Two neighbors have it out after one of them decorates his house for the holidays so brightly that it can be seen from space.
Optometrist Steve Finch loves those Christmas traditions he has set up with his family and his town. As such, he has a schedule of activities for them starting on December 1st and is the unofficial consultant for anything Christmas-related in his town of Cloverdale, Massachusetts. During the Christmas season, the Halls move into the house across the street from the Finches. They, in general, are different in outlook and temperament than the Finches. Unlike Steve, Buddy Hall scams his way through life and never follows through with anything he starts. While Kelly Finch, Tia Hall, and their children begin friendships based largely on those differences, Steve and Buddy butt heads based on those differences. It begins with Buddy striving to have his house seen from space by decorating it as lavishly and brightly as possible. One of the results of this task is that he becomes the new go-to guy for anything Christmas-related in Cloverdale, usurping Steve's coveted position. As Steve and Buddy's open animosity grows, they may threaten the joy of Christmas for all, most specifically their families who have their own ideas of what they would like to do over the Christmas season.—Huggo
Bent on dethroning Steve Finch, the neighborhood's undisputed Christmas expert, the silver-tongued car salesman and rapaciously ambitious newcomer, Buddy Hall, decides to give his all for the cause. As Buddy's ostentatious decorations start to catch the attention of the crowds, an all-out December battle for the title commences, and intense rivalry ratchets up the tension. And now, there is no turning back. But when is enough, enough? Can the Halls' blinding Christmas lights make their house be visible from space?—Nick Riganas
This holiday comedy centers around two neighbors in a small New England town who go to war when one of them decides to decorate his house with so many Christmas lights that it is visible from space. The neighborhood is turned upside-down as the families try to discover the true meaning of Christmas.—Jason Breslin
In the fictional town of Cloverdale, Massachusetts, optometrist and self-proclaimed Christmas expert Steve Finch wants his family, consisting of wife Kelly, daughter Madison, and son Carter, to have a great Christmas, filled with traditions such as using an Advent calendar, taking Christmas card pictures in matching sweaters, and buying a large tree.
In the middle of the night on December 1, new neighbors move in across the street: car salesman and electrical engineer Buddy Hall and his trophy wife Tia, both of whom Steve and Kelly meet the next morning. Later that day, Kelly goes with Madison and Carter to the Hall house, where they meet the Halls' teenage twin daughters, Ashley and Emily. Tia and Kelly immediately become friends, as do Ashley, Emily, and Madison.
Buddy goes to work as a used car salesman, where he sells a car to the owner of the dealership, giving him a promotion. That night, Tia complains to Buddy that while Buddy can sell anything he soon gets bored, that she's fed up with always moving on, to which Buddy responds he wants to achieve something greater than selling cars or copiers. After discovering that the neighborhood can be seen on satellite photos, but that his house is not visible, Buddy decides to make it visible using Christmas lights. As his display grows bigger, including live animals, it gets Buddy known around town, angering Steve and threatening his position as the "Christmas guy."
Steve's envy towards Buddy increases; in various incidents, Steve's Christmas-card photo is ruined when two of Buddy's xenophobic feral horses get startled by the sleigh bells and take Steve for a wild ride which ends with him falling into a frozen lake, his car doors are ripped off during one of Buddy's light shows, and his private Christmas-tree lot is destroyed by a fire when Buddy accidentally spills gasoline with his chainsaw. Eventually, Buddy's house is completely lit, and even synchronized to music. Steve manages to sabotage Buddy's lights by filling his fuse box with snow, but a backup generator foils his plan. Buddy discovers the sabotage and retaliates by stealing the town's Christmas tree, putting it in Steve's house, and "buying" him a car.
Buddy and Steve make a bet: if Steve beats Buddy in the WinterFest speed skating race, then Buddy removes the lights, and if Buddy beats Steve, Steve pays for the car. Buddy wins, causing Steve to yell at Buddy for being a nobody, since his house is still not visible from space. Hurt, Buddy compensates by buying a huge amount of programmable LED lights, which he pays for by hocking Tia's expensive heirloom vase, and Tia and the girls depart. Buddy's obsession with the lights also causes him to lose his job.
Having had enough, Steve buys various fireworks including The Atomic Warlord, a large, illegal, military-grade rocket from a gangster and tries to destroy the Hall house. The rocket misfires, setting the town Christmas tree on fire, and Steve's family leaves, but not before Kelly scolds Steve for ignoring his children to focus on Buddy.
Steve discovers Buddy has been stealing the former's power for the latter's lights. However, after seeing Buddy taking down his lights, a remorseful Steve forgives Buddy. The two forget their rivalry and build a winter wonderland with all of Buddy's lights. They lure Tia, Kelly, and the kids home and all sit down to a nice meal made by both Steve and Buddy.
Soon, the whole town arrives at Buddy's house to help put Buddy's lights back up in time for a story about them on MTV. They do not work, and everyone sings carols and uses their cell phones as flashlights. As they sing, Steve accepts Buddy's offer to be his friend, and Carter notices that the lights did not work because one of the plugs is not plugged in properly. He tightly plugs it in, causing the lights to shine brightly through the night. SuChin Pak, doing the MTV report, gets confirmation from MyEarth that the house is indeed visible from space, and the crowd celebrates.
