It seems to be Christmas time, and a Corgi puppy is playing in the snow.
Inside an office, a boy is holding an Ipad, and watching a video of a corgi dog. He is
there waiting for his mother Lauren, to finish work. Lauren apologizes to her son for taking
so long with her work, and promises to be finished in a couple of minutes. They also
discuss Laura's poster with cowboys and dinosaurs for the Mango Mist campaign.
Laura's colleague comes by to give her files of the company accounts she is working on. The
colleague jokes about Lauren being a workaholic. VP of the company and Lauren's supervisor Doris
greets them, and adds she used to be just like Lauren. She then wishes the girls Merry Christmas
and leaves. After work, Lauren is back with her son Jacob and they are doing a check up of things
to bring along, such as a charger and work files. Jacob points out he would like to get a dog,
either a golden lab, black lab, corgi or cockapoo, and tells Lauren he emailed her a
list of dogs. Laurene is not thrilled with the idea, as it takes a lot of work to have a dog.
She apologizes to Jacob for not being there for him enough due to her work obligations.
On their way out they run into Lauren's boss who is in a holiday mood, and jokes
about Jacob needing to have a payroll as well, since he is so often at work with Lauren. The
boss reminds her about the promotion coming up, and how she might be a good candidate for it.
He concludes the conversation by saying her name is on top of a very short list.
Lauren and Jacob are finally about to leave the office and Jacob warns her there might
be some traffic on their way to Grandma's and Grandpa's house, because he saw it on
his Ipad. Lauren assures him she knows the best way to the grandparents' house and they leave.
It turns out Jacob was right and their car gets stuck in a long row in traffic. Jacob
comments he is not the kind of a kid to tell her "I told you so". As they are waiting in the car,
Jacob offers Lauren some cookies he got from school. He admits all the classmates
except him made homemade cookies and brought them to class. Lauren is sad to hear that,
and Jacob explains he didn't want to disturb her as she was working so hard.
After a while, they arrive at the house where Lauren grew up. Jacob doesn't remember
it too well, and he is surprised there are no decorations. The house of the grandparents is
big and spacious. Lauren and Jacob are knocking on the door but it's locked. Lauren is puzzled
about why her parents are not opening the door. She remembers the extra key hidden in the flower
pot and unlocks the door. Jacob and Lauren enter the front door but find no grandparents.
Lauren is now slightly worried, and she phones her sister to see if she
knows anything. As she is talking on the cell, Jacob gets in a video-call with
the grandparents who are happy to see their grandson. Lauren wants to know what happened,
and they reveal they are in Florida. They were sending emails to Lauren but she never answered,
and so they concluded she will be working again for the holidays. Lauren is confused and doesn't
know what to do, and the grandparents suggest she and Jacob should stay at their house, and
spend some time with Lauren's sister. As Jacob is googling if it was legal to "break" into the house
by using the spare key, Lauren's sister Lizzy appears on the door wearing a police uniform.
Lauren, Lizzy and Jacob come up with a plan and spend the day decorating the house and putting the
lights on. Lauren takes some time off to finish some of her work. Even though she was not thrilled
about helping out in decoration, it proves to be fun for her as well. At the end of the day,
the trio is finally finished. They exit the house to look at the results of their hard work,
and Jacob wants Lauren to be the one to switch on the lights. Lauren is moved by this gesture,
but when she attempts to switch on the electricity, nothing happens. Lizzy is
certain she plugged all the cables correctly and it's unclear why the lights won't work.
As the trio is standing outside and trying to figure out how to solve the issue,
a cute puppy on a leash walks in. He is followed by the girl Charlie,
who explains to Jacob it's not her dog, but the dog of their neighbors, and that she would also
like to have a dog. Charlie's dad Ben also comes by and everyone introduces themselves.
Ben hears about their Christmas lights not working and offers to help. His daughter
Charlie explains to the group her dad is building reno houses and how he
always fixes things around the house. Charlie is living only with her dad.
In the store room, Ben and Lauren have a bonding moment and joke around. Ben pretends to be pulled
in by a monster to make Lauren laugh, and they bump into a toy of a cartoon character they both
liked to watch as kids. Ben fixes the lights in the fuse box, and they go back outside.
The group turns on the lights and the view is lovely. Ben asks the Bradley
family to come by sometimes to their house, and the night ends in a celebratory spirit.
The next morning, Jacob and Lauren are having breakfast and they hear
a knock on the door. Lauren opens the door and, surprised to see Ben,
she quickly closes it. Once she gathers some courage, she reopens the door and greets Ben,
who came to ask for help with something. Lauren is curious to know what the visit is all about,
but Ben insists on showing her instead of telling her, and so Lauren follows him.
Ben takes Lauren to his car and shows her a box with a corgi puppy inside. He explains it's an
early Christmas present for his daughter and he doesn't want Charlie to see it before Christmas.
Lauren is still confused why the puppy is there and Ben asks if she could keep the
puppy for a couple of days at her house. Lauren is at first reluctant to help him,
because she is afraid Jacob might see the puppy, but, as Ben is about to leave,
she finally agrees and tells Ben she could keep the pup in the room she is working in.
They also discuss the puppy's name and, even though Ben suggests names such as
Colombo or Rocky, they agree it's best to let Charlie choose a name for the puppy.
Lauren sneaks into the house carrying a box, and runs into Jacob who wants
to know what is in the box. Lauren explains it's a present for Charlie,
and she is keeping it here as a favor to Ben. Lauren takes the box to her room,
and promises the puppy to bring a treat if the puppy doesn't make a mess.
Later that day, Jacob informs Lauren she is going out to play with Charlie and make a snowman,
and Ben will be there as well to keep an eye on them. As he is leaving,
Jacob promises he won't tell Charlie about her present so as not to spoil the surprise.
Lauren goes back to her room to work, and finds puppy has jumped out of its box and chewed a
lot of items in the room. Lauren sits on the bed working on her laptop with the puppy beside her,
and some time passes. Her phone starts ringing, and it's Ben calling to check up on her,
and to let her know the kids are fine and they are building a whole snow family. He
mentions there are five mums at the moment in the playground watching the kids,
and he suggests taking some time off and going for a cup of coffee. Lauren is reluctant at first to
make a break during her work, but she agrees to walk the dog with Ben and drink a cup of coffee.
Lauren and Ben meet and take a walk. They run into a man dressed as Santa on the street,
Lauren is looking for the money in her bag, but Ben insists he should
pay and he puts the money in the box for both of them. They sit in a coffee shop,
and order some hot coffee as the corgi puppy is asleep under the table.
Ben asks a lot of questions about Lauren's life,
such as how come she is so busy. She explains it's difficult to be a single mom,
and constantly worry about money and work schedule. Lauren is hoping the promotion
at work might solve some of her problems, and would give her more time to spend with her son.
While Ben and Lauren are talking and enjoying their coffee, a woman named
Charlotte approaches the table. She and Ben seem to know each other from before,
and the atmosphere gets a bit awkward. Lauren asks how the two of them know each other,
but Charlotte has to leave to join her companion who is waiting for her. After
she leaves, Ben tells Lauren Charlotte is his ex-girlfriend. He says she is not too nice,
and Lauren partially agrees and says it got a bit colder in the room since she arrived.
There seem to be some unresolved issues between Ben and Charlotte, but Ben doesn't say too much
except that Charlotte was the first woman he dated after Charlie's mother. Lauren
concludes the conversation by saying it's a good thing to go out and start dating again.
They part and Lauren goes back to her home. As she is carrying the puppy up the stairs,
Jacob comes home from the playground, but he luckily doesn't see the puppy in Lauren's arms.
A bit later, Lauren and Jacob are watching a movie on the couch and Jacob falls asleep.
Lauren says it's time for bed and goes through the photos of puppies on his Ipad.
The next morning, Lauren wakes up and gets worried because she can't see the puppy
anywhere in the room. She finally locates the puppy sleeping in the open suitcase,
on its back. Lauren is getting more and more charmed by the cuteness of the puppy. She goes
to the garage to find a more appropriate bed for the puppy, and as she is there,
she gets reminded of the polar bear cartoon toy she was talking about with Ben.
Lizzy comes by, she is carrying a bunch of gifts and some wrap paper. She is hoping she
and Lauren might do the wrapping today. Lauren tells her she didn't have to buy so many gifts
for Jacob and Lizzy explains she is his aunt, and it's what aunts are supposed to do - spoil
their nephews. Lauren is a bit worried about being late with her work, but she concludes
those files can wait a bit longer, and she joins in with her sister to wrap the gifts.
Lauren and Lizzy are talking about their love life. Lizzy keeps asking about the handsome
neighbor living down the street, meaning Ben, but Lauren quickly changes the topic and asks
Lizzy if she has met anyone recently. Lizzy jokes about the only men she meets these days
are the ones in the back of her police car, who mostly have a criminal record. Lizzy adds
she would like to one day have the kind of love their parents have, and asks if Lauren
believes in love. Lauren says "maybe". They also remember how Lauren used to like holidays,
and conclude her Christmas mood might be returning these days, maybe also due to Ben's presence.
Lauren wants to reveal a secret to Lizzy, and she takes her to her work room to show her the
corgi puppy. Lizzy is just as enamored as Lauren when she sees it, and Lauren explains the puppy
is not hers and Jacob's, she's only taking care of it for a couple of days. Lauren also
says she doesn't want Jacob to see the puppy, because he would feel very disappointed once he
learned it's not for him. As Lauren and Lizzy are playing with the puppy, Jacob and Charlie enter
the house, and Lauren rushes Lizzy to go back downstairs so the kids wouldn't see the puppy.
Downstairs, Lauren runs into Jacob and Charlie, who came for some snacks and cookies in the
house. They hear the noise upstairs and Lauren explains it's a lamp that fell down,
and she goes back up. Charlie is offering her dad to help fix the issue and Lauren
can't help but silently comment "he's the one who caused it", without the kids hearing
it. Back in her work room, Lauren checks in on the pup who is chewing on the Polar Pete toy,
and admits she can't have the puppy cooped in there all day.
Lauren and Jacob are hanging out in the living room, and Ben calls to check up on
their "furry little friend". Lauren tells him about what happened to Polar Pete,
and Ben asks if she and Jacob would like to see Santa and join him and Charlie at the Christmas
market. Jacob is excited to see Santa and Lauren agrees to come to the market for an hour.
The group meets at the market and enjoys the lovely Christmas atmosphere. The kids
get some popcorn and run along to play, while Ben and Lauren sit down on the bench to have
a conversation. Ben is interested to know why Lauren dislikes Christmas, and she tells him
it's a long story but she gradually opens up. She remembers how she used to love Christmas as a kid,
and she believes Christmas is mostly for kids to enjoy and not so much for adults. Ben disagrees
and puts on a Christmas cap. He is trying to get to the bottom of her reluctance to enjoy holidays,
and Lauren talks about how she lost her husband Paul sometimes around this time of the year.
Lauren and Jacob are having a video call with Lauren's parents and they are talking about
the new friends they made, Ben and Charlie. Jacob happily talks about what he learned from Charlie,
and Lauren is a bit shy to talk about Ben. The grandparents want to know if Lauren and
Jacob will go on a big tree lighting ceremony, and Jacob loves the idea.
Lauren promises she will think about it. Jacob says goodnight to his grandparents,
and Lauren stays to chat a bit longer with them.
Lizzy and her police partner drop by to return the puppy to Lauren, and Lizzy's colleague,
who wasn't thrilled by having a dog in the car, is now playing with the
puppy and taking photos. Lizzy and Lauren hug before they leave, and Lizzy lets her know she
has a plan for the kids the following day that might help solve the getting a puppy dilemma.
The following morning, Ben and Lauren are talking on the phone and Lauren tells him
she is just about to finish the last press release for her work, and after that,
she will be free to enjoy the holidays. Since the kids have plans with Lauren's sister,
Ben suggests for Lauren to come by and bring the puppy because Christmas is
approaching. Lauren agrees and lets him know she might be there in 20 minutes.
Jacob and Charlie and riding in a car with Lizzy and her work colleague and having a lot of fun.
Lizzy reveals that the plan for today is to go and help take care of the dogs that have not yet found
a new home. The children are thrilled to join in on this adventure as they both really like dogs.
Lauren arrives at Ben's house. He didn't give her any directions to get there because he said
it would be obvious to recognize it, meaning it is a house completely decorated for the holidays he
enjoys so much. Lauren is excited to see all the decorations and plastic deers around the house.
Jacob and Charlie are helping walk the various
dogs from the shelter and Jacob says it's the best Christmas present ever.
Back in Ben's house, Lauren is impressed by the interior design, and the two of them talk about
raising their kids. Ben says he simply wants the best for his kid. Lauren hands over the corgi
puppy and they get the puppy some food. Ben asks Lauren to help with the decoration of cupcakes,
and Lauren says she is not good with baking. The cupcakes are, however, already finished,
and Lauren and Ben are having fun putting icing and decorations on top.
A bit later, Lauren asks about the girl she met at the coffee shop, Charlotte,
and Ben points out he was probably just not ready for another relationship. Lauren
understands how he feels, and recalls the times people were saying to her to
go out there and start dating. Ben also reveals Charlotte didn't really want to
have kids and he already had Charlie, so they simply wanted different things.
Lauren confides in Ben that her husband was the only person she was dating in the last 15 years,
and that she feels a bit confused and wondering if she would even be good at kissing after all
that time. They talk about the challenges of being in their thirties and attending the dating scene,
and Lauren says she believes it is possible to tell if a person is for us based on one kiss. Ben
teases her and calls her romantic, and Lauren adds she is a hopeless romantic. As they are talking,
they are standing closer and closer and for a second it seems like they might kiss,
but then they hear some noise and realize the children are back. They remember they
need to hide the puppy somewhere, and Ben asks Lauren to take the puppy to the basement. While
Lauren is hiding the pup, Charlie enters and tells her dad about her day at the shelter.
Lauren comes back and she and Ben try to make up a story about why she came along. There are
noises coming from the basement and both Ben and Lauren start coughing to cover up for the
barking of the puppy. Lauren excuses herself and they all promise to see each other a bit later.
Lauren arrives back home, where Jacob and Lizzy meet her and Jacob tells her
how amazing his day was and tells her all about it. Lauren is teasing her sister about Eddie,
her work colleague who "doesn't have a criminal record" and likes dogs. Jacob talks about
volunteering at the shelter and explains that, instead of getting one dog, he got to meet and
walk many dogs and make them happy for a while. Lauren is proud to hear her son talk like this.
Lauren suddenly decides to start baking, and Jacob is surprised because she usually never
bakes. Lauren says she learned a couple of tricks today. Jacob promises to decorate
the cookies. As she is baking and mixing the ingredients, Jacob tells her peculiarities
about the dogs he met today, their names and how much they enjoyed the belly rubs.
Meanwhile, Ben is in his basement trying to fix the Polar Pete toy. As he is working on it,
he gets a call from a guy named Marcus, and leaves the basement
looking for network connection. He is discussing work over phone and,
is completely immersed in the conversation, that he forgets to close the basement door.
In Lauren's house, Jacob is helping decorate the batch of cookies. Lauren
notices Jacob always has a plan, even for decorating cookies. Jacob wants to
know if they can bring cookies for the tree lighting ceremony,
and Lauren jokes about the entire town getting poisoned by the inexperienced baker.
In Ben's home, Charlie hears some noise and goes down the
basement. She discovers a puppy and is thrilled. As Ben is talking on the phone,
he realizes Charlie discovered her Christmas gift a day early.
Lauren's phone is ringing, it's Ben calling to let her know what happened. At the same time,
Jacob receives a message and a photo from Charlie,
saying she got a puppy. Jacob is happy for her, and wants to go and see the puppy.
Lauren and Jacob are at Ben and Charlie's home. The kids are playing with the dog,
and Lauren teases Ben about not being able to keep the puppy a secret for even a day. They are
both a bit disappointed, but they agree what's important is that Charlie is happy and smiling.
Ben thanks Lauren for making this so special for Charlie. He gives her a Polar Pete toy,
that has now been fixed and looks brand new. Ben is about to invite Lauren someplace,
when her phone rings and the conversation gets interrupted.
It's Lauren's boss calling to let her know there has been a sudden cancellation of a
venue, and they need her to come to work immediately. Lauren is upset to hear this
and tells him it's Christmas Eve and she doesn't want to be away from her family,
but her boss is persistent and reminds her of the promotion she might get if
she doesn't let him down. Having no choice, Lauren agrees and promises to get there.
Lauren lets Ben know she has to leave, and asks him if he can watch Jacob for her until
she returns. Ben is disappointed to hear she has to leave, and tries to persuade her to stay for
the lighting ceremony, but Lauren tells him she has to go or all her sacrifice until now will
be in vain. Jacob hears the conversation and gets pretty upset once he learns his
mother has to work for Christmas again. He says it's always the same, and things never change.
Lauren feels pretty bad about the situation. Ben finally tells her he will watch Jacob for her,
and they will be waiting for her to come back. She promises to come back as soon as possible.
Lauren arrives at her office, it is late at night and there is no one in sight. She
starts looking for the list of contacts and suddenly hears some music. She goes
to investigate and finds Doris, who is also there working for Christmas Eve.
Doris tells her the two of them are the same, they are workaholics. Lauren is surprised because Doris
is an executive, and she didn't think someone in such a high position would need to work for
Christmas. Doris tells her there is always a next promotion waiting, and only if she would
become a president one day, she would not have to work this late. Doris also tells her about her
numerous marriages, and how most of her husbands didn't really understand this kind of a lifestyle.
Lauren is upset to hear that things might never truly change, even if she got the promotion,
and she would still need to work overtime. She gets on the phone with her boss,
and tells him she simply can't do this and be apart from her family. She also reminds him
how much she has done for his company, and says she will see him after the holidays.
Lauren is on her way back and gets stopped by a police car. She thinks she is about to get a
speeding ticket, but instead her sister Lizzy appears and Lauren asks her to help her get
as soon as possible to the tree lighting ceremony. They turn on the police siren,
as it's an emergency in a way, and rush to get to the ceremony.
Ben, Charlie and Jacob are at the ceremony,
and Jacob is a bit sad Lauren has missed it, so he asks Ben if they can now go home.
Lauren arrives at the spot where the ceremony was about to take place and realizes she is
late. As she's walking through the park, she sees a corgi puppy followed by her son Jacob.
He tells her he knew she would be back soon. Ben appears as well and they light the trees for her.
Lauren admits Ben has made her see the magic of Christmas again,
and she never thought she would feel like this again. They kiss.
In the meantime, Charlie tells Jacob he can come by whenever he wants to see the puppy.
Eddie and Lizzy are observing the scene, and Eddie
gets emotional. Lizzy is surprised to witness Eddie's sensitive side.
Ben asks Lauren how the kiss was, hinting at what she once said, that all it takes
to know if a person is right for us is one kiss. Lauren answers it was pretty good,
they decide to "ask" the corgi puppy who barks, and Lauren and Ben kiss again.