Plot

The intertwined stories of four generations of Coopers unfold right before the annual family reunion on Christmas Eve. Can they survive the most beautiful time of the year?

When four generations of the Cooper clan come together for their annual Christmas Eve celebration, a series of unexpected visitors and unlikely events turn the night upside down, leading them all toward a surprising rediscovery of family bonds and the spirit of the holiday.—CBS Films

In anticipation of a great family reunion, happily married Sam and Charlotte make the necessary preparations for the memorable night. Everyone is expected: their children, Hank and Eleanor; their grandchildren; Charlotte's father, Bucky; her sister, Emma, and, of course, Aunt Fishy. Little by little, as the intertwined stories of four generations of Coopers unfold, well-kept secrets, unspoken desires, and intimate wishes begin to surface, just before the dinner on Christmas Eve. Sooner or later, the Coopers will have to realise that--even though it is easy to lose track of their shared lives--occasionally, unexpected encounters can bring hope and joy when they least expect it. Can the Coopers survive the most beautiful time of the year?—Nick Riganas

Sam and Charlotte are divorcing after forty years of marriage. Charlotte convinces Sam to wait until after their grown children (Hank and Eleanor), grandchildren (Hank's kids Charlie, Bo and Madison), Charlotte's father and sister (Bucky and Emma) and Sam's aunt (Fishy) have enjoyed one last "perfect Christmas" before announcing the planned divorce. As scenes shift back and forth across the Cooper family members, their memories also briefly appear on screen as younger versions of themselves..

As is the annual ritual, four generations of the extended Cooper family are convening for Christmas Eve dinner at the Pittsburgh home of the family nucleus, Charlotte and Sam Cooper, married for forty years. They will not make it to forty-one as there has been one last straw on both sides in they having drifted apart in promises not kept. As Christmas is Charlotte's favorite time of year, she has convinced Sam not to tell the family of their impending divorce until after the holidays so that they can have one last perfect Christmas together. What they are unaware of is that no one considers these Christmas Eve dinners as being within the perfect family in their collective dysfunction. Emma, Charlotte's younger single sister, has always felt in competition with Charlotte, only exacerbated by their father Bucky having slotted them into specific types, as such Emma having been picked up for shoplifting in "buying" the perfect Christmas gift for Charlotte. Having been caught makes Emma's ability to attend dinner slim as she is escorted to the police station by emotionally detached Officer Percy Williams. Lonely Bucky spends his days at a local diner just to be able to spend time with a young waitress, Ruby, who he has befriended. He is saddened not only to learn that Ruby is leaving town for good in wanting to find a better i.e. happier life in what is a random move, but that she did not have the courage to tell him directly. Sam's care facility residing Aunt Fishy is largely in her own world in being in an early stage of Alzheimer's. Charlotte and Sam's son Hank, having just gone through a divorce from Angie and being father to three children, has just lost his job as a department store photographer, which he has told no one in trying to maintain his "financial" Christmas commitments, this only what he sees as his latest failure. Hank and Angie's oldest son, mid teen Charlie, can now only think about approaching his first crush, Lauren Hesselberg, without being too obvious in his feelings for her. And Charlotte and Sam's daughter Eleanor, flying in from out of town, has decided to hang out at a bar in the airport for as long as possible rather than go home in not wanting to face Charlotte's judgment for still being single. Reality is worse: Eleanor is in a long distance sex-only relationship, it necessarily commitment-free as he is married. In hanging out at the airport, Eleanor meets Joe, a soldier snowed in and who will probably spend Christmas alone in the airport. They make an uneasy connection, that unease due to their philosophical differences about most things in life. The Coopers' collective story is largely told by arguably the happiest member of the family, Rags, Charlotte and Sam's faithful dog who can view things both at an intimate and objective level.—Huggo