exactly.

We want to join forces and work
on just this house together.

- Well, there's nothing in the
competition agreement saying

that you can't decorate
one house together,

but I do want to run
it by the other teams.

- Oh, we asked.

Mistletoe designs
already signed off on it.

- What about wade?

- They have my full support.

Can't wait to see
what rabbit hole

their collective
imaginations take them down.

- Since their team now
consists of seven people,

I think it only fair that
mistletoe designs and glowscapes

add to theirs.

- Mm. I feel good about
our current number.

More people would
feel unnecessary.

(Wendy and wade laughing)

- I'll let mistletoe designs
know where things stand.

You have less than half a day.

If your house isn't
finished by 6:00 pm tonight,

you're both disqualified.

- Yep. Understood.

- So?

- We got the sign-off.

- Okay. Let's see those designs.

- She's really good, frank.

My designs have been uninspired
for a long time, but...

Well, she's got a good eye.

- These are all really great.

- Okay. Well where
do you want us?

- I want two people on the
roof, two on the ground.

Knock this out real quick.

- Yeah, okay.
- Okay.

- [tony] I'll hit the roof.
- Come on.

(cheerful music)

- where do you want this one?
- Right over there.

- I think we're pulling it off.

- I had no worries whatsoever.

Okay, fine. It was
a Christmas miracle.

- Hopefully it's enough
to get us in the finals.

- Let's give another
big round of applause

to our four teams!

They all did such incredible
work, didn't they?

Woo!

(crowd applauding)

but we all know that only
two teams will be moving on

to compete in the finals.

Our first bright
nights finalist is...

Glowscapes!

- Yes!

Come on! Yeah! Cross
beams! Cross beams!

And competing against glowscapes

in our 15th annual bright
nights finals is...

The combined team of good
tidings and deck the halls!

(cheering and clapping)

hope to see you all back for
the finals in two nights time.

Good night, everyone! Woo!

(crowd clapping)
- all right.

Congratulations!

- We just have to
do it one more time.

We got this.

- Another step
closer to $50,000.

- See, he's always
talking about the money.

- Hey, hey, come on, dad.

- At least I'm not so
self-centered that I have to be

perfect at everything I do.

- Dad.

- No, no, no.

Rather confront the
fact that you can't stay

out of your own way.

He blew up our partnership,
our friendship.

- The work has always
come first for me, bill.

It always has and
it always will.

You never understood that.

- What I understood
all too well back then

was that your perfectionism
was never about the jobs,

it was all about
satisfying your own ego.

Decorating was never
about other people,

it was always about you,
making yourself happy.

- Okay, come on. Let's cool it.

- Yeah. It's been a long day.

Let's just all go home
before you say something

you can't take back, okay?

- A little late for that.

- [grace] dad, come on.

Ey

- didn't wrestle.

- Well, tomorrow is another day.

- Do we need to reexplain

- the concept of

- naughty or nice to them?

- Couldn't hurt.

So do you have any
plans for this evening?

- Yeah, I'm heading to Richmond.

My business partner and I got
invited to this holiday party

these producers are throwing.

- And what do these
producers produce?

- Reality tv.

They approached us about
doing a home staging show

and Sarah and I
would be the hosts.

- How am I just hearing
about this? That's amazing.

Well, hopefully we can keep
them on their best behavior

tomorrow.

- (laughs) yeah, good luck.

- Uh...

Night
- night, yep

(sighs)

- what's wrong?

- My mom has my car keys.

- Really?

- Yeah, she borrowed them to
get an extra pair of gloves

and I forgot to
get the keys back.

- Jeez. That's too bad.

- Yeah.

- Well. Have a great night.

- Oh, tony!

- What?

I'm just kidding.

Come on, I'll give you a ride,

but this really
does make a square.

- Totally.

(grace laughs)

("deck the halls" instrumental)

- it's a good thing
you had that extra key.

- A girl scout always
has a backup plan.

- You sure you want me
to come to this party?

I'm not exactly dressed for it.

- You drove all this way,

let me at least buy
you a free drink

and fill you up on
canapes for the trouble.

- You've got a nice place.

It's almost like you
stage homes for a living.

- Like it?

- Yeah, it's...

It's beautiful.

(gentle piano music)

- I didn't bring any party
clothes to my parent's house,

so thanks for the pit stop.

Shall we?

- Let's do it.

- I just love Richmond
during the Christmas time.

- Yeah.

It's pretty special.

- Actually, the bar's
not too far from here.

Do you want to just walk?

- I'd love to.

Ooh! Ooh!
- Aah!

(laughing)

are you okay?

- Yeah.

- Wow, for a hockey player,

you aren't so
graceful on the ice.

- There she is.

- Hi.

- Don't worry about me.

You do your thing
and I'll go mingle.

- Okay.

- Hey Henry, how are you guys?

- Our lustrous producer was
just asking us what the show

might be like.

- Well, we haven't had time
to discuss the direction yet,

but we're-

- but the show should follow
us meeting our clients

and seeing their houses
for the first time,

how we come up with the
design and the layouts,

and you can give them
all those little details

about the furniture
you love to talk about.

And we can end each episode
with the houses being sold

for over asking, of course.

(Henry laughs)

- yeah, exactly.

- See, whole idea sells itself.

- It's got a perfectly
built-in structure.

It's really smart.

Can you excuse me for a minute?

Don't go. I'll be right back.

- Did you hear that?
He loved our idea.

The dynamic duo strikes again.

- Okay, about that,

I feel like we haven't
been much of a duo lately.

It feels more like
I'm your plus one.

- What?

How do you mean?

- Oh, you just been...

Really dismissive of my
ideas the past few months,

like my opinion doesn't seem
to matter to you anymore.

- Grace, your
opinion matters to me

when you stand behind it.

- What?

- If you really
believed in an idea,

then you need to push back.

But when you don't say anything,

I have to assume
we're in agreement.

I can't read your mind.

- Yeah, but you just
dismissed what I had to say

in front of Henry a second ago.

I'm not even sure you
know you're doing it.

- Maybe this isn't the best
place for us to be having

this conversation.

- Yeah, you're right.

I should go.

- Excuse me.

Hey.

- Can we go?

- Yeah, of course.
- Okay, thanks.

- Well, I think it's good
that you said something,

got it off your mind before
your business relationship

poisoned your friendship.

There you go.

- Thank you so much. Yah!

- I don't know how they do that.

You could not pay me
enough money to sing

in front of people.

- Well, you played hockey in
front of thousands of people

but you think singing is scary.

- You obviously have
not heard me sing.

- (laughing) you're
right. You're right.

But...

Come on. It can't be that bad.

- Ooh.

- When was the last
time you tried?

- Um.

Well, it wasn't the
last time, but...

This one Christmas,

my parents took maria
and I to Tuscany.

Actually it was right after
the falling out with your dad.

And my cousins, they have
this tradition where they

go through the
neighborhood door to door,

just belting out Italian
Christmas carols, right?

And then the neighbors come
out and they give you candy

and sweets for your trouble.

- That sounds like fun.

- Yeah,

it is.

But I think there's
something about singing

in a foreign language,

just makes you feel
less self-conscious,

because we barely
knew any Italian,

and my cousins didn't
know any English,

but somehow it just, it
brought us closer together.

I think mutual embarrassment
kind of tears down walls,

if that makes sense.

- Right. Yes.

- Ya know what? I have an idea.

Come on.

- Okay.

("deck the halls"
guitar instrumental)

- what is that?

♪ round yon virgin
mother and child ♪

(singing "silent
night" in Italian)

- aww.

- Tone, what are you doing?

(grace laughs)

- I'm embarrassing myself, pop.

(laughing)

- let's come inside.

We have plenty of vino
brulee, mom made struffoli.

Let's get out of the cold.

- No, no, no.

Actually, we were hoping
that you would join us

for another stop.

(singing "silent
night" in Italian)

♪ Round yon virgin
mother and child ♪

(singing "silent
night" in Italian)

- oh!

That was beautiful!

Come in. Come in.

- Frank?

(gentle piano music)

- you were right, frank.

I put profit ahead of all the
work that we did together.

Instead of asking
you how you felt,

I pushed you into a place that
made you feel uncomfortable.

- Well, despite all that,

I know that you just
wanted to get the most

out of working together.

My stubbornness and my ego
kept me from seeing that.

- Yeah.

Remember joking about our
kids being together someday?

- Well, if we weren't so
wrapped up in holding grudges,

maybe it would have
happened sooner.

I'm sorry, bill.

- Me too, frank. Me too.

Same rules apply as before.

All we're asking for is
your most ambitious displays

of your lives!

You may start your sleighs...

Now!

- Okay.

- Okay.

So what's the plan?

- Well, actually your story
about Italy got me thinking

about other Italian
Christmas traditions.

So I did some research and
I found something I think

to be pretty interesting
and completely unexpected.

- A ceppo.

My grandparents always had a
tree of light at Christmas.

- And it can also
mean yule log, right?

- Yes.

The tradition is that you
cut a trunk of the tree

and you burn the log in the
fireplace on Christmas night.

And then the kids of the family,

they hit the burning embers
till the sparks fly up

into the air,

symbolizing the hopes of the
family for the coming year.

- Can we do it in two days?

- Well, give it a
detailed design,

no one second guessing
each other, complete focus

and every available family
member lending a hand.

Maybe.

(grace laughs)

- okay.

- Where do you want me to start?

- The lights tony and
grace are laying in,

are going to lead to the
second tier of the ceppo.

- Uh huh. It's
going to look great.

- I think so.
- Yep.

Hey grace.
- Hey.

- I just want to thank you.

- For what?

- For helping me to
realize why I got

into the decorating
business in the first place.

Doing this with the
people you love,

trying to bring a little
joy into the world.

That should have always been
more than enough, you know?

- Three, two, one,
everybody stop!

Tomorrow's the big day.

You'll have a few extra
hours to get every light,

bow and bow in its place.

- Let's see how this
looks, shall we?

("jingle bells" blaring)

boom.

Yeah.

- Whoa.

That was...

- Stunning.

- Yeah, if their goal is
to give people headache

and blurred vision, then
mission accomplished,

otherwise I'm not impressed.

- All right. Come on.

(grace and tony laugh)

- I think...

I think we're coming along.

- Yeah, we might even finish.

- We'd better.

I haven't been this exhausted
since two-a-days in college.

- Look, if you want to rest up
for tomorrow, I totally get.

- No, it's better to go over
things with your dad sooner

rather than later.

I'll see you at the house?

- Yeah.
- Okay.

- I don't know what
grace told you exactly,

but any financial issues
we have with the store,

I can handle.

- I'm not so sure that's true.

After looking into your records,

it seems like you guys
are a little bit behind-

- whoa, whoa, whoa. You
let him look at my records?

- Dad, just listen.

- Look.

The quickest way to ease
your monthly cash losses

would be to purchase
the building that houses

your midlothian store.

- Ha! That's your big idea?

You want me to spend more money?

- Actually, yes.

I looked into it and the
lease holding companies

are already unloaded a few
of their buildings this year

below cost.

They might welcome the
opportunity to get another one

off the books.

You'd use your inventory, which
you already own obviously,

as collateral for the loan.

Mr. Ryan, you do this,
you're going to save

about $2,000 a month.

- Which brings us
closer to even.

- Exactly.

And you're putting
your money into equity,

which gives you
some flexibility,

if business doesn't
pick up right away.

Now your marketing,

which at the moment
is inventory focused.

It should really be about
letting customers know

what separates
you from the pack,

your expertise in refurbishing.

- Yeah, the part of the
business that you love, dad.

- Your competition in the
area either doesn't offer

that service or they don't
have anywhere near the amount

of years of expertise
that you do.

It's low overhead.
It's high return.

You're a craftsman

and your customers
need to know that.

- That's why people
came to your business

in the first place.

You're skilled to be able
to take a piece of furniture

and breathe new life into it.

- You see that? (laughs)

(Ryan's furniture, where what's
old can we made new again?(

I like that.

- Catchy.

- Now I know this
is a lot to chew on,

but I think these strategies
could really help put you

in a position of success.

- Well, if these numbers
are what they appear to be,

then what you're saying is...

Interesting.

- I can send you the files.

You can check the
numbers yourself.

Mr. Ryan...

I just wanted to help.

(men laugh)

- this should be enough
I think, don't you?

(cheerful Christmas tune)

- hey, pop. Be careful, will ya?

- Yes, I will.

- How's it look?

- Great.

Hey, there's somebody
here to see you.

- Oh, yeah? Who?

Hey.

- The decorations look amazing.

- Thanks.

We still have a long way to go.

You didn't have to come
all the way out here,

you could have just called.

- Somehow a phone call
didn't seem right.

Remember how hideous our
mount Kellogg dorm room was?

- Yeah, who could forget
those baby blue walls.

- But we made it work,

turned it into a spot they
would take applicants by

on the tour.

Show them how comfy
dorm life was.

- Our first home staging.

- Where our friendship
and our partnership began.

I'm really sorry, grace.

- Oh, Sarah, you don't-

- as soon as the possibility
of a show came around,

I just...

Took over.

I got so excited.

And the more excited I got,

the more I wanted to
control everything.

It was not cool.

And I completely understand
if you want to start

your own thing.

- Whether or not the
show becomes a reality,

there is no one else I'd
rather be doing this with.

I'd be 50% less
dynamic without you.

- Friendship first,
business partner second.

- You got it.

Aww.

- I'd stay and help,
but I got to get back.

Promised my folks I'd
meet them for dinner.

- I'll send them my
love. Happy holidays.

- Bye.
- Bye.

(sighs)

- I guess that went well.

- It did actually.

(frank yells)

- dad!

Dad.

(frank groans)

don't move him. Don't move him.

- Okay. Okay. Are you all right?

(frank groaning)

- [911 operator] 911.
What's your emergency?

- Yeah, we need an
ambulance right away.

- Okay.

Okay.

Yeah. I'll let them know. Okay.

That was mom. Dad's
going to be fine.

He fractured his clavicle
and had the wind knocked

out of him, but no broken ribs.

- The bright nights committee
said that the deadline

still stands.

- We've lost a lot of time.

- Look, we all know what
we need to accomplish

and we can only get it
done if we work in harmony

as one unit,

as family.

- Yep.

- We have to finish
this for frank.

- Two minutes everyone,
two minutes to show time!

- Are we good?

- I think so. I think so.

- Maybe we should just
check the connections,

just to be sure.

- Good idea.
- One last time, right?

- Yeah.
- Why not?

What's going on?

- Come on. It's not
working. It's not working!

- We tested everything.
It should be fine.

- 30 seconds to show time!

- I'll check. I'll check.

(suspenseful music)

(beep)

- come on.

Oh my gosh. This
can't be happening.

- Okay. Okay. Try it.
It should be good.

All right.

- [bill] I'll test it one
more time while we have time.

- Yeah, test it.

- That's it everybody!

No more tinkering,
testing, or touch ups .

- Oh great.

I guess we won't know if it
works until it's our turn.

- Welcome everyone to
our bright nights finals!

(crowd clapping and cheering)

let's give a big,
warm round of applause

to our first finalist...

Glowscapes!

(crowd clapping and cheering)

("joy to the world"
syncing to lights)

- yeah!

Yeah!

(techno music blaring)

- [Wendy] that was
incredible, wasn't it?

(crowd cheering)

and now get ready for
our other finalist,

what name are they going with?

- Making spirits bright.

- Making spirits bright! Woo!

- Nice of you to join us, frank.

- Well, better late than never.

(laughing)

- do the honors?

- Let's do it together, like
it always should have been.

- Ready?

- One, two, three.

- [tony] guys, hit the thing.

(boys tapping switch)

- good job.

(Christmas melody starts)

- whoa!

(Christmas melody continues)

- just about perfect, isn't it?

(crowd cheering)

- on behalf of
cardinal group energy

and the bright nights committee,

I am pleased to
announce the winner

of the 15th annual
bright nights contest...

Making spirits bright!

(crowd cheering and clapping)

- you know, I just
realized something. -

- Oh, what's that?

- Well, remember when
I gave you a ride

and I said we were square?

We weren't.

- Oh?

No, 'cause I took that
snowball in the back for you.

- That's right.

(cheerful music)

- what about now? Are we square?

- Um.

- We're getting there.

(grace laughs)

- frank, will you get a move on?

You move like a snail.

- Bill, you don't want me to
fall off the ladder again,

do you?

- No, I just don't want us
to miss the show, that's all.

- [frank] we won't.

- I'll get the car.

- Hey, we should
have our own show.

- Hey pat.

Yeah, look man, I just wanted
to thank you for hooking me up

with that restaurant
group in bonaire.

No, I think I'm going to be
able to turn things around

for them.

Hey, can I call you back?
My sister's calling.

Hey maria.

Yeah, I'm gonna be home in 10.

Tell grace not to worry,

I'm going to be there
before the show starts.

Okay, bye.

- Cheese, cheese. I got
cheese just for you.

- [Arlene] oh, yum.

- Have we started yet?

- [Arlene] no, no. Everybody
find a seat though.

- Hey, where's tony?

- Here I am!
- Oh, here he is.

- Oh, you inherited your
father's flair for the dramatic.

I thought you might
miss the start.

- Not for the world.

- Aww.

I made your favorite.

- Oh, thank you.

- Okay, okay. Sit, sit, sit.

You guys ready?

- Yeah!

- Okay, here we go.

- I'm Sarah wolf.

- And I'm grace Ryan.

Welcome to a very special
holiday edition of...

- Upstate.

(cheering and clapping)

(gentle piano music)