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abkeller
May 19, 2013abkeller rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Most of us can’t help avoiding the yearly Christmas frenzy. Although we dream about coming into the holiday season with calm serenity, invariably we are caught up in the endless sea of parties, Christmas shopping, gift wrapping, and decorating. What if our dreams for a quiet holiday actually became a reality? That’s what happens to Luther and Nora Krank. After sending their daughter, Blair, off to the Peace Corps, the couple realizes there is no longer the need to put on a big Christmas extravaganza! They refuse to put up a Christmas tree and theirs is the only house on Hemlock Street without a lighted plastic snowman precariously clinging to the front of their chimney. This year, there will be no Christmas Eve party at the Krank household, either. Even buying gifts is put on the back burner. In place of their typical Christmas traditions, Luther books a Caribbean cruise for his wife and himself. However, the Kranks’ plans suddenly go awry when Blair surprises her parents by returning to the states – and with a fiancé doctor in tow, too! Frantically, Nora Krank attempts to assemble a delicious Christmas dinner out of basically nothing and manages to come up with little better than smoked trout. Luther pleads with his neighbor to borrow their Christmas tree while they’re out of town and nearly slides off the roof attempting to wrestle the plastic Frosty onto his slippery roof. Nevertheless, the true Christmas spirit is revealed when Luther decides to donate the tickets for their Christmas cruise to his neighbor and wife, who is dying of cancer. Despite their differences, the Kranks’ neighbors ban together to help assemble a Christmas Blair will be proud of. We are a part of our traditions and they define us in a thousand tiny ways. In shedding them, we lose a little of ourselves. By celebrating and remembering them, however, we achieve everything we ever wanted.