Christmas Eve—What’s it All About?

While there are a lot of Christmas movies out there—some really good, really fun, and some really dismal—there’s only one movie solely about Christmas Eve. It’s called, shockingly, Christmas Eve and it came out in 2015. You may have missed it. If you were lucky.

The plot of this gem revolves around people stuck in six elevators on Christmas Eve due to a power outage. It’s amazing what some people think is worth a movie.

Anyway, I think Christmas Eve is a holiday worthy of a movie—but what kind? Aye, there’s the rub.

So let’s start at the beginning—why Christmas Eve? Why set something on that day/night?

The first thing to explore to answer that question is Christmas Eve itself. What’s the defining characteristic of Christmas Eve?

Presents?

Possible—some families open up their presents on Christmas Eve.

Dinner?

Possible—most families have a Christmas Eve dinner that’s full of family.

Santa Claus?

Possible—it is, after all, the night Santa visits all the good little boys and girls in the world, bearing gifts.

Church?

Possible—some families go to special services, often a midnight service, on Christmas Eve.

And I’m sure we could come up with more inspirations for a Christmas Eve movie. But how would you write one that could capture the essence of Christmas Eve—whether it’s about presents, dinner, Santa or church or anything else that might happen on that day?

I think the answer lies in the essence of the holiday—Christmas Eve is all about anticipation. It’s not the last big holiday of the year, it’s the day BEFORE that holiday, it’s a day when we anticipate what Christmas will bring.

So if you’re thinking of doing something revolving around presents, characters in your film need to be anticipating receiving a particular present. A woman could hope to be receiving an engagement ring from her boyfriend, a college grad could be anticipating receiving a car, etc. But that anticipation of the item in question is just what kicks off your story—the real story is about the people—the dating couple in the first instance and the college grad and his parents in the second. And the movie is about how the main character’s anticipation is going to be satisfied or disappointed when that present is unwrapped.

And if you’re thinking about having your Christmas Eve movie revolve around the family dinner, then the crux of your film is about that family and what each person is anticipating. Is the mother trying to repair a rift between her two sons over dinner? Is the father trying to find a way to confront his daughter about her drug problem? Is one couple in the family on the skids because the husband has been cheating and tonight is the night he’s decided to leave? All these characters have expectations about what will happen at the dinner, all of the are anticipating something.

Anticipation. Christmas Eve may not be reason enough to make a movie—but when you think about it as a holiday of anticipation, it becomes a whole new ballgame.

Merry Christmas!

Copyright © Diane Lake

24Dec17

Email Diane a question to Diane@DianeLake.com