Katrina Marks is a Yulephile.
But when her anti-Christmas book becomes a best-seller, she has to forgo celebrating
Christmas to maintain her Scrooge-like image.
It leaves her with no choice but to limit her festivities to an online website: Christmas
Lovers Anonymous.
In an ironic turn of events, Katrina becomes a Christmas Lover to an anonymous user.
The movie starts with Katrina in her cozy sweater, as she decorates her Christmas tree.
She unwraps some Santa figurines from her extensive collection.
Katrina and her sister Lindsey liv together in Greenbough, Hudson.
Their bonding is built on understanding, care, strong companionship, and a serious love for
Christmas.
Determined to prepare for Christma, they bake and decorate the house months in advance.
Unbeknownst to Katrina, this Christmas is going to change everything.
Katrina and Lindsey are walking home after shopping for Christmas, when Katrina says
she thinks Mark, Katrina’s boyfriend, is planning to propose to her.
She and Mark have been together for the last three years.
Mark has been acting weird lately.
He’s been desperately trying to talk to Katrina, and she assumes that the topic of
conversation will be the ring, that he has been busy buying her.
Lindsey doesn’t seem as overjoyed and hopeful as her sister.
She feels like Mark is nothing like Katrina.
In fact, they are poles apart.
She points it out to Katrina, who quickly dismisses it.
Opposites attract, she says.
Apparently, Mark doesn’t think Christmas celebrations are as important as Katrina does.
During the conversation between skeptical Lindsey and excited Katrina, Katrina’s phone
rings.
It’s Mark, and he’s asking her out for dinner tonight.
Katrina is busy each day until Tuesday.
She has to decorate her house, attend a toy drive, shop for Christmas gifts, and bake
cookies for the bake sales that are coming up.
Mark is mad about not being able to get enough time and attention from Katrina.
She finds a spot in her busy schedule, and they settle on having dinner that Tuesday.
As the sisters unwrap the Santa figures, Lindsey suggests that Katrina write a Christmas book.
Katrina’s writing career has been turbulent at best, and the recent rejections of her
manuscripts have left her defeated.
Lindsey thinks Katrina’s obsession with Christmas celebrations can finally get her
out of that slump.
She reminds Katrina about how much she loves Christmas.
Katrina volunteers for bake sales, goes to the city committee to decorate, and helps
with the toy drive.
She just can’t deny that she loves anything and everything that has to do with Christmas.
One of her greatest joys is seeing kids beam, as they open the gift boxes she diligently
prepared.
She has the real Christmas spirit; that’s for sure.
Sternly, Lindsey tells her sister, that she’s been neglecting her own enjoyment for the
sake of looking out for other people.
Katrina complains that she just can’t say no to anyone who needs her help, so she always
ends up with an inexhaustible to-do list.
Still, Katrina’s neglect of her self-care doesn’t seem to worry her.
As she goes over her packed schedule around Christmas, she can’t help but call herself
Santa’s little helper.
There is someone new in Greenbough this Christmas, and his name is Hunter Williams.
He is a journalist.
His sister, Evelyn, and niece, Charlotte, already live here.
After Evelyn’s husband abandoned her and his daughter, Hunter left his life in the
city to come and stay with them.
He has an immense love for Charlotte, and that love is reciprocated.
Charlotte is over the moon when she sees him.
He picks her up to hug her, and jokes about how big she has grown.
As she updates him on the recent developments in her life, he hands her a sugar cane and
baby doll.
He quickly realizes that she is too old for baby dolls now.
He and Evelyn laugh about it as Charlotte is put to bed.
As Evelyn fixes him dinner, she expresses her worries about Hunter leaving his life
in the city.
Now that he’s here, he’ll be working at Channel 20, a small TV station, that is undoubtedly
a downgrade from his previous job.
He assures her that he’ll do whatever it takes to be there for her, and they share
a meaningful hug.
The next day, Hunter is entering a bakery that Katrina happens to be decorating.
As she hangs a wreath on the bakery’s front door, Hunter’s mischievous side comes out.
He tells her that the wreath is still askew, and she quickly goes to fix it.
He laughs and says the bow on the wreath needs to be tied on the top, not the bottom.
They share a friendly laugh, before going about their days.
Katrina is at work.
She has been with a journaling agency for the last five years.
Her boss calls her into his office, and thanks her for the Christmas decorations she put
up during her lunch hour.
Inspired by his praise, she tells him about the commitment she made to the toy drive later
today.
But when she asks to be given leave to attend to it, her boss says he has an assignment
for her.
To Katrina’s dismay, the assignment requires that she go to Mexico.
She frantically begins listing all the Christmas activities she has planned out.
Her schedule is filled to the brim with fundraisers, events, and volunteer positions.
Her boss looks at her annoyedly.
He expected her to react this way, and it seems to have gotten on his nerves.
With an air of finality, he fires her.
Although she is a great employee, he just can’t deal with her inability to be productive
during Christmas.
Katrina seems to understand and leaves with a sigh.
When Lindsey finds out about it, she tells Katrina to look at the bright side; she now
has time to work on her book, and do some freelancing.
It’s Tuesday evening, and Mark and Katrina are having dinner together.
He doesn’t even try to mask his disinterest as he yawns.
Though he is glued to his phone screen, Katrina is too lost in her one-sided conversation
about Christmas to be bothered by it.
When he tells her he’s sorry about her getting fired, she says she isn’t worried about
it much.
Anyway, it will give her some free time to spend with him.
She reminds him of the fundraiser they both agreed to go to on Friday.
As she tells him she had a tailor stitch his outfit for him, Mark isn’t excited about
any of it.
He gets up from the table mid-conversation, and announces that he needs a break from the
relationship.
Katrina, who had been expecting Mark to propose to her, is taken aback by this.
He starts complaining about her Christmas obsession.
By the time December rolls around, Katrina gets so busy with all the plans she made,
that she straight up ignores mark.
With a nervous smile, she insists that Christmas is the best time of the year.
It’s not like she purposely ignores him; she just has more important things to attend
to.
In an attempt to negotiate, she tells him that it’s fine if he doesn’t attend all
the events she has planned for them.
Frustrated, Mark explains that this is his final stance on the topic.
The break-up upsets Katrina, and she accidentally breaks one of her Santa figures, as she tries
to process it.
The figure is a special gift from her Grandpa, and she is devastated when she realizes that
she broke it.
Lindsey tries to solace her, by making plans of ordering pizza, making cocoa, and watching
Christmas movies.
Katrina, on the other hand, is inconsolable.
On top of losing her job and going through heartbreak, she receives another rejection
from a publisher.
Lindsey thinks she should write something about Christmas to cheer herself up.
Katrina follows the advice and begins writing, but it isn’t about love for Christmas.
Her rant turns into a book-length piece, on the toll Christmas can take on someone’s
life.
When Lindsey reads it, she promises her sister that the piece is good enough to get published.
The praise doesn’t improve Katrina’s mood, and she spends the rest of her days sulking.
She cancels all her Christmas plans and stays in bed.
Determined to do something about her sister’s bout of depression, Lindsey devises a plan.
She sends out Katrina’s writing to some publishing companies.
To their shock, the publishers accept it, and the book turns out to be a best-seller.
Soon enough, Katrina is a well-known author of the famous book: Just say No to Ho Ho Ho.
While being interviewed by a TV channel, she is asked about what motivated her to write
the book.
She tells them about how much she would exhaust herself by attempting to do every Christmas
activity perfectly.
When last Christmas turned out to be a disaster, she realized she had the wrong idea about
the holiday.
Keeping a long list of tasks to be busy with, meant she didn’t get time to relax or be
with family.
Live on air, she announces her bold decision of not celebrating Christmas this year.
She sheepishly explains that she won’t be buying gifts, sending cards, doing fundraisers,
or participating in any other Christmas activity.
The book’s sales dramatically increased after the interview.
Lindsey is ecstatic, but Katrina is distressed.
Her entire success story has been a lie.
Try as she may, she is still in love with celebrating Christmas, and all it has to offer.
Sure, it has its downsides, but she’s itching to go out, and attend her yearly festivities.
Still, she is determined to stay loyal to her new image.
She can’t throw her massive success away, so she has to celebrate in secret.
If she’s found out, it will be the end of her career, and she knows that.
Meanwhile, Hunter doesn't seem to be adjusting to his new job very well.
He has developed an office rivalry with his colleague, Amber.
Though he’s been trying to impress his boss with his ideas, his efforts have gone to waste.
His boss wants him to focus on local stories, so she gives him a special Christmas assignment.
She wants him to cover Katrina’s successful book.
Hunter initially refuses, but when his boss says she will have Amber do it instead, he
takes it up out of spite.
Katrina finds an internet forum: Christmas Lovers Anonymous.
Desperate for a way to freely dish out her love for Christmas, she makes a profile under
the name of ‘Santa’s Little Helper’, and writes about her love for Christmas.
She writes about her having an extensive Santa collection, and how she wishes that every
day was Christmas.
As she talks about the importance of doing nice things for others, Hunter signs up for
the forum too.
He picks the name Jolly Soul.
He needs some help with celebrating Christmas with his niece.
He picks the name Jolly Soul, and begins browsing.
He stumbles upon a user by the name of Santa’s Little Helper.
Eager to solve his little family crisis, he messages and makes small talk.
She begins telling him about herself.
She explains that she is fascinated with the concept of being rewarded for good deeds.
Hunter, upon being asked, tells her the reason behind the name ‘Jolly Soul’.
He likes to tell jokes and make others laugh.
When he asks for her help with making this year's Christmas unforgettable for Charlotte,
she gives him plenty of ideas for activities to do.
They end their conversation, and Hunter goes back to Katrina’s book.
He doesn’t seem to enjoy it much.
Hunter goes to pick out a Christmas tree with Evelyn and Charlotte.
Katrina is there with Lindsey, and the former has her face covered with a cap and glasses.
She can’t risk being seen picking out a Christmas tree.
Hunter’s eyes fall on her, and he recognizes her.
He can’t seem to place it initially, but finally remembers their encounter outside
the bakery.
He goes up to his boss, and tells her the truth about Katrina.
Hunter and his boss think the story will be even better, if he exposes her for who she
really is: a Christmas lover.
Hunter reaches the fire station, and finds Katrina there.
She is interviewing the chief, and a comical tension builds between Hunter and Katrina
when they lock eyes.
She messes with Hunter by saying his shirt buttons are undone.
It seems like she also remembers him from the bakery.
Katrina’s laptop chimes.
She is happy to hear from Jolly Soul, and he is happy to share his Christmas activities
with her.
They find out that they live in the same town.
They also realize, that they went to the same place to buy a Christmas tree.
But they don’t connect the dots between their real identities yet.
She comes up with a cute idea.
She tells him to give Charlotte a small gift every day until Christmas.
Explaining that this is what she does for her sister, she promises him that Charlotte
will love it.
She receives a parcel delivery that contains more disguises.
Katrina is getting ready for her book signing, which she isn’t too thrilled about.
She receives a call for an interview for Channel 20, and they inform her that the reporter
will be at her book signing.
She nervously hopes the reporter is Amber, whom she knows.
She is nervous, and Lindsey is trying to calm her down.
To Katrina’s surprise, Mark shows up at the book signing.
He asks her out for dinner, and she tries to blow him off.
He is persistent though, and keeps insisting.
Hunter, sent by Channel 20, is witnessing this awkward exchange.
Having enough of Mark’s attitude, Hunter comes to the rescue.
He introduces himself as a reporter, and Katrina reluctantly agrees to give him an interview.
He decides to hold the interview at the skating rink, and Katrina remembers the conversation
she had with Jolly Soul, where he mentioned the skating rink.
With his cameraman in tow, Hunter meets Katrina at the skating rink.
He asks about her motivation behind writing the book.
She tells him about the measures she used to take to celebrate Christmas.
She admits, that a series of unfortunate events last Christmas made her stop.
Hunter knows she hasn’t stopped, so he tries to get her to slip.
He asks if she truly ditched the Christmas decorating habit.
Katrina is startled at the question, but she continues to keep up the facade.
When Hunter asks if she has put up a Christmas tree, she evades the question.
Hunter wraps up the interview.
He tells her that he has to go skating with his sister and niece.
Katrina looks over at them in jealousy.
There are so many things that she can’t do freely now.
When Katrina gets home, she tells Lindsey how uncomfortable the interview was.
She thinks Hunter doesn’t remember her from the bakery.
Though she admits that there is some chemistry between them, his nosey demeanor annoys her.
Hunter and Katrina chat online, while wrapping Christmas gifts.
He opens up to Katrina, about his brother-in-law abandoning his sister and his niece.
Katrina is touched by the sacrifice Hunter made for his family.
He left all he had in the city for them, and she appreciates how difficult that must have
been.
When he explains that his girlfriend broke up with him when he moved, they both realize
that they are single.
When Evelyn comes home after shopping, she complains about how tired it makes her.
Hunter realizes that there is some truth to Katrina’s writing.
As he tells Evelyn about Katrina’s book, and his subsequent plan to expose her, Evelyn
doesn’t seem convinced that Hunter is only after the story.
Convinced that he likes Katrina, she teases him about her suspicion.
In a disguise again, Katrina is out to buy her favorite cookies with Lindsey.
She tells Lindsey about Jolly Soul.
She really feels like they click.
Hunter happens to catch Katrina and Lindsey outside the bakery.
She says she doesn’t want to be recognized by her fans; hence the disguise.
When she lies about coming out for coffee, Hunter spares her by ignoring the blatant
lie.
He asks her to complete her interview with him next Monday, and she agrees.
Katrina and Amber seem to be close friends.
Amber has helped Katrina get a job at Channel 20, and Katrina is grateful to her.
Katrina tells Amber that she would have preferred her as the interviewer.
To Katrina’s surprise, Amber has good things to say about Hunter.
Despite Hunter being her competition, Amber can’t help but like him.
Hunter is eavesdropping.
It is unsuccessful, and the girls quickly become aware of it.
They shift the conversation to Christmas.
Katrina talks about her lack of Christmas celebrations this year.
Hunter deliberately bumps into Katrina, and asks her to watch where she is going.
Hunter’s next assignment covers the toy drive at the fire station.
Katrina is also there doing the same thing.
When he tells her how being at a toy drive should count as celebrating Christmas, Katrina
tells him that it’s part of her job.
Anyway, making kids happy could never be stressful for her.
Hunter agrees, and their argument ends on a light-hearted note.
Jolly Soul is decorating a Christmas tree with his sister and niece.
He snaps a photo and sends it to Santa’s Little Helper.
Katrina is happy to talk to someone, who loves to enjoy Christmas as much as she does.
Evelyn and Charlotte notice how happy Hunter is.
They tease him about his online friend, but the jokes don’t annoy him.
He continues taking suggestions from Santa’s Little Helper, and his entire family enjoys
them greatly.
Hunter does not stop sharing photos, and Katrina is happy to receive them.
She enjoys seeing him do what she loves to do.
Though she can’t participate in the activities herself, she vicariously livs through the
spirit and enthusiasm he has.
When he asks her to meet him, she is hesitant to take him up on the offer.
She makes up a bunch of excuses, but he remains hopeful that they’ll meet soon.
Today, Katrina and Hunter are supposed to meet for the interview.
As Katrina decides what to wear, Lindsey tells Katrina that her feelings for Hunter are obvious.
Denying it, Katrina tells her sister that she has a better connection with Jolly Soul.
Lindsey isn’t convinced, since Katrina has more effort into her styling than usual.
Meanwhile, Hunter is trying to find the perfect jumper to wear.
Evelyn asks him if he fancies Katrina, and he vehemently denies it.
Their interview is at the bakery.
Katrina makes a request.
She wants Hunter to let the world know she isn’t a grinch.
She likes Christmas, what she doesn’t like is the pressure that builds up over the holidays.
Shopping for gifts is already insanely hard.
You can put so much effort into a gift, and the person can still end up hating it.
Next, come the Christmas events and activities that she attends to.
It just gets too overwhelming.
The conversation shifts to the topic of romance, and Katrina passes a sarcastic but sweet compliment
to Hunter.
When Hunter asks her if she is seeing someone, she makes him spill his relationship status
as well.
Suddenly, a fan comes up to Katrina.
Thanks to the book, the fan finally toned down her obsession with Christmas celebrations.
Katrina looks at Hunter, who has gained a new appreciation for the book.
Hunter wants to know where Katrina’s obsession with Christmas came from.
When she says she doesn’t want to discuss her personal life with a reporter, Hunter
looks offended and leaves.
He submits his cover story to his boss.
Despite his many attempts, he wasn’t able to expose Katrina.
It isn’t the story he and his boss expected.
After the interview ends, Katrina is upset.
She knows that she might not get to see Hunter anymore.
Lindsey brings up a remark that Hunter made.
Hunter told Katrina that Mark was stupid to break up with her.
Convinced that Hunter is married, Katrina denies that he has any romantic interest in
her.
When she saw him with Evelyn and Charlotte at the skating rink, she assumed them to be
his wife and daughter.
Katrina explains that she is conflicted between Hunter and Jolly Soul.
There is actual chemistry between her and Hunter, but she feels at home with Jolly Soul.
Still, she can’t be sure that the feeling will be there in real life.
The only way to find out is to meet Jolly Soul.
She finally asks him to meet up, and he agrees.
She tells him he’ll be able to recognize her by her outfit: a red coat and Christmas
earrings.
When they each go out to get presents for the other, Hunter sees Katrina stuffing loads
of gift boxes into the back of her car, and records it on his phone.
When he gives the recording to his boss, he doesn’t look proud at all.
Katrina is getting ready to meet Jolly Soul.
She is nervous but happy.
Feeling sure that he is the right man for her, she has already decided to tell him the
truth about her life.
She wants to tell him about the book, and her undying love for Christmas.
As he is waiting for him at the decided place, Hunter arrives and recognizes her from a distance.
He retreats in fear.
He goes home to tell Evelyn about it, and realizes he needs to stop his story from airing.
To his disappointment, there’s nothing he can do to stop the story from reaching the
masses.
Katrina is upset at being stood up.
Since he hasn’t provided her with an explanation, she takes matters into her own hands.
She goes on the forum and writes to Jolly Soul.
As she candidly tells him the truth, Hunter reads her messages.
Regret and sadness dwell inside him.
He hates that he wrote that story about her, and he hates that he couldn’t stop it from
going live.
The story is live, and Katrina watches the news in shock.
She hates Hunter for making her worst fears come true.
Amber receives a Christmas gift from Hunter: a pair of fuzzy socks.
He tells her he wants to be on cooperative and friendly terms.
Katrina calls Amber.
She asks to let her on TV, so she can explain her side of the story.
Knowing that Katrina is being exposed and portrayed in the wrong light, Amber agrees.
Katrina explains to the public, that she wrote the book when she was in distress over her
ruined Christmas.
She used to overdo it every Christmas, but this Christmas has been the best.
She made sure not to exhaust herself, and stuck to decorating and baking.
Her love for Christmas will never die, but she hopes her book can serve as a warning,
for those who go too far during the holidays.
She tells the viewers to keep the craziness in check, so they can have more relaxing and
joyful holidays.
Katrina thanks Amber for giving her the chance to clear her name.
Amber tells her that Hunter did try to stop the story from being aired.
When she also tells her that he mentioned someone he met online, Katrina connects the
dots and realized that Jolly Soul is Hunter Williams.
Hunter is glad that Katrina stood up for herself.
Evelyn wants him to tell Katrina that he is Jolly soul, but he doesn’t feel ready.
Thinking that Katrina hates him, Hunter spends the day upset and lost in thought.
Meanwhile, Katrina is also worried and distracted.
When Katrina refuses to volunteer for a fundraiser next year, Lindsey is shocked to hear Katrina
finally say no to someone.
Katrina wants to take up fewer tasks, and spend more time with loved ones.
When she gets an offer to write a book on the joys of Christmas, Katrina is conflicted.
This is exactly the kind of work she wants to do, but she misses Jolly Soul too much
to be happy about anything.
Determined to make it work, she writes to Jolly Soul again and asks him to meet her.
She makes sure to mention the special bond between them.
It’s Christmas Eve, and Katrina is waiting for Jolly Soul.
Hunter is with Evelyn and Charlotte, and they are raving about the fuzzy socks he has gifted.
Evelyn insists that he meet Katrina, but he is worried that she will hate him.
After some convincing, Evelyn and Charlotte make him go.
They meet, and Katrina reveals that she knew it was him.
In fact, she is pleased it is him.
They profess their love for each other.
He presents her with a Santa figure, and she loves it.
They share an intimate moment; they are finally happy in each other’s presence.