Skipping Christmas

Skipping Christmas starts out at the gate in an airport. Luther and Nora Krank are there with their daughter Blair, waiting for a flight to Miami that will eventually bring her to eastern Peru, where she is going with the Peace Corps. They all say their goodbyes and the parents leave. Nora is very upset, while Luther isn’t so much. On the way home they stop at a store for white chocolate and pistachios. Luther unwillingly goes in to get it and finds every little thing a hindrance. He is easily annoyed, and doesn’t get the white chocolate. Nora then has to go in the store to get it, and she does so with much annoyance. While Nora is in the store, Luther daydreams about not having to do the Christmas season.

That night, Nora was restless. She was pacing and going from room to room. She finally lay back in bed, rolling and flinching and moving, trying to get the attention of Luther so she could talk about Blair’s safety again. Luther didn’t move, and when Nora was finally asleep, he snuck out of the room to the basement office to evaluate last Christmas’s spending. He found that $6,100 was spent on Christmas. With this new information, he took a trip down to the travel agency during work the next day. He made his choice the 10 day Island Princess cruise. That night, during dinner he attacked Nora with the idea. Using brochures and spreadsheets, he showed her the facts. She finally accepted to skip Christmas, as long as she could still donate $600 to charitable donations.

Later, Nora received a call from the Card Store owner, and had to tell him she was not ordering cards, but did not tell him why. Luther, the same day, was writing a letter to his colleagues, telling them that he would not be participating in the normal Christmas rituals. The next day, the boy scouts came by, selling their Christmas trees. Luther had to tell them they were skipping Christmas, and a few minutes later they found a crowd congregated at their driveway, staring up at the house. That night, Luther went for a walk. He noticed his neighbors doing what the Kranks were avoiding, and he felt good about it.

It was lunchtime, and Nora was at lunch with two of her friends. The card man called her again, and she was forced to tell her friends about skipping Christmas, which meant everyone will know by dinner. During work, Luther wa...

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...d Luther dangling painfully by his ankle.

The medics came and got Luther down, and he explained to the entire watching neighborhood what they were doing. Vic Frohmeyer organized a party quickly and sent everyone to work. He sent the policeman to go get Blair, and the Kranks went inside to rest.

Enrique and Blair came into the airport and were found by the police officers, who raced them home. When they got home they were greeted by the whole neighborhood. They talked to everybody and her parents were very impressed with him. Enrique received a lot of reissued gifts from the neighbors and they then went to dinner. Afterwards, they sang a few carols before Enrique and Martin, the man Nora saw in the store, sang and played guitar to a few Peruvian Christmas carols.

As the Peruvian songs continued, Luther snuck out to the Scheel’s house. He gave them his cruise vacation as a Christmas present. Bev had been given six month’s by her doctor. They were overwhelmed with joy when they were given this. As Luther walked back across the street, for the first time, he was filled with the joy of Christmas.