Road to Christmas (2018) - full transcript
Los Angeles television producer Maggie Baker unwittingly falls for Danny Wise, the son and former producer of his mother's popular annual Christmas special Julia Wise Lifestyle. When ...
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Hi, Maggie!
And a Merry Christmas party to you.
Here.
I spent far too long on the eggnog,
but it's even better than last year.
Wait, you're producing a live televised
Christmas Special in less than a week.
When does a head producer
find time to make eggnog?
Hey, you want something
done, you ask a busy person.
It tastes like a Christmas tree.
Maggie!
Thank you for inviting us to this.
I knew a Julia Wise office
Christmas party would be amazing,
but I wasn't prepared.
She has a Christmas tree in her office!
- Now don't you wish you had one, too?
- A little, yes.
Here.
This is Stacy, our Associate Producer.
And this is Lucy Grace.
She and her crew are doing a story based
on the new Christmas special format.
- I watch your show every week.
- Thank you!
And Maggie, thank you so much
for the sit-down with Julia.
It went great.
I was lucky I could even get you one.
It's hard pulling her away from
her employees at a Christmas party...
Because I don't think
of them as employees.
We're more of a family.
- Lucy, I forgot to give this to you.
- Oh... Oh, my gosh.
I love your cookbooks.
My mom's going to be so jealous.
We watch your Christmas
Special together every year.
Never miss it.
Again, doing it live and in
your own farmhouse in Vermont?
That's a bold choice.
It is, and it was Maggie's idea.
First year as our Head Producer...
I have been following Julia's
lead for five years now.
The idea was already there,
I'm just helping it along.
Would you mind if we shoot
some office-party B-roll?
Of course, and please stick around,
the party goes all day.
Wouldn't miss it.
There you go.
Listen, swing by my office
after the production meeting.
I have something
I want to run by you.
Will do.
Everything okay?
Yeah, it's fine.
Come on.
The special's in five days,
we still have so much to do.
Wait. Just...
Hey, Mom.
Merry Christmas!
Well, a few days early.
Honey, hold on a second,
your dad's right here.
He wants to say hi, too.
- Hi, honey!
- Hi, Dad.
Let me guess.
It's December 20th,
so you guys are almost done
making the Christmas cookies?
Twice as many as usual this year.
I'm giving them away
at the White Elephant.
Don't tell your sister.
Honey, you know that
no matter how much we miss
having you home for Christmas this year,
we are so very proud of you.
I do.
And I miss you guys, too.
We tell everyone who
asks what you're doing.
We can't wait to watch!
...As promise
we are bringing you
the Julia Wise Christmas Special
live this year,
but fear not, because...
Hey, just make sure to call me during
the White Elephant exchange, okay?
I love hearing how loud it can get.
We'll do that.
- Merry Christmas, honey.
- Merry Christmas, babe.
Merry Christmas.
Hey.
It seems like a pretty serious
HR problem to have mistletoe around.
We get a lot of emails
about mistletoe policy, yeah,
...but not one problem.
We're very proud of that.
You carry around a coach's whistle?
Yeah, it's a Christmas present
from my dad.
He was a football coach,
so when I moved here to L.A.
he wanted me to have something for luck.
- Does it work?
- Yeah, it's super loud.
No, I mean does it bring you luck?
I knew what you meant,
and... yeah.
So, what brings you here
to Julia Wise Lifestyle Headquarters?
I have a meeting with the lady herself.
About her Christmas special.
She asked me to wait.
Well, I work on the Christmas special.
Is there anything...
I hear they're doing it live this year.
Yeah, changing up the format,
getting a little more adventurous.
Non-traditional.
You know, like a traditional
Christmas special traditionally is?
Well, no, not on my watch.
Year after year of the same exact thing?
No.
No, thank you.
I'm sorry, what did you say
your name was again?
Sorry.
- The boss.
- Good luck.
Come in.
Julia, are you...
Are you okay?
I'm great.
Just a little Christmas inspiration.
Please, have a seat.
Is this about the Teleprompter?
No, I'm thrilled
about the Teleprompter.
As hard as I've tried,
I just cannot memorize that much.
Well, just personally,
I think you should just wing it.
Just shoot from the hip.
You are so great at that...
Maggie...
And maybe next year, when
we do it, it can be more of a...
This has nothing to do
with the Teleprompter.
I had dinner last night
with the network President,
and he has expressed some concern
about the live show.
Concern doesn't... sound good.
There's more competition this year.
Ratings need to go up.
He just thinks it's too big of a risk.
Maybe just too big of a change.
I mean, it's bold, I'll say that,
but all the more reason to change it up.
And I agree.
It's just...
Okay...
You know that right
after my husband passed,
my son, Danny, produced the Christmas
special for the first two years.
Yes, the mysterious Danny Wise years.
I started right after he left.
Well, after last night's meeting,
I put a call in to Danny,
I just wanted some advice.
Well, you know, it's always great
to have new ideas.
I mean, if you even
want me to talk to him,
I'd be more than happy to do that.
That's good news.
Because I have asked Danny to come back
and work with you for this last week.
It is not a demotion.
Co-Producers.
I'm just a little worried with
this whole network pressure,
and I would feel better if...
No, Julia, don't even think twice, okay?
It is going to work best
if you are comfortable.
Thank you for understanding.
I know how last minute this is.
Maggie...
this is my son,
Danny.
You're... Danny Wise.
- And you're the famous Maggie Baker.
- I am.
I'm not famous. But yes Baker.
Maggie. Maggie Baker.
Am.
Maggie came up with the live show idea,
and Danny has some great ideas
about, bringing in the more
traditional Christmas element.
Right.
Mom and I discussed this idea
about having a few
pre-recorded segments.
- Pre-recorded, in a live TV show.
- Well, we shoot some segments in advance.
It allows us to cut away
to something exciting.
More exciting than live television?
Maggie, I know this
is not in the planning,
but I do not see that
we have another choice.
Well, then,
if this is what we're
doing, then let's...
let's make it great.
I mean, am I crazy?
It feels like Julia
doesn't believe in me.
Of course, she believes in you.
She's just worried about the show.
I'm worried about the show.
I mean, have you ever actually
seen a problem be solved
by adding more people to it?
Tug-of-war.
- What?
- Elections?
Like, when you're in the line at
the bank, and more tellers show up?
Okay, look, I just...
I agree.
It'll be great for Julia
to have her son there,
...and it'll be good for the show.
But it's just, it's late in the game.
I mean, and do we even
know it's gonna work?
Okay, you're spinning.
Come on.
Also, didn't Danny Wise
produce the first two years of specials
when he was like 22,
and then run off to go make
some nature films or something?
Documentaries.
Okay...
if we're going to work together,
I think it's best that we avoid
sneaking up on each other.
I tend to think out loud.
That's pretty obvious.
Okay, look...
we can use these segments
to focus on tradition.
People love that.
The same pie recipe every year,
the Christmas ornament we all remember.
Yes, and I agree that those
things are very important,
but we are also on-air
in under a week, and...
When you were an intern
at "Good Morning, Omaha,"
you produced 10 Christmas
carol sing-alongs in three days.
Yes.
But I had an editor...
You also managed to get backstage
at the Radio City Christmas Show,
- ... interviewing none other than...
- Okay, so you did your research...
But I guarantee you,
I didn't get any of that done
by following
"ye old traditional rule book".
Touche.
- Okay, what's your idea?
- Well, off the top of my head...
Everyone!
Can I have your attention?
When I first started this company,
I always said I was going
to run it like a family.
And what our Christmas Specials
have done over the years
is bring people that
perfect Christmas feeling.
For me,
my perfect Christmas
has always been my family,
and that's what we bring
to our audience.
Now, this year, we are doing
things a little differently,
and by doing this show live,
I do know that several of you
will not able to spend
Christmas with your family.
But you'll be with us,
your work family,
and that's why it is so important
that you really hear this.
Thank you.
All of you.
Now, can we eat, please?
- Merry Christmas.
- Merry Christmas.
I'll see you all in Vermont.
"A Cross-Country Christmas".
That's the idea.
These pre-recorded segments should be
about places across the country.
So the biggest family-owned
Christmas Tree farm, for example.
We find unique, interesting places
that are doing cool Christmas things.
Sure, if there was time.
Well, we can have time if I start,
and you handle all the different...
- Honestly, it's a great idea.
- Thank you.
I'd also suggest
that more people would watch
if you had, say,
a celebrity host?
Exactly.
Blend the new live show
with the, you know, traditional.
Let's look into it.
All right, Stacy and I will look into
locations, and you can find the crew?
Deal.
Okay.
I brought you three...
of the biggest family-owned
Christmas tree farms
between here and Vermont.
Also, some Santa villages,
and a couple bake-offs...
Are bake-offs getting old?
Okay, so here's what's going to happen.
I need you to help me find
Julia's sons, Derek and David.
Wait, I don't understand.
Why?
You heard Julia.
Her perfect Christmas
is having her family there.
What if I could convince them
to surprise her?
You've seen
how hard Julia works, right?
Yes, we have to make sacrifices
for this job.
I haven't had a date in a year,
and I'm tired all the time,
but can you imagine
what it's like for Julia?
She shouldn't have to sacrifice
her family for this show, too.
So you came up with a plan to go
crosscountry and collect them?
- Why not just call them?
- Because this should be done in person.
Plus, if I can convince her sons
to come along, everybody wins.
- And you're not going to tell Danny?
- No. He's not an issue.
He'll be in Vermont. If I told him,
he would just cause problems.
Okay. I'm in.
Just promise me that when
you're Julia Wise one day,
I get to be your Maggie Baker.
That has always been true.
Okay, good.
Now, you find where they live,
and I will plan the first shoot in...
...Fort Collins, Colorado.
The Gateway Pines Christmas Tree Farm.
It's the third largest family-owned
Christmas tree farm in the country.
We already reached out to the owners,
and they seem more than happy to have us.
Why not the largest Christmas Tree Farm?
Because if we go too large, we lose
the idea of something family-run.
- Right.
- Right, that...
That's what I was going to say.
Okay, and you both think
this is the right thing to do?
I do.
It's a good idea.
Okay, well, I'll be on a plane
in the morning with the crew,
everything will be handled
when I get there...
You know, I have a lot of experience
getting segments like this, Mom...
I agree, yeah.
Let's send Danny.
Actually, I would like to supervise.
I'd like to make sure
that these segments
are still in keeping in
the spirit of the live show.
While still having a traditional
Christmas feel, of course.
Yes, but I am more than confident
that Stacy here
can keep me posted from Vermont
while you all get settled.
All right.
Go.
Take a day or two, make something great.
Work as a team,
and then I will see you at
the Christmas tree lighting,
because that is our tradition.
Will do.
- Go. Make it happen.
- Travel safe, Mom.
So, pack your bags...
- And a jacket...
- And a very thick coat...
- The less we do of that...
- The better, yeah.
All right, so I did some
recon work with the owners
on the phone earlier,
which are adorable, by the way.
They said that we can shoot in the field,
but I'm thinking that we should also...
- Definitely want get shots of this barn.
- Yeah.
Hey, guys!
Hold on.
Don't come close.
I'm very sick.
It came on suddenly...
Okay, she gets credit
for being professional, but...
But we all might catch a terrible flu.
We should warn the crew.
No need. I am the crew.
Wait, what? Just you?
Just wait till you see
how fast I work
before you go
and start passing judgement.
Lucy, do you need any tea,
or can we get you something?
I'm okay, I think.
It's just a really high fever, and...
Whoa, whoa, hey, all right.
Let's go sit down.
Feel better.
Well, we just lost your celebrity host.
Scrap that idea.
Head to Vermont and
let's shoot some segments.
Wait, we don't need a host.
There are plenty of ways
we could still get it.
You want to shoot a series of
Christmas events across the country
- ... without a host?
- Yeah.
Point a camera at things
and hope for the best?
Danny, I think I know what I'm doing.
I've been doing this job for the
last five years after you quit
and ran away to go make
PSAs for bears, or whatever.
Documentary nature shorts.
Okay, look.
Let me know what decision you come to.
I will be by the car,
calling around for hosts
who can work this close to Christmas.
Hey, Stacy, how are you?
How is it going over there?
The crew and everyone
made it to Vermont,
and it's gorgeous here.
We're having rehearsal in a little bit,
and Julia's making hot cocoa
to welcome us.
How are things going on your end?
You know, we lost Lucy Grace,
Danny's being unreasonable,
and if we don't get
the shoot started soon,
I'm not going to have enough time
to talk to the first Wise brother,
but other than that, fine.
Whoa, Maggie!
Okay, take a breath.
I know. I just, I need to think
what would Julia do in this situation.
Maybe just consider what
Maggie Baker would do.
Let them tell their story.
You know what, you're right.
I think I do know
what Maggie Baker would do.
Thanks, Stace.
I'll talk to you soon.
Hey.
Okay, so...
maybe we got off on the wrong foot,
but if you give me a minute,
I think I have an idea that will work.
I have a feeling there's
going to be a lot of these.
Okay, the sooner you choose to trust me,
the more you'll find
I'm actually kind of fun to work with.
Come on.
Come on.
So, you're the oldest Wise brother?
Oldest brother, second to be adopted.
Man, it's getting chilly.
You and your brothers don't spend
Christmas together normally, right?
Well, just diving into
the personal questions.
I don't mean to pry.
Your mom, she...
She's the master of Christmas decoration
and baked goods, yeah.
Yes, actually.
Stupid zipper...
Look, we just like our Christmases
the old-fashioned way,
and by that I mean
not around all the show biz.
I like stockings hung by the fire,
picking out a Christmas tree
on a certain day...
- And what's wrong with that?
- Nothing!
I mean, nothing's wrong with that.
It's just if you adhere too closely,
where's the room for adventure?
Christmas doesn't need to happen
on a particular schedule
in order for it to be a good one.
And that's why you're here
shooting a Christmas special
instead of being with your family?
Yeah, kind of.
The first year the Christmas
special came out, which...
you produced it...
quite well, actually...
Thank you.
My family had two girls in college,
and there wasn't a lot of money
to fly home,
so I spent it in the dorms
with some other people,
and on Christmas Eve,
the Julia Wise Christmas Special
came on, kept us all company.
That was a really powerful thing,
so when I graduated,
I went to work for your mom.
I think that what she does
is really important.
It helps people.
Welcome to Gateway Pines,
and a Merry Christmas to you both.
- Hi. I'm Claire Matthews.
- Hi!
I'm Maggie Baker.
We spoke on the phone.
Yes!
So how's the television
magic going out there?
We were wondering
if you would be interested in doing
an interview for our segment,
seeing that it's a family-owned farm.
- Oh, no, that's not really what our...
- Now, Claire, let's not be hasty.
My husband does one
production of "The Music Man"
at community theatre...
- I was good!
- And suddenly.
Yeah, you were.
He was really good.
That coat isn't heavy enough, son.
That is what I said.
I told you to pack warmer.
Come on, let's get you folks a tree.
Let me grab my gear.
Interviewed by whom?
We don't have a host.
You said you've watched
my segments from the past.
- You did your research, right?
- Yeah, there's a lot of 'em. So?
Did you ever once hear my voice?
Or see me in any of them?
Exactly.
You get people talking enough,
the segments just sort
of host themselves. You'll see.
You ever cut your own tree?
I've done it with my folks,
but never on my own.
- What about you, young man?
- No, sir.
I'm usually traveling for Christmas.
His mom does miraculous
things with trees, though.
I mean, her trees were in magazines
before she even owned her own magazine.
How long have
you two been married?
No, no...
- And you're not dating?
- No, ma'am...
Now, what you wanna know
about looking for a tree...
Now, don't shake the tree, needles
will always fall off if you do that.
You want to put your hand
on a branch, and give it a glide.
If needles come off, then move on.
Now, I hope you measured your house.
That's a problem we get...
How long have you guys been out here?
The farm's been in Matt's family
all his life,
and I married in about 25 years ago.
Since then, we've been partners
in business as well as in life.
Now, Maggie, come over here.
You want...
I mean, I don't...
I don't know about this.
It's easier than it looks.
Now, when you swing the axe,
you want to make sure that
nobody's arms are near you.
That makes sense.
- Yeah, that sounds about right.
- Good tip.
Okay, Matt,
stop torturing these people.
I'm just kidding.
We don't use axes anymore.
But you're a really good sport.
Most people just panic
when I tell them to swing an axe.
Wait!
Oh, no, you didn't...
you didn't have to cut it.
Sorry, I should have been more clear.
We have a rental car,
so we can't bring a tree with us.
You see the sign?
Okay.
I guess we got ourselves
a Christmas tree.
Ho, ho, ho.
Thank you.
- You're very welcome, son.
- You too.
I just got some great
extra footage of those two.
- Yeah?
- So sweet.
- You need some help?
- What, it doesn't look like I have it?
You got it?
Hey, we gotta get going,
so if you don't mind not doing
one of your carefully planned set-ups
that slows us down so much?
As long as you keep it spontaneous
by suddenly throwing two old
sweet people into the mix.
You're welcome for that, by the way.
Thank you.
I mean it.
They were great.
It's gonna be a good segment.
You were right.
You're welcome.
I just...
I want your mom
to have a great show,
and I want the audience
to love it, and I want...
The same things that I want.
So we both want
what's best for your mom.
Truce?
Truce.
- All right, we gotta get going.
- To the airport?
I'm pretty sure
we're still ahead of schedule.
Well, extra shots.
You know, snow, mountain,
majesty.
Finished.
Perfect timing.
I'll upload it when
we get to the airport.
Wait a second.
- I know this place.
- Yeah?
Strange.
Hi. Excuse me, I was wondering
if you could help me find...
- Derek?
- Danny?
What are you...
What are you doing here?
I have no idea.
You're Derek Wise.
- Third born. Third adopted.
- Yeah, best hair, best smile.
- I'm sorry, what?
- Nah, it's a joke my brothers do.
- What's going on?
- I'm Maggie Baker.
I'm producing your mom's
Christmas special this year.
- I was wondering if you would...
- Wait, you planned this?
I can explain.
I now have two
of the three Wise Men.
I wanted to extend an invite for you
to come to your mom's show this...
No.
Thanks, but very much not interested.
Sorry.
Hungry?
- And your plan was to...
- Look, I can explain.
Just let's get through dinner.
I'm buying...
- No...
- Steak?
- Fine.
- Okay.
And you didn't think to ask
anybody in advance?
All right, the first rule
of getting things done is
it's easier to ask for forgiveness
than permission.
Why don't you guys want to
spend Christmas with each other?
- You don't give up easily, do you?
- Never once, no.
Never do.
My brothers have been upset
by the Christmas special
since the first year of the show.
We get along fine all year long,
but then Christmas comes along,
and things take a turn.
We just don't spend it together.
Okay, here we go.
Maybe I still have this...
Yup.
Yeah.
He was 16.
He wanted to sing
on the first year of mom's show,
which I was producing,
and I said no.
- As you can imagine, that didn't go well.
- Yeah, I can imagine.
I hurt his feelings.
Since then, neither one of my brothers
wants anything to do with the Special.
I was just trying to protect him.
- Well, have you told him that?
- No.
We don't... we don't talk
about that stuff.
Brothers just...
don't talk about feelings.
Okay.
And what about you, huh?
I don't see you spending
Christmas with the Bakers.
- Where are they?
- Hitchens, Nebraska.
And my family is crazy about Christmas.
I mean, they do it great.
But, they understand that I'm working.
Excuse me,
what's happening out there?
That's the resort's
annual snowman relay.
Really?
Have you guys considered ever filming it
for, say, a Christmas special segment?
Wait, wait, wait, wait.
No, no, no, we've got to hit the road.
And a snowman relay?
What even is that?
Well...
You build a snowman in one place,
and then you roll each
piece over to the next place.
In teams.
- What does the winner get?
- The satisfaction of a wellbuilt snowman.
Okay.
But I need you to get permission...
Yup! Doing it.
Okay, I didn't mean
to be rude before.
I'm sorry, it's just my last day
before vacation,
and I didn't expect
to see Danny here...
No, no, no, I'm sorry,
I was being pushy.
And, you know, we were
just passing through...
Okay, I... orchestrated
us passing through.
There's no way
you'll come with us?
So we started having this relay
as a way to keep the kids entertained.
From there, we just kept it going.
That was...
everything we needed, Erin.
- Thank you, that was perfect.
- No problem.
Let me say goodbye to Derek,
and we'll get on the road.
I thought you were forming a team.
- You have to choose a team name.
- Yes.
What? No...
No, no, thank you, but...
We will do...
"Thumpity Thump Thump".
That's a good one.
What are the other names?
No, I mean...
We don't have time for this.
Well, no, you do need a third person
in order to form your own team.
- We have a third person.
- We do?
I just finished my last
shift before break, anyway.
Okay, don't get mad, but
Derek and I made a bet
that if I could get you to participate
in the snowman relay,
he will come with us.
- Yeah, but we also have to win.
- There is that, too.
So...
Okay...
When I say go,
you will all build your snowman.
Once it's complete, raise your hands...
and I'll bring you a carrot,
and then disassemble your snowman,
and roll it,
one piece at time,
over to these targets.
The first two teams
to put their snowman back together
advance to the next round.
Okay?
Yes!
You ready?
Three, two, one!
Go!
You get a small... Roll it in a small...
There's not going to be enough...
And then it gets bigger...
- No, first, you... Whoa!
- How did you do that?
I just did it, instead of
arguing about how to do it.
Have you guys tried that maybe?
Okay, well...
I'll get this snow.
You know, this is a lot of effort
just to impress a girl.
Hey, cool it, all right?
We just work together.
Really, because your hair looks good,
and... you're wearing cologne.
Don't think I can't smell it.
- Don't smell me...
- It smells good, though.
Look, I know this Christmas special
has always been a thing for us, okay,
and I know you spend
the holidays with David, so...
Okay, can we not talk a
bout this right now? Please?
Okay, guys, ready, ready?
Carrot! Carrot!
- Another team ready?
- Carrot...
- All right.
- Take it!
Roll it to the other side.
Go, go, go, go, go!
Go, Danny, go!
Why is this so important to you?
Because your mom
has been so good to me.
And she works every Christmas,
and she gives it her all.
Doesn't she deserve
a good Christmas, too?
She really wants to see you.
- Right, go, go!
- Go, go, go, go!
Maggie, I really appreciate
everything you're trying to do,
but my family doesn't
like surprises, okay?
Okay, final piece!
Final piece!
You are so much quicker
than Danny.
- You gotta go!
- Maggie, go!
Yeah, okay, okay!
Push, push!
- More.
- It's all you!
- Take us home!
- Less leg!
- A little help, guys?
- Should we help? I'll go help.
Okay, come on!
- Scarf! Scarf, scarf, scarf, scarf...
- Scarf, scarf, scarf, scarf, scarf!
Yeah!
Well, good effort, guys.
But...
a deal is a deal.
Actually...
I didn't really care if we won or not.
I just kind of wanted to see Danny
get his hands dirty,
ruffle up his hair a bit,
with his cologne...
You little...
Plus...
I'm pretty sure if Dad was still here,
he'd tell us to get over ourselves
and go see Mom.
I'm sure you're right about that.
Yeah, well...
you're not going to convince
David to come, but...
Well, it might not matter.
They're definitely closing
the airports tonight.
- How do you know that?
- I've seen it before.
You can try to book a ticket,
or we can stay ahead of the storm by
driving east to the next major airport.
It'd take all night,
but it's Omaha.
- That's the plan.
- Wait, but it's six hours away.
- And your point?
- My point is... let's go.
I'll pay any price
to the first person
that brings me a bucket of coffee.
Where are we?
- Good morning, sleepyhead!
- What?
- Maggie!
- Mom?
How are you here?
I... honestly have no idea.
We outran the storm...
... then we saw Hitchens,
and we thought, "Hmm, man,
if her family is that into Christmas,
we have just got
to see it ourselves".
And you guys
didn't wake me up to ask?
How does that go...
it's better to ask forgiveness
rather than permission.
- Mom, Dad!
- Sweetheart, don't slip.
- How is that you're here?
- Seriously, again, I have no idea.
Hi!
I missed you!
Hi. Danny Wise.
- Nice to meet you.
- This is my brother, Derek.
Hi. Merry Christmas.
- Nice to meet you.
- Derek. Hi.
I work with Maggie.
I'm Kate, Maggie's sister.
Mom, these are Julia Wise's sons.
Okay, guys, let's not
make a big deal about it.
It turns out that Maggie loves
surprising people with family,
so we thought we'd return the favor.
Well, you're just in time
for the White Elephant.
White Elephant?
It's a gift exchange party game,
and nobody does it better
than our parents.
Has anyone ever filmed it?
You brought a tree?
That...
Yes!
That is for you guys.
That's our Maggie,
keeping us on our toes!
Come on in.
- You hungry?
- Yeah, starving.
There's tons of food, come in.
- Hey.
- Hi.
This is an ambush.
So my family is fair game,
but yours is offlimits?
That is different.
Are you seriously thinking about
recording the White Elephant?
I do think it could make
a good segment.
- Danny, my family, they're not...
- Your family loves Christmas.
Look, I won't film them
if you don't want me to.
But look at this.
This warmth and tradition,
you can't fake it on TV.
If it were this easy to make,
I never would have left this show.
Why did you quit the show?
Hey... Are you coming in?
'Cause your family
is starting that gift thing,
and it's really intense in there.
Look who's here, everyone!
Merry Christmas!
Aunt Maggie!
Oh, my gosh, you are so big!
You got so tall!
Now I wish we brought presents.
- Derek, right?
- Yeah.
- Come with me.
- Go with my mom. She's got you covered.
- Hi. Derek. Hi. Nice to meet you.
- Hi!
I didn't think I was gonna get
to see you guys!
Lois Baker's famous
emergency present cabinet.
I don't know exactly what is what,
but one of these is a manicure kit...
...There is a, amaryllis
that you grow from a bulb.
This is just a gigantic box of candy,
which, trust me,
will be the most popular.
Okay, you just keep wrapped presents
for emergencies?
Well, moms have to plan.
I mean, what if something breaks,
or somebody brings a friend.
Or a vegetarian.
You know what's the most important
is something that your mom says
every year on her Christmas special,
"Let's just enjoy each
other's enjoyment," right?
That's what makes Christmas
the most special.
Who has an empty hand?
Can you take these over?
Sally decorated those.
Great. Whoa...
This is bacon-wrapped dates.
Here is some salami on spiced onions,
which is incredible,
you should taste that.
I'm a vegetarian.
Well, then for you,
I have some veggies and dip.
The Bakers are pretty good
at this Christmas thing, huh?
Yeah, we're pretty lucky like that.
Okay, let's do this.
Okay, I'm going to need your help
getting all the presents ready...
- ... setting up for White Elephant.
- Yes...
Okay, bring 'em on. Pile 'em up!
I think I'll get the White Elephant.
- You're gonna get it?
- I hope.
Okay, hey, everybody, can I just...
can I just take a minute to say that...
I am so glad
that I got to see you all
a few days before Christmas.
It's good to see you, too, honey.
And...
I can't believe I'm going to say this.
I was wondering if you all would want
to be part of Julia Wise's Christmas...
Yes! Definitely, yes.
I mean... sure,
if you want.
Just let us brush
our hair out first, and...
- Go do your hair, Kate.
- Okay.
Okay, act natural, you guys,
come on.
Okay, get set up, and don't get too
much of my Aunt because she's got...
Hey, don't worry.
I'm not going to embarrass anyone.
Scout's honor.
- You were a scout?
- I'm thinking about joining.
Okay.
Okay, remember the rules,
you can either take a gift
from the pile or steal a gift.
Now, if your gift is stolen,
you get the next turn,
but every gift can be stolen
how many times
before it is safe?
- Two times!
- Two times!
- Two, I think.
- ... Correct.
Now, there are 17 people and 17 gifts,
and, yes, one of them
is the famous white elephant.
- Dad over here...
- I got it last year!
Did you autograph it?
I'm gonna break with tradition?
Of course, I did!
Okay.
- Now, does everyone have a number?
- Yes!
All right, let's get started.
Okay. Well, curiously,
I have number one.
- I'll go with that one.
- No, no, no. That one.
I want that.
Number 10.
Who's 10?
That's me.
Here, yup.
Now, you can either steal a gift
or pick one from the pile.
Going for the gold!
Very good.
The elusive White Elephant.
In his natural habitat.
Look at the prestige on him.
That means you get to keep it
for a year and bring it next year.
Does that mean I'm invited back?
Potentially.
Dad, here, let me help you.
I'll get more firewood.
- I think that brings us to 11?
- Getting closer to the end.
- You remember how to...
- I know, yeah. Dad taught me.
You just point it...
Yeah.
My turn.
- Okay, superstar.
- Let's do it.
Hey!
Come on, let me help you out.
Your family, they are...
- They're great.
- Yeah.
I guess I've always known
how lucky I am
having grown up
with Christmases like this,
but somehow, it's even nicer
getting to see it through
someone else's eyes.
- It kind of reminds me why...
- Why you went to work for my mom?
- Mrs. Christmas.
- Yeah.
I get to share some of what I had
with people that maybe didn't.
You should always get to spend Christmas
surrounded by people that you love.
You should.
- Hey, Mom.
- Julia.
Hey, we just watched
the Christmas tree farm segment.
It's great!
Yeah?
I uploaded the segment to Vermont
from the last resort.
Well, you two are doing
amazing work, really.
I'd actually like to add more of
those segments if you can get them.
Are you sure?
I mean, you guys are already rehearsing.
The plan... it'd be hard to change.
No, no, no, no, no.
Maggie gave us really good instructions,
so, you know, rehearsals are a breeze.
Live show is great,
but I just think if we add
more of these traditional segments,
everybody at the network
will be more comfortable,
and honestly,
I'll feel a lot better, too.
Well, Julia, you are in luck.
We are about to send you
another segment.
It is Christmas party games
for families.
That sounds good.
Just make sure you're back tomorrow
for the tree lighting.
Great job, you two.
- Bye!
- Bye!
Thanks, Mom.
Well, it looks like the storm
is catching up to us,
and if you want to try and pop in
on David, we should probably...
Look, I know that this show
is changing a lot...
No, it's fine.
Really.
It's okay.
Mag...
Maggie!
Hey.
Here.
Extra cookies.
Don't tell Dad. I took his stash.
You swindled that
sweet old man for me.
That means so much.
Everything okay, by the way?
You know when you work
really hard for something,
and you get so close,
and then it's just...
slowly pulled out from under you?
- And you just start to doubt yourself?
- Not me.
Everything I try goes perfectly.
Maggie, I teach high school,
and I had to keep their attention
all last week
before they went
on Christmas break.
So, yes, I'm familiar with
doubting my abilities at work.
But I also happen to know
the Baker sisters have an uncanny knack
for getting right back up.
- You're the best.
- Love you.
I love you, too.
I love you!
- We'll be watching the special, kiddo.
- You better.
- Merry Christmas.
- I love you.
Merry Christmas! Bye!
- Safe travels!
- Safe travels!
Thanks.
Why not just ask him?
You know, say,
"Hey, free trip to Vermont,
and all the free baked goods
you could possibly eat... "
And that is the fastest way
to get him to say no.
Yeah. David's tricky.
- I am very persuasive.
- Yeah, she is.
If you want to get him to come
with us, let us do the talking.
Trust us.
...With that winter storm that has
already blown through the Midwest.
For more on that...
Thank you. Charles.
Rob McPherson here...
- Hi.
- Hi. How can I help y...
- Surprise!
- Well, if it isn't Derek.
- Good to see you.
- Whoa, what's going on?
- Hey, look at this guy!
- How you doing, bud?
Good.
- Hey, bro.
- Hi.
Maggie, I'd like you to meet
our brother, David.
- First adopted. Second oldest.
- By far the smartest.
And unquestionably kindest to animals.
Handsomest.
- I've said it for years.
- Top three, for sure.
- Hi. I'm David.
- Hi.
And this is Bradley.
Hi. David and I own this place together.
Hi, Bradley, I'm Danny.
So nice to meet you both.
David, I work with your mom.
And your brothers and I have been
on quite the adventure so far.
They've even agreed to come...
We've agreed to make some videos for
the upcoming Christmas special this year.
Doesn't Mom's show air
on Christmas Eve?
That's in, like, two days.
Yes, and one of the things
that we're doing this year...
We're traveling the country,
seeing different Christmas traditions,
and... you see, Derek, he told us
about your annual puppy party...
...and we thought it'd be a good
opportunity to make a video about it.
Tell me more about this puppy party.
We throw a Christmas party for
the rescue animals every year,
and we have a great time.
Okay.
But I don't want to be
the one on camera.
No, yeah, obviously...
- Can't put that mug on camera, come on...
- Would you want to?
Well... it'd put that
theatre degree to good use.
I agree, let's do it.
Yeah, he agrees, too.
What's his name?
Murray.
Murray. Okay, puppy party, Murray.
Puppy party! Bark, bark, bark!
- Let's go!
- Puppy party for Murray!
Okay, looks like we've
got everything we wanted.
Any last tips you want to give us?
If you're trying to get a good photo,
where your pup makes that
cute sideways face they do,
remember, a favorite or familiar toy
is your best bet.
The squeakier the better.
- That's good.
- Thanks again for letting us film this.
- Your mom talks about you all the time.
- I know. I watch the special.
- It's just a little too much.
- I get it.
Traditions.
It's always nice to make new ones.
Like, your mom, for instance,
she's doing the show live this year,
and your brothers have
agreed to come set.
- Wait, was this a set-up?
- A very well-intentioned one.
And... and did they
convince you to help?
Hey, I love spending
Christmas here, David.
I love all our traditions
that we have on our own.
Like, walking the dogs on Christmas Eve,
and the puppy party,
and when Bradley and your friends
make that feast...
Well, that's the plan.
That's the tradition
you and I have made.
I just figured maybe it was time
we thought more about
what Mom wants on Christmas
than what we want.
Plus...
I miss spending it with Danny.
You guys have your own tradition.
I get why... the way mom celebrates,
it isn't the way that you want to.
I get it, and I would join you, I would,
I would, but that would mean...
Yeah, we know.
Mom would be alone on Christmas
while the three of us were together.
That's not right.
Look, Danny, I know
that we didn't ask you...
Hey, hey, David, David...
Let's not rehash it. We're good.
We got the footage we need.
It's pretty simple.
Come with us if you want.
We leave for Vermont in the morning.
I'll get some dinner
started for the dogs.
I get that Mom's show
is a big part of Christmas
for some people.
- I love that about her.
- Then come to Vermont with us.
After our dad died,
this is how my mom processed it.
With work.
It's not like we felt ignored.
Not once, ever, but...
Christmas can be hard.
You know, that's how she gets through.
This is how I do it.
Here.
Do you know why, in the Christmas story,
they call them wise men?
Because they know what Myrrh was?
And where to find gold?
And yes, and they were crazy
for frankincense.
No...
No, it's because they
changed their plans.
They had been told to basically
go spy on this homeless family,
and that was their plan, until
an angel visits them and says, "Hey,
what do you guys think you're doin'?"
And they realized that they
could change their plans.
They were called wise
because they made the better choice.
They sheltered a family away to safety.
I'm just saying...
plans can change.
Yeah, I...
I think that...
Special delivery.
A good Samaritan found them in the park.
Well...
I'm sorry, Maggie.
I belong here.
Look at these guys.
Yeah, there's four of them.
Better get to work then.
...An unprecedented,
fast-moving storm
that's going to give
a lot of New Englanders
that White Christmas they dreamed of,
rolling over the North East and
bringing airport closures with it...
You know, you two work well together,
you and Danny.
Yeah, well, we've learned from the best.
Your mom is very generous with praise.
It is easy to learn that way.
Yeah, my brothers picked that up.
The generosity?
Yeah, David takes care of the animals.
And Danny...
did you know that he sends me
a box of food every month?
He says he doesn't want me to starve,
and I tell him, "Danny, I'm doing fine,"
and he's like, "Hey, it doesn't matter,
you're my little brother,
here's a jar of peanut butter".
- Do you eat it?
- Always. All of it, every month.
That's sweet.
All right, bad news,
the airport's closed.
Good news,
I got us tickets on a train
they think will get through.
It leaves in a couple hours,
but we gotta go now.
- What, do you mean, like...
- Right now?
- No, I reject this alliance.
- It seems so urgent.
- Super serious.
- Are you okay?
That's us! Okay!
Yeah! Us! Thank you! Sorry.
You know, for what it's worth,
my mom's going to be really
excited to see Derek tomorrow.
I hope so.
Okay.
And on that note...
Come on, let's go, let's go!
All passengers, your attention, please.
The train will be delayed
until further notice.
All right, well, the conductor says
that they're still clearing
the snow off the tracks.
Should we rent a car,
try and get a cab?
How far are we again?
I still don't have any service.
Derek, what are you doing?
Well, even if we don't make it
to the tree lighting,
we'll still make it to the show.
- Let's shoot something.
- Are you sure?
Asking people delayed from travel
is a huge risk.
Watch.
Hi, ma'am, how do you
feel about holiday travel?
Anytime it snows near Christmas,
we should all just stay home
and eat whatever we can find.
Good advice.
Merry Christmas.
- Merry Christmas.
- Thank you.
Okay, I was trying to
use her as an example,
but that was great,
and I wish you were filming it.
Yeah, me too.
- Let's try that again.
- Yeah?
Come on.
Excuse me.
Can I get your names?
- I'm Marissa, this is Joey.
- Hi.
Hi. Would you guys mind talking to us
for our Christmas TV special?
- Sure.
- Great.
- Where are you folks headed?
- Well, we were going to Vermont.
This train isn't usually as packed,
but the storm has
everything all messed up.
We just bought the last ticket.
One ticket, two people.
Three if you count this little guy.
I say we'll be fine.
Christmas is a time for miracles.
You don't seem so worried, though.
Everyone says Christmas travel
and delays are this huge hassle.
But look around.
It's beautiful out.
It's magic this time of year.
We are now ready to board
passengers at this time.
Please have your tickets ready
and begin boarding, thank you.
- You folks have a good Christmas.
- Is there anything we can do to help?
No, it's all right.
We'll figure it out.
- Merry Christmas.
- Merry Christmas.
- Maggie, I'll get them to sign waivers.
- Great.
I feel so bad...
Are you sure?
Oh, my gosh, thank you!
- Merry Christmas.
- Merry Christmas! Thank you!
Thank you!
Merry Christmas.
- Merry Christmas.
- Merry Christmas.
So...
- I did something.
- What did you do?
I gave that couple my ticket.
What about the tree-lighting ceremony?
Your mom?
Yeah, Mom will be fine.
She won't know she's missing me
any more than usual.
Just... Just don't tell her.
Now, will you guys all
get on the train?
You Wise men...
you're a complicated bunch.
You...
- Me?
- You...
I'm proud of you.
All right.
- Now, eat something, will you?
- Yeah, I know, I know.
- I snuck some peanut butter in your bag.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Mom's house is over that ridge.
It's too far to walk.
- Stacy says our ride is here, but...
- No.
You gotta be kidding me.
We're taking the sleigh.
You know,
the storm wasn't so bad.
It was sort of fun.
Yeah.
It was.
And I learned some things.
You're kind of good at your job.
Even if I'm too traditional?
I could use a little more
traditional in my life.
We make a good team.
I called around.
You know that any of the volunteers
and I would be happy to help out
if you want to go be with your Mom
and your brothers.
Merry Christmas.
Wh...?
Okay.
You made it!
How are you?
How are rehearsals going?
Rehearsals are good!
Yeah, the only thing
that we didn't rehearse
was cooking the Christmas goose
on live TV.
- But hey, what could go wrong?
- We could pre-cook the goose.
No, I'm fine. I'm kidding. Jitters.
I have faith in all of us.
And... I have one of my boys
with me for Christmas.
So, come on,
we have a tree to light,
and I also saved you
some ornaments to put on it.
Hey.
We made it.
Yeah.
- What a tree, huh?
- Right?
I made that.
Fourth grade.
This explains our performance
in the relay.
Can I ask you something?
I saved these for you.
Thank you.
What are they?
Your dad's favorite decorations.
What?
I put them away so many years ago,
but having you back, Danny,
I figured I'd bring them out again.
Oh, my goodness.
I keep meaning to send that to Derek.
Their father would sing Christmas carols
and play that ukulele all Christmas Eve.
He always said it didn't matter
if you could sing or not
because Christmas carols
were for everybody.
My pies.
There you are.
We should load your
segments into the server
sooner rather than later.
- Right.
- Yeah.
I'm on it.
And your room is in the guesthouse,
and there's still
a few things to go over.
- Do you want to do that now?
- Yeah, if that's cool.
Yeah.
Julia's a natural with
the Teleprompter...
but I think next year,
we should convince her to just wing it.
- She's more fun that way.
- And the crew is happy?
Are you kidding?
Maggie, when Julia says
we're a family, she means it.
We went sledding and ice skating.
This place is like a...
It's like a Christmas theme park.
Yeah.
And all the while,
her real family couldn't make it.
Yeah.
What happened with that?
They've just, they've got so much
history surrounding Christmas,
and I just stuck my nose
right in there, and...
I don't know, I can't help wonder
if I made things worse.
I'm sure you did fine.
You tried,
that's the important thing.
Come on.
Let's go get you settled
in the guest house.
- Ooh...
- Guest house.
All right, gather around, everyone.
I think it's time we light up
this Christmas tree, don't you?
But first, a Christmas toast.
To those gathered with us,
and to those gathered without us.
To those less fortunate,
and those with the wisdom to help.
Here's to the light
in each and every one of us.
- Merry Christmas!
- Merry Christmas!
How you doing?
You know,
finally decided to shake off my mood.
We always have next year
to convince your brothers.
Okay, it's...
It's okay.
It's all good,
I've got this.
Remind me...
to order some generators.
I mean, if this were to...
if this were to happen
during the show...
- Generators it is.
- Yeah.
Hey.
I'm sorry.
I thought everybody went to bed.
Oh, no, I think that they did.
This is just the first quiet
in a few days.
I'm just doing
a last-minute edit or two.
It's coming down.
What's that?
It's just a collection of clips
that I'm not using, so...
you know, sometimes, I like to cut
them together, make smaller videos.
Well, let's see 'em.
- They're not really...
- Let's see them.
Thank you for bringing Maggie home.
It's the least we can do.
I mean, your daughter spends Christmas
pulled into our mom's show...
My daughter never gets pulled
into anything.
Maggie is always exactly who
and exactly where she's supposed to be.
And how.
Look at her,
I am so proud of her.
Boy, you must be proud
of your mom, too.
Yeah, I am.
It's just... Well, sometimes,
I wish that our family
could find room for a Christmas
like this, you know?
For all of us.
Just remember...
it's a two-way street.
Danny, this is...
...really great.
I'm sorry, I thought
everyone had gone to bed.
- Mom, you know, we're just...
- Some edits...
But we have a show tomorrow,
so I'm gonna get to bed.
No, no, actually, I'm the one
who should go and get some rest...
- We should all get some rest.
- Yeah.
But... after this show is said and done,
I already want to talk about next year,
because the behind-the-scenes
segments that your son did
are exactly the feel that we want
for next year's show.
Well, I cannot wait to see them.
Although we are going
to have to start thinking
about getting a crew,
then, for next year.
Why? We've got Danny.
Well, no, Danny's not
going to be here next year,
so we are going to need to look for...
I thought you knew.
I agreed that this would be
a onetime thing.
I have other jobs lined up.
No, I didn't know that.
Well, I should have been
a lot more clear.
The network wanted what worked before,
and of course, I wanted to see Danny...
Right, no, I mean,
that makes complete sense.
I'm gonna head to bed.
So have a good night, everybody,
and Merry Christmas.
Maggie!
Wait!
- Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you!
- Really, there's no point.
Look, this is a good thing, ultimately.
What?
You won't have to deal with
somebody getting in your way.
It gives you the opportunity to do
what you want to do with the show.
An opportunity?
I've been doing this for years.
It's not an opportunity, Danny,
it's my job.
You know that's not what I meant...
You know, a job that
I was doing pretty well
until you decided to swoop in and
change things up, and you don't...
I just...
I started thinking that maybe
this was... a new way of working,
a better way of working.
Maggie, this week
has been incredible.
Everything,
the road trip,
you and me...
I like working with you.
A lot.
Me too.
You know, I don't mean to be all...
It's just that, you know,
people tell me all the time
how independent I am,
and I really like that
about myself, but...
I also like you.
- Maggie...
- You know what, Danny, it's...
We have a job to do.
Good night.
Man...
Merry Christmas!
How did you know it was me?
That phone is ancient.
I didn't.
I've just always liked the way
Mom answers the phone,
"Merry Christmas!"
And at this time of year,
I picked it up myself.
Well... what are you up to?
Mom asked the kids
to come over last night,
so I'm here making breakfast.
What's going on?
Is it that handsome camera dude
you rode through here with?
- How did you know?
- I have eyes.
And I was waiting for you to say
something before I asked.
Kate...
I let myself like someone
that I shouldn't have.
Why?
Because you work together?
I thought that was it.
And now I find out he's not going
to be working with me much longer.
But...
I was sort of into the idea.
And... now he's just
another guy that works in TV.
You know, another guy that has an erratic
work schedule and travels constantly.
And is fiercely independent?
I don't know anyone
who's compatible for that.
At least not anyone
who is also my sister.
Maggie, when I met my husband,
what did you tell me?
I know what I said.
But that doesn't...
You said, "If you like him,
go ahead and like him.
Work it out later".
Right, but that's not...
That's advice for everyone else,
but not for you?
Yes?
Well, then may I suggest
you start taking advice
...from my sister, Maggie.
She's really smart.
- I'll consider it.
- That's all I ask.
Go get him, Mags.
- Merry Christmas.
- Merry Christmas.
Hey!
Merry Christmas Eve!
Is there a tour group,
or a fleet of sailors,
or maybe little mini elves
coming that I don't know about?
Yeah, well, this is what I do
when I'm nervous.
I just wanted to start early
on the crew meal,
and, you know, go over my lines.
Well, you will have the Teleprompter,
and it takes you
through the entire show,
from cooking of the goose
to the end.
Good.
Because I cannot memorize a thing.
I know.
- Merry Christmas Eve, everyone.
- Back atcha.
I have some things
that I need to re-check, so...
Yeah, I...
I downloaded all the videos
so we can throw to them.
Great. And the Teleprompter is loaded,
so we can check that...
Good, why don't you two
take this conversation
maybe somewhere else?
I'm sorry, are we making you
nervous, Mom?
Yeah. Yup.
Why don't... why don't we help?
All of us.
That's not a bad idea.
We'll all pitch in, you know?
Take the edge off.
Stacy, can you help me
over here, please?
I've...
got some rosemary if you want it.
No, the recipe doesn't call for it.
Okay.
- Here.
- What's that?
It's the behind-the-scenes clips
that you liked.
I thought
I'd make a copy for you.
Thank you.
I left the show because
of my brothers.
To answer your question.
When my dad died,
my mom poured herself into her work.
I mean, she was heartbroken, you know?
And she hired me right out of college
to produce the first special.
I did it,
for two years.
It was great, but...
it made my brothers feel left out.
Eventually, I started to notice
that they were spending
Christmas in one place,
and Mom and I
were spending it another.
I quit because...
it wasn't fair.
I mean, if I wanted to spend
Christmas with my brothers,
then that would mean that my mom
would be alone on Christmas,
and that wasn't fair to her.
It was a no-win situation.
You spend Christmas alone?
I travel.
I work.
Christmas in Iceland is a lot more
impressive than you'd think.
I know it doesn't call for it, but...
trust me.
Pushy...
you just have to have your
hands in everything, don't you?
When you know something works,
you just gotta trust me.
Thank you for joining us.
I'm Julia Wise.
Have a Merry Christmas.
All right, everyone,
that's the last rehearsal!
All right, everybody,
take a bite of your cookie,
take a sip of your coffee,
and prepare yourselves!
We're about to go live.
But please save room
for the crew meal after?
- All right, let's get set to go.
- Oh, thank you.
Looks good...
What?
Wait, no, wait for it,
don't freak out.
And the generators are up and
running, nothing to see here, folks,
- ... just a little pre-show excitement.
- All right, that's 30 seconds, everyone!
- Danny?
- What's happening?
Does anyone see the
segments on the server?
What's going on, gang?
We're airing in 30 seconds.
- No, no, no, no...
- What? What? What's wrong?
I think there was a surge
when the power came back on.
We can broadcast live,
but it is going to take a while
for these servers to boot back up.
Wait, so we don't have
the segments?
Whoa, wait a minute,
we're doing the whole show live?
No, no... Maybe.
I just, I don't know yet.
Okay, five seconds, everyone.
- Julia, you okay with this?
- Yeah, I'll have the Teleprompter.
- The prompter is booting up, too.
- Okay, you're on in three...
Julia?
Julia!
Hello.
Merry Christmas.
As promised,
we are bring you The Julia Wise
Christmas Special live this year,
but fear not!
Because we have thick sweaters,
we have plenty of food,
and we have a show
full of Christmas cheer.
But first...
At the end of "A Christmas Carol,"
Dickens writes of the Cratchits' meal,
"There never was such a goose.
"Its flavor, tenderness,
size, and value,
were the themes
of universal admiration".
So tonight, I'm going to show you
how to make the perfect Christmas goose.
- Is this in the script?
- No. She's winging it.
- It's great.
- ... As always in cooking...
- Right.
- ... you want to make sure
that you cut yourself a little slack.
If you've invited people into your home,
well, you have to remember,
that they probably love you enough to
forgive you any kind of kitchen mistake.
Right, how are the segments coming?
She's going to run out of things to say.
Not good. They're big files.
Keep her going,
get the prompter running,
and I'll be right back.
- Whoa, whoa, where are you going?
- Trust me.
- Derek?
- Told you I'd figure it out.
- David! You came!
- This was not easy.
I don't like trains, I can't feel
my toes, and my face is freezing,
but then this nice driver
gave us hot cider,
and drove us here
in a one-horse open sleigh,
and... and I'm pumped!
I feel like George Bailey in
"It's A Wonderful Life!"
Merry Christmas,
you old farmhouse!
- David, we're filming.
- Sorry.
Actually, I have the best idea.
Now, let's start
that goose stuffing, shall we?
You're going go take
four tablespoons of butter,
and you will add that
to your large skillet.
At this point, we'll pick up
the five cooking apples
that we discussed earlier,
that are now cored, peeled...
Prompter's back up.
The videos are still going
to be a little bit though.
Danny...
- You want to use this?
- Yes, they're perfect.
They're smaller files, we could
plug it right into the live feed.
These are really rough.
I don't know, I'm not sure about this...
I am.
I'm sure.
...And make sure
you go back and stir occasionally
to avoid any kind of scorching...
We wanted to bring you
something new this year.
We're going to bring a little bit
of holiday celebrations
right where you are
in a series that we call
"Cross-Country Christmas".
Take a look.
- And we're clear to video.
- Yeah!
Our first Christmas, we were...
We were living in
your parents' basement!
We had just gotten married
and moved to the farm...
So natural. Did you hire them?
Are they actors?
No.
Getting them to host themselves
was all Maggie's idea.
But the edit was all Danny.
...'Cause here, Christmas is
about bringing together the town.
They all come, they
get a cup of hot cider,
and a Christmas tree.
What's better than that?
This is a great addition.
All right, we're coming back live
in a few seconds.
Follow me.
Okay, you're on in three...
And now, onto side dishes.
We've put together a few recipes
that are sure to light up
your little reindeer noses.
Where are we going?
- You guys made it!
- Wouldn't miss it.
And being the family Scrooge
isn't a good look on anyone.
Mom's going to be so excited
to see you guys after the show.
Wait, Maggie has a better idea.
The secret to any good holiday party
is to make sure that you have...
Making sure that
you have plenty of...
Well, I don't know who that could be,
but we are going to find out together.
Go follow her.
You guys, come with me.
- Hi, Mama.
- Derek!
David...
Merry Christmas, Mom.
I am...
These are...
I had no idea that this
was gonna happen, I swear.
Boys, this the, this
is the viewing audience.
Audience...
these are my three Wise men.
Now, I really need to go
and give my boys
a proper hug and catch up,
so why don't you take a look
at another one
of our Cross-Country
Christmas segments,
and we'll be right back.
And we're clear to video!
Maggie, the Internet is going nuts
for this. They love it!
How?
How did this happen?
What?
Maggie.
All right, let's not
get ahead of ourselves.
We still have a show to finish.
Cameras back to one,
everybody get back to work.
All right, we're almost there, gang.
Awesome.
This is all I've wanted,
so thank you for finding the time.
Well, we talked about it, and...
Yeah, well, we just had to grow up some,
you know, think about you
more than we were.
This... This was my dad's.
Where did you find this?
Your mom found it.
So we're going to cue you in,
and we need you to start "Have... "
Wait, wait, wait.
You know I can't sing, right?
Yeah, but you play beautifully.
I've watched all of your videos.
- You start, and we'll join in.
- Danny, you can't sing either.
Sadly, that's true, but
it's never stopped me before.
No, and it never stopped Dad.
I don't know...
Buddy, buddy, we can't argue
about how great you are.
Now, get in there and
warm up, and get started!
- Okay, okay.
- Come on.
Maggie...
Thank you.
Thank you.
For this, for... everything.
Hey.
We did it together, Danny Wise.
You know,
if you do need someone next year
to help you with the segments,
who, you know, trusts you
from the very get-go...
You're hired.
- Yeah?
- Yeah.
Okay, people,
let's get back to this, all right?
In five, four, three...
two...
Everybody!
Go and eat something nice,
invite your neighbors over,
look through your old photo albums,
and tell your friends and family
how much you love them...
and have yourself
a Merry Christmas!
Rip-Fixes-Sync
by VaVooM
---
Rip-Fixes-Sync
by VaVooM
Hi, Maggie!
And a Merry Christmas party to you.
Here.
I spent far too long on the eggnog,
but it's even better than last year.
Wait, you're producing a live televised
Christmas Special in less than a week.
When does a head producer
find time to make eggnog?
Hey, you want something
done, you ask a busy person.
It tastes like a Christmas tree.
Maggie!
Thank you for inviting us to this.
I knew a Julia Wise office
Christmas party would be amazing,
but I wasn't prepared.
She has a Christmas tree in her office!
- Now don't you wish you had one, too?
- A little, yes.
Here.
This is Stacy, our Associate Producer.
And this is Lucy Grace.
She and her crew are doing a story based
on the new Christmas special format.
- I watch your show every week.
- Thank you!
And Maggie, thank you so much
for the sit-down with Julia.
It went great.
I was lucky I could even get you one.
It's hard pulling her away from
her employees at a Christmas party...
Because I don't think
of them as employees.
We're more of a family.
- Lucy, I forgot to give this to you.
- Oh... Oh, my gosh.
I love your cookbooks.
My mom's going to be so jealous.
We watch your Christmas
Special together every year.
Never miss it.
Again, doing it live and in
your own farmhouse in Vermont?
That's a bold choice.
It is, and it was Maggie's idea.
First year as our Head Producer...
I have been following Julia's
lead for five years now.
The idea was already there,
I'm just helping it along.
Would you mind if we shoot
some office-party B-roll?
Of course, and please stick around,
the party goes all day.
Wouldn't miss it.
There you go.
Listen, swing by my office
after the production meeting.
I have something
I want to run by you.
Will do.
Everything okay?
Yeah, it's fine.
Come on.
The special's in five days,
we still have so much to do.
Wait. Just...
Hey, Mom.
Merry Christmas!
Well, a few days early.
Honey, hold on a second,
your dad's right here.
He wants to say hi, too.
- Hi, honey!
- Hi, Dad.
Let me guess.
It's December 20th,
so you guys are almost done
making the Christmas cookies?
Twice as many as usual this year.
I'm giving them away
at the White Elephant.
Don't tell your sister.
Honey, you know that
no matter how much we miss
having you home for Christmas this year,
we are so very proud of you.
I do.
And I miss you guys, too.
We tell everyone who
asks what you're doing.
We can't wait to watch!
...As promise
we are bringing you
the Julia Wise Christmas Special
live this year,
but fear not, because...
Hey, just make sure to call me during
the White Elephant exchange, okay?
I love hearing how loud it can get.
We'll do that.
- Merry Christmas, honey.
- Merry Christmas, babe.
Merry Christmas.
Hey.
It seems like a pretty serious
HR problem to have mistletoe around.
We get a lot of emails
about mistletoe policy, yeah,
...but not one problem.
We're very proud of that.
You carry around a coach's whistle?
Yeah, it's a Christmas present
from my dad.
He was a football coach,
so when I moved here to L.A.
he wanted me to have something for luck.
- Does it work?
- Yeah, it's super loud.
No, I mean does it bring you luck?
I knew what you meant,
and... yeah.
So, what brings you here
to Julia Wise Lifestyle Headquarters?
I have a meeting with the lady herself.
About her Christmas special.
She asked me to wait.
Well, I work on the Christmas special.
Is there anything...
I hear they're doing it live this year.
Yeah, changing up the format,
getting a little more adventurous.
Non-traditional.
You know, like a traditional
Christmas special traditionally is?
Well, no, not on my watch.
Year after year of the same exact thing?
No.
No, thank you.
I'm sorry, what did you say
your name was again?
Sorry.
- The boss.
- Good luck.
Come in.
Julia, are you...
Are you okay?
I'm great.
Just a little Christmas inspiration.
Please, have a seat.
Is this about the Teleprompter?
No, I'm thrilled
about the Teleprompter.
As hard as I've tried,
I just cannot memorize that much.
Well, just personally,
I think you should just wing it.
Just shoot from the hip.
You are so great at that...
Maggie...
And maybe next year, when
we do it, it can be more of a...
This has nothing to do
with the Teleprompter.
I had dinner last night
with the network President,
and he has expressed some concern
about the live show.
Concern doesn't... sound good.
There's more competition this year.
Ratings need to go up.
He just thinks it's too big of a risk.
Maybe just too big of a change.
I mean, it's bold, I'll say that,
but all the more reason to change it up.
And I agree.
It's just...
Okay...
You know that right
after my husband passed,
my son, Danny, produced the Christmas
special for the first two years.
Yes, the mysterious Danny Wise years.
I started right after he left.
Well, after last night's meeting,
I put a call in to Danny,
I just wanted some advice.
Well, you know, it's always great
to have new ideas.
I mean, if you even
want me to talk to him,
I'd be more than happy to do that.
That's good news.
Because I have asked Danny to come back
and work with you for this last week.
It is not a demotion.
Co-Producers.
I'm just a little worried with
this whole network pressure,
and I would feel better if...
No, Julia, don't even think twice, okay?
It is going to work best
if you are comfortable.
Thank you for understanding.
I know how last minute this is.
Maggie...
this is my son,
Danny.
You're... Danny Wise.
- And you're the famous Maggie Baker.
- I am.
I'm not famous. But yes Baker.
Maggie. Maggie Baker.
Am.
Maggie came up with the live show idea,
and Danny has some great ideas
about, bringing in the more
traditional Christmas element.
Right.
Mom and I discussed this idea
about having a few
pre-recorded segments.
- Pre-recorded, in a live TV show.
- Well, we shoot some segments in advance.
It allows us to cut away
to something exciting.
More exciting than live television?
Maggie, I know this
is not in the planning,
but I do not see that
we have another choice.
Well, then,
if this is what we're
doing, then let's...
let's make it great.
I mean, am I crazy?
It feels like Julia
doesn't believe in me.
Of course, she believes in you.
She's just worried about the show.
I'm worried about the show.
I mean, have you ever actually
seen a problem be solved
by adding more people to it?
Tug-of-war.
- What?
- Elections?
Like, when you're in the line at
the bank, and more tellers show up?
Okay, look, I just...
I agree.
It'll be great for Julia
to have her son there,
...and it'll be good for the show.
But it's just, it's late in the game.
I mean, and do we even
know it's gonna work?
Okay, you're spinning.
Come on.
Also, didn't Danny Wise
produce the first two years of specials
when he was like 22,
and then run off to go make
some nature films or something?
Documentaries.
Okay...
if we're going to work together,
I think it's best that we avoid
sneaking up on each other.
I tend to think out loud.
That's pretty obvious.
Okay, look...
we can use these segments
to focus on tradition.
People love that.
The same pie recipe every year,
the Christmas ornament we all remember.
Yes, and I agree that those
things are very important,
but we are also on-air
in under a week, and...
When you were an intern
at "Good Morning, Omaha,"
you produced 10 Christmas
carol sing-alongs in three days.
Yes.
But I had an editor...
You also managed to get backstage
at the Radio City Christmas Show,
- ... interviewing none other than...
- Okay, so you did your research...
But I guarantee you,
I didn't get any of that done
by following
"ye old traditional rule book".
Touche.
- Okay, what's your idea?
- Well, off the top of my head...
Everyone!
Can I have your attention?
When I first started this company,
I always said I was going
to run it like a family.
And what our Christmas Specials
have done over the years
is bring people that
perfect Christmas feeling.
For me,
my perfect Christmas
has always been my family,
and that's what we bring
to our audience.
Now, this year, we are doing
things a little differently,
and by doing this show live,
I do know that several of you
will not able to spend
Christmas with your family.
But you'll be with us,
your work family,
and that's why it is so important
that you really hear this.
Thank you.
All of you.
Now, can we eat, please?
- Merry Christmas.
- Merry Christmas.
I'll see you all in Vermont.
"A Cross-Country Christmas".
That's the idea.
These pre-recorded segments should be
about places across the country.
So the biggest family-owned
Christmas Tree farm, for example.
We find unique, interesting places
that are doing cool Christmas things.
Sure, if there was time.
Well, we can have time if I start,
and you handle all the different...
- Honestly, it's a great idea.
- Thank you.
I'd also suggest
that more people would watch
if you had, say,
a celebrity host?
Exactly.
Blend the new live show
with the, you know, traditional.
Let's look into it.
All right, Stacy and I will look into
locations, and you can find the crew?
Deal.
Okay.
I brought you three...
of the biggest family-owned
Christmas tree farms
between here and Vermont.
Also, some Santa villages,
and a couple bake-offs...
Are bake-offs getting old?
Okay, so here's what's going to happen.
I need you to help me find
Julia's sons, Derek and David.
Wait, I don't understand.
Why?
You heard Julia.
Her perfect Christmas
is having her family there.
What if I could convince them
to surprise her?
You've seen
how hard Julia works, right?
Yes, we have to make sacrifices
for this job.
I haven't had a date in a year,
and I'm tired all the time,
but can you imagine
what it's like for Julia?
She shouldn't have to sacrifice
her family for this show, too.
So you came up with a plan to go
crosscountry and collect them?
- Why not just call them?
- Because this should be done in person.
Plus, if I can convince her sons
to come along, everybody wins.
- And you're not going to tell Danny?
- No. He's not an issue.
He'll be in Vermont. If I told him,
he would just cause problems.
Okay. I'm in.
Just promise me that when
you're Julia Wise one day,
I get to be your Maggie Baker.
That has always been true.
Okay, good.
Now, you find where they live,
and I will plan the first shoot in...
...Fort Collins, Colorado.
The Gateway Pines Christmas Tree Farm.
It's the third largest family-owned
Christmas tree farm in the country.
We already reached out to the owners,
and they seem more than happy to have us.
Why not the largest Christmas Tree Farm?
Because if we go too large, we lose
the idea of something family-run.
- Right.
- Right, that...
That's what I was going to say.
Okay, and you both think
this is the right thing to do?
I do.
It's a good idea.
Okay, well, I'll be on a plane
in the morning with the crew,
everything will be handled
when I get there...
You know, I have a lot of experience
getting segments like this, Mom...
I agree, yeah.
Let's send Danny.
Actually, I would like to supervise.
I'd like to make sure
that these segments
are still in keeping in
the spirit of the live show.
While still having a traditional
Christmas feel, of course.
Yes, but I am more than confident
that Stacy here
can keep me posted from Vermont
while you all get settled.
All right.
Go.
Take a day or two, make something great.
Work as a team,
and then I will see you at
the Christmas tree lighting,
because that is our tradition.
Will do.
- Go. Make it happen.
- Travel safe, Mom.
So, pack your bags...
- And a jacket...
- And a very thick coat...
- The less we do of that...
- The better, yeah.
All right, so I did some
recon work with the owners
on the phone earlier,
which are adorable, by the way.
They said that we can shoot in the field,
but I'm thinking that we should also...
- Definitely want get shots of this barn.
- Yeah.
Hey, guys!
Hold on.
Don't come close.
I'm very sick.
It came on suddenly...
Okay, she gets credit
for being professional, but...
But we all might catch a terrible flu.
We should warn the crew.
No need. I am the crew.
Wait, what? Just you?
Just wait till you see
how fast I work
before you go
and start passing judgement.
Lucy, do you need any tea,
or can we get you something?
I'm okay, I think.
It's just a really high fever, and...
Whoa, whoa, hey, all right.
Let's go sit down.
Feel better.
Well, we just lost your celebrity host.
Scrap that idea.
Head to Vermont and
let's shoot some segments.
Wait, we don't need a host.
There are plenty of ways
we could still get it.
You want to shoot a series of
Christmas events across the country
- ... without a host?
- Yeah.
Point a camera at things
and hope for the best?
Danny, I think I know what I'm doing.
I've been doing this job for the
last five years after you quit
and ran away to go make
PSAs for bears, or whatever.
Documentary nature shorts.
Okay, look.
Let me know what decision you come to.
I will be by the car,
calling around for hosts
who can work this close to Christmas.
Hey, Stacy, how are you?
How is it going over there?
The crew and everyone
made it to Vermont,
and it's gorgeous here.
We're having rehearsal in a little bit,
and Julia's making hot cocoa
to welcome us.
How are things going on your end?
You know, we lost Lucy Grace,
Danny's being unreasonable,
and if we don't get
the shoot started soon,
I'm not going to have enough time
to talk to the first Wise brother,
but other than that, fine.
Whoa, Maggie!
Okay, take a breath.
I know. I just, I need to think
what would Julia do in this situation.
Maybe just consider what
Maggie Baker would do.
Let them tell their story.
You know what, you're right.
I think I do know
what Maggie Baker would do.
Thanks, Stace.
I'll talk to you soon.
Hey.
Okay, so...
maybe we got off on the wrong foot,
but if you give me a minute,
I think I have an idea that will work.
I have a feeling there's
going to be a lot of these.
Okay, the sooner you choose to trust me,
the more you'll find
I'm actually kind of fun to work with.
Come on.
Come on.
So, you're the oldest Wise brother?
Oldest brother, second to be adopted.
Man, it's getting chilly.
You and your brothers don't spend
Christmas together normally, right?
Well, just diving into
the personal questions.
I don't mean to pry.
Your mom, she...
She's the master of Christmas decoration
and baked goods, yeah.
Yes, actually.
Stupid zipper...
Look, we just like our Christmases
the old-fashioned way,
and by that I mean
not around all the show biz.
I like stockings hung by the fire,
picking out a Christmas tree
on a certain day...
- And what's wrong with that?
- Nothing!
I mean, nothing's wrong with that.
It's just if you adhere too closely,
where's the room for adventure?
Christmas doesn't need to happen
on a particular schedule
in order for it to be a good one.
And that's why you're here
shooting a Christmas special
instead of being with your family?
Yeah, kind of.
The first year the Christmas
special came out, which...
you produced it...
quite well, actually...
Thank you.
My family had two girls in college,
and there wasn't a lot of money
to fly home,
so I spent it in the dorms
with some other people,
and on Christmas Eve,
the Julia Wise Christmas Special
came on, kept us all company.
That was a really powerful thing,
so when I graduated,
I went to work for your mom.
I think that what she does
is really important.
It helps people.
Welcome to Gateway Pines,
and a Merry Christmas to you both.
- Hi. I'm Claire Matthews.
- Hi!
I'm Maggie Baker.
We spoke on the phone.
Yes!
So how's the television
magic going out there?
We were wondering
if you would be interested in doing
an interview for our segment,
seeing that it's a family-owned farm.
- Oh, no, that's not really what our...
- Now, Claire, let's not be hasty.
My husband does one
production of "The Music Man"
at community theatre...
- I was good!
- And suddenly.
Yeah, you were.
He was really good.
That coat isn't heavy enough, son.
That is what I said.
I told you to pack warmer.
Come on, let's get you folks a tree.
Let me grab my gear.
Interviewed by whom?
We don't have a host.
You said you've watched
my segments from the past.
- You did your research, right?
- Yeah, there's a lot of 'em. So?
Did you ever once hear my voice?
Or see me in any of them?
Exactly.
You get people talking enough,
the segments just sort
of host themselves. You'll see.
You ever cut your own tree?
I've done it with my folks,
but never on my own.
- What about you, young man?
- No, sir.
I'm usually traveling for Christmas.
His mom does miraculous
things with trees, though.
I mean, her trees were in magazines
before she even owned her own magazine.
How long have
you two been married?
No, no...
- And you're not dating?
- No, ma'am...
Now, what you wanna know
about looking for a tree...
Now, don't shake the tree, needles
will always fall off if you do that.
You want to put your hand
on a branch, and give it a glide.
If needles come off, then move on.
Now, I hope you measured your house.
That's a problem we get...
How long have you guys been out here?
The farm's been in Matt's family
all his life,
and I married in about 25 years ago.
Since then, we've been partners
in business as well as in life.
Now, Maggie, come over here.
You want...
I mean, I don't...
I don't know about this.
It's easier than it looks.
Now, when you swing the axe,
you want to make sure that
nobody's arms are near you.
That makes sense.
- Yeah, that sounds about right.
- Good tip.
Okay, Matt,
stop torturing these people.
I'm just kidding.
We don't use axes anymore.
But you're a really good sport.
Most people just panic
when I tell them to swing an axe.
Wait!
Oh, no, you didn't...
you didn't have to cut it.
Sorry, I should have been more clear.
We have a rental car,
so we can't bring a tree with us.
You see the sign?
Okay.
I guess we got ourselves
a Christmas tree.
Ho, ho, ho.
Thank you.
- You're very welcome, son.
- You too.
I just got some great
extra footage of those two.
- Yeah?
- So sweet.
- You need some help?
- What, it doesn't look like I have it?
You got it?
Hey, we gotta get going,
so if you don't mind not doing
one of your carefully planned set-ups
that slows us down so much?
As long as you keep it spontaneous
by suddenly throwing two old
sweet people into the mix.
You're welcome for that, by the way.
Thank you.
I mean it.
They were great.
It's gonna be a good segment.
You were right.
You're welcome.
I just...
I want your mom
to have a great show,
and I want the audience
to love it, and I want...
The same things that I want.
So we both want
what's best for your mom.
Truce?
Truce.
- All right, we gotta get going.
- To the airport?
I'm pretty sure
we're still ahead of schedule.
Well, extra shots.
You know, snow, mountain,
majesty.
Finished.
Perfect timing.
I'll upload it when
we get to the airport.
Wait a second.
- I know this place.
- Yeah?
Strange.
Hi. Excuse me, I was wondering
if you could help me find...
- Derek?
- Danny?
What are you...
What are you doing here?
I have no idea.
You're Derek Wise.
- Third born. Third adopted.
- Yeah, best hair, best smile.
- I'm sorry, what?
- Nah, it's a joke my brothers do.
- What's going on?
- I'm Maggie Baker.
I'm producing your mom's
Christmas special this year.
- I was wondering if you would...
- Wait, you planned this?
I can explain.
I now have two
of the three Wise Men.
I wanted to extend an invite for you
to come to your mom's show this...
No.
Thanks, but very much not interested.
Sorry.
Hungry?
- And your plan was to...
- Look, I can explain.
Just let's get through dinner.
I'm buying...
- No...
- Steak?
- Fine.
- Okay.
And you didn't think to ask
anybody in advance?
All right, the first rule
of getting things done is
it's easier to ask for forgiveness
than permission.
Why don't you guys want to
spend Christmas with each other?
- You don't give up easily, do you?
- Never once, no.
Never do.
My brothers have been upset
by the Christmas special
since the first year of the show.
We get along fine all year long,
but then Christmas comes along,
and things take a turn.
We just don't spend it together.
Okay, here we go.
Maybe I still have this...
Yup.
Yeah.
He was 16.
He wanted to sing
on the first year of mom's show,
which I was producing,
and I said no.
- As you can imagine, that didn't go well.
- Yeah, I can imagine.
I hurt his feelings.
Since then, neither one of my brothers
wants anything to do with the Special.
I was just trying to protect him.
- Well, have you told him that?
- No.
We don't... we don't talk
about that stuff.
Brothers just...
don't talk about feelings.
Okay.
And what about you, huh?
I don't see you spending
Christmas with the Bakers.
- Where are they?
- Hitchens, Nebraska.
And my family is crazy about Christmas.
I mean, they do it great.
But, they understand that I'm working.
Excuse me,
what's happening out there?
That's the resort's
annual snowman relay.
Really?
Have you guys considered ever filming it
for, say, a Christmas special segment?
Wait, wait, wait, wait.
No, no, no, we've got to hit the road.
And a snowman relay?
What even is that?
Well...
You build a snowman in one place,
and then you roll each
piece over to the next place.
In teams.
- What does the winner get?
- The satisfaction of a wellbuilt snowman.
Okay.
But I need you to get permission...
Yup! Doing it.
Okay, I didn't mean
to be rude before.
I'm sorry, it's just my last day
before vacation,
and I didn't expect
to see Danny here...
No, no, no, I'm sorry,
I was being pushy.
And, you know, we were
just passing through...
Okay, I... orchestrated
us passing through.
There's no way
you'll come with us?
So we started having this relay
as a way to keep the kids entertained.
From there, we just kept it going.
That was...
everything we needed, Erin.
- Thank you, that was perfect.
- No problem.
Let me say goodbye to Derek,
and we'll get on the road.
I thought you were forming a team.
- You have to choose a team name.
- Yes.
What? No...
No, no, thank you, but...
We will do...
"Thumpity Thump Thump".
That's a good one.
What are the other names?
No, I mean...
We don't have time for this.
Well, no, you do need a third person
in order to form your own team.
- We have a third person.
- We do?
I just finished my last
shift before break, anyway.
Okay, don't get mad, but
Derek and I made a bet
that if I could get you to participate
in the snowman relay,
he will come with us.
- Yeah, but we also have to win.
- There is that, too.
So...
Okay...
When I say go,
you will all build your snowman.
Once it's complete, raise your hands...
and I'll bring you a carrot,
and then disassemble your snowman,
and roll it,
one piece at time,
over to these targets.
The first two teams
to put their snowman back together
advance to the next round.
Okay?
Yes!
You ready?
Three, two, one!
Go!
You get a small... Roll it in a small...
There's not going to be enough...
And then it gets bigger...
- No, first, you... Whoa!
- How did you do that?
I just did it, instead of
arguing about how to do it.
Have you guys tried that maybe?
Okay, well...
I'll get this snow.
You know, this is a lot of effort
just to impress a girl.
Hey, cool it, all right?
We just work together.
Really, because your hair looks good,
and... you're wearing cologne.
Don't think I can't smell it.
- Don't smell me...
- It smells good, though.
Look, I know this Christmas special
has always been a thing for us, okay,
and I know you spend
the holidays with David, so...
Okay, can we not talk a
bout this right now? Please?
Okay, guys, ready, ready?
Carrot! Carrot!
- Another team ready?
- Carrot...
- All right.
- Take it!
Roll it to the other side.
Go, go, go, go, go!
Go, Danny, go!
Why is this so important to you?
Because your mom
has been so good to me.
And she works every Christmas,
and she gives it her all.
Doesn't she deserve
a good Christmas, too?
She really wants to see you.
- Right, go, go!
- Go, go, go, go!
Maggie, I really appreciate
everything you're trying to do,
but my family doesn't
like surprises, okay?
Okay, final piece!
Final piece!
You are so much quicker
than Danny.
- You gotta go!
- Maggie, go!
Yeah, okay, okay!
Push, push!
- More.
- It's all you!
- Take us home!
- Less leg!
- A little help, guys?
- Should we help? I'll go help.
Okay, come on!
- Scarf! Scarf, scarf, scarf, scarf...
- Scarf, scarf, scarf, scarf, scarf!
Yeah!
Well, good effort, guys.
But...
a deal is a deal.
Actually...
I didn't really care if we won or not.
I just kind of wanted to see Danny
get his hands dirty,
ruffle up his hair a bit,
with his cologne...
You little...
Plus...
I'm pretty sure if Dad was still here,
he'd tell us to get over ourselves
and go see Mom.
I'm sure you're right about that.
Yeah, well...
you're not going to convince
David to come, but...
Well, it might not matter.
They're definitely closing
the airports tonight.
- How do you know that?
- I've seen it before.
You can try to book a ticket,
or we can stay ahead of the storm by
driving east to the next major airport.
It'd take all night,
but it's Omaha.
- That's the plan.
- Wait, but it's six hours away.
- And your point?
- My point is... let's go.
I'll pay any price
to the first person
that brings me a bucket of coffee.
Where are we?
- Good morning, sleepyhead!
- What?
- Maggie!
- Mom?
How are you here?
I... honestly have no idea.
We outran the storm...
... then we saw Hitchens,
and we thought, "Hmm, man,
if her family is that into Christmas,
we have just got
to see it ourselves".
And you guys
didn't wake me up to ask?
How does that go...
it's better to ask forgiveness
rather than permission.
- Mom, Dad!
- Sweetheart, don't slip.
- How is that you're here?
- Seriously, again, I have no idea.
Hi!
I missed you!
Hi. Danny Wise.
- Nice to meet you.
- This is my brother, Derek.
Hi. Merry Christmas.
- Nice to meet you.
- Derek. Hi.
I work with Maggie.
I'm Kate, Maggie's sister.
Mom, these are Julia Wise's sons.
Okay, guys, let's not
make a big deal about it.
It turns out that Maggie loves
surprising people with family,
so we thought we'd return the favor.
Well, you're just in time
for the White Elephant.
White Elephant?
It's a gift exchange party game,
and nobody does it better
than our parents.
Has anyone ever filmed it?
You brought a tree?
That...
Yes!
That is for you guys.
That's our Maggie,
keeping us on our toes!
Come on in.
- You hungry?
- Yeah, starving.
There's tons of food, come in.
- Hey.
- Hi.
This is an ambush.
So my family is fair game,
but yours is offlimits?
That is different.
Are you seriously thinking about
recording the White Elephant?
I do think it could make
a good segment.
- Danny, my family, they're not...
- Your family loves Christmas.
Look, I won't film them
if you don't want me to.
But look at this.
This warmth and tradition,
you can't fake it on TV.
If it were this easy to make,
I never would have left this show.
Why did you quit the show?
Hey... Are you coming in?
'Cause your family
is starting that gift thing,
and it's really intense in there.
Look who's here, everyone!
Merry Christmas!
Aunt Maggie!
Oh, my gosh, you are so big!
You got so tall!
Now I wish we brought presents.
- Derek, right?
- Yeah.
- Come with me.
- Go with my mom. She's got you covered.
- Hi. Derek. Hi. Nice to meet you.
- Hi!
I didn't think I was gonna get
to see you guys!
Lois Baker's famous
emergency present cabinet.
I don't know exactly what is what,
but one of these is a manicure kit...
...There is a, amaryllis
that you grow from a bulb.
This is just a gigantic box of candy,
which, trust me,
will be the most popular.
Okay, you just keep wrapped presents
for emergencies?
Well, moms have to plan.
I mean, what if something breaks,
or somebody brings a friend.
Or a vegetarian.
You know what's the most important
is something that your mom says
every year on her Christmas special,
"Let's just enjoy each
other's enjoyment," right?
That's what makes Christmas
the most special.
Who has an empty hand?
Can you take these over?
Sally decorated those.
Great. Whoa...
This is bacon-wrapped dates.
Here is some salami on spiced onions,
which is incredible,
you should taste that.
I'm a vegetarian.
Well, then for you,
I have some veggies and dip.
The Bakers are pretty good
at this Christmas thing, huh?
Yeah, we're pretty lucky like that.
Okay, let's do this.
Okay, I'm going to need your help
getting all the presents ready...
- ... setting up for White Elephant.
- Yes...
Okay, bring 'em on. Pile 'em up!
I think I'll get the White Elephant.
- You're gonna get it?
- I hope.
Okay, hey, everybody, can I just...
can I just take a minute to say that...
I am so glad
that I got to see you all
a few days before Christmas.
It's good to see you, too, honey.
And...
I can't believe I'm going to say this.
I was wondering if you all would want
to be part of Julia Wise's Christmas...
Yes! Definitely, yes.
I mean... sure,
if you want.
Just let us brush
our hair out first, and...
- Go do your hair, Kate.
- Okay.
Okay, act natural, you guys,
come on.
Okay, get set up, and don't get too
much of my Aunt because she's got...
Hey, don't worry.
I'm not going to embarrass anyone.
Scout's honor.
- You were a scout?
- I'm thinking about joining.
Okay.
Okay, remember the rules,
you can either take a gift
from the pile or steal a gift.
Now, if your gift is stolen,
you get the next turn,
but every gift can be stolen
how many times
before it is safe?
- Two times!
- Two times!
- Two, I think.
- ... Correct.
Now, there are 17 people and 17 gifts,
and, yes, one of them
is the famous white elephant.
- Dad over here...
- I got it last year!
Did you autograph it?
I'm gonna break with tradition?
Of course, I did!
Okay.
- Now, does everyone have a number?
- Yes!
All right, let's get started.
Okay. Well, curiously,
I have number one.
- I'll go with that one.
- No, no, no. That one.
I want that.
Number 10.
Who's 10?
That's me.
Here, yup.
Now, you can either steal a gift
or pick one from the pile.
Going for the gold!
Very good.
The elusive White Elephant.
In his natural habitat.
Look at the prestige on him.
That means you get to keep it
for a year and bring it next year.
Does that mean I'm invited back?
Potentially.
Dad, here, let me help you.
I'll get more firewood.
- I think that brings us to 11?
- Getting closer to the end.
- You remember how to...
- I know, yeah. Dad taught me.
You just point it...
Yeah.
My turn.
- Okay, superstar.
- Let's do it.
Hey!
Come on, let me help you out.
Your family, they are...
- They're great.
- Yeah.
I guess I've always known
how lucky I am
having grown up
with Christmases like this,
but somehow, it's even nicer
getting to see it through
someone else's eyes.
- It kind of reminds me why...
- Why you went to work for my mom?
- Mrs. Christmas.
- Yeah.
I get to share some of what I had
with people that maybe didn't.
You should always get to spend Christmas
surrounded by people that you love.
You should.
- Hey, Mom.
- Julia.
Hey, we just watched
the Christmas tree farm segment.
It's great!
Yeah?
I uploaded the segment to Vermont
from the last resort.
Well, you two are doing
amazing work, really.
I'd actually like to add more of
those segments if you can get them.
Are you sure?
I mean, you guys are already rehearsing.
The plan... it'd be hard to change.
No, no, no, no, no.
Maggie gave us really good instructions,
so, you know, rehearsals are a breeze.
Live show is great,
but I just think if we add
more of these traditional segments,
everybody at the network
will be more comfortable,
and honestly,
I'll feel a lot better, too.
Well, Julia, you are in luck.
We are about to send you
another segment.
It is Christmas party games
for families.
That sounds good.
Just make sure you're back tomorrow
for the tree lighting.
Great job, you two.
- Bye!
- Bye!
Thanks, Mom.
Well, it looks like the storm
is catching up to us,
and if you want to try and pop in
on David, we should probably...
Look, I know that this show
is changing a lot...
No, it's fine.
Really.
It's okay.
Mag...
Maggie!
Hey.
Here.
Extra cookies.
Don't tell Dad. I took his stash.
You swindled that
sweet old man for me.
That means so much.
Everything okay, by the way?
You know when you work
really hard for something,
and you get so close,
and then it's just...
slowly pulled out from under you?
- And you just start to doubt yourself?
- Not me.
Everything I try goes perfectly.
Maggie, I teach high school,
and I had to keep their attention
all last week
before they went
on Christmas break.
So, yes, I'm familiar with
doubting my abilities at work.
But I also happen to know
the Baker sisters have an uncanny knack
for getting right back up.
- You're the best.
- Love you.
I love you, too.
I love you!
- We'll be watching the special, kiddo.
- You better.
- Merry Christmas.
- I love you.
Merry Christmas! Bye!
- Safe travels!
- Safe travels!
Thanks.
Why not just ask him?
You know, say,
"Hey, free trip to Vermont,
and all the free baked goods
you could possibly eat... "
And that is the fastest way
to get him to say no.
Yeah. David's tricky.
- I am very persuasive.
- Yeah, she is.
If you want to get him to come
with us, let us do the talking.
Trust us.
...With that winter storm that has
already blown through the Midwest.
For more on that...
Thank you. Charles.
Rob McPherson here...
- Hi.
- Hi. How can I help y...
- Surprise!
- Well, if it isn't Derek.
- Good to see you.
- Whoa, what's going on?
- Hey, look at this guy!
- How you doing, bud?
Good.
- Hey, bro.
- Hi.
Maggie, I'd like you to meet
our brother, David.
- First adopted. Second oldest.
- By far the smartest.
And unquestionably kindest to animals.
Handsomest.
- I've said it for years.
- Top three, for sure.
- Hi. I'm David.
- Hi.
And this is Bradley.
Hi. David and I own this place together.
Hi, Bradley, I'm Danny.
So nice to meet you both.
David, I work with your mom.
And your brothers and I have been
on quite the adventure so far.
They've even agreed to come...
We've agreed to make some videos for
the upcoming Christmas special this year.
Doesn't Mom's show air
on Christmas Eve?
That's in, like, two days.
Yes, and one of the things
that we're doing this year...
We're traveling the country,
seeing different Christmas traditions,
and... you see, Derek, he told us
about your annual puppy party...
...and we thought it'd be a good
opportunity to make a video about it.
Tell me more about this puppy party.
We throw a Christmas party for
the rescue animals every year,
and we have a great time.
Okay.
But I don't want to be
the one on camera.
No, yeah, obviously...
- Can't put that mug on camera, come on...
- Would you want to?
Well... it'd put that
theatre degree to good use.
I agree, let's do it.
Yeah, he agrees, too.
What's his name?
Murray.
Murray. Okay, puppy party, Murray.
Puppy party! Bark, bark, bark!
- Let's go!
- Puppy party for Murray!
Okay, looks like we've
got everything we wanted.
Any last tips you want to give us?
If you're trying to get a good photo,
where your pup makes that
cute sideways face they do,
remember, a favorite or familiar toy
is your best bet.
The squeakier the better.
- That's good.
- Thanks again for letting us film this.
- Your mom talks about you all the time.
- I know. I watch the special.
- It's just a little too much.
- I get it.
Traditions.
It's always nice to make new ones.
Like, your mom, for instance,
she's doing the show live this year,
and your brothers have
agreed to come set.
- Wait, was this a set-up?
- A very well-intentioned one.
And... and did they
convince you to help?
Hey, I love spending
Christmas here, David.
I love all our traditions
that we have on our own.
Like, walking the dogs on Christmas Eve,
and the puppy party,
and when Bradley and your friends
make that feast...
Well, that's the plan.
That's the tradition
you and I have made.
I just figured maybe it was time
we thought more about
what Mom wants on Christmas
than what we want.
Plus...
I miss spending it with Danny.
You guys have your own tradition.
I get why... the way mom celebrates,
it isn't the way that you want to.
I get it, and I would join you, I would,
I would, but that would mean...
Yeah, we know.
Mom would be alone on Christmas
while the three of us were together.
That's not right.
Look, Danny, I know
that we didn't ask you...
Hey, hey, David, David...
Let's not rehash it. We're good.
We got the footage we need.
It's pretty simple.
Come with us if you want.
We leave for Vermont in the morning.
I'll get some dinner
started for the dogs.
I get that Mom's show
is a big part of Christmas
for some people.
- I love that about her.
- Then come to Vermont with us.
After our dad died,
this is how my mom processed it.
With work.
It's not like we felt ignored.
Not once, ever, but...
Christmas can be hard.
You know, that's how she gets through.
This is how I do it.
Here.
Do you know why, in the Christmas story,
they call them wise men?
Because they know what Myrrh was?
And where to find gold?
And yes, and they were crazy
for frankincense.
No...
No, it's because they
changed their plans.
They had been told to basically
go spy on this homeless family,
and that was their plan, until
an angel visits them and says, "Hey,
what do you guys think you're doin'?"
And they realized that they
could change their plans.
They were called wise
because they made the better choice.
They sheltered a family away to safety.
I'm just saying...
plans can change.
Yeah, I...
I think that...
Special delivery.
A good Samaritan found them in the park.
Well...
I'm sorry, Maggie.
I belong here.
Look at these guys.
Yeah, there's four of them.
Better get to work then.
...An unprecedented,
fast-moving storm
that's going to give
a lot of New Englanders
that White Christmas they dreamed of,
rolling over the North East and
bringing airport closures with it...
You know, you two work well together,
you and Danny.
Yeah, well, we've learned from the best.
Your mom is very generous with praise.
It is easy to learn that way.
Yeah, my brothers picked that up.
The generosity?
Yeah, David takes care of the animals.
And Danny...
did you know that he sends me
a box of food every month?
He says he doesn't want me to starve,
and I tell him, "Danny, I'm doing fine,"
and he's like, "Hey, it doesn't matter,
you're my little brother,
here's a jar of peanut butter".
- Do you eat it?
- Always. All of it, every month.
That's sweet.
All right, bad news,
the airport's closed.
Good news,
I got us tickets on a train
they think will get through.
It leaves in a couple hours,
but we gotta go now.
- What, do you mean, like...
- Right now?
- No, I reject this alliance.
- It seems so urgent.
- Super serious.
- Are you okay?
That's us! Okay!
Yeah! Us! Thank you! Sorry.
You know, for what it's worth,
my mom's going to be really
excited to see Derek tomorrow.
I hope so.
Okay.
And on that note...
Come on, let's go, let's go!
All passengers, your attention, please.
The train will be delayed
until further notice.
All right, well, the conductor says
that they're still clearing
the snow off the tracks.
Should we rent a car,
try and get a cab?
How far are we again?
I still don't have any service.
Derek, what are you doing?
Well, even if we don't make it
to the tree lighting,
we'll still make it to the show.
- Let's shoot something.
- Are you sure?
Asking people delayed from travel
is a huge risk.
Watch.
Hi, ma'am, how do you
feel about holiday travel?
Anytime it snows near Christmas,
we should all just stay home
and eat whatever we can find.
Good advice.
Merry Christmas.
- Merry Christmas.
- Thank you.
Okay, I was trying to
use her as an example,
but that was great,
and I wish you were filming it.
Yeah, me too.
- Let's try that again.
- Yeah?
Come on.
Excuse me.
Can I get your names?
- I'm Marissa, this is Joey.
- Hi.
Hi. Would you guys mind talking to us
for our Christmas TV special?
- Sure.
- Great.
- Where are you folks headed?
- Well, we were going to Vermont.
This train isn't usually as packed,
but the storm has
everything all messed up.
We just bought the last ticket.
One ticket, two people.
Three if you count this little guy.
I say we'll be fine.
Christmas is a time for miracles.
You don't seem so worried, though.
Everyone says Christmas travel
and delays are this huge hassle.
But look around.
It's beautiful out.
It's magic this time of year.
We are now ready to board
passengers at this time.
Please have your tickets ready
and begin boarding, thank you.
- You folks have a good Christmas.
- Is there anything we can do to help?
No, it's all right.
We'll figure it out.
- Merry Christmas.
- Merry Christmas.
- Maggie, I'll get them to sign waivers.
- Great.
I feel so bad...
Are you sure?
Oh, my gosh, thank you!
- Merry Christmas.
- Merry Christmas! Thank you!
Thank you!
Merry Christmas.
- Merry Christmas.
- Merry Christmas.
So...
- I did something.
- What did you do?
I gave that couple my ticket.
What about the tree-lighting ceremony?
Your mom?
Yeah, Mom will be fine.
She won't know she's missing me
any more than usual.
Just... Just don't tell her.
Now, will you guys all
get on the train?
You Wise men...
you're a complicated bunch.
You...
- Me?
- You...
I'm proud of you.
All right.
- Now, eat something, will you?
- Yeah, I know, I know.
- I snuck some peanut butter in your bag.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Mom's house is over that ridge.
It's too far to walk.
- Stacy says our ride is here, but...
- No.
You gotta be kidding me.
We're taking the sleigh.
You know,
the storm wasn't so bad.
It was sort of fun.
Yeah.
It was.
And I learned some things.
You're kind of good at your job.
Even if I'm too traditional?
I could use a little more
traditional in my life.
We make a good team.
I called around.
You know that any of the volunteers
and I would be happy to help out
if you want to go be with your Mom
and your brothers.
Merry Christmas.
Wh...?
Okay.
You made it!
How are you?
How are rehearsals going?
Rehearsals are good!
Yeah, the only thing
that we didn't rehearse
was cooking the Christmas goose
on live TV.
- But hey, what could go wrong?
- We could pre-cook the goose.
No, I'm fine. I'm kidding. Jitters.
I have faith in all of us.
And... I have one of my boys
with me for Christmas.
So, come on,
we have a tree to light,
and I also saved you
some ornaments to put on it.
Hey.
We made it.
Yeah.
- What a tree, huh?
- Right?
I made that.
Fourth grade.
This explains our performance
in the relay.
Can I ask you something?
I saved these for you.
Thank you.
What are they?
Your dad's favorite decorations.
What?
I put them away so many years ago,
but having you back, Danny,
I figured I'd bring them out again.
Oh, my goodness.
I keep meaning to send that to Derek.
Their father would sing Christmas carols
and play that ukulele all Christmas Eve.
He always said it didn't matter
if you could sing or not
because Christmas carols
were for everybody.
My pies.
There you are.
We should load your
segments into the server
sooner rather than later.
- Right.
- Yeah.
I'm on it.
And your room is in the guesthouse,
and there's still
a few things to go over.
- Do you want to do that now?
- Yeah, if that's cool.
Yeah.
Julia's a natural with
the Teleprompter...
but I think next year,
we should convince her to just wing it.
- She's more fun that way.
- And the crew is happy?
Are you kidding?
Maggie, when Julia says
we're a family, she means it.
We went sledding and ice skating.
This place is like a...
It's like a Christmas theme park.
Yeah.
And all the while,
her real family couldn't make it.
Yeah.
What happened with that?
They've just, they've got so much
history surrounding Christmas,
and I just stuck my nose
right in there, and...
I don't know, I can't help wonder
if I made things worse.
I'm sure you did fine.
You tried,
that's the important thing.
Come on.
Let's go get you settled
in the guest house.
- Ooh...
- Guest house.
All right, gather around, everyone.
I think it's time we light up
this Christmas tree, don't you?
But first, a Christmas toast.
To those gathered with us,
and to those gathered without us.
To those less fortunate,
and those with the wisdom to help.
Here's to the light
in each and every one of us.
- Merry Christmas!
- Merry Christmas!
How you doing?
You know,
finally decided to shake off my mood.
We always have next year
to convince your brothers.
Okay, it's...
It's okay.
It's all good,
I've got this.
Remind me...
to order some generators.
I mean, if this were to...
if this were to happen
during the show...
- Generators it is.
- Yeah.
Hey.
I'm sorry.
I thought everybody went to bed.
Oh, no, I think that they did.
This is just the first quiet
in a few days.
I'm just doing
a last-minute edit or two.
It's coming down.
What's that?
It's just a collection of clips
that I'm not using, so...
you know, sometimes, I like to cut
them together, make smaller videos.
Well, let's see 'em.
- They're not really...
- Let's see them.
Thank you for bringing Maggie home.
It's the least we can do.
I mean, your daughter spends Christmas
pulled into our mom's show...
My daughter never gets pulled
into anything.
Maggie is always exactly who
and exactly where she's supposed to be.
And how.
Look at her,
I am so proud of her.
Boy, you must be proud
of your mom, too.
Yeah, I am.
It's just... Well, sometimes,
I wish that our family
could find room for a Christmas
like this, you know?
For all of us.
Just remember...
it's a two-way street.
Danny, this is...
...really great.
I'm sorry, I thought
everyone had gone to bed.
- Mom, you know, we're just...
- Some edits...
But we have a show tomorrow,
so I'm gonna get to bed.
No, no, actually, I'm the one
who should go and get some rest...
- We should all get some rest.
- Yeah.
But... after this show is said and done,
I already want to talk about next year,
because the behind-the-scenes
segments that your son did
are exactly the feel that we want
for next year's show.
Well, I cannot wait to see them.
Although we are going
to have to start thinking
about getting a crew,
then, for next year.
Why? We've got Danny.
Well, no, Danny's not
going to be here next year,
so we are going to need to look for...
I thought you knew.
I agreed that this would be
a onetime thing.
I have other jobs lined up.
No, I didn't know that.
Well, I should have been
a lot more clear.
The network wanted what worked before,
and of course, I wanted to see Danny...
Right, no, I mean,
that makes complete sense.
I'm gonna head to bed.
So have a good night, everybody,
and Merry Christmas.
Maggie!
Wait!
- Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you!
- Really, there's no point.
Look, this is a good thing, ultimately.
What?
You won't have to deal with
somebody getting in your way.
It gives you the opportunity to do
what you want to do with the show.
An opportunity?
I've been doing this for years.
It's not an opportunity, Danny,
it's my job.
You know that's not what I meant...
You know, a job that
I was doing pretty well
until you decided to swoop in and
change things up, and you don't...
I just...
I started thinking that maybe
this was... a new way of working,
a better way of working.
Maggie, this week
has been incredible.
Everything,
the road trip,
you and me...
I like working with you.
A lot.
Me too.
You know, I don't mean to be all...
It's just that, you know,
people tell me all the time
how independent I am,
and I really like that
about myself, but...
I also like you.
- Maggie...
- You know what, Danny, it's...
We have a job to do.
Good night.
Man...
Merry Christmas!
How did you know it was me?
That phone is ancient.
I didn't.
I've just always liked the way
Mom answers the phone,
"Merry Christmas!"
And at this time of year,
I picked it up myself.
Well... what are you up to?
Mom asked the kids
to come over last night,
so I'm here making breakfast.
What's going on?
Is it that handsome camera dude
you rode through here with?
- How did you know?
- I have eyes.
And I was waiting for you to say
something before I asked.
Kate...
I let myself like someone
that I shouldn't have.
Why?
Because you work together?
I thought that was it.
And now I find out he's not going
to be working with me much longer.
But...
I was sort of into the idea.
And... now he's just
another guy that works in TV.
You know, another guy that has an erratic
work schedule and travels constantly.
And is fiercely independent?
I don't know anyone
who's compatible for that.
At least not anyone
who is also my sister.
Maggie, when I met my husband,
what did you tell me?
I know what I said.
But that doesn't...
You said, "If you like him,
go ahead and like him.
Work it out later".
Right, but that's not...
That's advice for everyone else,
but not for you?
Yes?
Well, then may I suggest
you start taking advice
...from my sister, Maggie.
She's really smart.
- I'll consider it.
- That's all I ask.
Go get him, Mags.
- Merry Christmas.
- Merry Christmas.
Hey!
Merry Christmas Eve!
Is there a tour group,
or a fleet of sailors,
or maybe little mini elves
coming that I don't know about?
Yeah, well, this is what I do
when I'm nervous.
I just wanted to start early
on the crew meal,
and, you know, go over my lines.
Well, you will have the Teleprompter,
and it takes you
through the entire show,
from cooking of the goose
to the end.
Good.
Because I cannot memorize a thing.
I know.
- Merry Christmas Eve, everyone.
- Back atcha.
I have some things
that I need to re-check, so...
Yeah, I...
I downloaded all the videos
so we can throw to them.
Great. And the Teleprompter is loaded,
so we can check that...
Good, why don't you two
take this conversation
maybe somewhere else?
I'm sorry, are we making you
nervous, Mom?
Yeah. Yup.
Why don't... why don't we help?
All of us.
That's not a bad idea.
We'll all pitch in, you know?
Take the edge off.
Stacy, can you help me
over here, please?
I've...
got some rosemary if you want it.
No, the recipe doesn't call for it.
Okay.
- Here.
- What's that?
It's the behind-the-scenes clips
that you liked.
I thought
I'd make a copy for you.
Thank you.
I left the show because
of my brothers.
To answer your question.
When my dad died,
my mom poured herself into her work.
I mean, she was heartbroken, you know?
And she hired me right out of college
to produce the first special.
I did it,
for two years.
It was great, but...
it made my brothers feel left out.
Eventually, I started to notice
that they were spending
Christmas in one place,
and Mom and I
were spending it another.
I quit because...
it wasn't fair.
I mean, if I wanted to spend
Christmas with my brothers,
then that would mean that my mom
would be alone on Christmas,
and that wasn't fair to her.
It was a no-win situation.
You spend Christmas alone?
I travel.
I work.
Christmas in Iceland is a lot more
impressive than you'd think.
I know it doesn't call for it, but...
trust me.
Pushy...
you just have to have your
hands in everything, don't you?
When you know something works,
you just gotta trust me.
Thank you for joining us.
I'm Julia Wise.
Have a Merry Christmas.
All right, everyone,
that's the last rehearsal!
All right, everybody,
take a bite of your cookie,
take a sip of your coffee,
and prepare yourselves!
We're about to go live.
But please save room
for the crew meal after?
- All right, let's get set to go.
- Oh, thank you.
Looks good...
What?
Wait, no, wait for it,
don't freak out.
And the generators are up and
running, nothing to see here, folks,
- ... just a little pre-show excitement.
- All right, that's 30 seconds, everyone!
- Danny?
- What's happening?
Does anyone see the
segments on the server?
What's going on, gang?
We're airing in 30 seconds.
- No, no, no, no...
- What? What? What's wrong?
I think there was a surge
when the power came back on.
We can broadcast live,
but it is going to take a while
for these servers to boot back up.
Wait, so we don't have
the segments?
Whoa, wait a minute,
we're doing the whole show live?
No, no... Maybe.
I just, I don't know yet.
Okay, five seconds, everyone.
- Julia, you okay with this?
- Yeah, I'll have the Teleprompter.
- The prompter is booting up, too.
- Okay, you're on in three...
Julia?
Julia!
Hello.
Merry Christmas.
As promised,
we are bring you The Julia Wise
Christmas Special live this year,
but fear not!
Because we have thick sweaters,
we have plenty of food,
and we have a show
full of Christmas cheer.
But first...
At the end of "A Christmas Carol,"
Dickens writes of the Cratchits' meal,
"There never was such a goose.
"Its flavor, tenderness,
size, and value,
were the themes
of universal admiration".
So tonight, I'm going to show you
how to make the perfect Christmas goose.
- Is this in the script?
- No. She's winging it.
- It's great.
- ... As always in cooking...
- Right.
- ... you want to make sure
that you cut yourself a little slack.
If you've invited people into your home,
well, you have to remember,
that they probably love you enough to
forgive you any kind of kitchen mistake.
Right, how are the segments coming?
She's going to run out of things to say.
Not good. They're big files.
Keep her going,
get the prompter running,
and I'll be right back.
- Whoa, whoa, where are you going?
- Trust me.
- Derek?
- Told you I'd figure it out.
- David! You came!
- This was not easy.
I don't like trains, I can't feel
my toes, and my face is freezing,
but then this nice driver
gave us hot cider,
and drove us here
in a one-horse open sleigh,
and... and I'm pumped!
I feel like George Bailey in
"It's A Wonderful Life!"
Merry Christmas,
you old farmhouse!
- David, we're filming.
- Sorry.
Actually, I have the best idea.
Now, let's start
that goose stuffing, shall we?
You're going go take
four tablespoons of butter,
and you will add that
to your large skillet.
At this point, we'll pick up
the five cooking apples
that we discussed earlier,
that are now cored, peeled...
Prompter's back up.
The videos are still going
to be a little bit though.
Danny...
- You want to use this?
- Yes, they're perfect.
They're smaller files, we could
plug it right into the live feed.
These are really rough.
I don't know, I'm not sure about this...
I am.
I'm sure.
...And make sure
you go back and stir occasionally
to avoid any kind of scorching...
We wanted to bring you
something new this year.
We're going to bring a little bit
of holiday celebrations
right where you are
in a series that we call
"Cross-Country Christmas".
Take a look.
- And we're clear to video.
- Yeah!
Our first Christmas, we were...
We were living in
your parents' basement!
We had just gotten married
and moved to the farm...
So natural. Did you hire them?
Are they actors?
No.
Getting them to host themselves
was all Maggie's idea.
But the edit was all Danny.
...'Cause here, Christmas is
about bringing together the town.
They all come, they
get a cup of hot cider,
and a Christmas tree.
What's better than that?
This is a great addition.
All right, we're coming back live
in a few seconds.
Follow me.
Okay, you're on in three...
And now, onto side dishes.
We've put together a few recipes
that are sure to light up
your little reindeer noses.
Where are we going?
- You guys made it!
- Wouldn't miss it.
And being the family Scrooge
isn't a good look on anyone.
Mom's going to be so excited
to see you guys after the show.
Wait, Maggie has a better idea.
The secret to any good holiday party
is to make sure that you have...
Making sure that
you have plenty of...
Well, I don't know who that could be,
but we are going to find out together.
Go follow her.
You guys, come with me.
- Hi, Mama.
- Derek!
David...
Merry Christmas, Mom.
I am...
These are...
I had no idea that this
was gonna happen, I swear.
Boys, this the, this
is the viewing audience.
Audience...
these are my three Wise men.
Now, I really need to go
and give my boys
a proper hug and catch up,
so why don't you take a look
at another one
of our Cross-Country
Christmas segments,
and we'll be right back.
And we're clear to video!
Maggie, the Internet is going nuts
for this. They love it!
How?
How did this happen?
What?
Maggie.
All right, let's not
get ahead of ourselves.
We still have a show to finish.
Cameras back to one,
everybody get back to work.
All right, we're almost there, gang.
Awesome.
This is all I've wanted,
so thank you for finding the time.
Well, we talked about it, and...
Yeah, well, we just had to grow up some,
you know, think about you
more than we were.
This... This was my dad's.
Where did you find this?
Your mom found it.
So we're going to cue you in,
and we need you to start "Have... "
Wait, wait, wait.
You know I can't sing, right?
Yeah, but you play beautifully.
I've watched all of your videos.
- You start, and we'll join in.
- Danny, you can't sing either.
Sadly, that's true, but
it's never stopped me before.
No, and it never stopped Dad.
I don't know...
Buddy, buddy, we can't argue
about how great you are.
Now, get in there and
warm up, and get started!
- Okay, okay.
- Come on.
Maggie...
Thank you.
Thank you.
For this, for... everything.
Hey.
We did it together, Danny Wise.
You know,
if you do need someone next year
to help you with the segments,
who, you know, trusts you
from the very get-go...
You're hired.
- Yeah?
- Yeah.
Okay, people,
let's get back to this, all right?
In five, four, three...
two...
Everybody!
Go and eat something nice,
invite your neighbors over,
look through your old photo albums,
and tell your friends and family
how much you love them...
and have yourself
a Merry Christmas!
Rip-Fixes-Sync
by VaVooM