Plot

With their daughter Blair away in Peru, Luther and Nora Krank decide to skip Christmas altogether until she decides to come home, causing an uproar when they must celebrate it at the last minute.

Strange as it may sound, Luther and Nora Krank, award-winning Christmas experts, are determined to do the unthinkable: skip Christmas and spend the money on a sun-kissed, 10-day Caribbean cruise. But this is easier said than done. As the community's sweet eccentrics turn their backs on Christmas, a last-minute phone call from their homesick daughter changes everything. And as if that weren't enough, the unexpected visitor has a surprise in tow. Now the clock is ticking--the Christmas rebels must face the music. Can the Kranks create Christmas out of thin air and save the day in a few hours?—Nick Riganas

When Luther and Nora Krank's daughter Blair departs for Peru, they decide to skip Christmas and spend the money on a cruise. Now they must face their neighbors, the neighborhood decorating contest, carolers, and charity collectors. Then Blair calls on Christmas Eve and says she's coming home for Christmas, so her parents must put on a real holiday rush when they have 12 hours to get Christmas set up for her and her new fiance' Enrique.—Anonymous

Riverside, Illinois couple Luther (Tim Allen) and Nora Krank (Jamie Lee Curtis) see their daughter, Blair (Julie Gonzalo) depart for a Peace Corps assignment in Peru on the Sunday following Thanksgiving, and their empty nest syndrome sets in. Blair had left for a year and had promised to come back for Christmas the following year. Nora is distraught that Christmas will not be the same without Blair. It is cold and wet in Riverside, and Nora forces Luther to get chocolate from a shop. While coming out, Luther is drenched and that's when he sees the advertisement for a warm and inviting Caribbean cruise.

Luther calculates the couple spent $6,132 during the previous year's holiday season and, not looking forward to celebrating Christmas without their daughter, he suggests they invest the money usually spent on decorations, gifts, and entertainment and treat themselves to a ten-day Caribbean cruise instead. Luther insists that they completely boycott the holidays but Nora initially objects. Nora finally agrees when she realizes that the cruise is only $3000, and they would save money by skipping Christmas. Nora agrees under the condition that they still give a donation to the church and Children's Hospital amounting to $600. Luther tries to refuse but finally agrees and they begin planning the trip. They leave at noon on Christmas Day.

The Kranks are amazed to discover they are considered pariahs as a result of their decision. Luther's co-workers think he has become Ebenezer Scrooge when he gives all his employees letters that state about his Christmas boycott (which includes no gifts, no participation in holiday rituals, no attendance at the office party or at the black tie Christmas dinner), local stationer Aubie (Patrick Breen) is distressed to lose the couple's order for their engraved greeting cards and Christmas Eve party invitations, the Boy Scout troop is upset and angered when the Kranks refuse to purchase one of their Christmas trees to help the scouts make enough money for a camp outing, and the police are stunned to discover they won't be buying this year's calendar from them. Nora even cancels her famous Christmas Eve party that her friends and the whole neighborhood looks forward to.

Most vocal in their objections are neighbors Vic Frohmeyer (Dan Aykroyd) and Walt Scheel (M. Emmet Walsh). Vic, who's the self-appointed leader of the street, organizes a campaign to force the Kranks to decorate their home (with Christmas lights, and a Frosty) so Hemlock Street won't lose the coveted award for best decorations. Walt doesn't seem to like Luther, so his efforts are primarily personal. However, it is revealed that Walt's wife Bev (Elizabeth Franz) is suffering from cancer, perhaps dampening his holiday spirits. Bev has had the cancer return for the 3rd time and this Christmas might be her last. Vic even offers to install Frosty himself, if Luther would just take him out of the basement and leaves it on the front lawn. But Luther still refuses, citing the principle of his stand.

Father Zabriskie (Tom Poston) finds Luther and Nora in a tanning salon in a mall, in their beachwear, and admonishes them for trying to skip Christmas.

Children picket, led by Vic's son Spike (Erik Per Sullivan), neighbors constantly call, and Christmas carolers try to revive the Kranks' holiday spirit by singing on their lawn which Luther stops them by freezing his front lawn. Even the newspaper gets into the act by publishing a front-page story complete with a photograph of the unlit Krank house and states that the Kranks' street has lost the prize and won sixth place because of how Luther and Nora refused to decorate their house. Still, Luther and Nora continue to stand their ground. Luther gets a Botox injection to get ready for his vacation with Nora.

The two are in the process of packing on Christmas Eve morning when they receive a call from Blair, who announces she's at Miami International Airport, on route home with her Peruvian fiance as a surprise for her parents. She's anxious to introduce Enrique (Rene Lavan) to her family's holiday traditions, and when she asks if they're having their usual party that night, a panicked Nora says yes, much to Luther's dismay. Comic chaos ensues as the couple finds themselves trying to decorate the house and coordinate a party with only twelve hours to spare before their daughter and future son-in-law arrive.

While Nora scrambles to find food, especially Blair's favorite ham, Luther buys a tree from the Boy Scouts, but they only have one left, which is a dead, ugly, non-green tree. Luther buys it anyway but rejects it by throwing it in his backyard. While Spike leads a picket at the Kranks', Luther arranges to borrow the tree of neighbor Wes Trogdon (Mark Christopher Lawrence) who is going away for a couple of days. Luther and Spike try to transport it across the street on Spike's Radio Flyer wagon, only for the neighbors to confuse this to be Luther stealing the family's Christmas tree, and to be stopped by the police, who assume they have stopped a robbery in progress.

Spike comes to Luther's rescue. Nora comes home enraged at Luther for making the borrowed Christmas tree a "Disaster" and how she had to buy "Smoked Trout" to replace the honey ham (because the ham rolled into the street and got smashed by a truck). Nora tells Luther to put up Frosty on their roof, which fails when he and Frosty fall off, drawing the neighborhood's attention.

Once it is established why Luther is trying frantically to decorate his home, the neighbors, led by Vic, come out full force to help him and Nora ready it for Blair. Blair calls to say she landed from Miami.

The party starts off strong, with Blair having no idea of the earlier drama. Enrique thanks everyone for the warm welcome, and Nora thanks her neighbors for being a strong community. Luther, to everyone's disappointment, offers only a lukewarm toast. When Nora confronts Luther, he tries to convince her to still go on the cruise, but Nora refuses, disgusted that he is not happy that Blair is home.

Luther sadly slips out of the house and goes across the street to the Scheel home. Bev's cancer, once in remission, has returned and, knowing this may be their last holiday together, Luther insists they take the cruise in place of him and Nora, going so far as to offer to take care of their hated cat, Muffles, who's always under Luther's foot. At first, they decline, but ultimately they accept his generosity. With his holiday spirit renewed, Luther finally admits to Nora that skipping Christmas was not a good idea until she suggests they should do it next year.