‘THE CHRISTMAS PARADE'
SYNOPSIS
Beautiful network morning show host Hailee Anderson is busy balancing her daily broadcast
duties with an even bigger challenge: planning a Christmas special around a host who’s lacking
in Christmas spirit – herself.
Hailee’s frustrated by her long-term engagement to a handsome investment banker, Jason
Keppler, who spends more time in the Middle East on business than at home in New York with
her. He drops in for a surprise visit, though, reassuring her that he only wants to guarantee a
secure future for the couple.
Before she goes on the air, her producer, Monica, tries to give Hailee a pep-talk, but the
Scrooge-like hostess only sees commerciality in Christmas and prefers her Hollywood beat to
holiday coverage. Once on the air with co-hosts Greg Brody and Jane Shelson, Hailee fills the
audience in on a Beverly Hills socialite and reality show queen named Margo Watson, who’s
making the move to The Big Apple, apparently following her new love. But just as she begins
sharing about her upcoming Christmas special, Greg interrupts with breaking news and a photo
of Margo’s mystery man – Jason!
Hurt and humiliated in front of a nationwide TV audience, Hailee storms off the set and gets
into her car to. . . just drive. Out in the boonies, she’s distracted by Jason’s repeated attempts
to reach her on her cell phone, with calls and texts and narrowly misses a truck coming the
other way. She crashes instead into a wooden fence bedecked with Christmas lights.
The trucker, the rugged, but gentle Beck Thomas, stops to help her, but is quickly interrupted
by the owner of the fence – a local judge, Joe Morris. After overhearing just the mention of the
word “text,” he orders the already-upset Hailee to his chambers the following morning to face
punishment for texting and driving.
With no vacancy at the local motel, the clerk refers her to a nearby bed and breakfast in the
small town of Carver Bend – which, it turns out, is run by Beck and his mother, Wendy, who
also writes for the local paper.
The following morning, Hailee, accompanied by Beck, indeed appears before Judge Joe, who
fines her $100 and sentences her to 25 hours of community service, instead of jail. His nosy
bailiff, Roy, also demands a pic in the parking lot before she leaves – posting it on Instagram,
before it quickly makes its way to TMZ.
Realizing she’s short on time, Beck suggests a quick way to burn up those hours: he runs a
children’s community art center, which is in peril of being sold off for development. Carver
Bend’s Annual Christmas Parade is coming quickly and the winner will get $25,000 – enough to
help save the art center. Hailee’s help is sorely needed to finish the kids’ float. She’s
introduced to Beck’s “team leaders,” a pair of young teens named Kelsey and Zach – who are
well familiar with Hailee Anderson.
(more)
HALLMARK CHANNEL / ‘THE CHRISTMAS PARADE’ – Synopsis – Page 2
Hailee checks in with an antsy Monica, who’s already feeling pressure from the higher-ups over
the “Jason matter,” asking Hailee to come up with a statement saying that everything’s fine.
Just as she hangs up, in walks Jason, who, like the rest of the universe, has heard about
Hailee’s Carver Bend visit on the internet. Jason explains it was all a big misunderstanding that
his time spent with Margo Watson was (like everything else to Jason) “all about work” and
nothing more. But Hailee isn’t buying and sends him away.
Kelsey and Zach explain the float to their new friend: it’ll be Santa’s workshop, made out of
recyclable materials, with a pair of thrones for Mr. and Mrs. Claus. Hailee, though, sees the
design as a heap of trash, her non-Christmas spirit rearing its ugly head. Beck takes her to visit
a lovely elderly pair, Mr. and Mrs. Parker, who, each year, celebrate Christmas with one of the
holiday’s greatest symbols of love: Mr. Parker gives his wife a pair of turtle dove-shaped
cookies, as he has done for the past 62 years. Hailee is touched.
She shares her childhood dreams with Beck, of being the next Diane Sawyer, only to see the
news world change into a corporate giant. Regardless, Hailee offers to buy supplies for the
float – in exchange for a little help: let Beck’s mom interview her for the local paper to give her
statement. Beck, a budding painter, shares his own dashed dreams, having spent time in
France, only to return to Carver Bend to drive a truck and help the kids in the art center – and
earn a broken heart from a soured relationship.
After meeting the town’s fastest talker – a boy named Charles (nickname: Jaws, for his rampant
verbosity), Hailee and Beck get a visit from Carver Bend’s Mayor Richard Braverman. He
attempts to bribe Hailee with a sentence reduction if she mentions local businesses in her
Christmas special. Sorry Mr. Mayor: no go.
Hailee, Beck and the kids get to work on the float, combining supplies she has gifted and the
“upcycled” building materials. After beating Beck at repairing some Christmas lights, he
rewards her with some egg nog, as well as a view of his beautiful paintings, stored upstairs.
He’s long since stopped his craft, missing inspiration to pursue it. While enjoying a Rockwelllike view of the town, Hailee finally reveals the source of her own Christmas grumpiness:
receiving a bike from her parents, purchased at a thrift shop, during hard times, only to be
humiliated by the rich kid who had donated it and then taking her embarrassment out on her
own parents. Giving never meant the same again.
Beck’s mother, Wendy, stops by to bring some supplies for the kids and is introduced to Hailee,
whom Beck has suggested she interview for the paper. After Beck and Hailee fix up Judge
Joe’s broken fence and lights, they return to the bed and breakfast, where she and Wendy have
their chat. Wendy asks her if she has a favorite Christmas memory. Even the year of the
bicycle incident, Hailee can recall a warm moment with her dad. Christmas always finds its way
in, even in the worst of times, Wendy tells her.
Back at work the next day on the float, Hailee watches Beck paint lovely turtle doves onto the
Mr. & Mrs. Claus thrones – she has instilled artistic motivation in him once again and maybe
something more. As the two get into a paint fight, the mayor once again appears, this time
(more)
HALLMARK CHANNEL / ‘THE CHRISTMAS PARADE’ – Synopsis – Page 3
bearing bad news: an investor has put down an offer on the art center property – an investor
with Jason’s company. So Hailee dashes back to the city and convinces Jason to drop the
purchase, hoping all will be forgiven. But Hailee’s not so sure.
She returns to Carver Bend, where all celebrate and finish the float– until Beck gets yet another
call from the Mayor, who reveals that a second investor has stepped forward and will be buying
the property. But the kids will enter their float in the parade regardless.
Hailee returns to the city the next day, for a meeting and surprises network execs with a novel
idea: instead of doing her Christmas special at the studio, she’ll do a live broadcast from Carver
Bend at the Christmas Parade, to give viewers a feel for how Main St. celebrates Christmas.
She runs into Jason, who announces romantic plans aboard a yacht for the two of them – until
Hailee spots an incoming call on his phone from the company buying the art center. She puts
two and two together: goodbye Jason.
Hailee’s Christmas Special begins its live network broadcast, where she shares the art center’s
plight with the audience. During the show, she joins Beck aboard the float as Mr. and Mrs.
Claus, expecting the surprisingly inspiring float will win the contest hands down and save the
center. But as they await the results, the two run into the Mayor, who reveals the truth about
his relationship with Jason and the investors: he’s lining his own pockets with money from the
sale. But the Mayor’s revelation is not a private one: as they say in the news business, “Never
speak into an open microphone unless you want to be heard. . . . “ His ill-doings will put an
end to the sale – as well as the Mayor. If that weren’t enough, viewers everywhere were so
moved by the story of the art center, that they donated funds – enough to secure its success
and security for a very long time. Hailee has indeed found a new way to give.
--HALLMARK CHANNEL--