Love at the Christmas Table

“Love At the Christmas Table” was released in 2012.  It stars Danica McKellar, Dustin Milligan, and Lea Thompson.

To read my review click here.   I want to warn you this blog entry contains spoilers.

This movie focuses on family friends Sam and Kat who spend every Christmas Eve at the children’s table at Elissa Dixon’s Christmas Eve party. They grow up together, sharing the highs and lows of young adulthood. There’s an obvious chemistry but the timing is always off.  At thirty, Sam realizes that Kat is the one but he's afraid that the past will get in the way.  They both seem afraid to make the leap.

As a parallel story, there is Elissa.  She has been in love with Kat’s father, Tom, most of her life.  One Christmas Eve she tells Kat about the book Great Expectations and how Miss Havisham is left at the altar and stops living.  She stopped all the clocks and only wears her wedding dress as if frozen in time in that moment.  Elissa tells Kat that when she met Kat’s mother, who she liked even though she didn’t want to, one Christmas Eve, she became Miss Havisham.  That’s why she always has her Christmas lights on and decorations up and everything at her home is about Christmas. 

Of course, Kat and Sam end up getting engaged at the end of the movie but not before Kat pulls her father and Elissa into a room and talks to them about how they’ve both had feelings for each other.  Kat pulls out an engagement ring and asks Elissa if she will marry her father.  Of course, Elissa says yes.  Then Kat asks her father who also says yes.

The movie ends with Kat and Sam standing with Elissa as she unplugs the Christmas lights because she is going to start living again and moving her life forward.

I have a feeling that this is the kind of movie people will either love or hate.  I find the back and forth of Sam and Kat’s relationship endearing and interesting.  It’s nice to see the relationships and hear about the life changes that make them develop into the people they are.  It’s like a time capsule.  I also find their banter and their antics quite funny.  Things like their game “Best Life” or their swear jar.

I really like the character of Elissa.  I think we’ve all been heartbroken at some point and felt like our world stopped in that moment of pain.  Most people go through the motions until they can move past it but I personally know people who are stuck.  They don’t have the Christmas lights and decorations to show for it but they haven’t gotten back to truly living.  It makes Elissa very relatable.  Watching her journey was just as special to me as Sam and Kat’s.

If you haven’t seen it, I hope you give it a try.  If you have, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the movie.  Happy Viewing!