Haul Out the Holly

Needing a place to live in the short term one week before Christmas in a twist she did not foresee in breaking up with Dan, her uncaring live-in boyfriend of three years, Emily Melrose somewhat reluctantly accepts the offer of her parents, Albert and Gail Melrose, to come home for Christmas on Evergreen Lane in the suburbs of Salt Lake City a couple hour drive away, this the first time in years she having done so. That reluctance is because her parents have always, in her mind, gone way over the top for Christmas, the Homeowners Association (HOA) of Evergreen Lane, Albert its president for the past thirty years, having implemented a strict code concerning Christmas by which all the residents gladly abide, their many Christmas "to-do" lists much to the detriment of actually enjoying the holidays. While Albert and Gail did not lie in their invitation, Emily discovers upon her arrival home that her parents are heading off to Florida immediately for the holidays in their plan to move there, leaving Emily, not only alone in the house, but required to do all the work to the HOA's Christmas code especially under the watchful eye of the new President, Emily's childhood friend, architect Jared Farnsworth, who willingly moved back to the street in relishing these Christmas traditions. While Emily tries to balance the reason she came home, namely to regroup after the breakup, against the exacting demands of being an Evergreen Lane resident, albeit in spirit only, she may come to a realization of what she really wants for Christmas as she spends time with the other residents, especially Jared.